I just got my hands on an LX2 at a local CAO event yesterday (Sunrise Coast Tobacco, Flint, Michigan)
Since I like a full bodied smoke, the rep assured me I would enjoy the LX2, so I picked up a Robusto to try.
Appearance: Beautiful construction, the stick is firm, but not hard, the wrapper has a nice sheen, and medium fine to fine veining. One note though, I noticed quite a bit of variation in color, and aroma, among the cigars in the box I chose mine from. It will be interesting to see if this causes a consistency issue to crop up, so anyone who bought a box, please let us know!
Pre-Light: As mentioned, there was some variation in aroma between sticks examined, some had very little aroma, others were quite aromatic, slight cedar and leather smell, nothing off or unpleasant. The cap clipped cleanly and nicely, and the pre-light draw was smooth, again I picked up the leather notes, plus a little bite of pepper on my lips.
Light and first third: The aroma while toasting was wonderful, full of rich promise, the light was smooth and even, and the first couple draws were proof positive there was a lot of ligero in this cigar, just as the CAO rep had promised. The first third of the smoke was full of peppery, rich and spicy smoke, and there was loads of smoke. The ash was medium grey and held tight, very dense, I had to roll it off in the ashtray.
Second third: At the second third of the stick, the flavors changed, the pepper smoothed out, and became a creamy cinnamon/ginger flavor with notes of leather and a light lingering aftertaste I couldn’t quite place, but it was pleasant. The smoke continued to be plentiful, and the burn remained even and the stick cool.
Final third and the bitter end….OK bitter end is a euphemism, this cigar finished wonderfully and I hated to put it down. The final third was much like the second third, plentiful smoke with a load of complex flavors, toward the last inch the pepper returned, but not nearly as powerful as in the beginning.
Overall rating (and remember, I am a noob): I would give this an 87, and only because of the variations I noticed, and the afore mentioned variation in ring size.
I smoke La Gloria Cubana Serie R, and Joya de Nicaragua Antano regularly, they are powerhouse smokes with complex flavors, and the CAO can definitely hold its own with these.
I will be getting a few more of these very soon, and want to pair one with a good Kentucky bourbon, something with a lot of vanilla (Knob Creek perhaps) as I think it would balance the pepper in the beginning very nicely.
