Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA Cigar Review

If you listen to Steve Saka this is one cigar he did not want to make but had his hand forced to satisfy the passionate fans of Lancero sticks. I consider myself one of those fans, but lets face it no one can force Saka to do something he doesn’t want to do. The cigar which is named #NLMTHA stands for “Now Leave Me The Hell Alone” provides a great story and from a marketing stand point a nice chuckle. With that said it’s a blend that most cigar makers don’t want to attack because of the limited amount of tobaccos that one can fit in a lancero, especially when it is a traditional 38 ring gauge.

According to a post on Steve Saka’s instagram account, the #NLMTHA is

“very elegant, balanced, so smooth, yet flavorful, medium bodied that finishes with a nice kick of spice at the conclusion … The Lancero Whores bitched at me for years to make a Lancero, now they are going to bitch I didn’t make it a sharp fire stick, but they can all bite my inner cactus!

A Lancero is suppose to be an elegant, refined smoke, so if I was going to be “forced” to do it, I was going to do it RIGHT dammit!!! So glad this Muestra is behind me – I made so many different sample ligas for this cigar – about 70! And had to smoke hundreds of them along the way… and I really really dislike the Lancero vitola. I coulda’ just made my life easier and mailed it in by making a pepper bomb twizzler, but I didn’t, I made the absolute best lancero I could.

ps: I also went with the traditional 7×38 pencil format – I was so tempted to cheat and make it a 40 or 42… doing so would have made the whole project so much easier, but I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to do it to the standard.“

Cigar Review: Muestra de Saka
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Length: 7″
Binder: 38
Size: #NLMTHA (Lancero)

The Look: Packaged in 7-count boxes, each Muestra de Saka comes packaged in an individual coffin. Inside the cigars are packaged in cello with a yellow cloth foot band denoting the brand name in red with the size in black. The Nicaragua wrapper has a few veins that are visible and some subtle oils. In the hand the cigar has an average weight for a lancero, with no voids of tobacco and a well packed foot.

The Notes: The cold draw of the #NLMTHA Lancero has a cream soda taste to it with hints of vanilla. The aroma off the foot of the cigar has a subtle cedar and as I write this review the aroma coming off the coffin dominates the room which leads to me moving it out of the area of where I plan to smoke the cigar. On the initial light the cigar has a nice apple and wood profile.

As we move into the first third of the Muestra de Saka there are notes of apple, wood, subtle pepper, cream and a hint of coffee. The retrohale serves up notes of subtle pepper and a touch of fine chocolate which was quite enjoyable. The finish of the cigar is moderate in length, and at this point of the stick I am rather impressed with how smooth it is.

The second third sees notes of ginger that are incredibly delicious and at times serves as the dominant note. As we progress the spice kicks up a notch progressively thoughout with with hints of coffee and cedar with a slight touch of leather. The retrohale continues to be smooth as silk along with the finish of the cigar which is still moderate in length.

As we conclude the lancero that had a perfect burn and stayed lit from first light to last puff it remains exceptionally smooth with notes of coffee, ginger and a subtle cedar. There is more pepper on the retohale in the last third and the strength of the cigar is more noticeable as the cigar comes to a close.

The Finish: As Steve Saka alluded to in his statement on Instagram, this is not a “pepper bomb twizzler” and to be honest I am not sure why anyone would expect that from his cigars. With the exception of a couple of sizes, Saka produces Medium to Medium-Plus cigars that are balanced and chock full of flavor. I got news for you Steve, you might have named this “Now Leave Me The Hell Alone” but that won’t be the case. I would like to request Mi Querida and Sobremesa in a LE Lancero and I am sure there are others who could get behind this movement.

Score: 94
Price: $17.99 / $106.99