La Gloria Cubana

Before I get into my review, I want to remind everyone that I am not an expert so feel free to disagree with me or add some new insight of your own. However, keep in mind that I am not necessarily interested in having the same ideas and experiences as everyone else who writes reviews for the same cigars. I'm sure you will notice that most reviews by different people can have different perspectives on the same cigar based on their individual palates and personal tastes. Therefore, my goal is to draw my own conclusions and opinions independent of Cigar Aficionado Magazine and all other professional, but certainly credible, reviews.

I am keeping my rating system rather simple to start off with. I won't bother going over the specific formula. I'll be rating each cigar on a number of factors and then just converting everything into a grade on a simple 100-point scale.

90-100: Great smoke. Add it to my list of regular and special occasion cigars.
80-89: Very good and would definitely smoke again
70-79: Good, would consider smoking again
60-69: Fair, but would probably not smoke again
Below 60: Bad, will not smoke again

So let's just get to the first one.

La Gloria Cubana

I have heard this to be a rather popular brand. I bought a natural churchill for $6.00. The length is 7 inches and the ring is 50.

Gloria Cubana is made primarily in Miami, FL but a new factory was also opened fairly recently in the Dominican Republic. The wrapper for this cigar is Ecuadorian and the filler is made with Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos.

The cigar is a nice dark brown. There are no visible problems with the edges of the wrapper but there are a few small imperfections along the cigar. The construction seems good as the body is pliable and also does not feel too dry to the touch. The cut is very smooth (I use a double bladed cutter by the way, nothing fancy) and leaves no ragged edges.

It toasts and lights fairly easily. The burn is very good throughout most of the cigar. It burns quite evenly and the ash, a very light gray, stays on for close to 2 inches before falling off.

The Draw is halfway decent but a tad on the tight side for my liking. Also, I usually like to have a little more smoke fill my mouth with each puff.

The first part of the smoke starts off with a mild yet very creamy taste. A syrupy taste and texture controls the front of the mouth for a while. It's a nice way to ease into the cigar, but it's a very simple taste and after a while, I almost become bored with it.

As the second part starts to burn, the tastes are kicked up a notch. The smoke becomes much bolder and while the cream taste still remains, a spicier and peppery taste begins to take over. Also, I detect a faint presence of wood and nuts.

The last third of the cigar ends with more bitter flavors. The wood tastes stand out a lot more at this point and the creamy texture is all but gone. I think I'm also beginning to pick up on the after taste that I have heard accompanies this cigar, but it's nothing too overpowering.

I was a little disappointed with the final third of the cigar as it began to burn unevenly. The heat from the smoke also started to burn my mouth much earlier than I am used to, as there were still about 2 1/2 inches left.

I did like the transition of tastes. It definitely starts out quite mild before reminding you that La Gloria Cubana is meant to be more of a full bodied smoke as spicier flavors come out. I would categorize it between a medium and full bodied smoke. The flavors were enjoyable enough without overpowering the mouth. Considering also the low price, I would recommend people give this one a try.

Overall Rating: 74