Buffalo Trace: SPECIAL L (7" x 38) - Box of 10

The Buffalo Trace Special L is where the collaboration between premium cigars and one of America's most famous bourbon distilleries becomes particularly interesting for the experienced cigar smoker. Rather than simply flavoring a cigar to taste like whiskey, the Buffalo Trace Special Selection incorporates the distillery into the tobacco itself. A Brazilian Arapiraca binder is aged for six months in spent Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels, then paired with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It's a far more thoughtful approach to bringing the worlds of tobacco and bourbon together.

The 7" x 38 Special L is a true Lancero, and those proportions should make it the most revealing expression of the Special Selection blend. With considerably less filler relative to the surface area of the cigar, the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper has a stronger voice, while the barrel-aged Arapiraca binder sits immediately beneath it. Expect the blend's cedar, earth and spice to come through with greater definition, accompanied by darker sweetness and suggestions of oak, vanilla and caramel from the unusual binder treatment. The objective isn't to make the cigar taste like a glass of Buffalo Trace; it's to let the barrel aging add another dimension to the tobacco.

For an aficionado, the Lancero is arguably the most intriguing cigar in the series. A 38-ring cigar doesn't have much room to hide mediocre tobacco or an unbalanced blend, and it rewards a slow smoking pace with considerably greater clarity. The Special L takes a concept that could easily have been little more than bourbon-branded novelty and puts it into one of the most demanding formats in premium cigars. That makes this the Buffalo Trace I'd choose when the tobacco—not simply the name on the band—is the reason for lighting one.