- Size: 5.2″ x 56 (“Duque” Robusto)
- MSRP: $200.00 (box of 25); $8.00 for a single
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Body: Medium / Medium Full
- Strength: Medium
- Humidor Time Prior to Review: 8 months
- Cigars Smoked Prior to Review: 4
- Source: Purchased with Personal Funds
- Date Smoked: August 18, 2018
On deck for review today is the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor. This is a cigar everyone has reviewed. It has received critical acclaim from all the big reviewers, and scored a 95 rating by Cigar Aficianado and runner up for their “Cigar of the Year” awards. I’m trying to build out some points of reference, and my palate, so I snagged a 5 pack of these in January 2018 and have smoked my way through them over the past few months.
I’ll tell you, my experience with these cigars has been all over the place. The first one I had was borderline magical, and the rest were just OK by comparison. I’m hoping that today’s cigar will be more like the first one I smoked and less like the last one I smoked. All my sticks have been resting at 62 RH in my air conditioned house, so conditions should be just fine for smoking.
At any rate, this cigar is made for Ashton Cigars by Don Pepin Garcia in Nicaragua. This cigar was released in 2010 and caused quite a stir at the time. Here is what the manufacturer’s page has to say about it. This cigar is reasonably priced. I happened to pay under $3 a stick as I won these on C-Bid, but you can find them regularly in the $7 range. Even at retail prices this cigar has the potential to be an affordable regular rotation type blend for normal working stiffs like me.
Appearance and Pre-Light Aromas
The Mi Amor comes in a light brown wrapper. I’ve noted older reviews say the cigar has a dark brown wrapper. Mine is more of a milk chocolate. Looking at pictures, its possible the wrapper may have changed slightly over the years. I’m reviewing this in 2018, and most of the reviews are from 2011-2013. Makes sense given the release date.
The seams are tight and the veins are minimal. It’s an attractive box pressed stick, with a lopsided rectangular press. The cigar feels firm and is densely packed. Topping things off is a finely applied triple cap.
Sniffing the wrapper yields aromas of leather, hay, and barnyard. From the foot I get earth, hay, and a little cedar.
I gently clip the cap and take a test puff. It’s very snug. I clip off a little more of the cap. Still snug. The last cigar I smoked had a snug draw, and I noticed that in a few other reviews I read the other week. Seems to be a common issue, but the cigars still smoke. I don’t get much besides some cedar on the prelight draw. This is mostly due to the tight draw.
I start toasting and light ‘er up. Start time is 4:00 PM.
First Third
The draw is a little snug, but it’s producing a good amount of smoke. The flavors I get on the first puff are pepper, cedar, and a little fruit. The finish is woody and it lingers. The second puff provides me with nuts, wood, and a little chocolate. The aroma is fruity. Nice start to the cigar, but I find that these initial flavors change as the cigar settles in.
The snug draw is a little frustrating. But that’s the way these cigars are. Jam-packed and box pressed. It is what it is.
A few minutes in and I’m getting some toasty elements. Bread, toasted nuts, some light wood, and light cream. Body is at a medium. I’m getting a small amount of pepper on the retrohale. It’s a smooth start.
I’ve changed locations for my review setup. The dark background of my folding table is making it hard to see the cigar in the pictures. Sorry about that. I will have to source a lighter colored folding table, but for now our glass patio table will have to do.
10 minutes or so in and we have burned a little over half an inch. The cigar is producing a compact light gray ash. The burn so far has been nice and even. Also, a new flavor has emerged: coffee. Right now it’s a light coffee. It goes well with the cream, wood, and nuts. The nuttiness reminds me of cashews. Pepper continues to find its way into the retrohale, and I’m getting a little bit towards the back of my throat.
The La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor is off to a nice start, but it’s nothing mind blowing. Relatively mild flavors combined with a snug draw make for an OK experience. I’m hoping the throttle will open as we progress through the stick and things take off. This isn’t the first snug Mi Amor I’ve had, so I don’t think I’m smoking an outlier.
I’m getting a strong cashew flavor. It’s a mild creamy nuttiness. Buttered toast, some wood, and light coffee with cream. Wood and a little light coffee on the finish. As if on queue, a little chocolate develops in the background. It’s towards the finish, sort of buffering the lighter flavors.
I’m puffing slowly and gently on the cigar. It’s a little tight, but plenty of smoke is coming out, and the burn is almost dead even. That’s great.
Some cedar is finding its way into the profile now. It ads a little sharpness, a little tang to the blend. Pepper is picking up a little too. Things are progressing slowly but surely. Flavors are building and changing. I’m having fun.
Second Third
Smoke time is right around 30 minutes. So far the ash has yet to drop, but it’s building towards an inch and a half. Again, as if on cue, it drops off write after I write that sentence. Thankfully into the ash tray in a solid chunk.
Still getting some toasty, nutty flavors here on the front of my palate, but with other elements building in the background. A little coffee and wood. Some pepper on the retrohale. It’s still very much a medium bodied cigar for me.
It’s another hot day here in South Florida. We are over halfway through August, so things are peaking. Personally, that’s why I live in Florida. Sometimes it drives me nuts, but ultimately I’m here for the heat. I rode my bicycle this morning for a little exercise and came back drenched in sweat. Good stuff.
