For those of you that don’t know.

There have been quite a few cigar companies that have gone out of business in the last 200 years (especially in Cuba), but even I was not aware of how many there were. Perelman’s Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars says it thusly:

New brands have been introduced almost continuously since 1810, when Benardino Rencurrel
filed the first trademark registration, followed in the same year by Hija de Cabañas y Carbajal.
One observer estimated that as many as 800 brands were in circulation by 1859, although in
1887, there were only 348 registered brands.

At the time of nationalization, there were reported to be 960 registered trademarks for cigars in
Cuba, not to mention hundreds of old, discontinued brand trade names. The following list
provides the names of 24 current (in bold) and 1,726 now-discontinued export brands which
were produced in Cuba between 1810 and the nationalization of the tobacco industry in
September 1960.

Lords of England is one of those discontinued brands. There is precious little information about this line of cigars, as it seems to have been discontinued sometime in the early to mid 1900s.

However, I have been able to confirm that these cigars were produced in Cuba (unlike Clear Havanas, which were produced in America using some Cuban tobacco) sometime in the early 1920s. They came in boxes of 50 cigars, with 10 cigars each of 5 different vitolas (although I have been unable to find specifics on the vitolas, I know this because the wonderful BOTL who traded these to me also sent me photos of the box they came in, which you can see below). One seems to be a vitola much like a Petite Lancero, and the other 4 are very close to one other, both in length and Ring Gauge, however, all of the cigars are box pressed, and two of the vitolas are perfectos. [Photos by Roy Vergado]:

But enough of that, lets get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Lords of England (1920s)
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: N/A
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 40ish
• Vitola: Box Pressed Perfecto
• Est. Price: $150.00 (rough estimate based on age and rarity)
• Release Date: 1920′s
• Number of Cigars Released: N/A
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 1

The cigar itself is an amazing specimen, especially considering it’s age. It is obviously well constructed, with a great cap no veins visible. The wrapper is light brown, quite dry (almost like parchment) and surprisingly smells quite a bit like cinnamon with a sweet undertone. The cigar is a box pressed perfecto, is very firm when squeezed, and is quite lumpy up and down the length. The band is one of the most amazing examples of craftsmanship I have seen in quite a while. If there is a Hall of Fame for cigar bands, this one belongs in it, without question. It just screams “quality”, and you know just by looking at it that this was not a cheap cigar when it was sold (although sadly, I have been unable to find an original price for them as of yet).

The First Third started out with a Bang, with quite a bit of spice on the tongue (a surprising amount, really), and flavors of oak and nuts. During the entire First Third, the profile shifted from spicy to sweet at random times, keeping me on my toes. A great start to the cigar.

Between the 1st and 2nd thirds, I noticed the excellent burn line, and had to take a photograph of it.

The Second Third started out wonderfully spicy and sweet (still with quite a bit of oak flavors), but added a fairly strong note of Vanilla and a hint of a floral note as well (but it never came close to coming out of the background of the profile). The sweetness also started diminishing at the end of this third.

The Final Third did not exactly fall apart, but the sweetness that was present in the first 2 thirds left complexly, and I was left with a spicy, leathery flavor that had just a hint of tart nuttiness as well. It did not turn mild however, and stayed that way until the end of the smoke.

Final Notes:

• While smoking this cigar, my eyes were continuously drawn the aforementioned band. Just a great example of what cigars bands can be.
• The amount of spice that was present in this cigar was really astounding. It made all the flavors that I tasted that much more enjoyable, and to have that amount of flavors and spice in a cigar this old speaks volumes about the quality of tobacco that was used when it was rolled almost 100 years ago.
• This cigar had quite a few things that were perfect about it. Perfect Draw, Perfect Burn and the Perfect amount of smoke.
• I figured that each puff I took was equal to about a year of it’s age.
• The Final Smoking Time on this cigar was 1 Hour and 15 Minutes.

The Bottom Line: Considering the track record I have had with some vintage cigars so far (ranging from just an average smoke like the 1954 H. Upmann Belvedere, to tasting “like licking an old person”, like the Farach Farachitos Pre Embargo Cuban, this cigar surprised the hell out of me! I knew it would be different experience then the others I have smoked (it is the oldest I cigar I have smoked at around 90 years old, and is a true Cuban, made with all Cuban tobacco, unlike most of the others in this series, which have been Clear Havanas), but honestly, this cigar is in a class by itself. Perfect construction, and an astounding amount of flavor and spice made this an absolute joy to smoke. With quite a few other vintage smokes, there is always an urge to make excuses (“Sure, it tastes like shit, but it is like 60 years old!”), with this cigar, not excuses are necessary. I would put this cigar against 90% of the smokes that are being released today, and it would win. I would give it quite a high score, if I could.