Note from Cigar Jack: I’d like to welcome our newest reviewer, Alex Knapp. Alex’s blog is Heretical Ideas and he also contributes regularly to the political site, Outside the Beltway. I’ve read Alex’s site in the past and very glad to have him on board.
Brand: General Cigar
Line: La Gloria Cubana
Vitola: Wavell 5 x 50
Origin: Miami, FL
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Sumatra
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaragua
Flavor: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium
Price: $64.90 (Box of 25)
La Gloria Cubana is in General Cigar’s large brand of products, and this particular line is made in their factory in Miami. I actually picked this up at a rolling event at my local cigar store–they had two of the rollers from the factory in Miami and were teaching customers how to roll the wrapper. I learned from this experience that I shouldn’t quit my day job and move to the Dominican Republic–my rolling job was terrible.
Construction: The cigar had a nice appearance and was well constructed with its light brown natural wrapper, which was not too veiny. The draw was nice and easy, with lots of smoke.
Burn: The burn was good, and didn’t require any touchup. The only issue that I had was that it was a little uneven, but I suspect that this is because the store was crowded and I was sitting pretty much right under the smoke-eater, which can affect how evenly a cigar burns. It righted itself by the time I got to the middle. The ash was a light grey and dense–it hardly flaked at all.
Flavor: The first 1/3 of this overwhelmed with nice, strong flavors. I detected a predominance of leather, with some nice honey in the undertones. The taste was fairly consistent through the second third of the cigar, though the flavor undertone changed a little from honey to vanilla. The last third was my favorite part of the smoke, with the leather flavor pulling back a little and the undertones of vanilla slowly changing into a strong coffee flavor. The finish was excellent–not harsh at all and with a dark chocolate feel to it.
Verdict: This is a good cigar, and especially with the reasonable price would make an excellent every day smoke. It only took about 40 minutes to smoke, making it perfect for sitting out on the porch enjoying a quiet evening. It doesn’t have enough depth of flavor to become as enjoyable as I like, but I certainly wouldn’t turn one down, and I picked up another one the store after I finished this one to keep around for a quick smoke.
Popularity: 19% [?]
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Great review Alex, I’m looking forward to more.
Alex nice review! I’ll be looking out for when you review the Seires R by LGC.
And the best thing about La Gloria Cubanas, I think, is that they don’t cost too much.
Where can I buy La Gloria Cubana Wavell in the UK?
@James I’m not sure if you can get these overseas.
The La Gloria Cubana line is always a stand out performer in taste and consistancy and one of my favorite brands. I love the flavor profile.
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