La Gloria Cubana Serie N Review
6/14/2014
Cigar: La Gloria Cubana Serie N JSB
Size: Robusto, 5.5"x54
MSRP: $6.51
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro
Origin: Dominican Republic
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Prelight: The Serie N has an oscuro wrapper that is oily and so dark, it seems to be sucking light from around it. There is also an artfully placed “N” made from a natural leaf applied to the wrapper. I heard a story that this adornment was a nightmare, and the factory floor was littered with these letters. The wrapper smells like a flower shop within a log cabin. The cigar itself is rather lumpy, especially at the shoulders. The foot has a strong chocolate aroma to it, and after a punch (which threatened to destroy the apparently hastily made cap) the cold draw was a little firm and tasty strongly of chocolate.
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1/3: The cigar starts off real sweet. The primary notes are creamy coffee as tons of smoke pours off the foot. There is also a slight earthiness to the profile and dried fruit begins to make itself noticeable. As the first third comes to an end, fruit, coffee, a bit of wood and just the slightest hint of chocolate round out the flavors.
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2/3: The ash is flakey and the burn is beginning to canoe, but not enough to require a touch-up. Mocha dominates the beginning of this third. However, there is still a little wood and dried fruit to the array of flavors. As I smoke on, the wood becomes more pronounced and a bit spicy. This makes sense since the Dominican cigar is actually made with a Nicaraguan binder and filler. But, there is still a little earth and leather as well. By the end of this third, the flavors have evolved to add a little floral taste as well.
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3/3: Sweet and pungent flowers continue to grow and compliment the woodiness and earthiness of the cigar. This is short lived, however, as wood begins to dominate with backing players of earth, sweet grass, chocolate and baking spices.
Overall: The construction of this cigar is a bit on the ugly side. The cap was horribly done, and my lip even caught on a vein in the cap. It is lumpy, canoed almost the whole time, and the ash couldn’t hang on even though the wind was stagnant. But, the flavors were right up my alley, and evolved to keep things interesting. To be honest, as much as I liked the flavors, this cigar is probably a one-off for me. I’d smoke it again is I was offered, but I don’t think I would dedicate valuable humi space for it.
