Cigar Reviews
Marco V Classico Seville Lancero
So, you guys should all be familiar with Jeff by now. He’s our honorary Casas Fumando writer, and he kicked out tons of great reviews. If he keeps this up we are going to force him to join us full time. Until then, enjoy his newest “Guest” review.
-Tony
Marco V is a brand that has been in my sight for a while now. A few years ago, my great Minnesota friend Josh Peterson sent me a couple of their cigars, and they really impressed me. Recently, he sent me a few more, since no one in my neck of the woods carries them, and that revived my interest in them. Since the Marco V websites (marcovcigars.com and their online shop, casadelav.com) had slightly conflicting info on the make-up of the cigars at the time, I reached out to them, and National Sales Director John Keiser gave me the lowdown on the cigars, and offered to send me a couple each of the lancero sized La Canela and Seville.
Marco V Cigars was started up by Minnesotan Marco V. Keiser in 2008, and owns its own farm in La Canela, Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Both cigars are constructed with Dominican binders and fillers, but the La Canela has a US Connecticut wrapper, while the Seville comes draped in a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro leaf. The retail price for both 6.50×38 sticks is $7, although the price for a box of 20 at their online store, Casa De La V, is $100, or $5 per stick, with free shipping included. *Whoa, I just went to the Casa De La V site, and they have reduced the price to $75!
The cigar up for review today is the Seville.
Basics:
Cigars provided by Josh Peterson and Marco V Cigars
Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Size: Lancero 6.5×38 – both the company site and their online store list them at 7”, but the ones I smoked were definitely 6.5”
Price: MSRP $7 (*see above)
Smoking time: One hour, thirty minutes
Pairing: Wingman Brewers P-51 Imperial Porter (ABV 8%)
Pre-light:
The Marco V Classico Seville is not going to win any beauty contests. It comes draped in a variegated dark brown wrapper with many darker, almost black, areas. It has slight oils and is very rustic looking with prominent medium sized veins, a rather rough and toothy feel, and a lumpy roll, leading to a neatly applied coiled pigtail cap. The band has a black background with gold lettering and bronze detailing featuring a stylized M with an embossed V overlaying it. The aroma off of the wrapper is a sour earthy barnyard, while the foot shows tangy, mossy tobacco. The caps clips with ease and the draw is almost perfect with just a bit of resistance. The cold draw has earthy tobacco and light coffee notes.
First third:
The Marco V Seville lights up quickly and produces a very satisfying volume of smoke showcasing earth, dark wood, and black coffee, with pungent pepperiness coming along for the ride. The pepper is much stronger on the retrohale, which also shows a bit of leather. The burn is even, leaving behind a solid ash that taps off at ¾”. In the lattter part of this third, the pepper has backed off and the medium bodied smoke has taken on a more rounded texture with bready notes coming into play.
Middle third:
Entering the middle portion of the Marco V Seville, the smoke continues to get smoother. Both wood and earth have dialed back, while slightly musky tobacco has moved forward. The black pepper pungency remains, but only bites a bit on the retrohale. The ash has gotten a bit flaky, but still holds on in ¾” chunks. A light smokiness has emerged, adding to the flavors, as the body of the cigar has moved a bit beyond the medium mark.
Final Third:
As I move into the last section of the Marco V Classico Seville, the wood and coffee have again reared up along with a re-emergence of peppery bite and a bit of saltiness which hangs around only for a short while. The strength of the cigar has picked up as well, as it is now at a solid medium and the body is approaching medium-full. The Seville has also picked up a bit of sweetness on entry along with a slight bit of char, but smokes cool down to the final inch.
Overview:
The Marco V Classico Seville lancero is a very solid cigar with enough complexity and enjoyable flavors to keep me involved all the way through. The construction and burn are exemplary, and while it’s not exactly pretty, well that’s all in the eye of the beholder, right? It may not win the Miss America contest, but more often than not, I would rather have Miss Congeniality along for the ride. At the list price of $7, it’s a very good deal, but for what they are going for at Casa De La V, it is an absolute bargain.
Pairing:
The P-51 Porter from Wingman Brewers of Tacoma, WA is an 8% ABV Imperial Porter that displays roasty malt, coffee, and good acidity without a ton of hoppy bitterness on a medium body. A good pairing, indeed. The Seville would also match up well with a variety of darker brews such as a lighter, sweeter stout or a dark Belgian style ale.
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