The La Gloria Cubana website has this to say about the Serie R Esteli:

Serie R has always stood for rich, bold taste. But the spirit of discovery is laced throughout Team La Gloria Cubana and it compels us to journey beyond our past successes and into untapped fields and obscure aging barns where great new flavors await. And on a mountainside high above the Jalapa Valley floor, that’s where our journey for a new Serie R began when we found rare Jalapa leaf that practically begged us to create great things.

Yet the creation of great things often unfolds differently than planned. And that’s exactly what happened when not one, but two great blends bested the rest in the race to become the next Serie R.

By design, both were super flavorful Nicaraguan puros blended from a host of Nicaraguan tobaccos from farms throughout the northwest, including those from the Jalapa Valley and in particular that from the Jalapa mountainside. And while their quality separated them from other blends, it was their distinctiveness from one another that made the decision difficult.

And ultimately drove us to launch both.

Team La Gloria Cubana is proud to introduce La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black and La Gloria Cubana Serie R Estelí.

Unlike the original Serie R that is produced at the El Credito Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic, the Serie R Esteli is produced in……wait for it….. Esteli, Nicaragua. The Esteli is available in three sizes:  No. Fifty-Four (6 by 54), No. Sixty (6 by 60), and No. Sixty-Four (6 ¼ by 64). The Serie R Black is exclusive to select internet and catalog retailers, while the Serie  R Esteli is exclusive to brick & mortars. I have to admit I was and still am more than a little confused on the differences between the Black and Esteli, other than the medium in which they are sold.

The Facts

Samples Provided by General Cigar Company
MSRP: $6.99
Size: 6 by 60
Wrapper: Nicaraguan – Jalapa Sol
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Drink: Water
Smoke Time: 1 Hour and 40 Minutes

Pre-light

The medium brown Jalapa wrapper is coated in oils and has a slight orange tint. Not only can you see the light reflect off the oils, it can be felt on my fingertips as I do my pre-light inspection. An equal amount of veins are founds on the rugged leaf, with color imperfections and bumps across the stick. I do not locate any soft spots on the Serie R Esteli. The wrapper aroma is surprisingly faint with barnyard and chocolate.

The foot gives off chocolaty goodness and I am beginning to feel a sneeze coming on. I think this stick may have some spice to it. A shallow cut through the double cap opens up a great draw and the flavors on the cold draw match up to the aroma off the foot of the cigar. Tons of chocolate, graham cracker, and rich tobacco are present. My expectation for the Serie R Esteli has significantly raised from the awesome cold draw.

First Third

The Serie R Esteli is off to the races with a bang. With the 60 ring gauge cigar lit, a satisfying amount of smoke is filling my mouth. The smoke seems just as oily as the wrapper. The flavors are full with notes of rich cedar, deep earth, pepper, and a very mild cocoa. The spice, while present, is not nearly at the level I was anticipating. However,  a slight tingle can be felt at the back my throat. The spice is not shy on the retrohale as sharp pepper notes are at the forefront. A sweetness is hitting the tip of my tongue but is quickly overwhelmed by the other flavors. The edgy burn-line is leaving behind a layered ash that is holding close to an inch.

Middle Third

The pepper has settled as I burn down the La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli. The mild cocoa seems to be shifting to a sweet chocolate and there is dark fruit notes that are now accompanying the cedar and earth. The pepper remains sharp on the retrohale. Outside of the chocolate, there is an additional sugar-cane sweetness that is really picking up. The cedar is jumping back and forth from a dry, pencil shaving flavor to a rich cedar. The burn is still edgy and the ash has become a bit flaky but still dropping in one inch chunks.

Final Third

The large band comes unglued with ease and I am into the final third of this 6 by 60 Nicaraguan puro. Bread-like and toasted notes have entered the mix, and with the combination of sugarcane sweetness, I am tasting something similar to roasted marshmallows. The cedar, earth, and fruit remain in the flavor profile. I am just beginning to feel a little nicotine kick, with my final analysis of the strength being at the high-end of medium. No changes in the ash or burn to report on.

