La Palina Black Label Robusto (5 x 52)

Video review HERE.

The La Palina Black Label is a cigar for those in search of a rich blend with complex flavor. A Brazilian grown wrapper amplifies filler and binder tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Brazil

Binder: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua

This cigar is almost jet black. It is very dark and oily. The wrapper is beautiful. The cigar is very dense also.

It is also triple capped.

I chose to punch cut this cigar with sweet boysenberry, dark chocolate, and espresso. The black pepper is thick and rated at an 8.

About 1/2 inch in the flavors are getting more pronounced. There is nutmeg now combining with the boysenberry. The espresso is almost overwhelming, but it's very nice. There are dark chocolate notes and a few earth notes. The finish is a nice, sweet cream with a good amount of lingering black pepper. The cigar is full bodied now. There is a lot of ligero feel to the cigar. The ash is almost completely white while the cigar is almost black. Quite a contrast. 

About 1 3/4 inch in the flavors are changing. The sweet flavors are now a combination of citrus and cedar. There are also some cocoa notes and dry wood. There are more notes of dark chocolate now also. The espresso is still everywhere. The finish is now  one of cocoa and sweet cream. One item of interest is I chose to punch this cigar with the ScrewPop cigar punch. The opening is 3/8 inch in diameter so you have a large orifice to get a draw through.

All the flavors I mentioned are noticed in each puff. Very good cigar at this point. The ash is very tight also.

Just past the midpoint and the ash is still intact! The front end flavors are about the same but there is more influence of the dry wood now. The cocoa notes are fading but you still have the dark chocolate. The cigar at this point does not seem as full bodied as it was when it started. You don't have the massive ligero influence now. The ash is quite impressive.

The cigar ended with a straight sweet cedar; no more citrus. There were more dry wood with some charred flavors. The cocoa notes also went away. The dark chocolate and espresso are still very much in play, however. The pepper remained good throughout. The cigar remained full bodied. This has been a good cigar that made several twists and changes. Dark flavor lovers will like this cigar. Very good cigar for after dinner or anytime.

Score: 92