La Aroma De Cuba New Blend

I was in Philadelphia this week on business and decided to stop by Holts on Walnut. While I am not a fan of a big corporate place such as Holts, I truly enjoy my experience in the shop since I’m always greeted by name by Lee and Anthony which impresses me since I’m only there every 3-4 weeks at best. Because of the treatment I get there it has a mom and pop feel to it that keeps me coming back. And if you read my site on a regular basis I am a fan of privately own shops.

Today’s smoke is the La Aroma De Cuba which recently went through a blend change by Don Pepin. These cigars are not to be confused with the Edicion Especial however as they are totally different. They did however replace the original blend and should start showing up soon along with the new blend of the San Cristobal. The new blend of the La Aroma De Cuba comes in Churchill (7 x 50), Monarch (6 x 52), Belicoso (5.5 x 52), Robusto (5 x 50) and Immensa (5.5 x 60).

Cigar: La Aroma De Cuba
Size: 6 x 52 (Toro/Monarch)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Full

Appearance and Construction (15/20): Spotting the difference between the new blend and old blend is easy as the new wrapper is significantly darker. This chocolate color wrapper has quite a few veins and there is some disappointment with a few small stems visible once the cap is cut. The new blend label has some added white to the color of the label but less than the Edicion Especial. There is also a red ribbon at the foot. The cigar is well packed with no major soft spots.

Flavor & Notes (27/30): Wow. That was my initial thought on this baby. Prior to lighting this up the notes of spices and a a chocolate/mocha are easily detectable. Once the cigar is lit I am pleasantly surprise by how smooth it is on the start. There is some spice to the lips of this cigar that takes an inch or so to develop on the palette. The first third also has some wood and coffee notes. The second third the spice picks up occasionally becoming a bit much but enjoyable none the less. The coffee notes remain here and grow with an occasional sweetness that help cut the spices. The final third of the cigar offers pretty much the same as the first two with notes of spices and coffee and the occasional mocha/chocolate sweetness.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): The burn of the cigar is fairly even and did not need to be touched up. The white ash is slightly flaky but holds on strong while the draw offers only the slightest of resistance.

Overall (22/25): This cigar smokes much smoother then the original blend and it has some nice flavors. It does however lack the complexity I enjoy in a smoke. The price range of the cigar is great and because of this I will smoke it again. The re-blending remains true to the original cigar but I somehow expected more.

Rating: 87
Price: $6.00