Wrap-up

The Serie R Esteli had some big shoes to fill  and without a doubt this cigar was able to fill those shoes. The great draw, sufficient amount of smoke, firm ash, and, a little edgy, but decent burn made the Esteli a relaxing, effortless smoke.  I even forgot that I was smoking a 60 ring gauge cigar.  The strength never made it over the full hill to me, but I would definitely say the cigar is full flavored. The flavor change-ups held my interest for the entire hour and forty minutes. And if I wasn’t so lazy, I could have squeezed another twenty minutes out of the cigar. When taking into consideration the price on this bad boy of $6.99, the Serie R Esteli is a must try cigar. I know I will be hunting more of them down.

The post La Gloria Cubana – Serie R Esteli appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The wrapper on this cigar seems is very pretty, it’s got a very fresh and organic feel to it. At the same time it’s also pretty cryptic. On the front form top to bottom, you see “CAO”, “OSA” and “SOL” while on each side there are the words “San Agustin” and “Olancho”. Also in the white section it appears to be a map type of image with some names and rivers or roads on it. To help break the encryption for everyone, the “OSA” is simply the first initials of the regions where the tobaccos for this cigar were harvested. In this case it’s from ‘O’lancho, and ‘S’an ‘A’gustin.

I’m not sure exactly what the map is supposed to mean, possibly just tying into how the name is connected to it’s area of origin. The “Sol” in the name simply translates to “Sun” from Spanish. Likely signifying the Sungrown wrapper that surrounds the cigar. It’s also interesting to see that General Cigar kept the trend of naming the cigar after the location of it’s wrapper like CAO did. Although CAO usually named it after the wrappers after their country rather than region, such as the “Italia” or “Brazilia”

The blender for this new cigar is Rick Rodriguez of General Cigar. According to General/CAO, the leaves were chosen from the above mentioned regions in Honduras because of their unique weather conditions that result in some extra natural oils. I can’t say I noticed any excess of oils but it had a nice sheen to it. I will also say that General has some big shoes to fill after the massive success of CAO’s La Traviata and La Traviata Maduro.

I have to admit I’m coming into this cigar review with mixed feelings. I’ve enjoyed many of CAO’s offerings but now that they’ve been acquired by General Cigar I have some concerns since I’ve not had a good track record with General’s offerings. Maybe I just haven’t found the line they make that appeals to me. So here I guess we will find if the acquisition worked out in favor of the CAO line or not…

A quick disclaimer, this cigar was sent as a sample from General Cigar but I can assure you my review and opinions are my own and are completely honest. Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the “Good Stuff” as Tony would say!

Cigar: CAO OSA SOL
Drink: Innia & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: ”Lot 50” Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: About $5.50 – $6
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The CAO OSA has a very velvety smooth wrapper that has a warm cinnamon color to it
• There are some visible veins along the wrapper but they are not bumpy at all
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean double cap
• The foot of the cigar seems a bit messy, it looks well packed but some of the leaves seem sort of folded in and not really cleanly cut
• From the cap to the foot, the entire cigar is very firm with very little give when squeezed, let’s hope that doesn’t translate to a tight draw…
• The cut was very easy and clean and left me with a slightly tight draw. It’s not overly difficult to draw so I’ll stick with it for now

Burn:
• Toasting was a little bit tedious and there were some dark spots near the center that would just not glow properly, but after a few puffs I think I’m well on my way
• The cigar has a slight wave to it within the first inch, we’ll see if the burn corrects itself or gets worse…
• The wave is slowly getting worse as the cigar progresses, I’ve made it to the half way mark without correction but it may need a touch up soon
• As predicted, I needed a hefty touch up shortly after the halfway point and it continue to go downhill after that…

