La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli Review
6/21/2014
Cigar: La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli
Size: Toro, 6.0"x60
MSRP: $6.99
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa Sol
Origin: Nicaraguan
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Prelight: The bands of this cigar are gorgeous, large, and eye-catching. Beneath, the wrapper is beautiful, ruddy, floral and the color of milk chocolate. There are a few small veins, but I don’t think they will be causing any trouble. The foot is densely packed and smell very woody. I punch the cap of this large RG cigar and to my surprise, the draw is loose, but tastes pleasantly like cedar.
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1/3: There is a great pepper kick at the beginning, with backing notes of sweet, dried fruit. Soon, cedar arrives, nudging the pepper out of the way. Some backing spices join the sweet cedar, and at one puff I taste chocolate, but in the next it is gone. The draw is incredibly loose, and I find myself needing to triple-puff at times to get some good smoke output. The cigar canoes a bit (but this could be a failure in the initial light) so I touch it up right at the beginning of the second third.
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2/3: Right at the second third, the cedar amps up and hits me with some spiciness. But, it quickly mellows back down and I am getting mostly cedar and baking spices. The flavors continue to mellow out. There does seem to be some creamy leather trying to break through, as well as some hay. At about the halfway point the draw seems to improve, but is still on the loose side.
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3/3: The cigar is cedar and leather in the final third, with a little hay. I notice the cigar is tunneling, so I touch up and get flavors of charred wood and a hint of mint added to the leathery cedar. But, the flavors seem mild and under-whelming.
Overall: I got this cigar as part of a cigar club monthly release here locally. Saying that, I’m not sure I would choose to pay for this cigar outside of that club. Although the MSRP isn’t bad, it would be far from that price at the local B&M (due to state taxes), and would not be worth it for this cigar. The construction was just “alright.” The cigar canoed during the first third, tunneled in the last, and the draw was loose throughout. The flavors were okay. Not bad, but I won’t be dropping a letter in the post to my mother telling her about them. If you run across one at a good price (below MSRP) go ahead and give it a whirl, but I’ll be passing on any more of this B&M released cigar.
