Another somewhat random pickup I made a couple months ago was the Fiat Lux by Luciano Cigars. I think I’ve had it before, but couldn’t remember anything about it, so I decided to do a little review. The website is full of marketing talk that is honestly a little over the top…but that’s what marketing people do, right? I should know, it’s one of the hats I wear on a daily basis. This marketing speak says that this is “a blend that generates deliberation. The construction…provokes an inevitable exploration of flavors as it ignites the taste buds for the sake of discovery. Enlightenment is a natural, mind consequence of its physical attributes.” This is all pretty heady…I should be prepared to have my mind absolutely blown!
Fiat Lux uses Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves, along with a high-priming Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf. It is described as medium in strength. High priming should make the leaf darker, but I didn’t really see that being the case here…could just be from a location where the leaves are more shaded and grow lighter. The wrapper leaf was smooth, but without much oiliness; it had aromas that mixed bell pepper and a river rock minerality. The foot was earthy, with a touch of a vegetal note.
The cold draw had just the right amount of resistance, with the flavor featuring notes of hay and citrus. Once lit, I got a mix of bell pepper and hay up front, with just a tiny bit of a lemongrass note. The finish and retrohale featured black pepper and leather. It was definitely in the medium range of body and strength and had a decent amount of complexity…although not as much as the description had led me to look for. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the metallic, mineral note that I get so often in Sumatra leaf did not come through much at all in this cigar, but overall I was not so impressed by the blend that I will be likely to seek it out again.
