Cigar Review: Laranja Reserva

• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• 5.5” x 54 ring gauge
• MSRP $10.50
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

It’s not often that a cigar company creates a special cigar for University of Tennessee fans. The Tennessee Waltz by Crowned Heads was the closest so far, with its orange foot band. But Espinosa Cigars trumped that in recent months with not only an orange foot band, but a bright orange and white (and gold) label that just screams “Go Vols!!!”

So…reality check…the Laranja Reserva was not made for or inspired by the Tennessee Volunteers…although I would think it will be the cigar to smoke during football games this fall. The real story is that Erik Espinosa, owner of Espinosa Cigars and La Zona, likes the color orange and had been working with this Brazilian leaf that used the color for its name (Laranja is Portuguese for orange). I got some further info from Will Cooper’s review: The wrapper isn’t really considered mainstream as Brazilian wrapper leaf goes…that would be the Arapiraca or Matafina varietals. It comes from the Reconcavo region of Brazil, in the state of Bahia and the leaf has an orange tint to it, which was taken for the varietal name.

Along with the Brazilian Laranja wrapper, this cigar uses Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves. I’ve had a few of these already…most of them the Corona Gorda since…and decided I liked the blend well enough that I would present it in review format. I bought this sample at Burns Tobacconist.

Prelight

Did I mention that the band of this cigar looked like it belongs in the Vols catalog? Well, it could also be on an ice cream truck advertisement…cream-sicle!!!! Seriously, though, they did a good job mixing a classic look with the bright orange ink and gold foil, creating a branding that does jump off the shelf as like nothing else around, but also classy and traditional. Is the wrapper leaf really orange? I’m going to say “No”…not really, although under certain lighting there is a reddish tinge to it that could pass for orange. Maybe the orange-ness is in some other stage of growing, curing or fermentation of the leaf. What I see is a milk chocolate brown with the aforementioned reddish tinges, a moderate oiliness and a couple larger veins. Smelling the leaf I got a distinct chocolate note, along with some cedar; at the foot, the bunch smelled more earthy, with some cedar and grassy aromas.

After cutting the head, I got a great draw that had mostly grassy notes with just a touch of citrus and pepper.

Flavor

Once lit, the Laranja had a definite light earthiness to it, followed by notes of hay and a mild sweetness. On subsequent puffs, I got a light citrus on the palate and a stronger orange note on the nose…yes, the cigar with “orange” as the name of the blend and the wrapper leaf actually has some orange flavor to it…and without using Peruvian leaf, which I’ve always found to have a considerable amount of citrus flavor. In the first third, I found the Laranja continuing to be medium of body and unique in flavor, serving up the citrusy, peppery blend with occasional touches of earth and cedar.

As the first third gave way to the second, I still had loads of orange flavor and started picking up more grassier notes as well. The pepper had faded and the earth notes were very subtle.

The last third showed yet more citrus and I became steadily more aware of just how much this wrapper dominates this blend. The sweet and tart flavors almost completely hid the earth and grass notes underneath.

Construction

I’ve come to expect great construction from La Zona products and this was no exception. Great draw, even enough burn line, solid ash.

Value

At a little over $10 a stick, this is not a “cheap” cigar, but it is very good and unique in the humidor, so I would call it a good value.

Conclusions

The Laranja Reserva wasn’t the most complex blend around, but I really enjoyed it, both in this Robusto Extra size as well as the Corona Gorda size I’ve had before. It’s one of those times that proves you don’t have to have extraordinary flavor variation to have a very good cigar. It’s grown on me, too. The first time I smoked it, I liked it but wasn’t sure it would be a regular selection for me; now I feel like I would enjoy having a few every month…you know, put it in the regular rotation. I applaud Espinosa Cigars for working with unusual wrapper leaf and for taking the time to produce a blend that showcases it so well.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10