Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
At the 2017 IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas, General Cigar Company showcased a new line under its La Gloria Cubana known as the La Gloria Cubana Colección Reserva. It’s a significant release for La Gloria Cubana as it is a collaboration done with brand founder Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. This is Perez-Carrillo’s first La Gloria Cubana release since he left General Cigar in 2009.
The cigar is produced at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza factory working with Jhonys Diaz who oversees the General Cigar’s cigar making operations. The cigars will be sold through General Cigar. As a part of the launch of the cigar, Perez-Carrillo Jr. will visit select retailers to discuss the history of the La Gloria Cubana brand.
In a press release announcing the La Gloria Cubana Colección Reserva, Perez-Carrillo commented, “La Gloria Cubana Colección Reserva is based on a blend I created in the 1980s after I took over our Little Havana factory from my father. I am very proud of this cigar because it complements the other blends in the line and has a taste profile that will appeal to people who have smoked La Gloria since the brand first hit it big in the 90s. To me, Colección Reserva speaks to the legacy of La Gloria Cubana and proves that while so much has happened with the brand, nothing has changed.”
Jhonys Diaz, who oversees General Cigar’s cigar making operations worldwide noted, “My team and I have always admired Ernesto for his unique approach to cigar blending, and have remained friends since he left the company to establish EP Carrillo in 2009. We were thrilled at the opportunity to work with Ernesto again, and are very proud of Colección Reserva.”
The blend features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan viso binder, and Nicaraguan seco and ligero filler leaves that were selected by Perez-Carrillo. The cigars will be available in three sizes: Robusto, Toro, and Presidente. The cigars are packaged in 20-count boxes with a design inspired by Perez-Carrillo’s personal humidor. This will be a full-time regular production line.
This is not the first time Perez-Carrillo has worked with General Cigar since departing. In 2014, Perez-Carrillo teamed up with Michael Giannini of General Cigar to create the limited Re+United cigar. That cigar was also made at Tabacalera La Alianza and distributed by General Cigar.
The timing of the release is also interesting in that 2018 marks 50 years since Perez-Carrillo Jr. opened the El Credito factory, the place where he first produced La Gloria Cubana.
Blend Profile
Wrapper: Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic (Tabacalera La Alianza)
Vitolas Available
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 54 (SRP $7.59)
Torpedo: 6 x 54 (SRP $8.29) REVIEWED TODAY
Presidente: 7 1/2 x 54 (SRP $8.99)
The cigar is a medium brown and very dense feeling in the hand.
With all torpedoes I cut the minimum from the cap and hope for a good test draw. In this case it was a bit firm but I gently rolled and squeezed around the cap and band to loosen it up a bit. It worked and the draw was pretty good. The initial flavors at light up were very interesting for primarily a Nicaraguan cigar. They were sweet cedar, sweet blackberry, cream, and brown sugar. There was a white pepper which I rated at a 7.
About 1 1/2 inch in (28 minutes) the blackberry notes are still prominent but now the cedar has changed to a sweet tangy orange citrus. The split of blackberry to citrus is about 60/40. There is also brown sugar and buttery cream. The finish is a buttery cream with a light influence of the blackberry. There is a touch of lingering pepper. Overall, the pepper seems to be morphing from white to black. The transition is not complete yet but it's definitely changing. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. 
Around the midpoint (48 minutes) the pepper is definitely a black pepper now. I'd call it a table grade of black pepper. You still have the blackberry and citrus notes but now the brown sugar is more of a caramel flavor. There is light butter on the caramel. The finish is about the same. The cigar is still medium bodied but seems to be inching up. 
The cigar had a good burn time; 1 hour 28 minutes. From the midpoint to the end not a lot changed but one thing that stood out was the lingering peppery really increased. Although there was the change over from brown sugar to caramel I still got both notes at points. The sweet blackberry notes were very nice and stayed true to the end. At times near the end the citrus notes tasted more like sweet cedar, as the cigar began. The cigar moved up to medium to full bodied. There were still light buttery notes in the mix. The finish was unchanged except for the lingering black pepper increasing. This was a good cigar but smoke it glacially slow to get the best flavor notes. Ernesto did a good job on this cigar. To give these cigars a try go HERE.
Score: 92
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