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Cuba Aliados Miami

A few weeks back Jerry Cruz from The Stogie Review was carrying on like a crazed leprechaun about how much he loved these sticks. Well having heard enough I had to break down and locate these to purchase which was no easy task. I have now smoked a few and it is time to share if I found a pot o gold at the end of the rainbow…

Cigar: Cuba Aliados Miami
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro)
Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium

Appearance and Construction (15/20): Wrapped in a cedar sleeve with a gorgeous red and white label the cigar catches your eye. However once the cigar is undressed it is one ugly looking beast. The bands are off center, the wrapper has a lot of veins and the cap has an amateur feel to it. This cigar won’t win any contests in the construction category. There however are no soft spots and the cigar is well packed with tobacco.

Flavor & Notes (26/30): The cedar sleeve gives the stick some nice notes on the prelight of cedar (of course!). Once lit the first third of the cigar offers some nice wood notes with some pepper along for the ride. As we enter the second third the cigar begins to lose some of the pepper notes and they are replaced by leather which slowly over comes the cedar. The final third the leather like a thoroughbred comes from behind and is the dominant note through the finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (25/25): The light gray ash holds very strong and for long periods of time. There is no flake at all and I only had to ash twice during the entire smoke. The burn had a slight resistance and was perfect.

Overall (22/25): While enjoyable I expected a lot more based upon the raving of a leprechaun. The cigar was enjoyable and worth the price in my eyes, but it fell short of expectations. I will probably buy some more if I run across them locally.

Rating: 88
Price: $7.95