Cigar Review: Lampert Don Patron Oro Line

Brand: Lampert Cigars
Vitola: 6×52 Toro
Filler: Dominican Republic / Peru
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Ecuador
Flavor intensity: Bold
Body: Medium Boldness
Price: $17

What Makes It Special

Living near the midwest’s cigar Mecca has its perks. Norwood Royal Cigars owner Vick Shah regularly hosts meet-and-greet events with cigar industry professionals while providing cigar lovers and supporters great deals on featured brands. Lampert Cigars was featured on July 14, 2023, and I had the pleasure of meeting its Austrian brand owner, Dr. Stefan Lampert, who led me straight to his Oro Line Don Patron cigar. This, of course, was after learning of my preferred dark leathery char notes on a cigar. I immediately fell in love with the cigar, my first time experiencing Peruvian tobacco.

Lampert Cigars started in 2016. After a vacation, Stefan decided to apply Thailand’s concept of the tailored suit to a cigar. “With his brand, he wanted to give customers the opportunity to create their very own handmade premium cigars as if in a laboratory, which is why he named his first cigar line My Cigar Lab – now the Oro Line.”

The Oro Line is produced at Tabacos de Costa Rica in Costa Rica. It uses a two-year-old Connecticut shade wrapper, over three-year-old binder, and fillers, including five-year-old Pelo de Oro tobaccos from Peru. Lampert cigars are also produced in Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Panama, adding to the company’s diversity in its cigar lines. The brand also has its own rum, produced in Panama, aged twelve years, in hopes of enhancing its cigar line experience.

Visit LampertCigars.com for additional information on the brand and all of its unique cigar lines.

Visual / Pre-light Draw

Very oily and slick light brown Connecticut shade wrapper with subtle toothy edges. The cigar’s construction is hard and tightly packed. Its fancy gold, white, and red band displays Lampert Cigars over the brand’s original cigar-smoking, top-hatted bearded gentleman logo over Don Patron. The side sniff has classic but creamy fresh hay. The dry foot odor is creamy, fruity, and chocolaty. There is no spice on the palate when prepping the head for a classic straight cut. The dry draw is tight with nice notes of berries and oats.

First Third

Immediate bold and high volume floral foot smoke odor over simmering melted chocolate. Bold notes of buttery toasted oatmeal on the first cream puff, the draw is a bit tighter than I personally desired, but I anticipate it will open up shortly. There are also subtle leathery vanilla notes coming in, reminiscent of that classic Byron profile, but for less than half the price. This is a luxurious cigar, immediately living up to or beyond its price point. It has a nice even burn, a strong black/gray perfect ash, then boom, that draw opens up like a bouquet. The blend’s creaminess is definitely balances out its leathery char notes perfectly; simply delicious!

Second Third

The cigar’s perfect ash is holding strong; a very well-constructed cigar! Then a nice transition to creamy yellow cake batter with subtle leather notes on the finish and a nice spicy char on the retro-hale. Those floral notes occasionally reappear, keeping the smoker on their toes and the smoking experience complex. Then that incredibly long ash falls off with dignity approaching the final third. I am thoroughly impressed with the complexity of this cigar!

Final Third

The cigar’s creaminess has coated the entire palate, and an Italian basil pesto sauce finish lingers. Yes, my palate was fresh at the start of this review. Very fascinating, and I’m salivating for more. Those delicious creamy leathery, and floral notes continue to dominate the palate and smoking experience. After cleansing the palate with some water, some interesting fresh hay and basil notes appear, then melt away to buttery vanilla and leathery spice on the finish. Even the retro-hale has balanced itself out to a cream bomb of flavor, and the cigar’s burn remains perfect. This cigar is my jam and well worth the money!

 Score

The cigar’s construction is flawless, but what struck me the most is how luxurious and complex the cigar’s flavor is. Stefan definitely pinned my cigar preference down and nailed it with this buttery leather bomb cigar. I nubbed it and absolutely loved it! Thank you, brother; keep up the good work.