Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Toro-ish, 5.625” x 54 ring gauge / $15.50, SmallBatchCigar.com
This past weekend I was asked by Drew from SmallBatchCigar.com if I had tried the new La Palina Goldie No.5 yet. I replied that I hadn’t so he handed me one to smoke and one to review. The No. 5 is the second release in this limited edition line. I will say the previous release of a petite lancero didn’t really do a whole lot for me. I didn’t really know what to expect from this one. This cigar is comprised of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, an Ecuadorian binder with an Ecuadorian habano wrapper. These come packed in boxes of 10 cigars. As I mentioned above I smoked one previous to the cigar I smoked for review.
The color of the wrapper definitely befits the name “Goldie” with is golden brown color. I also noted there was a good amount of fine tooth to the wrapper along with some oils as well. The slight tear in the wrapper you see in the picture was probably from transport home from the shop, completely on me. One thing I would really like to see is more differentiation in the banding of the La Palina cigars. With almost all of them having the same band with only one or two with a second band, it is really difficult to know what you have in your hand unless you know which box it came from. The wrapper gave off the aroma of hay while I noted some barnyard from the foot. Giving the cigar a squeeze I got a slight amount of give but with no soft spots. After clipping and taking a cold draw on it I got notes of cinnamon and sugar with a perfect draw.
Lighting up the cigar brought a lot of red pepper spice to the tongue and retrohale. After taking a few more puffs I noted the flavors of leather, cinnamon, sugar, and a slight amount of copper as well. The draw was just right and it produced a large volume of smoke. The cigar started off in upper end of medium in regards to strength in spite of the spice. I did start to get some green herbal notes along with a slightly creamy finish as I got to the end of this third. The burn was a little uneven, but I did have some gusting wind to deal with. The ash was almost white with some grey streaks to it.
The flavors in the second third weren’t that different that the first; cinnamon, sugar, and copper with a creamy finish. That wasn’t to say it was boring, far from it. I was really enjoying the cigar. At the beginning of this third the spice was definitely still present and made the tip of my tongue tingle a bit, but by the end it had lessened in intensity but not gone away completely.
The final third finished off strong with flavors of wood, leather, roasted nuts, and cinnamon with a sweet finish coming through. I did start to get a slight nicotine hit from it too. The draw continued to be perfect throughout and the burn evened itself up without needing fire in spite of the wind.
Overall I would say that this is a great cigar. I would say that is my favorite cigar that La Palina has produced so far. The cigar had lots of flavor with just the right amount of strength to me. I do think the price is a bit high but I will be picking up a couple more to enjoy. If you like Ecuadorian Habano, like the flavors I noted, I do recommend giving this cigar a try.
Body: 8/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 9/10
