Monarch, 6" x 52 ring gauge, $6.80La Aroma de Cuba has been a long-time favorite from the Ashton company, but they decided that it needed a change. They had Don Pepin Garcia create a new blend for the LAdC line, promising that it would maintain the rich, spicy character while improving overall flavor. It features Nicaraguan fill and binder along with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The New Blend can be distinguished form the old by the red ribbon around the foot. I could not find an old blend to compare prices with, but it always struck me that the old LAdC was on the upper end of the medium price range; this new one is at the lower end of that medium range, though, making it a very attractive stick.
Upon release from the cellophane, the LAdC gave off rich, strong chocolate aromas. The wrapper was smooth and shiny from the oils. It had fairly small veins, especially for a Broadleaf, and a nice dark "maduro" brown color. The body had tons of chocolate aroma and so did the foot--it was almost like a See's chocolate See-gar! Only better, because you can smoke this one!
The prelight draw had coffee and sweet chocolate flavors and left a nice spicy tingle on the lips. Initial light gave up plenty of black pepper and chili pepper and I could tell this was a full-bodied stick from the very first. Pepper and spice dominated most of the first third, but they were joined by bitter espresso and leather notes. The smoke was heavy and dense with flavor; the finish was overwhelming to the point of unpleasant a few times.
By the second third, most of the pepper had faded, as had that strong, leathery finish that I was not enjoying. What was left was a nice coffee flavor with notes of leather and cocoa powder.
The spice returned in the last third, although not nearly as strong as before. Coffee and muted cocoa notes remained dominant until the end. The burn started off crooked , but corrected itself in the second third and remained straight through the end. The draw was consistently very good. Overall, this was a fantastic smoke except for a little strangeness in the flavor near the end of the first third; I had not noted this on any previous samples I had smoked, so I put it down to this particular stick having some sort of minor flaw. I would judge this to be another winner from Don Pepin Garcia, and at a great price point to boot. It was full bodied, but not so much nicotine that it really kicks your butt.
Body: 9/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 8/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
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