Prior to this years IPCPR in Vegas, I was lucky enough to get some pre-release samples of the Sea Lion cigar from La Sirena. I smoked all three samples and was blown away by the great flavor of these odd shaped cigars. Things just kept getting better for me as Arielle Ditkowich herself hand delivered me a few more in Vegas.

La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion cigar

First things first, this is a funky shaped cigar. It’s a very slender perfecto that measures about 5.5 inches long and 47 ring gauge at it’s thickest point. This particular vitola gets very thin near the head of the cigar, making it unique to hold and smoke (more on that later). Not only is it a funky shape but lets be honest, the name La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion is a mouthful.

La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion cigar review

  • Atlantic Cigar Sale

My pre-release samples of this cigar had an unfinished foot with plenty of extra wrapper, yet the samples I got in Vegas (which I assume to be production versions) had a clean cut foot. It might be a bit of a trick to determine just where along the very thin head of the cigar you should cut, but when you find the spot you like, you will find the Sea Lion has a perfect draw. Right off the bat you get that milky chocolate spice that’s prevalent in other Merlion vitolas.

Now, it’s possible that this cigar is intended to appeal to female smokers due to its dainty shape, but I’m secure enough in my manhood to smoke just about any shape cigar and feel good about it. Either way… the flavor of the Sea Lion is tremendous! If you like creamy, milky, chocolatey cigars with subtle spice, you will enjoy the Sea Lion. The cigar was medium strength yet medium to full in flavor and plenty of silky smooth smoke to satisfy and relax me. If I were ever able to convince my wife to smoke cigars with me, the Sea Lion would be a perfect choice because of it’s size, shape, and flavor.

La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion cigar reviews

Another very unique thing about the Sea Lion is it comes in boxes of 10 and one of the 10 is a maduro! Yep, a San Andreas wrapped maduro Sea Lion! The other 9 are the standard Ecuadorian Corojo. I guess that’s reason to buy the box instead of just a 5-pack because the thought of a maduro version of this cigar sounds really intriguing.

While I really enjoyed this cigar, it does suffer a bit form the extremely slender perfecto shape, in that all of the tasty goodness resides in the first half of the cigar. While that might deter some, it doesn’t bother me because I often desire a 45 minute smoke that is top shelf quality.

La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion cigar reviews and ratings


Would I smoke this cigar again?

Well… I’ve already had about 6 of these cigars, so I guess it’s rather obvious my answer is “Yes”. And I would love to get my hands on that single maduro in the box just to see what that San Andreas wrapper would have to offer.


La Sirena Merlion Sea Lion cigar reviews

Merlion Sea Lion by La Sirena

Note the one maduro in the box of 10 Sea Lions

Arielle Ditkowich

Arielle Ditkowich and yours truly at the 2013 IPCPR in Vegas

Merlion Sea Lion
This unique shaped cigar has tremendous flavor but the size hurts it in the end because it will heat up.
Appearance94%
Burn/Construction88%
Draw89%
Flavor89%
Complexity89%
Price/Value87%
Pros
  • Balanced flavor
  • Cubanesque
  • Unique vitola
Cons
  • Heats up at finish
  • Feels odd in your hand
89%Sexy
Reader Rating: (2 Votes)
88%
  • Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
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