Smoke & Ash:
• The first few draws were a little weak in the smoke department but it got going to a moderate amount per draw shortly after
• There is initially a lot of resting smoke after putting the cigar down but within a couple seconds it’s pretty much no resting smoke at all
• The ash on this cigar is looking to be very clean and strong with a medium gray and black color to it
• Ash held on nicely for about an inch before falling into the ashtray, still remaining tightly bound

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper of the CAO OSA has an interesting tart sweetness to it and a bit of a mild tobacco touch
• The foot keeps the slight tartness to it and adds a bit of spice and a dry foliage type of aroma
• The tartness makes another appearance in the pre-light draw, along with more of the dry foliage earthiness
• Within the first few puffs I get a very interesting spicy bite, it’s not quite pepper, maybe something like a chili flake. Mix that in with the sweetness that’s still around and this is making for a very tasty start!
• Sweet Chili Doritos come to mind as I continue smoking this… wow! Maybe even with a little dirt thrown in the bag for the earthy flavors! lol
• The chili flavors have settled down a bit and translated to a mild white pepper, the earthiness has taken it’s place mixed with some cedar. Seems the sweetness is mostly gone now
• The retrohale up to now has been pretty uneventful with almost no bite and a bland finish
• Body for the most part has been in the low end of medium for the first half
• The flavors have settled into a mostly plain cedar and earthy mix and the finish has gotten slightly dry, a HUGE change from my initial impression
• Sadly, the blandness continues as I smoke the cigar, the flavors are turning into an almost charred wood type of flavor
• After my touch up past the halfway point the flavors took another downward turn and really turned more into the charred zone. I’m hoping it picks up…
• After another touch-up I couldn’t smoke this one anymore. I was trying to take one for the team here and hoping for the best but it’s just not happening, setting it down early…

Final Thoughts:
I REALLY had some hope for this cigar after seeing it’s construction, aroma and interesting initial flavors. That wicked sweet chili start really got my attention but it sadly tapered off quickly after that. The sweetness and chili got replaced by some plain cedar and earthy flavors that did not compare at all, it was if I started smoking a whole different cigar. I have to say I can’t remember the last time I had such a huge difference of opinion from start to finish on the same cigar. If the initial flavors on this cigar continued, I would have given this a glowing review for it’s uniqueness and delicious profile, but sadly that didn’t happen. The price point on these is accessible but it doesn’t come close to comparing to CAO’s old flagship La Traviata which was at the same price or even cheaper.

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn, what can I say? It’s still one of my favorite breweries. I enjoy everything I’ve had from them and I continue to seek them out every time I go to the store. Today’s choice was their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer which is a fantastic brew. It’s got some very tasty fruity sweetness and malty flavors mixed in with their trademark wonderful oaky notes. You can even catch some spicy flavors in there if you really pay attention. It’s got a fairly dark and full body on it so it can stand up to many fuller cigars including the CAO OSA. It made for a good pairing and added some interesting flavors to what ended up being a straightforward cigar. Other good pairings with this cigar would probably be some flavorful or full bodied beers or wines to keep your palate interested. Possiby a nice stout, Port or a strong cup of coffee to overpower the cigar… lol

The post CAO OSA Sol appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I was a huge fan of CAO’s La Traviata and I think I can speak with most people in saying that the maduro version has been at the tip-top of my “wants” list since I have heard it was in production. This particular stick that I am reviewing was given to my by my good friend Adam over at Tobacco Rd.

The Good Stuff: CAO was one of the first manufacturer’s that I can remember that equalized the economic downfall with a top of the line, affordable cigar that not only played friends with customer’s wallets, but blew the doors off unnamed cigar rating projects when the Natural version failed to show face in last year’s best of the best. CAO’s La Traviata Maduro is composed of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos, bound with a Cameroon, then wrapped with a Maduro Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. These bad boys should be hitting shelves as you are reading this review, and from my guess would retail around the same price as it’s natural brother, around $6 a stick.

