Review of Cohiba Riviera Lancero Cigar

Cohiba Riviera Lancero is the first Cohiba made in the Lancero (7 x 38) size. These box pressed cigars were released in May 2024 and retail for $14.99 per single. They are made in Nicaragua with a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Honduran-grown Connecticut seed binder, and a blend of filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras. The new Lancero joins three other vitolas of Cohiba Riviera Cigars that were previously released. For more information about Cohiba Riviera Lancero cigars, please check out the press release.

The sample Cohiba Riviera Lancero cigar was very easy to light (almost as easy as a cigarette) and started off with a very pleasing full, rich and somewhat earthy tobacco flavor. Within the first 10 minutes, a subtle creamy leather taste emerged as the texture of the smoke became a bit smoother. At the 10-minute mark, the ash fell off by itself (and every 10 minutes thereafter) before reaching a medium length. The draw was good for being such a long and thin cigar, and it delivered a decent volume of smoke - but as expected, was in no way comparable to a cigar having a larger ring-gauge.

The Cohiba Riviea Lancero burned evenly during the entire smoking session, and did not need any touch-ups. However, one relight was required halfway through the 60 minutes that it took me to smoke the cigar all the way down to just 1½ inches remaining.

The Lancero vitola is what makes this particular Cohiba Riviera Lancero somewhat unique. It is made with six types of tobaccos (including binder and wrapper), as are the other larger Riviera's previously released. Being a Lancero, it derives more of its flavor from the wrapper than the larger vitolas. It is impressive that four different types of fillers were blended into a box pressed cigar so thin. A cigar having only a 38 ring gauge obviously contains less tobacco than the larger sizes, and can be compared to the others by using our online Cigar Volume Calculator:

All Cohiba Riviera Vitolas:
• Lancero 7 x 38 / Price = $14.99 – Volume of tobacco = 1.938 cubic inches
• Robusto 5 x 52 / Price = $19.99 – Volume of tobacco = 2.592 cubic inches
• Toro  6.5 x 52   / Price = $21.99 – Volume of tobacco = 3.370 cubic inches
• Perfecto 6 x 60 / Price = $23.99 – Volume of tobacco = 4.142 cubic inches

The Cohiba Riviera Lancero cigar is a super-premium smoke worthy of a superior rating of 4.25 points on a 5-point scale. The cigar has virtually the same flavor profile as the larger ring sizes, and smokes for a full hour. However, with a price of $14.99, it is a bit more affordable than the larger Cohiba Riviera's priced at $19.99 to $23.99 per cigar.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.