(Description taken from cigaraficionado.com website)
La Bohéme debuted in 2014 as a Dominican cigar made at Tabacalera Palma with a blend of mostly Dominican tobacco. Eventually, Nodal retired the line. More than a decade later, a few things have changed. Nodal now works for Altadis creating blends, developing cigar brands and acting as a liaison between cigar factories and Altadis’ corporate executives. Bringing back La Bohéme is his latest project. Conductors often re-arrange canonized musical compositions to suit modern audiences and that’s exactly what Nodal has done with La Bohéme.
The brand is currently made in Nicaragua by A.J. Fernandez—a longtime collaborator with Nodal—and is sold under Aging Room banner. And it’s an entirely new, stronger blend, all Nicaraguan save for the wrapper, which is a hybrid of broadleaf and Habano seed grown in Connecticut. This is the first time using this wrapper for both Altadis and Nodal.
The Aging Room La Bohéme comes in the same four sizes as the previous La Bohéme brand: Mimi, measuring 3 1/2 inches long by 46 ring gauge ($17.90); Pittore (5 1/8 by 52, $23.92); Poeta (5 3/4 by 54, $24.52) and Musico (6 1/4 by 60, $24.90). The cigars are packaged in 20-count boxes and adorned with vintage, pre-Revolution bands similar to the original release.
“The original La Bohéme was introduced in 2014 as a tribute to the cigars my grandfather smoked in the small park near our home in Cuba,” Nodal said last year when news of this brand was first announced. “The new Aging Room La Bohéme is a look to the future, featuring bolder flavors and unique tobaccos. It represents three of my passions: music, cigars and Cuba.”
The cigar is dark and well made. The band is ornate and quite beautiful. The cigar has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were lime, pear, brown sugar, cinnamon, and earthy black coffee. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2 to 8. Nice start.
At the first third (26 minutes) the ash is still intact and very firm. The cigar is burning evenly. The flavors are just like it started. The black coffee has inched up a little which is good as it was quite light initially. It's still on the light side but has moved up. The lime, pear, brown sugar, and cinnamon are doing nicely. The finish is mostly lime and brown sugar with faint black coffee and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied. I rated the first third 94.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 1 minute) the cigar is fairly balanced. The black coffee has risen to match the sweet notes, which have also increased slightly. The cigar is now a low grade full bodied. The finish is more black coffee with faint lime and very good lingering black pepper. The cigar got a little better so I rated the second third 95.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 34 minutes. The notes pretty much reverted back to the way they were in the first third. The black coffee pulled back a little and the sweet notes were about like they were in the first third. The cigar is full bodied. The finish is lime and black coffee with very good lingering black pepper. The notes are a little different for an AJ made cigar but they work well. I rated the final third 94. This is a good cigar. A bit pricey but well worth trying.
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