Forged Cigar Co., a subsidiary of General Cigar Corp, distributed a number of new blends in 2023. One of those was the limited edition La Gloria Cubana (LGC) Corojo de Oro. This is the second hybrid leaf project released under La Gloria Cubana. The original hit the market in 2021 known as La Gloria Cubana Criollo de Oro. For the second iteration the company incorporated a proprietary hybrid leaf called Corojo de Oro which was formed by combining Dominican-grown Corojo and Pelo de Oro. Unlike the original that used the hybrid Criollo as a wrapper, the Corojo de Oro uses the leaf as a binder.
Though the cigars are distributed by the Forged Cigar subsidiary, the cigars themselves are still considered a brand under Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) – the parent company of General Cigar Company.
The blend of the La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro is described as:
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder: Dominican Corojo de Oro
- Filler: Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Piloto Cubano, and Nicaraguan Ometepe
They are expressed in a single (6 x 50) Toro vitola and come packaged in 20-count boxes. MSRP has been set at $10.49/cigar.
The La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro is crafted at the General Cigar Dominicana factory that was once known as El Credito and owned by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo before he sold the brand to General Cigar Company.
For this review I sampled three La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro Toro which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro Toro is draped in a medium brown wrapper that is does not have much oily sheen to it. There are a few veins and bumps noticeable throughout the barrel of the cigar and the wrapper a slight marbling in color. It is solidly packed from head to foot. A double cap finishes the construction.
A single artful band adorns the cigar, using predominately blue and gold colors and presents the “Cuban Girl” prominently in the center. The name La Gloria Cubana means the “Glory of Cuba”.
Running the cigar along the nose, I detected notes of vanilla and pepper off the foot while the barrel presented aromas of pungent earth.
I opened the cap perfectly with my CigarMedics Baller cutter and gave it some cold draw puffs that I found to be a bit tighter than preferred and offered notes of pepper and salted butter. The pepper grows the more you cold puff it.
Using my single flame Xikar fan flame torch, I warmed the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of peppery smoke to start the journey. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs deliver a medium peppery spice on the nose and a touch of cream
- The draw is a tad tight and offers a medium volume of smoke
- Light grey ash forms on top of a medium thick slightly wavy char line
- Pleasant fruit notes with a touch of earth and chocolate enhance the early part of the journey
- An enticing nut aroma wafts off the foot
- The ash grows a tad flaky and drops in a decent chunk revealing a perfect burn cone
- The profile shifts to a touch of bitter/sour notes
- The early chocolate morphs into more of a dry cocoa powder
- There is a lingering nut comment resting on the palate between puffs
- Mild raisin and spice nuances appear moving through the second third
- The final brings more of a burnt charcoal note and that is where I ended it
- Medium-full in strength
Final Analysis
Although the first third of the La Gloria Cubana Corojo de Oro offered a pleasant array of introductory notes, the draw was tight on each sample delivering just a medium level of smoke off each puff. Once the ash dropped and revealed a well-formed burn, things start to get wonky in the burn along with a flakier ash and deeper waves in the char line. The profile got bitter and sour before teasing the palate with a touch of dry cocoa powder and a lingering nut. additional nuances of raisin and spice tease the palate but just do not come forward enough to fully enjoy them. the final third was where things just were not right as the flavor moved to more a burnt charcoal. Maybe you want to try one but this one did not do it for me. I rate this an 86.
Point Deductions: (-1) Tight draw; (-1) Medium Volume of Smoke; (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-2) Burnt Charcoal in final; (-1) Tad Bitter/Sour end of first third; (-1) Try One
