Video review HERE.
The new La Gloria Cubana Gilded Age cigars are made specifically for Famous Smoke Shop. They feature a blend that has never been used previously. The cigar blend features Ligero and Viso tobacco from Nicaragua, a Honduran binder, and utilizes an Ecuadorian Sumtra wrapper. The brand is offered in boxes of 18 cigars, and is available in four sizes – Churchill, Magnum, Robusto, and Toro. Prices range from $73.99-$90.99 for a box.
The concept behind the brand is an homage to the classic era in American history when Lady La Gloria, La Gloria Cubana’s symbolic logo, lived. In this era, wealth and affluence were often celebrated by cigar smoking, and enjoying a cigar was a status symbol defining success. The packaging is designed to emulate the Art Deco style that was popular in the day, and to exhibit the feeling of class and luxury that goes along with the branding concept.
Famous Smoke Shop officially introduced the La Gloria Cubana Gilded Age at their 2013 Cigar Expo known as Cigarnival on June 28, 2013.
The cigar is a dark brown and feels very dense in the hand.
After cutting the cap the test draw was a touch firm but workable. The initial flavors were a 50/50 split of sweet cedar and orange citrus. There is a sugary sweetness to the cigar. There were also some light leather and earth notes. The pepper is pretty good at a 6.5 rating.
About 3/4 inch in the cigar has not changed much. At times the sweet cedar and citrus combination give a false black cherry flavor. The leather notes are much more prominent now. The earth notes are still there and there are now coffee notes. There are a lot of bottom end, or darker, flavors to balance out the very sweet cedar and citrus. The split of cedar to citrus is now about 70/30. Still very sweet with a touch of richness. The finish is a sweet cream with some light leather notes and just a touch of lingering pepper. I would call the cigar medium bodied.
At about the midpoint the flavors are about the same. The decreased citrus notes have now elevated back to what they were initially. The leather and earth notes are still there but the coffee notes have decreased. The finish has now gone to one of a sweet cream and a touch of lingering pepper. From time to time I get some oak notes. They are not consistent but they appear once in awhile. The cigar is burning fairly evenly. At this point I'm at one hour.
In the final third the flavors are very much in balance. I still get some of those false black cherry notes. The cigar is still medium bodied. I think the makers were going for something more full bodied but the cigar is a definite medium bodied to me.
At the end there are a lot more of the oak notes which are now charred. The sweet cedar and orange citrus stayed pretty consistent. The leather, earth, and coffee notes remained in various amounts. The cigar took 2 hours to smoke. The finish remained one of a sweet cream with a touch of lingering pepper. As far as any critical comments, the cigar could have had more richness and more pop. I like the cigar as it is but I would like it more if it were medium to full bodied. The cigar is priced very good so try a 5 pack. I found it to be a very good cigar.
Score: 91
No comments:
Post a Comment