Size: 5 x 5  – Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf – Binder: Cameroon – Filler: Nicaraguan/Dominican

Prelight: The La Traviata Maduro is an extremely dark complected cigar. The Natural La Traviata carried a darker brown but it can’t even hold a candle to the dark chocolate color of the Maduro. The wrapper is extremely toothy with tons of larger bumps making face. Much like the La Traviata Natural the Maduro’s oils make the cigar almost look like it was sprayed with a clear coat of protectant. The Traviata Maduro is an extremely firm cigar. It’s almost hard and feels very tightly packed. The cigar has quite a few tiny veins that I don’t foresee causing any problems and is topped off by a seamless, round double cap. The band is identical to the beige, gold, and maroon old school style band as the Natural only with the orangish red secondary band branding this cigar as a Maduro. The wrapper gives off almost no scent at all, pretty much the only thing I could pick up was a nutty, tobacco scent. The foot however bursts fourth with cocoa, tobacco, and spice aromas. The Traviata was a little tough to cut using my Palio double bladed cutter. I am really hoping this cigar isn’t packed too tightly. The cold draw seems to be fair and produce a very spicy, woodsy flavor. I’m anxious to fire this guy up.

First Smoke: The La Traviata Maduro took almost no effort to light up using my single flame cheapy torch that just happened to be by my back door. To my surprise the draw was effortless and produced a massive mouth full of thick, heavy smoke. There was a bit of spice off the bat, but not nearly as much as I was expecting. Just enough to tease the back of the throat. The main flavor was earthy tobacco with back up notes of soft cinnamon, cocoa, and spice. The retrohale is amazing and primes the nasal passage with a strong cedar coat with pepper afterthoughts. The La Traviata Maduro doesn’t give off much stationary smoke, but what it does give off is a very interesting, great scented cedar aroma. The burnline is excellent and right on target producing a very bright white and grey, tightly compacted path of destruction. The ash itself held on for almost and inch and a half before toppling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Into the second third of this Traviata Maduro I am blown away by how ridiculously smooth this cigar is. I could hit this stick one, after another and never feel any kickback. That being said, I haven’t felt any real presence of nicotine yet. The spice is completely gone at this point and the remaining cedar and cocoa flavors are really taking off. There is a little bit of spice, and earthy tones but that cedar is rocking hard. The burnline is still crisp and clean. If I remember correctly the La Traviata Natural burned very slow. I am not having the same experience with the maduro. Either it seems to be burning a bit faster or I am really enjoying this cigar. I am finding myself not wanting to put it down.

Finish: I am honestly that, despite how hard I was going on this cigar that absolutely no harshness built up. The La Traviata finished even smoother than it started. The pepper never did make the comeback, and that’s totally ok. The main finishing flavor was cedar with a bit of coffee backed by bittersweet cocoa and spice. I did however, slightly start to feel a bit of the nicotine kick in towards the end, but not enough to even phase me. I took this bad boy all the way down until my fingers burned. Total smoke time was a little over an hour. If there is anything a cigar manufacturer can learn from CAO it’s how to apply glue to a band. These two came off with extreme ease.

Overview: I think it goes without saying that CAO’s La Traviata Maduro is yet another winner. Box worthy by far and probably one of the best cigars I have had all year. The smoothness is perfect for the most casual cigar smoker while the complexity and absolute top-shelf flavors are enough to please even the biggest critic. At a price point of around $6 a stick this is a perfect cigar for just about everyone, including myself, to have in their regular rotation.

Pairing: Being that I am low on my beer reserve I decided to pair this La Traviata Maduro with some St. Clair Vineyards Port. This port is an award winning, dark red with in your face flavors of plum, black current, and pepper. The port finishes off warm with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, raspberry, and black cherry. I can’t think of anything that I would have rather paired this cigar with. The fruit made a perfect pair with the smooth cocoa flavors of the cigar. This cigar would pair perfectly with black coffee, stout, porter, tea, or any brown soda. Dear Daniel, I don’t want to hear any crap about my glass. I’ll get a proper one soon!

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