Dual Review: La Gloria Cubana Artisanos Retro Especiale

Club, 5.75" x 47 ring gauge / MSRP $7.00

The story goes that an old humidor was found at the El Credito factory about a decade ago and it inspired the look of the packaging for this cigar, the Artesanos Retro Especiale. It took nearly ten years for Michael Giannini and Team La Gloria to replicate the look of the humidor to their satisfaction and during that time they also worked hard on the cigar to go in it, including two years of cultivating a new wrapper and developing the blend. The result, according to Giannini is a cigar that is "as unique in its packaging as it is in its taste...." The hybrid Connecticut seed for the wrapper was grown in Honduras. The cigar features a two binders, one each from Mexico and Nicaragua. And the filler is a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan leaves.

DAVE SAID:

I was privileged to be invited by General Cigar to the factory where these are made last month and as a result two issues have come up regarding my review of this cigar. First, the question of whether or not I can give a fair review since General paid for my trip. The answer is "yes, absolutely." My opinion is not for sale; I will continue to be honest in how I feel about any cigar regardless of source or what perks the company may want to dole out. Second, because of the trip, I smoked more of these than probably any other cigar I've ever put up here for review...10...maybe 15?....before this review stick. This should already give you a clue that I like these as I don't tend to punish myself by smoking cigars I don't enjoy.

The band and packaging on the LGC Artisanos Retro Especiale is fantastic. It keeps the traditional look of the La Gloria girl holding a cigar, but updates it, while at the same time keeping true to the "retro" in the name. It's new and different, but classic and evocative of a different time and place. The wrapper could be better looking, though. It was a couple shades darker than many of the best Connecticut seed leaves coming out of Connecticut or Ecuador, but also had darker mottling and larger veins in evidence. I wouldn't come out and say it's ugly, but it is not beautiful, either. One of the more unusual things about this wrapper was how oily it was...much more so than most Shade leaves. The aroma from the wrapper was a clean hay and grass note; on the foot, I got more hay, but an equal amount of earth as well as a little pepper. I had put a straight cut on every other of these I smoked, so for this review, I decided to change it up and use my Xikar VX. The v-cut delivered a smooth draw and a mildly sweet, semi-salty prelight draw.

Once lit the Retro Especiale had a creamy almost caramel sweetness on the tongue with a nice black pepper spice on the retrohale. The smoke was thick, oily and rich, all attributes that are less common on Connecticut wrapped cigars. The flavor in the first third quickly evolved to a somewhat musty earthiness at the core, with a pleasant molasses sweetness on the finish, along with just enough pepper spice on the tongue and nose to give it that extra dash of interest. To me, nearly all La Gloria Cubana cigars tend to have a "family flavor"...something unique to them that you either love or you don't. In general, I'm not a fan of that family flavor; I don't hate it, but it just does not particularly appeal to me. This cigar does not share any of that flavor, instead standing as something truly unique in their catalog.

The second third was essentially a continuation and enhancement of what developed in the first..earthy with touches of sweetness and spice. Construction so far had proven to be great, with an even burn line, strong ash and very good draw. Since I have smoked quite a few of these, I am confident in saying that these attributes are consistent and if you get a different experience with one, it is probably the proverbial "one bad stick in the box." Despite sporting a Connecticut wrapper, which is often seen as a mild smoke, the body on the Retro Especiale was medium to start and edged upward as it went.

If there's one downside to the Retro Especiale it is this: it is not the most complex cigar in the world. I really didn't experience much change in the final third, although the flavor was still very good and I did enjoy it. I will go so far as to say that this is my favorite cigar to bear a La Gloria Cubana name. By the end the body had edged into the high end of the medium category and there was little if any nicotine kick. Overall, I would call this a very good cigar for both novices and more experienced smokers, but probably one that seasoned smokers will enjoy better early in the day. Some may be disappointed that it does not taste more like other La Gloria cigars they may have enjoyed in the past, but I would encourage you to just take it for what it is and give it a try.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 5/10

Complexity: 5/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4.5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 9/10

KEITH SAID:

While I didn’t go on the trip I’d like to thank General for providing the sample cigars I smoked for this review.  I smoked 4 cigars before the one I smoked for the review.

The wrapper on my cigar was a golden brown in color, but there were quite a few green spots on the lower half of the cigar.  Like Dave said the wrapper is darker in color than most Connecticut shade wrappers, but it is similar to some of the ones I’ve seen especially on the EPC cigars.  The wrapper had a medium amount of veins and some oils to it.  When I gave the cigar a squeeze I wasn’t able to detect any soft spots and it had a slight amount of give.  Putting my nose to the wrapper I got hay and barnyard with leather and hay coming from the foot.  After clipping it and taking a cold draw on it I got notes of hay and sugary sweetness with a good draw.

Lighting up the cigar brought a good amount of black pepper spice on the tongue and retrohale.  The flavors started off with earth, molasses sweetness, and a slight metallic taste.  The finish was slightly creamy.  The draw was pretty much perfect and it produced a large volume of smoke.  The burn was slightly ragged and the ash held on for about a half an inch before needing to be tapped off.  I would rate the cigar at the upper end of medium in body and strength.

The second third saw flavors of leather, wood, earth and that same metallic taste.  The spice did tone down quite a bit.  The burn almost evened out without needing a correction.

Like Dave mentioned this isn’t the most complex cigar.  The cigar finished off where it started with a good amount of spice and flavors of leather, wood and a molasses sweetness.  The draw continued to be just right and the burn stayed even.  I did get a slight amount of nicotine hit, but just barely.

Overall this was an enjoyable cigar.  The draw on this sample was definitely better than the 4 previous ones I smoked.  They weren’t unsmokeable, just not where I like a cigar to be.  This cigar definitely isn’t what you’d normally expect from a Connecticut shade cigar.  It reminded me a lot of the LGC Artesanos de Miami or an Opus X.  However this cigar wasn’t as complex or as refined as either of those.  I think most smokers would enjoy this cigar, albeit at different times of the day.

Body: 7/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 1.5/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 4/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 8.5/10