Vitola: San Luis (Toro)- 5.75” x 54 ring gauge
- MSRP $12.15
- Sample provided by Plasencia Cigars
Background
When I heard that the Plasencia family was going to produce and sell their own brand of cigars, it was hard to know what to think. Certainly the family knew a lot about growing tobacco and, based on the other companies that employed them for cigar production, I was sure they would do fine with the actual rolling. But what would they bring to the game that would set them apart? The answer apparently lies in the specific special tobaccos they set aside in recent growing years, not to be used for any other company’s blends, but saved for this new endeavor. Based on the Alma Fuerte, Alma del Campo and Reserva Original blends that I have already reviewed, I have to say that they have thoroughly succeeded in bringing something new and special to the table.
Plasencia’s Cosecha 146 blend is the last of the new brands I am reviewing from them at the moment. It is also the only one of these four blends that has anything besides Nicaraguan tobacco in it. Cosecha 146 (Harvest #146) is made of leaves grown in the 2011-2012 crop year “in the best regions of Honduras and Nicaragua…[producing] a medium-bodied, full-flavored cigar with a complex and sweet taste profile.” Fillers are from Honduras and Nicaragua, the binder is Nicaraguan and the wrapper is Honduran.
I am basing this review on my initial smoking of this blend and the sample was provided to me by Javier Carranza, Plasencia’s Sales Director. Thank you again to Javier for allowing me the opportunity to take a more in-depth look at the company’s offerings.
Prelight
Cosecha 146 comes in a black wooden box with a regular hinged lid. It’s probably the more ordinary-looking of all the Plasencia releases in terms of packaging, though it still maintains the 3-band convention set by the other blends. This time the “P” logo top band and foot band are simply printed with silver metallic ink on a textured paper, while the main bands also adds some silver foil. It is a pleasing aesthetic, although with “Cosecha Privada” being printed on the foot band instead of 146 Cosecha, I can see how there might be some confusion as to the name of the cigar (the other releases have the blend name repeated on the foot band). Perhaps the overall series is “Cosecha Privada” (“private harvest”) while the number in the name (146 in this instance) will change as they make blends from different harvest years.
The wrapper was a milk chocolate brown with a smooth, oily feel to it and a mildly earth, mildly leathery aroma. The foot of the stick had a stronger earthiness with some chocolate and coffee notes in the mix, as well.
The cold draw was excellent and had a cool sweetness right up front that hit me almost like a blueberry flavor with accenting notes earth and cedar coming up afterward.
Flavor
The Cosecha 146 had an interesting flavor profile right from the beginning. I got a very nice sweetness, not unlike the berry notes from prelight, along with black coffee following right behind. Earthy and peppery notes came in at the end with a lingering spicy burn. The retrohale was peppery, but it was short-lived. The combination of the family’s Honduran harvest definitely brought some new and interesting details to the experience. Not to say that anything was missing from the Nicaraguan puros in their catalog, but this just brought a new dimension. As I burned through the first third, I noted the berry flavor giving way to a more honey/molasses sweetness, while cedar and leather notes steadily grew more prominent in the mix and coffee faded a bit.
The second third of Cosecha 146 had more of the honey along with creamy sweet hay notes with even more cedar mixed in. Leather receded and the coffee notes took on a creamier aspect. The pepper on the palate and retrohale diminished quite a bit.
The sweetness ebbed away during the last third, with more leather and earth notes coming to the forefront and a return of pepper in the form of red pepper flake.
Construction
Great draw, very even burn line and solid ash. Great construction.
Value
Solid, complex smoking experience with a decent price point, so good value.
Conclusions
Plasencia’s Cosecha 146 is a very nice addition to their catalog, providing some depth and complexity via the use of Honduran leaf. While I overall didn’t enjoy it as much as the Reserva Original or Alma Fuerte, it was a pleasant smoking experience for a cool fall day.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
