BACKGROUND: José Blanco has been an important figure in the cigar industry for decades. He has worked for some of the finest cigar companies in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua and he has served as the ultimate cigar ambassador through his permeation of social media sites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.

For a decade, José managed the La Aurora portfolio of cigars and helped to lead the company to an esteemed position in the cigar world. While at La Aurora, he presided over such great cigars as the Preferido, and the 100 Años.

In 2011 José joined Joya de Nicaragua, where he worked as Senior Vice President until 2013. In 2014, José left Joya to start his own company, Las Cumbres Tabaco.

The inaugural cigar from Las Cumbres is called, Señorial, which is made at Tabacalera Palma, a Dominican cigar factory owned by José's cousin Jochy Blanco.

The blend for the Señorial starts with Dominican Corojo and Dominican Piloto Cubano filler tobaccos, wrapped in a binder leaf from Estelí, Nicaragua and then crowned with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.

Señorial comes in 5 sizes and the cigar I'm reviewing is the 5.5-inch by 46 ring gauge, #5 Corona Gorda.

TASTING NOTES: The Señorial Corona Gorda came out of the gate with spicy cedar flavors that lingered on the palate. Retrohaling added a snoutful of white pepper spice. I found that it was best if I blew out most of the smoke and retrohaled just the last bit (maybe 20%). This moderated the pepper on the retrohale and allowed the roasted hazelnut aroma to shine through.

I was really surprised by the body and strength profile of this cigar. I was expecting that José would launch his inaugural blend somewhere in the medium range with lots of complexity. But, he really went after this blend. In the first half, this cigar was medium-full in body and strength and full in flavor. The flavor profile really made a statement.

The construction and burn of the Corona Gorda was rock solid. The draw was smooth with just the right amount of resistance and the burn line was even. The ash was just a bit flaky, but held on for me to tap off in ½ to ¾-inch chunks. During the first half, I was very pleased with the overall performance.

FINAL THOUGHTS: During the second half, the flavor and body of the Corona Gorda ramped up and yet the cigar still showed great balance and the flavor profile was definitely to my liking.

I think Señor Blanco and Señorial cigars knocked this inaugural blend out of the park. This is a lip-smacking good smoke and one that should be a great candidate for long-term aging.

The Señorial should pair well with your favorite aged spirits, with craft beers, with coffee and with pretty much any of your favorite libations.

Final verdict: Buy a box of these sticks and enjoy them well into the future.

~Doc