All the buzz at the Plasencia Cigars booth, at this years Premium Cigar Association Trade Show, was around the new Alma Del Fuego. The cigar is a a continued nod from Nestor Plasencia Jr. to the island of Ometepe, the twin volcanic region of Nicaragua that grows some of the best cigar leaf in the world. Of course Nestor will tell you, to get the best out of the leaf, you have to age it well, and that is exactly what Plasencia did with this bold and tasty cigar. The company aged the leaf in the Alma Del Fuego seven years longer than in previous projects.
The name Alma Del Fuego is a direct nod to the Ometepe Volcanos, as the translation means ‘Soul of Fire‘. If you were at the trade show you had to be impressed by the display.
This is the third installment of the ‘Alma’ series from the company. The previous two were the Alma Del Campo and the Alma Fuerte. As for the Alma Del Fuego, the company chose a Nicaraguan Puro blend of tobacco grown completely by Plasencia:
- Wrapper – Nicaragua (Jalapa)
- Double Binder – Nicaragua (Ometepe)
- Filler – Nicaragua (Ometepe/Jalapa)
The Alma Del Fuego is expressed in three box-pressed vitolas, each packaged in 10-count wood boxes. Though I did not have a picture of it, the lid is designed to be used as an ashtray.
- Candente (5 x 50 Robusto) MSRP $15.00
- Concepción (6 x 54 Toro) MSRP $16.00
- Flama (6.5 x 38 Panetela) MSRP $17.00
For this review, I sampled the one Alma Del Fuego Candente I received at the trade show which has been resting in my humidor for two months.
Pre-Light Examination
The Alma Del Fuego is one of those cigars that you just want to grab off a shelf and take in all it has to offer. It has a glistening and marbled coffee bean brown wrapper that is light on veins and solid in the hand. The seams are tight and practically invisible. It has a closed foot and well applied triple cap. Looking more carefully, this is more like a quad cap, look at the number of lines running around the head of the cigar.
There are 3 bands that adorn this cigar. All bands use a red and white motif. The primary band proudly features the name ‘Plasencia’ in the center with the phrase ‘ Alma Del Fuego’ printed below. The footer band further describes this as the Alma Del Fuego in red on a white background. The final band is above the primary one and uses a thin strip that repeats the Plasencia logo all around it.
To get things started, I ran the Alma Del Fuego along the nose and I was greeted with a natural tobacco sweetness along the barrel and foot. Did I mention this tobacco has been aged over 7 years? That’s what you get.
Like all reviews I do these days, I opened the cap with a straight cut across the shoulder of the cigar. A few cold puffs delivered a touch of pepper and sweetness. Since it was a closed foot I can’t comment on the pre-light draw.
I was definitely ready to fire this up. Using cedar spill, I gently warmed the closed foot which took to the flame well as I drew in the first puffs of the Fuego.
Cigar Review Notes
- Rich thick smoke starts the journey
- White pepper is the first to strike as it hits the throat and then moves into the retro-hale
- Sweetness and caramel enter to brighten the profile
- Medium grey ash forms on a medium char line
- As the pepper moves to the back, the sweetness increases
- Delicious coffee and cocoa notes enter joined with a sweet cream
- Smoke is full, thick, and palate filling
- Sweet cinnamon spice joins the mix
- Once the ash falls, it reveals a flat and centered burn cone
- Strength moves up
- Sweet earthy herbal notes fill out the profile
- Slight wave in the burn midway
- Strength continues to move up
- Spice increases
- Sweetness and cocoa enters through the final
- Medium to Full Strength
- Total Smoking time was 1 hour and 20 minutes
Overall, the Plasencia Alma Del Fuego was a flavorful cigar that offered a consistent back note of sweetness blended with a rich complexity of notes including – spice, caramel, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, and earth. Though not pristine, the burn did not demonstrate any significant issue and never needed to be hit with the flame once it was ignited. There was a flat burn cone once the medium grey ash fell and just a slight wave in the burn midway. I smoked this to the nub. This is certainly one I would recommend buying a box of, especially since you get a cool wood ashtray as part of the box. The tobaccos are well aged and the cigar was ready smoke. I rate this a solid 94.
Point Deductions: (-1) Medium Grey Ash; (-1) Mild Wave Midway; (-1) Flat Burn Cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Buy a Box
