- Length: 5 ¾ inches
- Ring Gauge: 49
- Wrapper: Capa Oscura
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
The La Gloria Cubana Serie N is the latest offering from Team La Gloria Cubana. First introduced at last year’s IPCPR show, I remember friends coming home from the show and showing me the cigar. The first thing that stood out on the cigars that I saw were the lightly colored N’s on the dark Oscuro wrapper. That ‘N’ stands for Nicaragua as the Serie N is a true Nicaraguan Puro.
This past Friday was Serie N day and I had received some samples from General Cigar in anticipation of the event. For those of you that could not attend the festivities at your local tobacconist, Team La Gloria Cubana arranged a live Skype event from the El Credito Cigar Factory in Miami, Florida. Several tobacconists and their customers across the country were able to ask questions of Rick Rodriguez, Michael Giannini, Yuri Guillen and Leo Peraza. Benji Menendez also made a couple of cameo appearances throughout the night.
I’ve had the opportunity to smoke a few samples since Serie N day and I actually got to share one with Michael Giannini, Yuri Guillen and Victoria McKee Jaworski this past Tuesday while they were in town.
I paired a couple with water for review purposes but, I’ve also paired some with coffee and rum. They are great combinations all around. Now, on to the review:
As I mentioned earlier, the big stand out visually is the lighter Connecticut Shade ‘N’ against the dark Capa Oscura wrapper. These are cut out using a specially made stamp and painstakingly applied by hand.
Examining the cigar itself, I see that the cap is very smooth and well made. The dark wrapper has a few small veins and some larger veins that seem to be under the wrapper. This gives the cigar a slightly bumpy appearance here and there. The Capa Osura wrapper has a good oily sheen to it. The body of the cigar itself is very firm. Look at the foot and you’ll see it is nicely bunched and well packed with just a slight amount of give.
The wrapper’s aroma was a deep, rich tobacco while I got a sense of sweet berry on the foot.
After I clipped the cap, the pre-light draw brought forth more of that berry flavor and the slightest bit of resistance.
Once I had the cigar lit, the draw was near perfect. The cigar produced a satisfying amount of smoke with each puff. At first the burn line was a little wavy but it corrected itself shortly thereafter. Michael Giannini has suggested that the Serie N be smoked at 65% humidity instead of 70% due to the very thick wrapper. The Capa Oscura retains a lot of that humidity and he feels you’ll get a better flavor and smoke experience at the lower humidity level.
During the first quarter to half an inch of the La Gloria Cubana Serie N, I tasted a rich tobacco flavor with some spice on the exhale and a tingle on my lips and tongue.
Further along, I began to pick up a slightly citrus / mildly bitter flavor that reminded me very much of Earl Grey tea with a slightly sweet finish. The flavor combination continues with an undertone of rich tobacco for the remainder of the smoke. I found this combination of flavors intriguing and very enjoyable.
Smoke time was right around 60 minutes. I would classify the La Gloria Cubana Serie N as a medium strength, full body cigar with great flavor. This cigar has definitely become a new favorite of mine and is right up there with the Serie R in my opinion.