Illsione Candela Lancero

Illusione is a boutique cigar made by Dion Giolito.  His background in the cigar business is well detailed on his web site.  With a music background, and having worked in the cigar business for years, Dion got into manufacturing after buying some cigars from Pete Johnson and deciding that he liked them so much he wanted more.  When he ws told they were unavailable he became intrigued with creating something on his own.  Pete introduced him to the Garcias in Miami and they have made some great smokes.

I had first been introduced to the Illusione by Ron Lessereaux from Serious Cigars in Houston some years ago at a Big Smoke after party.  It is a very well made cigar with lots of flavor.  Last week I was in New Jersey looking for some place to smoke and found a cigar lounge.  To pay the rent it is a common courtesy to buy something from the lounge humidor.  For me, that’s not as easy as it might seem.  Obviously, reviewing cigars means that you some and have access to lots of different smokes.  So, what should I buy?  After a few minutes of back and forth, I asked if there were any candelas in the shop.  The owner produced a box of Illusione Holy Lances.  I didn’t realize that these were made, but since I’d had a nice introduction to the brand, I decide this was the stick for me.

First look at the cigar is great.  A true light green in the lancero shape with a pigtail cap, to look at this stick is to want to light up.  Before lighting I decided to remove the band.  Sometimes if you wait until you get close to the band, it is difficult to remove as the tobacco in the cigar has expanded.  In this case, I just wanted a photo for the blog.  I clipped the pigtail and lit up.  The cigar drew well and produced nice smoke.  I quickly noticed a band line on the green wrapper.  Was this from being exposed to light in the humidor?  I don’t know but while this didn’t detract from the construction it wasn’t the best looking thing.

This stick is very well made in Honduras by fine rollers.  And, it shows.  The cigar kept a crisp edge, a nice marbled gray ash, and nice light.  The wrapper ws slightly brittle, but I am told that this is frequently the case with candela wrappers.

The flavor of this cigar is strong.  I got lots of pepper and some grassy notes in the first third fo the smoke.  As I smoked on I got a few coffee notes to go withthe spice.  This is a full bodied stick that smoked hot because of its slim ring.  Did I mention this is a strong cigar?

At over $10 per stick, it’s not an inexpensive cigar.  Nevertheless, if you like strong cigars, with a grassy flavor and an interesting story, this cigar should be in your humidor.