Vitola: Churchill- 7” x 48 ring gauge
- MSRP $10.99
- Purchased from Burns Tobacconist
Background
I was looking back on the cigars I’ve reviewed from La Gloria Cubana lately, really just to be sure I hadn’t already written about this release. I discovered something kind of fun. For the past 5 or 6 years, I have published about 1 review per year for LGC blends. This year, I’ve already written two reviews, and this is my third. Lest you think I’m suddenly in love with the brand, this year’s first review was for Spirit of the Lady and I simply did not enjoy that cigar. The Medio Tiempo was much more impressive, however. So what’s the deal with Criollo de Oro and how would it compare to the other 2021 releases?
The “Cigar World” website states that the LGC Criollo de Oro is a limited edition blend, using wrapper grown in the Mao microclimate of the Dominican Republican. It’s a sun grown leaf that they say has “abundant natural oils.” They use Nicaraguan and Honduran filler tobaccos and a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. The wrapper is said to be a hybrid varietal developed by crossing Criollo ’98 with Pelo de Oro. 3,100 boxes will be released.
If your local shop doesn’t carry La Gloria Cubana, you can buy the Toro size on our sponsor’s website, Small Batch Cigar. I’ve smoked this at least twice before today’s review sample, which I bought at Burns Tobacconist.
Fun fact: La Gloria Cubana is distributed by the Forged Cigar Company arm of Scandinavian Tobacco Company now, but both the Cigar World and Cigarcyclopedia web pages for LGC both have “Copyright 2021 General Cigar Company” notices at the bottom.
Prelight
The marketing people are doing a good job with the La Gloria brand, paying homage to the past with the “La Gloria Lady” but also injecting some new style with an art deco motif into some releases, including this one. The green and gold color scheme is also a nice one that I don’t recall seeing very often on cigars. It’s all very dignified and classic-looking.
The wrapper leaf was a peanut butter brown color and felt slightly oily under my fingertips. I got aromas of ripe earth, hay, and natural tobacco from the wrapper, while the foot was earthy and slightly sweeter smelling.
After clipping the head, the LGC Criollo de Oro had a slightly tight draw, although it didn’t seem like it would be tight enough to cause a problem. The cold draw had flavors of hay, berries, earth, and cedar.
Flavor
Firing up the Criollo de Oro I got a smooth medium-bodied smoke right out of the gate with notes of cedar and hay up front, a little red pepper sharpness right after that, then earth and sweeter notes of dark fruit and dark chocolate. The retrohale had more cedar, along its roasted nuts and black pepper.
As I got into the second third, I noted that cedar and hay notes led the way. The pepper spice had diminished quite a bit and the sweeter notes were buried in the background.
The last third of the Criollo de Oro had a resurgence of both pepper and sweeter notes, though the sweetness was more of a citrus at this point. I still got plenty of cedar and earth in the mix, too.
Construction
The draw ended up being just about perfect, with a good amount of resistance without ever being too much. The burn line was very even and the ash was solid.
Value
Good cigar and a decent price point for a limited edition.
Conclusions
La Gloria Cubana’s Criollo de Oro was a very nice addition to their catalog, proving to be a unique and interesting blend from end to end. I got a good amount of complexity and hope this doesn’t prove to be a one-and-done blend. Hopefully they will find a way to reproduce this cigar on a regular “limited” basis.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
