Casa Turrent 1880 Series Maduro Lancero and Claro Lancero: An exciting Mexican Cigar Showdown

When I first smoked a lancero cigar back in 2020, I fell in love with the vitola. Not only do they look elegant, but I find they are also intricately flavoured allowing you to get to really know a cigar blend. Whilst I have a good stock of lancero cigars in my humidor, I find it very disappointing that there aren’t more examples of this vitola readily available on the UK market. You can imagine my excitement when as of March 2022 two more became available – the Casa Turrent 1880 Series Maduro and Claro lanceros.

The first of these that I lit up was the Claro Lancero. The milk chocolate wrapper looked delicious and aromas of marshmallow emanated from the foot. It felt perfectly packed from head-to-foot and once cut, the easy cold draw filled my mouth with flavours of a lightly sweet breakfast tea.

Once lit, the tea notes really came to the fore. The smoke felt clean, light and creamy in my mouth. Shortly after lighting the Casa Turrent 1880 Series Claro Lancero, I was met with a surprising sprinkle of white pepper. A couple of draws later though this was replaced with fresh hay and herbs. By the end of the first third, the tea flavour had transitioned to a slightly more citrus Earl Grey tea.

My entry into the middle third was met with a mouthful of creamy toffee and freshly toasted bread. Both the smoke and flavour were very smooth so I decided to pair this lancero with a Sweet Pacific. This long citrus twist on a gin and tonic perfectly balanced the growing pastry notes in the cigar. This slightly more savoury taste was characteristic of the middle portion of the cigar as aromas of minty Thai basil filled the air.

The final third of this lancero completely changed once again. The tea notes were replaced by black espresso coffee and as the herbal flavours faded, ground cloves and toasted walnuts took over. Throughout the cigar there was a delicious creaminess and as I laid it to rest, its parting shot was a tickle of sweetness. As expected this was a complex cigar that reminded me why I love this vitola so much.

Casa Turrent 1880 Series Claro Lancero Cigar Details

In contrast, the Casa Turrent 1880 Series Maduro Lancero was much oilier and felt more firmly packed, especially at the head. Aromas of toffee, cocoa and ginger nut biscuits enticed me to light up and the maduro wrapper left a light sweetness on my lips after my ginger infused cold draw.

This time, the opening salvo was much stronger and richer. Dark chocolate and chilli were the first flavour out of the gate with cedar taking the lead a couple of draws later. About an inch in, the ginger from the foot washed over my palate before it darkened to a more earthy liquorice taste. With this flavour palate, I mixed myself a Paula cocktail – a variation on the classic Alexander cocktail with blended Scotch, amaretto and cream liqueur.

As the first third drew to a close, the Casa Turrent 1880 Series Maduro Lancero started to become quite a bit sweeter and very creamy, reminiscent of a freshly brewed cappuccino with full fat milk. Within a few draws, I was getting mouthfuls of warm, freshly baked spiced honey cake. I didn’t have long to savour this delicious combination before earthy notes of bay leaf and cardamom started to take over.

The final third of the Maduro Lancero treated me to a smorgasbord of different flavours including caramel, brazil nuts, a subtle mint, oak and vanilla. Of the two cigars, I would probably be more likely to gravitate to this one, but this is purely because I have a soft spot for maduro wrappers. But that isn’t to say that I would say “no” to the claro version either!

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Casa Turrent 1880 Series Maduro Lancero Cigar Details