Cuban Farm Rolls, New World Finds, and a Super Lancero

From Creekside Podcast Ep. 018: WTF Is a Super Lancero? | People Of Creekside, aired May 29, 2025. Recorded at Creekside Cigar Co. in Maineville, Ohio.

On this episode of the Creekside Podcast, Dave sits down with Mike Glowitch, a familiar face at the lounge and a generous sharer of hard-to-find cigars. Recorded on the PCA trade show floor, their conversation moves from Cuban farm rolls and factory cigars to new-world discoveries and a remarkably long Costa Rican super Lancero. It’s a look at how curiosity, good company, and sharing a cigar can open up a whole new part of the hobby.

What is a Cuban farm roll?

Mike brings Dave a 2018 Cuban farm roll, a Lancero he says was rolled by a master roller known as Papo. He describes it as made with Medio Tempo tobacco. Mike explains that, to his understanding, a farm roll is made at one of the farms growing tobacco in the Vuelta Abajo region, before the government takes tobacco for production in Havana. He is careful to note that this is information passed on to him, rather than something he learned firsthand in Cuba.

The cigar is familiar to Dave: Mike believes it was the first Cuban cigar he shared with him. Dave remembers being struck by its flavor and changes over the course of the smoke, especially alongside espresso. That experience, he says, shifted his expectations of Cuban tobacco and left him keen to try more.

How are Cuban factory rolls different?

Mike also shares a cigar rolled at the Partagás factory. He describes it as an unbanded factory roll, rather than a standard banded release, and says it was made by factory rollers he knows through friends. He places its production around 2022 or 2023, while noting it has not had the same amount of aging as the earlier farm roll. Dave says he has not tried this cigar before.

These cigars make for a useful comparison: both are Cuban rolls shared through personal connections, but one is described as a farm roll and the other as coming from the Partagás factory. Mike’s account also shows why provenance can be part of the pleasure of discovering a cigar, while keeping clear about what he knows directly and what he has been told.

What stood out about the new-world cigars?

For Mike, “new world” means cigars made outside Cuba. He emphasizes that cigars from places such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica can all be worthwhile; the choice comes down to what a person enjoys. One of his newer discoveries is an Adrien Magnus cigar he calls Supreos, marked as aged seven years and associated with Geneva. Mike is unsure of its country of manufacture and does not claim to know its complete blend details.

His first smoke of it impressed him with its balance: he recalls a medium body, abundant creamy, silky-feeling smoke, and flavors that did not compete for attention. He also praises the presentation and construction. Mike says the cigar was new to him, so his recommendation is based on that initial experience rather than an extensive history with the line. Dave is intrigued by the combination of the stated aging and Mike’s early enthusiasm.

Another cigar comes from a former Davidoff blender who opened a factory in the Dominican Republic after leaving the company. Mike describes it as a Dominican puro using tobacco from five regions of the Dominican Republic, made for the Swiss market. He says its character reminds him of Davidoff’s Nicaragua-related limited release, the Nicaraguan, and presents it as an opportunity to compare the blender’s work in a new setting. Some details, including the cigar’s name, are difficult to make out in the recording.

What makes a super Lancero so unusual?

The episode’s showstopper comes out of Mike’s locker in a long coffin-shaped case. He identifies it as a super Lancero from a Costa Rican brand and gives its size as 38 by 13.7, though he acknowledges the measurement may need checking. He also says the cigar’s name means “no parallel” in French. Its size and presentation prompt an immediate conversation about how challenging it must be to roll and smoke.

Mike has not lit this particular cigar, so he does not offer tasting notes or predict its profile. Instead, he speaks to his positive experience with the brand overall and to the craftsmanship he associates with cigars made in Costa Rica. The cigar came from a box acquired by a Pasadena shop Mike knew when he lived there, with his sister helping him obtain it as a birthday gift. He plans to document the eventual smoke, but in this conversation the cigar is an object of curiosity rather than a reviewed smoke.

Key takeaways

• Farm rolls and factory rolls are different stories: Mike describes one Cuban cigar as rolled at a tobacco farm and another as an unbanded Partagás factory roll.
• Mike’s Supreos impression is an early one: He highlights balance, medium body, and plentiful silky smoke after trying one.
• The Dominican puro offers a point of comparison: Mike connects its maker to Davidoff and describes a blend using tobacco from five Dominican regions.
• The super Lancero is still unlit: Its unusual scale and Costa Rican origin are the focus, not a tasting review.
• Sharing is central to the hobby: Mike says discovering cigars is more rewarding when he can enjoy and discuss them with fellow smokers.

Cigars from this episode

• 2018 Cuban farm-roll Lancero: Mike says it was rolled by a master known as Papo and made with Medio Tempo; Dave recalls enjoying it with espresso.
• Partagás factory roll, described as “Beck 52”: Mike describes it as an unbanded factory roll, likely made around 2022 or 2023; Dave has not tried it.
• Adrien Magnus Supreos: Mike’s first smoke impressed him with its balance, medium body, and plentiful creamy, silky-feeling smoke.
• Dominican puro by a former Davidoff blender: Mike says it was made for Switzerland and uses tobacco from five Dominican regions; the name is unclear in the recording.
• Costa Rican super Lancero: Mike gives its size as 38 by 13.7 and says he has not smoked this particular cigar.
• Mombay Mayora: Mike praises the cigar and says he has bought the brand’s cigars during visits to Palm Springs.

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