A little saltiness is creeping into the blend. The last one of these I smoked got incredibly salty. I hated it, and don’t recall that happening before with this cigar. I’m hoping that was an oddity. I’m smoking slowly.
I’m also still getting some creamy and nutty flavors. I’ll take that over salt any day of the week. Thankfully the salt doesn’t appear to be building. Instead, the coffee is building along with a nice sweet tobacco.
We are getting towards the first band. It peels away easily. I take another puff and I’m getting more coffee, cedar, and sweetness now. A real shift in the flavor profile from the toasty nutty flavors in the first third. I’m all for it. Even the aroma has shifted away from a fruitness to more of a sugary sweetness now. Like a sweet bread.
Neither the body nor the complexity have made it to high gear, but I’m getting a lot of sweet dessert type flavors now. Creaminess, sweet tobacco, light caramel, coffee with sugar, chocolate, toast, with a light peppery finish.
I’m still fighting the draw a little, but the smoke I’m getting is nice. The burn has also begun to get a little wavy. Not needing a correction yet, but heading in that direction.
It’s a peaceful afternoon here. Quiet, save for the odd bird chirping and the hum of the air conditioner. A light breeze stirs the air occasionally. A spider’s web gently floats and ebbs. Smoke trails slowly from my resting cigar.
Cedar finds its way back into the retrohale. It comes and goes as it pleases, offering a tangy element to the Mi Amor. A plain tobacco finish lingers on my palate.
At this point the burn has gotten wavy. It’s about half an inch out of whack. I try to coax it back to even by singeing the very edge of the high spots. That seems to do the trick.
The flavors now are more coffee, chocolate, and cedar. It’s no longer the pure dessert stick of a few minutes ago. Pepper is picking up, and so is the body. We have transitioned abruptly into medium full territory. Things are getting interesting, and the story is arcing into its final act.
The Final Third
Smoke time is 1 hour. The La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor is shaping up to be a 1.5 hour robusto.
I think the trick to this cigar is to not fight the tight pack. You need to smoke it gently. Forcing the action will destroy the flavors. That’s true for any cigar, but I have a tendency to get impatient with a tighter draw. Gotta relax. I suspect that is what happened with the last one I smoked. I fought the cigar and it soured on me.
The final band is starting to brown by the cherry so I peel it away. It comes apart without any issues. The remaining cigar is perfectly smooth. A tawny brown wrapper spidered with fine veins. The seams melt into each other. Visually, it’s a nicely rolled cigar and an attractive wrapper.
Flavors continue to build and condense. The coffee is getting bolder. The cedar offers some tanginess. A little black pepper on the draw. But I’m still getting some toasted flavors. Toasted bread. Toasted plain tobacco. And I’m still getting a little creaminess too. Cedar and other woody notes on the retrohale. The end result is a smooth and balanced cigar. It isn’t a powerhouse, but it’s pleasant.
A second chunk of ash falls away. I get up to refill my glass of water. I’m in the shade but it’s still hot. Gotta stay hydrated here. I come back and the cigar is producing tons of resting smoke. More than before. It cascades away from the cigar, drifting across my laptop. I take a puff and I’ll be damned if the draw isn’t a little more open now. Maybe there was a knot we burned through? The burn line has evened up as well. I don’t want to jinx myself, but the cigar gods may be smiling down on me from above.
Nuttiness has returned, the coffee is getting black, and I’m getting earth and dark chocolate now. Cedar is still there, and so is the pepper. I’m being taken on a ride and am loving the way things are progressing here.
We are at one hour and 20 minutes. The burn has slowed. I don’t see this finishing by 5:30, but I’ve got a birthday dinner to prepare for my girlfriend. I hate to smoke with a deadline, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
The pepper has stepped up sharply. It’s the most present draw flavor now. Any sweetness or creaminess in the stick has faded away. Lots of coffee, baker’s chocolate, and cedar. I’m getting a little saltiness, but nothing like the last one of these I had.
I like how you can let this cigar rest for a minute or two without it going out. I step inside to fill a pot up with water and put it on the stove. My Mi Amor doesn’t miss a beat. I come back and am rewarded with a rich bold coffee flavor and plenty of pepper. It’s almost to a espresso flavor now. Borderline fruity in its intensity. Mild baking spices on the retrohale.
The nub is growing warm. We still have an inch and a half of cigar left, and we at an hour and a half of smoke time. I could easily puff on this for another 15 minutes, and perhaps even get 30 more minutes out of the cigar, but I’m a little pressed for time unfortunately. That’s OK, I’ll end this one early and on a high note.
La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Review – Final Thoughts
This cigar is almost universally loved by those who have reviewed it. I have to say, this experience was nice. The cigar started off nutty and toasty, and it ended with lots of coffee, dark chocolate and pepper. Nicely balanced and smooth. Little in the way of strength. It starts off as a medium bodied cigar building to a medium full bodied smoke by the end of the cigar. The ciagr has a convenient story arc. A 3 act play if you will. I can see why this cigar is so well respected.
I wish the draw were a little easier. That is my biggest gripe. But beyond that I think there is a lot to like here. Give it patience and you will be rewarded. And the price is something pretty much anyone can afford. I would buy it again. Not quite box worthy for me, but enjoyable.
Final Score: 3.75 / 5 or a “1” on my 0-2 scale (I’d buy it again)
Final Smoke time: 1 hour 40 minutes +
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