Review - La Gloria Cubana Serie D No. 5 RE España 2017

[encephalization]

Second day in a row of gloomy weather in Arkansas (perfect for summer cigar smoking IMO) and I realized I had not done a review for quite some time so.. Its odd, usually August is a killer month in terms of temperature but July was much worse than usual this year and August has started mellow. Hopefully, fall is coming early.

This is the fourth cigar I have smoked from this box, as well as three given out to friends, and I'd say that there has been great consistency between all smokes. I smoked the first one just a couple of days after getting them and it got a bit mongrel towards the end but that is probably due to my lack of patience.

Marca: La Gloria Cubana

Name: Serie D No. 5

Vitola: Petit Robusto (50 x 4.3")

Box code: TEO DIC16 (40,118 / 50,000)

There were some significant greenness on the foot (not sure if this photo does it justice) and the previous cigars had similar traits (some greenness also visible after cutting).

The smell on the foot is full of flavors, dominated by prunes (is baked prunes a thing? that is what comes to mind..), it has a slight sweetness as well that is also present on the pre-light draw. This sweetness is prominent at light-up but strong spice hits you straight away on the finish. I am almost taken aback as I retro, the spice almost punches me in the face. For a second I wonder if I really am smoking a CC and not the bastardized NC version from Carrillo. However, it is by no means overpowering and the sweetness on the front compliments the finish very well. Half of the puffs I was convinced it was black pepper, the other half white.

Regardless, the spice balances out fairly quickly (maybe my system was getting used to it?) and the sweetness also picks up in the finish. It is a beautiful combination. In between I am getting leather, which takes a bigger role after about an inch, with hints of cedar. The second half is not very dissimilar from the first, there is both sweetness and spice throughout. I do get some pleasant notes that I had a hard time putting my finger on, almost candy-like at times (undoubtedly stemming from the sweetness) and possibly vanilla. There is some earth notes towards the very end.

Overall, I have been thoroughly impressed by this RE. I think the retail in Spain was €75 per 10 box and even though the shipping was hefty, I ended up paying just under $10 a cigar. Considering some other regionals from recent years that have had much less approachable price tags, I'd go as far as saying as this is one of the most bang-for-your-buck limited CCs out there right now (and yes, at 50,000 boxes this is probably McRibs at its finest..). I haven't smoked a ton of LGCs in the past few years and I am not sure of how true this is to the marca (but if it is then all the better).

 

[Stump89]

Thanks for the review.  I've been interested in picking up a few of these.  Good to know that they aren't a huge letdown. 

[Derboesekoenig]

I've only smoked one of these so far, but I love all the other LGC too. I prefer the Paises Bajos ER, but that's probably just because I've never been a fan of this vitola. They are tasty either way, and worth the price if you want to have a smaller format LGC in your humidor. 

[PuffDaddie]

Great review! Just got a box of LGC reg. Spain. Can't wait to try one.