In this episode of "Smoke Rings," Alan Britt and I chat about the latest release from Lost and Found: Lost Reserve cigars, now available on-site in highly limited quantities. Learn more about these coveted cigars utilizing a special blend previously unavailable outside of William Ventura's personal stash.

[Steve Mawby]: We are here to talk about a very special new release from Lost and Found, the Lost Reserve by William Ventura.

[Alan Britt]: I'm super excited about this one. I'm a big fan of Lost and Found and Caldwell Cigars, and I'm also a huge fanboy of anything that William Ventura touches. These are super special. William has been known for his blending prowess in the cigar industry for many years.

[SM]: He is absolutely a master blender if anybody was ever going to get that title.

[AB]: In every sense of the word. His son's probably most well known for running the Tabacalera William Ventura factory. They produce a lot of Caldwell and Lost and Found as well as ADVentura cigars, but William, to younger cigar smokers, perhaps isn't quite as well known as he should be. I think this is a really cool way to honor that.

William Ventura's Personal Blend

[SM]: Absolutely. This was William Ventura's personal blend; the cigars that he gave out to friends and family or kept for himself. This will actually be the first time that you can ever get this special blend in a cigar without taking a trip to the factory, which is obviously a pretty special and much easier way to get it than catching that international flight.

Robert Caldwell described this as catching lightning in a bottle, and part of the reason for that is because these were actually blended in the El Maestro factory, which translates to master or teacher, which is a very fitting title for William Ventura. He doesn't really do a lot of huge, large-scale production there. He's typically putting together special projects, playing around with plans, and experimenting with different things.

[AB]: It's very small batch and a passion project of William's to essentially make some of the best Dominican cigars on the planet.

[SM]: We've got personal blend cigars that have never been released on the market before.

There are three different wrappers — Maduro, Habano, and Connecticut, — all with the specially aged Dominican filler. There's a lot of really interesting stuff going on with the back story behind these cigars.

[AB]: And they're great.

[SM]: Yeah, so this is a big deal. They are all in the 5" x 50 Robusto size.

Signature William Ventura Profile

[AB]: These cigars have William Ventura's signature all over them. When I think of Dominican cigars, I want a rich earthiness, some sweetness, and those floral notes. A lot of William's stuff and Dominican tobacco, in general, has a barnyardy funk to them. That's the best way I can put it. I love the almost Davidoff-esque style. They have that signature profile, and it reminds me of that.

[SM]: Yeah, there's definitely some barnyard funk going on here, which obviously I mean in the highest and best possible way. It's delicious. This is a really well-balanced cigar, and it's super special.

I'm definitely excited about the fact that I got one of these. I've heard people talk about them before and I did not have the means to make that trip to go visit the factory. So this is really exciting, and they are gonna be sold in five packs, with cool designs on them, very fitting and perfectly in the style of Lost and Found branding.

[AB]: And they're limited, so hop on them while we have them.

[SM]: Definitely. We're very excited to be able to finally release this limited and special-edition William Ventura cigar.

[AB]: Like I mentioned, anyone who likes Davidoff, Opus, and quintessential Dominican cigars, I'd highly implore you to give these a chance, as well as anything else from William.

[SM]: Yeah, it's lightning in a bottle and it's one hell of a cigar coming from one hell of a blender, Lost Reserve by William Ventura, out now from Lost and Found.