Black Label Memento Mori Lonsdale (English)

Black Label

Memento Mori

Lonsdale

James Brown, has accustomed us to full-bodied cigars and in close connection with his life, I think that this Memento Mori will be in the same categories.

Who doesn't know the phrase Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant? But here it is of another death that James speaks to us; we are far from the gladiators and the arenas of Rome, he speaks to us of our death which approaches each day.

In fact, he explains that he lost his parents at a very young age, and that this pain made him realize that life can be short and that one must not only live it to the fullest, but also fight for one's dreams and achieve one's goals. Every day you wake up is a gift but what about tomorrow?

This is the meaning behind the choice of the name of this line Memento Mori which translates into Remember that you will die.

As usual, James opts for only 3 modules (two marketed in Belgium: Robusto and Lonsdale). James explains again that at the beginning it was a factory cigar, but that he liked it so much that he wanted to share it with the amateurs that we are.

Beware for the continuation, this cigar is strictly forbidden to hay smokers, beginners and people who have nothing on their stomach, as my friend Yves Bran would say: it starts strong and it still rises in power.

I have a really black wrapper with a ring, which I would call traditional for those who know Black Label cigars. It is black and white with its famous skull and crossbones and the name of the range. 

What appeals to the smoker that I am, and indeed many of my friends, is the watch on the side. It looks like a pocket watch with a stopwatch. The hands are stopped at 7:29.

But why this time? It must be significant because even the brand's patent states: a clock with a dial between the two (NDA the skull and bones), whose hands indicate approximately the time 7:29.

Angela Brown is going to give me the answer: This cigar has a great personal meaning, but not the precise time indicated. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much.

On a personal note, in fact if you look closely, this clock or watch does not have a winding mechanism as it did in the past. It reminds me more of an hourglass of time; the time that keeps running out towards the moment planned for our Great Journey. I think that the time has been frozen by the drawing but that in reality the hands turn non-stop and that the clock goes in the opposite direction and counts down our time second by second.

It's time for me to embark on the little alchemical death that should come from this tasting.

So I make a straight cut, I set the foot on fire and it lights up like a torch in the night.

The smoke is coming. I take the opportunity to tell you that I did not voluntarily make a raw draw because I know ± what awaits me and I want to keep the surprise of the discovery. This one brings me a surprising mixture: I find black pepper from the beginning of my tasting, but also cocoa and a beautiful sensation of prunes.

This vitola is a bold concept, especially since on retro-olfaction the pepper becomes more mellow, white pepper and we also find cinnamon.

So far, everything is going just right and perfect, sublime balance, perfect draw and burn. I am in a medium-strong intensity.

My tasting continues gently because it is not really the kind of cigar that we devour: we must take our time, not forgetting that if life passes by, we must also enjoy its good moments.

I leave the cocoa to enter a vast expanse of dark chocolate minimum 75%, fatty earth, caramel, cinnamon and always the strong persistent pepper (red pepper).

The intensity leaves the medium zone to enter the strong one and brings with it the palette of flavors which is certainly not very varied, but this is clearly compensated by its balance and its richness.

I am already out of time for a while, not in my memories but more in a modified state of consciousness. Time is still passing but it has no impact on my sensations, I am zen, calm and relaxed.

This is quite paradoxical with such a powerful cigar but yes, it relaxes me; or maybe it's the dose of Nicotine that confuses my brain into a absorbent cotton cocoon.

Just as I'm about to burn my moustache, I land and the magic is broken, but the flavors will remain for quite some time.

My three tastings were done on a Lonsdale format of 16.51 cm for a cepo of 46.

Wrapper : Maduro Broadleaf Pennsylvania (U.S.A.)

Binder : Habano (Ecuador)

Filler: Nicaragua

In conclusion: another great cigar elaborated by James Brown which will delight all the informed amateurs who seek sensations in a certain power.

I can't wait to discover the Robusto version, but in the meantime, I'll definitely have a few copies of this very good Lonsdale in stock.

And I can only invite you to do as I did, to go to your civet shop to discover this cigar and make your own discovery.

Price at the time of writing: 16.90€.

Feel free to leave me your tasting impressions under this article.