My local tobacconist came by two boxes of 13 year old cuba aliados lanceros. Who would age a 3 dollar cigar 13 years you ask? I have no idea but it was in great shape and had apparently been kept at a steady 66% for most of that period. I admit I was more than a bit curious how a crappy, even by non-cuban standards, cigar would taste. Oh and to make it tougher I smoked a siglo V right before this one.

The construction is tight and well rolled. The cap clipped well. The flavor from the start was very thick with woodsy and bitter espresso. It was pretty tasty. Even for an aged smoke you could still taste a bit of harshness and toward the end it did heat up, which is probably partly my problem for being a little impatient. It did have a razor sharp burn and a stark white ash. Its pretty hard to believe this was a 3 dollar smoke at one time. It definitely smoked better for the age. I still wouldn't run out and start aging cheap sticks but it does go to show what age will do for even a foul smoke like cuba aliados.