Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $7.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
There won’t be much “background” on this particular review because I covered just about everything necessary the other day when I reviewed the La Palina Nicaragua Connecticut. Suffice to say…the LP Nicaragua lines are the company’s first collaborative efforts with the AJ Fernandez factory, which has seen a lot of collaborative efforts lately with a lot of different companies.
In an effort to keep the review process here as controlled as possible, I’m smoking the same vitola of Oscuro that I did the Conny…the Robusto. They are also available in Toro and Gordo sizes. This stick features Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves along with an Ecuadorian Oscuro (Habano? probably) wrapper leaf.
I had my first of these back in November when the rep gave me one to try. After we brought them in, I purchased this review sample.
Prelight
For all my thoughts on the new logo and this particular band, you can (again) read the piece from the other day. The only thing that changes here is the wrapper leaf behind the band and the writing on the secondary band (from Connecticut to Oscuro)…and the effect is actually that the bands look better with the dark wrapper leaf behind them.
The Oscuro wrapper was a milk chocolate shade of brown with a very oily touch and a touch of veininess in places. The aroma from the wrapper was rich and earthy manure with touches of dark fruit and wood. The foot was a more straightforward earth note with a bit of cedar.
The cold draw was very good and tasted of cedar, earth and coffee.
Flavor
The Nicaragua Oscuro came to life with fairly full body and loads of cedar flavors right off the bat. There were some dry cocoa powder, earth and espresso bean notes in the mix, as well, and a good amount of red pepper on the tongue and nose.
As I burned my way into the second third, the overall profile continued to be very earthy, with wood and coffee flavors playing supporting roles and pepper hanging around just to be interesting. What I didn’t get was anything really sweet to balance out the more bitter notes.
In the last third I got big espresso notes and more earth, while the cedar flavors diminished along with the pepper.
Construction
The draw was very good on the Nicaragua Oscuro; the burn line was quite even and the ash never got flaky on me.
Value
Good cigar and good price…equals good value.
Conclusions
The La Palina Nicaragua Oscuro lived up to the appellation of “dark”…it was dark in color and flavor, having plenty of earth, coffee and wood notes in its full-bodied smoke. What it lacked was some sweetness to balance the whole thing. I liked this cigar, but I can’t say I loved it. I am more prone to enjoy medium-to-full and full-bodied sticks than the milder smokes wrapped in Connecticut Shade, but this time around, I like the Conny more. Fortunately, the price of both is such that you can try them and decide for yourself.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
