La Palina Maduro 40 | Cigar Review

By Cigar Reviews by the Katman on December 18, 2013

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro
Binder: Honduran (Two Binders)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Criollo and Corojo)
Size: 6 x 40 “Lancero”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $8.25

La Palina is a cigar for kings and sultans. If you’ve smoked any of the different blends, your palate will know where the money went. But Mr. Paley (I call him Billy) knows how to put the right people in the right place at the right time to blend his cigars.

I have reviewed all of the blends in his line and been knocked out by all of them.

This is from their web site:
“The Honduran made La Palina Maduro has an exceptional combination of sweet and spice that is sure to impress. The naturally processed Mexican maduro wrapper is hand-selected for its distinctive color and oily texture.
“A double binder from Honduras and Nicaraguan corojo and criollo filler tobaccos further highlight this beautifully rich wrapper, creating a medium-bodied cigar with refined balance. The La Palina Maduro is dark, sweet and spicy with a buttery smooth finish that will appeal to any palate.”

The stick is gorgeous with its shimmering oiliness and its near coal black wrapper. Seams are snapped tight and lots of small minor veins. The triple cap is flawless. It is nicely packed with the perfect give. And the cigar band is their classic beauty of gold, white and black and impossible to shoot with my camera. Glare.

My only trepidation is, because of its size, there may be some burn issues. We shall see..

I snip the cap, looking forward to this…and find aromas of spice, cocoa, heavy cream, sweet cedar, baking spice, and leather.
Time to light up….

The first puffs are decadent sweet clusters of whipped cream. I can feel the oiliness of the cigar on my lips. There is a modicum of spice. And then we have some cocoa and espresso. The sweetness piles it high. The body starts out at classic medium. And the spiciness is on an upward trajectory.

Lanceros can hit the mark or miss it completely. Cain F had some limited release lanceros and they were so-so. And not cheap. I traditionally like lanceros as a treat for the simple reason that they are so condensed that they become flavor bombs instantly. You can keep your Tony Soprano 7 x 70 cigars. I want taste and flavor at the starting line.

The cigar smokes slow. Smoke is spewing from the foot and there is an herbal scent. Flavors build at the 1” mark. A slow infectious grind. Like a $200 lap dance.

This is one of the cigars, on the short list, that a trained palate can sense every step of the blending process. I’ve had the $20 Family Series cigars back when they were $30. Great cigars. A true aficionado’s experience.

The char line is a bit wavy but well within the parameters of “not an issue.”

It is a dreary day. The snow has ceased. But now we expect rain, sleet, more snow, wind, cloudiness, grasshoppers, weevils, frogs, gnats, flies, pestilence, boils, hail, and death of your first born cigar. Damn. I get short glimmers of sunshine at the window but by the time I scurry over there for a photo, it’s gone.

As I approach the end of the first third, the cigar is a bona fide flavor bomb. The flavors are, in descending order: Spice, creaminess, cocoa, espresso, floral, leather, cedar, sweetness, dried figs (Ode to the Egyptians), and still some yet to be determined flavors. It is boiling over, boys.

What a great cigar. And here is the kicker. I got these cigars from the lovely Courtney Smith at La Palina two days ago. I dry boxed them til this morning and I thought I’ve got nothing to lose. This is New Breed Tattooed Ones blending style. The more I smoke, the more the cigar glistens with oil. Unfortunately, my lame shooting conditions probably won’t show it. I gotta do something about this $12 camera.

The second third sees the flavor profile stretch its legs. The body moves up to just above medium. The leaflet that came with the cigars says this cigar is medium bodied but methinks it is more than that.

New flavors: deep earthiness, and raw cashews. The char line is doing just fine.

I hit the second half and the complexity digs in deep. The flavors are not as bold but, rather, rolled into a big ball constantly turning allowing me to taste flavors in random order. The balance is perfect. Chewy. A long finish.

These are the sizes this blend comes in:
40: 6 x 40- $8.25 (NEW)
50: 6 x 50- $9.25
52: 5 x 52- $8.75
56: 7 x 56- $9.75
60: 6 x 60- $10.00

The last third finds the cigar cruising on its warmth, balance, long finish and subtle nuances.
Creaminess and coffee lead the pack…with cocoa, earthiness, and nuts behind it.

It has taken me 50 minutes to get this far.

So far, there has been no nicotine kick. Are you reading this Wally Guse? Treat yourself, buddy.
The lancero took a total of one hour 20 minutes to finish.

This is one of those flavors that really puts a smile on your ugly puss. I don’t want this to end. The last third shines so brightly with flavor and I definitely recommend this stick. The price point is on target. Especially, when compared with other cigars in this price range.

I want to thank Courtney and Billy and La Palina for allowing me to review this cigar. I have never been disappointed by any La Palina cigar. You can check out my reviews of the other blends by typing in La Palina in the “Search” window on my home page.