Video review HERE.
(Description provided by General Cigar)
La Gloria Cubana, the original boutique brand, has created a special five-country blend that celebrates the masterful artisans of the El Credito Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Called “Spirit of the Lady,” the limited edition collection will be available exclusively at U.S. cigar shops beginning on March 2 and includes two box-pressed vitolas made from the finest aged tobaccos.
La Gloria Cubana and its Spirit of the Lady collection are distributed by The Forged Cigar Company.
Steve Abbot, senior brand manager for La Gloria Cubana said, “The artisans of El Credito are passionately committed to their craft, and it shows in every single cigar they make. Through their unwavering commitment to creating exquisite cigars, this dedicated team embodies the assured spirit of Lady La Gloria, the brand’s iconic marque. It is truly a pleasure to celebrate these talented men and women, and to honor their artistry through this special offering.”
Featuring hand-selected tobaccos from around the world, the El Credito blending team has selected a dark and lustrous, seven-year-aged wrapper from the Olancho San AgustÃn region of Honduras. It envelopes a Cameroon binder and dimensional blend of Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Dominican tobaccos. The result is an elegant, medium-to-full-bodied smoking experience with notes of cocoa, dark fruit, cedar, toast and a hint of cinnamon.
Spirit of the Lady will be available in two classic sizes and just 600 boxes of each size will be released.
Spirit of the Lady Toro (6” x 50); SRP per cigar $12.99 REVIEWED TODAY
Spirit of the Lady Churchill (7” x 50); SRP per cigar $14.99
The cigar is a soft box press and has an average feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors at light up were cedar, brown sugar, toffee, a meatiness to the cigar, and a lot of an earthy black coffee. There was nice black pepper rated at 7 1/2. It has a fairly sweet start but it has some meatiness also.
At the first third (32 minutes) the cigar has made quite a transition from the light up. The cigar has gotten very earthy and somewhat leathery. The sweeter notes are very muffled. There are sweeter notes of honey, cedar, and caramel but they're in the minority. The majority is the subdued leather and earthy black coffee. The finish had caramel and honey with a lot of earthiness. The lingering black pepper is pretty good. The cigar is medium bodied at this point. The cigar is not grabbing me. The finish is nice but the front end notes are full of earthiness. I rated the first third 88.
Moving through the second third (54 minutes) the sweet notes are there and you get them very quickly on the draw but they are gone quickly due to the earthiness. The sweet notes of honey and toffee are outmatched. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The earthiness is now coming from nutmeg and black coffee. The finish is unchanged and not quite as earthy and actually very nice. The majority of the sweetness comes on the finish. The black pepper is good on both ends. I rated the second third 87.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 14 minutes. The best thing about this cigar is the finish. I've never had a cigar like this. It's actually very pleasing. But the front end notes are full of earthiness that, luckily, do not transfer over to the finish. The finish had honey and caramel and it's quite sweet. The lingering black pepper was very good. The cigar ended at full bodied. Again, the finish is very good. But I'm not scoring the cigar solely on the finish. I rated the final third 85. I believe the cigar is blended in such a way the sweeter notes do not materialize on the front end but they do transfer to the finish.
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