I am back at it again with another review coming out of IndianHead Cigars. In 2015, it was announced that Jochy Blanco, owner of Tabacalera Palma, acquired IndianHead Cigars along with its many valued priced brands. Paired alongside the news of the acquisition was the launch of the La Galera brand by IndianHead Cigars. The original launch consisted of the La Galera Habano and Connecticut. Three additional lines were added to the La Galera brand in 2016 including La Galera 80th Anniversary, La Galera 1936, and La Galera Maduro.

The La Galera 1936 Box Pressed was created to commemorate the year Tabacalera Palma opened its door, the factory the La Galera line is produced at. The 1936 Box Pressed is available in six vitolas: Chaveta (5 by 50), Pegador (5 ½ by 46), El Lector (6 by 54), Pilon (6 by 54), Cortador (6 ⅛ by 52), and Churchill 7 ¼ by 50. Packaged in 21-count boxes, the cigars range in price from $6.30 to $9.20 per cigar. 

You can purchase the La Galera 1936 Box Pressed  from our good friends at Fox Cigar. It doesn’t look like they are listed on their online store yet, but you can give them a ring at  (800) 730-2087.

THE FACTS

Price: $6.30
Vitola: Pegador
Size: 5 ½ by 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican Criollo 98
Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano and Criollo 98
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 5 Minutes

PRE-LIGHT

The La Galera 1936 Box Pressed wears a medium brown wrapper that is mostly consistent in color, but there is some dark, nearly black splotching. The veins are tiny and only a couple of scattered bumps are found on the leaf. The cigar is incredibly smooth and the wrapper is oily. 

Cocoa and crushed red pepper are on the wrapper, while a bigger notes of chocolate, crushed red pepper, and cedar come across on the foot. I find a perfect cold draw after cutting the cap with rich notes of cedar, clove, and chocolate.

FIRST THIRD

The 1936 Box Pressed opens with medium flavors of oak, dark red fruit, and spice. The flavors are meshing well together and well balanced. Even so, there is a nice spicy edge to the smoke and a hint of saltiness. Earth and unsweetened bumble gum characterize the finish.  The burn, which started off with a slight wave, is even after self-correcting itself. The carbon line is thick and a white ash is forming.

MIDDLE THIRD

Transiting into the second third, the profile is meatier as the spice and salt develop and take on a more dominant role, but the flavors from the first third can still be found in the background. As I reach the middle of the cigar, the secondary band removes with ease. It is at this point that charred wood and cocoa join the mix. 

FINAL THIRD

Pieces of the flaky ash are dropping all over me as I enter the last leg of the La Galera 1936 Box Pressed  The charred wood note is holding strong and  a mild natural sweetness is trying to fight off some bitterness that has snuck in. With a few minutes remaining in the smoke, I am beginning to feel some of the strength the 1936 brings to the table.

WRAP-UP

The small ring gauge, box pressed format, and the introductory profile is everything I want to in an elegant, classy cigar. A cigar that I would want to accompany me in a celebration setting where time may be a limited. When the flavors evolved in the second third, I felt like it lost that classy touch. The burn issues and flaky ash of the La Galera 1936 further affirmed that. There was no “bad” part of the cigar. But it just didn’t end as favorably as it had begun. I really like what Jochy Blanco is doing at Tabacalera Palma and with the La Galera brand. The Maduro is way up there as one of my favorite smokes I’ve had this year. And for a price of $6.30 for the 1936 Box Pressed, you can’t really go wrong trying a couple of these for yourself.