Lure & Valacari Redfish Prelight
Lou Cross III founded Lure Cigars in late 2023 in honor of his late father, Lou Cross Jr. Lou and his father would often fish, and the brand draws heavily on that theme. Cross’s ambition with Lure Cigars is to inspire others to share experiences like the ones he had with his father: “Smoke Great Cigars & Tell Tall Tales.”
Nimmer Ahmad founded Valacari in 2016. The brand incorporates both classic and modern themes. Ahmad approaches cigars with a traditional methodology, but he can also be very experimental with his blending.
The Redfish debuted in September 2025 as a collaboration between Lure and Valacari. The Redfish is an extremely limited release with only 3000 cigars rolled (300 bundles of 10). The vitola is a 6 x 52 box-pressed Toro. The Redfish is a Nicaraguan Puro with a Corojo Escuro wrapper over an Omotepe binder, and filler leaves from Ometepe, Esteli, and Jalapa. The blend is based on Valacari’s Lumineer; Lou Cross wanted to replace the Lumineer’s Habano 2000 wrapper with a Corojo Escuro. The Redfish is rolled at La Tabacaria Cigars in Estelí.
The Redfish’s wrapper is a dark red-brown with some sunspots. The aromas on the foot and wrapper are of dark wood and cocoa powder. The draw is open with notes of maple wood.
Lure & Valacari Redfish First Third
The Redfish starts with excellent smoke output. The palate notes are toasted maple wood, dry earth, and some muted cinnamon. The retrohale has tones of molasses, drip coffee, and a tingle of black pepper. The strength of flavor is mild to medium. The finish is light with notes of maple and coffee. The overall profile is much lighter than expected. The flavors are coming together really nicely. The ash, burn, and construction are excellent so far. The draw is more open than I’d like, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the ash flaked off after an inch and a half.
Lure & Valacari Redfish Second Third
The palate notes are toasted cedar, maple, mineral-rich earth, cinnamon, and molasses. The retrohale is showing drip coffee, molasses, leather, and a mix of black and red peppercorns. The strength of flavor has increased to medium. The smoke output remains excellent. The finish is medium with notes of molasses and coffee. The overall profile is much richer than the prior third. The flavors are woody, earthy, and mildly sweet. There are a lot of big, dark flavors here, but the delivery is nuanced and refined. The burn line has gotten wavy, but always self-corrects. The draw has tightened up to a much better place.
Lure & Valacari Redfish Final Third
The palate has tones of toasted maple, cocoa, mineral-rich earth, and molasses. The retrohale notes are drip coffee, molasses, leather, and a tingle of black pepper. The strength of flavor has increased to medium-plus. The smoke output remains excellent. The finish is medium with notes of drip coffee and molasses. The overall profile is sweeter than the prior two thirds, but is still very well-balanced and nuanced. The ash, burn, and construction have really found their footing in the final third. The cigar needed a quick touch-up after an ash, but it was perfect otherwise. Past the band, the flavors were remarkably consistent. I smoked the Redfish down to the nub.
Lure & Valacari Redfish Conclusions
Lure and Valacari have put out an exciting limited-edition with the Redfish. The flavors were deep and rich, but the delivery was very soft and nuanced. The subtle sweetness and the maple notes were especially delicious. There were only 3000 examples of the Redfish at launch, which is about as small a run as I remember seeing for a limited edition. At $15, these are well-priced, especially considering the tiny production run. If you smoke Nicaraguan puros but want something more subtle, or even appreciate lighter cigars, and want to try something with deeper flavor, I’d highly recommend Lure and Valacari’s Redfish.
