La Palina Nicaragua Oscuro Robusto (5 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

At the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, La Palina Cigars introduced its new La Palina Nicaragua line. As the name indicates, this is a line being made in Nicaragua – a first for Palina. The line features two blends an Oscuro and a Connecticut Shade, the latter being another first for La Palina Cigars. Finally, the La Palina Nicaragua showcases the company’s recently introduced new second logo.

The La Palina Nicaragua line being is made at A.J. Fernandez’s Tabacalera Fernandez. Working with Fernandez isn’t a complete surprise. La Palina CEO Clay Roberts had previously worked for Fernandez as Vice President of Marketing, so there was an obvious connection to be made here.

The La Palina Nicaragua Oscuro features an Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper over Nicaragua binder and filler. Three sizes were showcased: Robusto, Toro, and Gordo. Each size is available in 20 count boxes.

The La Palina Nicaragua is also showcasing the new second “LP” logo.  This logo was first seen on the box of the TAA Exclusive Cigar, La Palina Bill’s Blend.  Roberts informed Cigar Coop, the “LP” won’t completely replace the image of Paley’s grandmother Goldie Drell Paley and that the Goldie image will remain on the company’s more premium offerings.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Oscuro

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)

Robusto: 5 x 52 REVIEWED TODAY

Toro: 6 x 50

Gordo: 6 x 58

The cigar looks nice and has an oily wrapper. It has an average feel in the hand for a robusto of this size.

The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were massive amounts of leather and black coffee. There are sweeter notes of light tangerine citrus, brown sugar, cinnamon, and buttery whipping cream. There is a massive amount of black pepper at the beginning which I rate at a 9. The cigar has a very dark feel. The cigar is coming across as full bodied from the start.

One inch in (18 minutes) the tangerine citrus is an afterthought. There is still a lot of leather and black coffee with whipping cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon as your sweet notes. The heavy leather and coffee notes dominate the cigar. The black pepper has toned down to an 8. The finish is one of leather and whipping cream with some nice lingering black pepper. The cigar has a full bodied feel and you can start to feel some ligero.

At the midpoint (38 minutes) the leather and coffee remain the lead flavors. The sweeter flavors are lighter now but still consist of whipping cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The pepper has fallen off a little once again, down to a 7 1/2 now. The finish is unchanged in flavors but the leather notes are elevated. 

As the cigar ended (1 hour 8 minutes) the leather and black coffee continue to dominate. The sweeter flavors dropped to whipping cream and brown sugar. The pepper remained very good and the cigar is still full bodied. The finish is unchanged. This was a good, heavy, dark noted cigar. It's a little too heavy for my every day cigar but it's a good cigar when you want something full with plenty of dark notes. Of course, it has plenty of black pepper, which is always a plus with me. Look for these anywhere that sells La Palina cigars. 

Score: 91