Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 50 Toro
Strength: Full
Price: $21.99
Date Released: October 2022
Quantity Released: 5,000 boxes of 10
Factory: El Titan de Bronze

My cigars received one month of naked humidor time.

BACKGROUND:
From Cigar Aficionado:
“There’s a new La Gloria Cubana coming next month and, like the cigar that made the brand famous in the early 1990s, it’s made in Miami. Called 8th Street, the name is a reference to Miami’s Little Havana section and the street where the cigars are produced—El Titán de Bronze, a tiny cigar factory on 8th Street, also known as Calle Ocho.

“General Cigar purchased La Gloria Cubana in 1997, which by that time had greatly expanded operations, making far more cigars in the Dominican Republic than in Miami. General transformed the small factory into a cigar lounge in 2010, and later closed the Miami operation entirely. Now owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group, La Glorias are produced exclusively in the Dominican Republic.

“La Gloria Cubana 8th Street is a limited release that consists of an Ecuador Havana Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.”

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
The cigar has three years of box aging and less than a month on its own accord with me. If it ain’t ready yet, it never will be. Something I said between my years 20-29.

The wrapper smells spicy. With added notes of damp barnyard and mons Venus, plus a no brainer Snickers bar full of chocolate, peanuts, and caramel. Lastly, there is a slight tone of lemon zest.

Does my PerfecPunch ever dull? No, it doesn’t. How did Dr. Rod do that? I’ve used a bazillion punches for over 60 years and not one of them lasted more than a couple of months. The PP in my go bag is the same one I’ve had for two years and is as sharp as a brand new Ginsu knife. Is it any wonder that Davidoff tried to buy Dr. Rod’s company? He said no because the man has giant scruples. Neither hangs below his knees.

The draw is dead so another shill for Rod and his tool, the PerfecDraw. The plug is minor and occurs in the cigar band region. One swish and the detritus is retrieved, and the blow hole is free and clear.

The cold draw is earthy, spicy, and contains more of that lemon zest component. The usual suspects also appear in the form of chocolate and mango berries.

Sometimes lighting up a cigar is damn spot on, and this baby fills the bill. Absolutely delicious. I smoked a ‘too early’ stick a few days upon receipt and it was meh. With a few weeks of open container and there is a zing in the air. I immediately think that if this goes well, I’m going to buy another box before I hit the Publish button.

Dark chocolate that is rich beyond my dreams and nightmares combined. The balance of earthiness, richness, immediate complexity, and candy bar hits me between the eyeballs. I read two reviews published just a couple months after the cigar was released, and the critics saw this stick as just an OK cigar because it started great but gave up its ghost in the last third. Some sticks gather no moss while others kick it into gear with extended rest.

Thank goodness for the Cloud. In the not-so-distant past, your computer crashed and you lost just about everything. It happened to me three years ago and I had to start from scratch. This time around, I lost only what was on my desktop. A pain for sure, but nothing critical to my existence in the material world. I’m fortunate to have a great tech guy who not only helps when needed but puts up with my occasional cries of panic.

The first inch was a warmup. The sweet notes contained a bounty of items: chocolate, apples, caramel, more chocolate, malted milk, and peanut shells. In one review I read that apples and white wine were mentioned as headliners. The critic nailed it. Exacta-mundo. It helps to read everyone. Often, flavors are out of my brain’s decaying reach. “What is that? What the hell are those flavors? I’ll check the Flavor Wheel. No, that doesn’t help.” And then I read a review or two. And BAM! All is well in crypto world.

Construction reigns supreme despite the minor incident of a small plug. The char line is perfect. The slow roll is glacier. Some blends do extremely well with aging while others simply age out. I have a laundry list of those that bite the bodeen after a year.

Strength in the first inch was moderate and hardly noticeable. In inch number two, I feel the creep. As I hold these cigars dear, I chose not to review it after a meal. Instead, I’m bare bones with only my morning coffee. Probably, a big mistake. By inch number 6, I expect to see the godhead riding a flaming chariot.

I’m having a good time. The best part? I got these $22 sticks for only $5 a pop in a ten-count box. Scroll my babies, scroll.

The flavors change. They fold in on another like baklava in the bottom of your grocery bag. The earthy nature rises like excessive baking powder in your cornbread. It’s a fair tradeoff. Three years of box aging creates a showoff. I’m always in a quandary when I’m fronted by this Solomonic question: Are box-aged cigars ready to go or will they get even better with extended naked humidor time? A sommelier might be able to answer. Me? I got no fucking idea. I will set three cigars aside for aging and smoke the rest when I damn well feel like it.

I close in on the end of the first half. One hour. Inch number three goosed the depth and the inexplicable richness.

I will be 76 soon. An odd thing. We all value life. Others as well as our own. We hope that we don’t die in our perceived prime. Here’s the gumby and pokey in the pudding…old people see the end and therefore feel an urgency about life. Most of us don’t acquire wisdom as much as we see a new clarity not available to us earlier. It is this lucidity that gives us the desire to forge ahead without interruption…and not give up the proverbial ghost. It’s a strange thing that belongs to every living and sentient hominid…cigar smokers too.

This is a grownup cigar blend. There was a flash bang at the first inch or so with big flavors. From there, it began to morph into something sophisticated.

My first sip of water. A fine bourbon would go down well. It will bring out the fruitiness of the cigar.

We all go through phases of what we like to smoke. Currently, I’m on a Connie Broadleaf with Nic bowels chapter. The blend of the 8th Street is completely different. While the leaf stats are Ecuadorian wrapper with Dominican and Nic guts, they scream erudition and style. A fine complexity is woven throughout the blend.

I’m in the last third. The test lay before me. I’m having a different experience from the reviews I read. Aging has done this blend a solid.

Curved Air was in Holland or Spain. Copeland and I went to an after-hours club after our gig. Page and Plant were there. We were invited up to the stage to jam, and it became Zeppelin Lite. The sound in the place was extraordinary. Every note was defined and rich. We jammed on a long blues progression that turned into a 15-minute exploration. The thing I wish is that there was a record of that event. But alas, in the 70’s there were no cell phones to elaborate the experience. Another time is set in stone. The entirety of my band went to a jazz club in Holland and saw harmonica genius Toots Thielman. Our violinist asked if he could jam. Toots sized Darry Way up and down and said a perfunctory no. There was glee in my heart.

The last third is brilliant. Not a lick of harshness or heat. Next to zero nicotine. Smooth, creamy, rich, distinct, complex, transitional, and full of depth. Nothing to change my opinion of the cigar. The review I read that gave this cigar a measly 86 was a result of not enough age. It wasn’t wrong, just too soon. I get it when a cigar is reviewed soon after its release and it gets a resounding thumbs up. But I don’t get it when a reviewer jumps the gun and gives the cigar a thumbs down. Different strokes.

Strength is full but I’m still totally capable of thinking without the need for crutches or splints.

The blend is like the Duomo seen from the Belvedere. This is the best $5 stick I’ve smoked.

Famous Smoke has them. Instead of paying $220.00 for a box of 10, they want only $49.95. You must use the promo code DN49 at checkout to get this price. Famous Smoke is not a sponsor, so I guarantee nada, nothing, zip. But my purchase went smooth and the cigars arrived in an appropriate amount of time.

RATING: 96

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, La Gloria Cubana 8th Street | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, phil kohn