Battle of the Lanceros "Round #1"

 Alec Bradley Tempus Creo v.s. Nestor Miranda Special Selection

In the Left corner…

Alec Bradley Tempus Creo Attributes

Size: Lancero

Length: 7 ½

Ring Gauge: 41

Wrapper: Trojes, Honduran Crillo ‘98

Binder: Trojes, Honduran Crillo ’98 – Indonesia Embetunada

Filler: Trojes, Honduras, Nicaragua

Country: Honduras

Price: $8.75 USD

And in the Right corner…

Nestor Miranda Special Selection Attributes

Size: Lancero

Length: 7 ½

Ring Gauge: 40

Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano Rosado and Oscuro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras, and Dominican Republic

Country: Nicaragua

Price: $7.50 USD

No, I did not smoke both cigars at the same time.  I smoked the Nestor Miranda Special Selection first (coin flip).  So lets start with it.

On to the review…

The pre-light ritual for the Nestor Miranda Special Select came out swinging.  The cigar’s dark wrapper had lots of veins and the foot was nicely packed.  At the foot of the cigar however you could see where the wrapper leaf was not long enough to cover the foot and the binder leaves were sticking out ever so slightly.  The cap had a nice pigtail finish that was a little sloppy but not awful.

The band almost overlapped the writing (it was much to long for the ring gauge of the cigar) however the bronze outline sets nicely with the brown and red lettering.  Near the band were glue marks where the roller had touched the wrapper of the cigar.  The pre-light draw and smell showed no definite taste notes but a little sweetness to the scent.

The opening of my Nestor Miranda Special Selection showed Earthy/cocoa notes.  The resistance to the draw was perfect and the cigar produced lots of smoke.  The burn gave way to a wonderful tower of clean white ash.  The earth characters soon dissipated to reveal a sweet vanilla cream that lasted to the end of the first third.  Heading into the second third the cigars’ burn started to get wavy but corrected itself quickly.

The second third of my Nestor Miranda Special Selection had a sweet and pleasant aroma.  The cigar moved from sweet cream to a peppery spice that began to dry my palate out.  Going to the end of the second third the cigar got very sour and tart.  The final third continued with the sour trend, the smoke became very dense, and the cigar continuously went out on it’s own.

My overall impression of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection is that the beginning of the cigar was much better than the finish.  Once the cigar turned sour it never recovered.  The finish was very tart and just not enjoyable.  Having continued on the course that the opening showed, this cigar could have been a real knock out however, it didn’t.  Best comparison I can give it is when you’re reading a book that has been really interesting and drawn you into its plot and then the ending is just terrible, making the entire story….blah.

Now on to the Alec Bradley Tempus Creo…

The pre-light for the Alec Bradley Tempus Creo was solid.  The cigar had two bands (one on the foot), which contained tremendous detail with gold, black, and steel colorings.  The wrapper contained lots of veins and had a dry appearance to it.  Upon removing the foot band (that read Tempus) I found a crack in the wrapper of the cigar.  The pigtail cap was nicely finished and the pre-light smell was heavy sweet tobacco.  Cold draw was loose (which is odd for the cigar size) and showed a spicy sweetness that was refreshing.

The opening of the Alec Bradley Tempus Creo showed notes of pepper and hay.  A very light white smoke was achieved through an almost effortless draw and aroma reminded me of an old cedar chest.  The cigars’ ash was very brittle/soft and fell off quickly into the smoking experience.  At the end of the first third the cigar fell accustomed to a nutty profile on the palate while keeping the peppery undertone. 

There was not a lot of change in the cigars tasting notes during the second third however before entering into the final third a touch of papery flatness contradicted the palate.  Also, I had to correct the burn twice halfway through the Alec Bradley Tempus Creo. 

Thank goodness that the flatness ended as fast as it started.  Upon starting into the final third of the cigar a grassy, hay, spice encumbered the palate with a tiny hint of earthiness.  The burn also remained solid to the finish with no touch ups needed.

The finish on the cigar was a little dry and overall I would classify this cigar as “bland.”  I enjoyed the profile it had however it was lacking in complexity and depth.  Nothing to jump up and down about!  Glad I had the opportunity to try the Alec Bradley Tempus Creo however, I will probably not buy them again.

So, even though it was a fight to the end, the winner of the “Round 1” Battle of the Lanceros is the:

ALEC BRADLEY TEMPUS CREO

Well that about wraps it up for us, again thanks for reading and remember that all reviews here on Cigar Wars are just opinions.  To truly find a winner between these two lanceros, try them yourself!

Cheers!

~kaleehb