La Barba Purple Robusto & Lancero

I’ve now tried the La Barba Purple in the robusto, magnum (gordo) and the lancero. The magnum review is already posted.

The wrapper cracked near the foot early on the robusto. It was not due to my toasting the foot poorly. It just cracked. Not a good start.

Flavors: mild spice, wood, tea, toffee, not very complex but enough nut, floral, wood and spice working together to make it enjoyable. Did I detect a note of violets in the floral or did the purple cigar band influence my palate and my brain? One of the great unexplained mysteries of the cigar smoking universe.

Tight, cold draw on the robusto despite a cracked wrapper which didn’t get worse thankfully. It held a tight ash which never fell. It rolled off nicely when ashing. Iinterestingly enough with the cracked wrapper early and an uneven burn early all of that was manageable with a just a couple of touch ups . This was one of the least abrasive retrohales I’ve experienced.

The flavors develop during the second third with the addition of pepper, more sweetness and more pronounced wood. It’s now identifiable as oak.

Very enjoyable cigar smoked it to the nub. That I could smoke it to the nub is amazing given the construction issues.

The lancero was a better experience. This is the way to go with La Barba Purple both in construction and flavor. Very little complaint with the construction. A couple of minor touchups but a fairly even burn line. Nice cold draw. The flavors are turned up a notch from the robust to the lancer - like turning up the volume on a good rock tune.

My ratings are based on the lancero. The robusto was quite enjoyable, but the lancero was a very, very good smoke.

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