LA GLORIA CUBANA SERIE R No. 5

LA GLORIA CUBANA SERIE R
No. 5
ROBUSTO

Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan

Place of purchase: Famous Smoke Shop Online

TASTING SHEET RESULTS

SIZE: 5.5x54
APPEARANCE: good: wrapper rather veiny, wrapper color not uniform – between the band and the head it gets visibly pale, it also has a tiny hole on the wrapper, exposing binder, only cosmetic
CONSTRUCTION: very good, tight bunch, nicely filled, well aplied cap
DRAW: perfect to firm
BURN: excellent
AROMA: good to very good
FLAVOR: good
DOMINANT FLAVORS: cedar, leather, spice
AFTERTASTE: cedar, citrus, a bit metallic
STRENGHT: moderate
SMOKING TIME: ~ 100 minutes
GENERAL IMPRESSION: good


CUT: Xikar
PRELIGHT: cedar, earth
LIGHT: classic flame lighter, took some time
BEVERAGE: milk coffee

1/3:
Upon light greeted by cedar, with earth and spice in the background. Not particularly strong. After a few puffs leather becomes dominant. Nose blow spicy but not harsh. Funky metallic finish on palate – sort of citrusy with some wood. Definitely on the sour side.

2/3:
Great burn with very compact ash. Leather, cedar dominate as vanilla notes emerge in the background. Leaves palate dry. Metallic finish persists along with citrus. Medium body. Nearing final third, vanilla is all but gone only hints are left.

3/3:
Wood becomes the center stage, finish remains. Body firmly planted in medium.

NUB:
The smoke became somewhat bitter with black pepper notes and tobacco. No tar build-up visible, nicely fermented tobacco. The body moved to medium-full.

Right now, I am on a box of these, having smoked 2. They are good smokes, tasty and consistent. Buuut, my decision on the box came about from a couple of samples from different sizes that were infinitely better than these two. Those were strong, really strong, with even greater complexity and pronounced coffee present along with cedar, black pepper, vanilla and baking spice. Maybe these are still a bit young. I will sample the rest of the box at about one a month to see if they improve.