Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
Late in 2016, the Plasencia family announced it was taking its very own cigar brand to market, Plasencia Cigars. While the family had branded some cigars before, the establishment of Plasencia Cigars was still a big step as now not only would they be producing their own brand, but they would now be distributing to market. Today we take a look at the first line released by Plasencia Cigars, the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Generación V. It’s a cigar that pays homage to the rich history of the family and showcases some of the innovation the brand is bringing to the table.
The Plasencias are well known in the tobacco business as growers and manufacturers spanning five generations of experience. The family traces its heritage in the tobacco business back to 1865 when Don Eduardo Plasencia left the Canary Islands and went to Cuba where he started growing tobacco. Following the Cuban Revolution, the family went to Central America where they started growing tobacco in Nicaragua. In 1978, the family faced another challenge when the Sandinistas burned down their farms during the Nicaraguan Revolution, and they started over again in Honduras. By 1986, Nestor Plasencia Sr. would enter the manufacturing side of the business. Keeping their farms in Honduras, the family returned to Nicaragua in 1990 and would once again grow tobacco there. Today with Nestor Andrés Plasencia at the company helm, the Plasencias produce 40 million cigar a year in four factories using tobacco from eight plantations.
Alma Fuerte was the first in a planned five-part series of “Alma” cigars. The name translates to “Strong Soul” – something that reflects the passion of the Plasencias in the cigar business. Alma Fuerte is an ultra-premium line featuring some of the best tobaccos the Plasencias have set aside over a decade ago. Since then, the company has added the second installment, Alma de Campo.
In addition, the Plasencias went all out on the packaging – creating a box that can be reused as a keepsake ashtray.
Blend Profile
For the Alma Fuerte, the Plasencias opted to release a 100% Nicaraguan puro blend. It’s a line that is Criollo ’98-centric. The tobaccos are from Plasencia farms in the four main growing regions of Nicaragua: Condega, Estelí, Jalapa, and Ometepe. The cigar is produced at the Plasencia S.A. factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Plasencia SA)
Vitolas Available
The Alma Fuerte is available in four sizes. Each cigar is presented in ten-count boxes. The vitola names pay homage to three different generations of the Plasencias.
Néstor IV: 6 1/4 x 54 (Toro)
Generación V: 7 x 58 (Salomon)
Sixto II: 6 x 60 (Hexágano)
Robustus: 5 1/2 x 52 REVIEWED TODAY
Each of the four sizes are box pressed. The Néstor IV is a traditional box-pressed Toro. The Sixto II is actually a six-sided box-press.
The cigar has a beautiful reddish brown wrapper and it's flawless. It is soft box pressed and has a nice shine to the wrapper. The cigar has a nice feel in the hand; quite dense feeling.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were peach, brown sugar, leather, nutmeg, and earthy black coffee. There was nice black pepper rated at 7 1/2. The nutmeg is rather pasty and seems to be interwoven throughout the flavor notes. Nice start.
At the first third (34 minutes) the sweet notes have progressively increased. Now there are also nice cinnamon notes. The flavor notes are peach, lots of brown sugar, lots of cinnamon, leather, nutmeg, and black coffee. The cigar is medium to full bodied and moving up. The finish is simply peach and nice lingering black pepper. The cigar is very good at this point. I rated the first third 95.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 7 minutes) the nutmeg has increased. The other notes are still there and overall the cigar is close to what it was in the first third. But there is no doubting the nutmeg has increased. The peach notes, which had been so prominent in the beginning and first third have weaned a bit. The cigar is very close to full bodied. The finish is now peach and nutmeg with nice lingering black pepper. The nutmeg has affected both the front end and finish. I rated the second third 94.
The cigar lasted an impressive 1 hour 32 minutes. That is an incredible time for a robusto. In the final third the increased nutmeg had company from the black coffee, which was also elevated. The sweeter notes are still nice but now there are higher levels of nutmeg and black coffee. The cigar is full bodied. The finish is unchanged. While still good the elevated nutmeg and black coffee took away some of the appeal. I lowered the final third to 93. But there is no denying this is a very good cigar. If you haven't tried it you should.
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