Initial Thoughts
In 2010, Sam Leccia was set to release his own brand of cigars as Leccia Tobacco, with the Debut being the inaugural release. This was to be in partnership with Toraño Family Cigar Co. However, legal disputes with his former company, Oliva, kept this from happening. Instead, Leccia Tobacco debuted this year with two cigars, Black and White, still distributed by Toraño.
Both cigars look similar, but are comprised of different tobaccos and provide contrasting smoking experiences. The White, known as the Nicaraguan blend, features an African Sun Grown wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Nicaraguan Ligero and Pennsylvanian Seco fillers. The tobacco from Pennsylvania is important to Sam, as it is his home state.
Both the Black and White comes in four sizes: 4×46, 5×52, 6×50, and 6×60. I have smoked the 4×46 before and was eager to give the robusto a whirl.
Looks
The Sam Leccia White is a simple, yet stylish looking cigar. It has a milk chocolate shade wrapper with a few veins, two of which are quite long, and visible seams. There is a small crack on the foot, but no other cracks or tears are noticed. It also has a very flush triple cap. The foot reveals some looseness in the filler towards the center of the stick.
The band on the White has a mostly white background with black print and designs. There is the elaborate L in a square, along with Leccia Tobacco and Sam’s signature. The name “White” is also on there, in case there was any confusion on which blend it is! One problem with the band is that it is on really tight and removing it tears the wrapper quite a bit. No bueno!
Function
Despite looking like the filler is a bit loose, the Sam Leccia White feels very firm and silky smooth. I do not detect any lumps or soft spots, just a solid cigar.
At first sniff, this seems like the usual cigar, with earth and hay on the foot. However, I also pick up on a faint scent of clove as well. The barrel smells of cocoa and earth.
I go with the standard double guillotine clip on the cap. The airflow on the White is excellent. There are some nice notes of earth and wood on the draw, but not the clove I was hoping to get.
As previously mentioned, the band is very tight and difficult to remove. Even with tearing it off, it shredded and took some finagling to avoid crushing the whole cigar. When it finally came off, several pieces of wrapper tore off with it, causing some cracking and unraveling to occur.
Smoking
I opt to go with matches to light the Sam Leccia White. I end up using my single flame torch to even up the light. Just like before lighting it up, the draw is excellent, giving off plenty of smoke. There is a slight run in the second third that requires a touch up. Also, I have to relight it in the final third, but the flavor does not seem to be affected by it.
The ash is just okay, lasting about ¾” before falling off. It is loose and somewhat flaky. With the loose ash and the appearance of lose filler at the foot, I was happy to see that the White did not burn too fast. An hour and a half is good time for a robusto!
Flavor
So far, the Sam Leccia White has not dazzled me with its appearance, but looked and felt like a solid cigar. The burn has been pretty good, ash was decent, and the draw was excellent. My only real complaint has been the band. But all of that is secondary to the most important factor: flavor. Let’s get into it.
The first third begins with notes of wood, black pepper, and grass. As it progresses, the spice turns to a fragrant white pepper with floral and nut notes. This is especially evident on the retrohale.
The second third continues where the last one left off. As it moves further in, some graham cracker and clove/nutmeg-ish flavors appear. They are subtle but definitely noticeable. All the notes blend very well together and leave a nice coating on the palate.
When I reach the final third, the floral notes have taken over, but have strong competition with the nut flavor. There is still some wood and nutmeg as well. Near the end, a touch of cream appears as it finishes. Despite the torn wrapper in this section, the cigar finished with excellent flavor.
As previously mentioned, this is billed as a “full bodied” cigar. While it had plenty of flavor, I would say it is no more than medium in strength and flavor. The smoke time was 1 hour 35 minutes.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely!
Is It An Everyday Smoke?
Yes.
Would I Buy a Box?
Yes.
Conclusion
The Sam Leccia White Robusto is an excellent cigar that develops well as it progresses. Comparing it to the 4×46, I would say the robusto is more complex and interesting, though both are great cigars. My only complaint is that there was a couple of burn issues and the band damaged the wrapper when it was removed (or I did, but still the band’s fault!).
Hopefully, we will continue to see more great releases from Mr. Leccia. If the performance of both the Black and White is any indication of what’s to come, then we are all in for some treats!
