Cigar Review: La Fortaleza by Rodrigo Cigars

Cigar: La Fortaleza by Rodrigo Cigars
Size: Forté – 5 1/2 x 50
Wrapper: Sumatra Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic and Peru
Price: $7.97 per cigar at Rodrigo Cigars

George Rodríguez seems to me like a very busy man that probably doesn’t sleep all that much. Getting started in the business around 2010 (it’s a great story if you want to dig into it), Rodrigo Cigars makes both his own line of cigars as well as helping some of his ‘amigos’ sell their cigars in his online store. You might remember my enjoyment over the LEAF by Oscar and where it ended up at the end of the year. In fact, everything that I have tried from George has been great and barring a catastrophe with the La Fortaleza (falling apart on me), I would expect nothing less.

I found no wrapper issues of any kind in my pre-light examination, although it was noticed that the particular wrapper for the cigar was especially veiny. To my fingers, the La Fortaleza felt very tightly packed and didn’t have hardly any give when checking for any anomalies (soft spots). Pre-light aromas consisted of one thing: Cedar. And lots of it. Performing a cold draw after a cut did not give me any additional flavor notes before lighting.

After lighting and taking a few deep draws, the first flavor notes consisted of a cedar/wood, a hint of spice around the back of the mouth, and an aftertaste of sweetness on the exhale. The draws were nicely balanced, accompanied by what seems to be a above-average amount of smoke. The La Fortaleza is definitely a full bodied smoke but smooth and easy on the palette, similar to that of the Neanderthal and La Imperiosa in previous reviews. 30 minutes into smoking, the spice flavors diminished and new flavors of leather and something akin to holiday spices (couldn’t put a finger on it exactly) entered into the mix. Finishing out the last quarter or so, the final flavor notes included heavy leather and wood with a strong finish. Final smoking time was 1:12.

Minus a relight or two, I had zero problems with the La Fortaleza.

By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

To recap the La Fortaleza:

• Fans of any of the LEAF by Oscar should probably try this. A great combination of flavors for a full bodied cigar without it beating you down.
• The La Fortaleza is definitely full bodied but smooth enough on the palette that it won’t ruin anyone’s day. I wouldn’t give this to a new smoker but those who enjoy more milder fare would be ok with this.
• Another cigar under $10 a stick? Actually, the whole line is priced between $7 and $9, making this a fantastic value.
• I would buy these again in a heartbeat, no question of that.

Thank you very much for reading and I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.