A La Gloria Cubana, a Sobremesa and a Contest Winner!

Monday evening I sat down with a cigar that was in The Cigar Authority care package, that I thought was going to be featured on the current show. I wasn’t disappointed to hear Steve Saka on the show talking about his new Sobremesa cigar, and I wasn’t disappointed with the La Gloria Cubana Trunk Show Liga No. 6, but I was a little mad at myself for not paying attention to the show line-up so I could smoke the cigar along with the show, as the Care Package program intends. I need to pay better attention.  But the cigar was fantastic. To my recollection, the La Gloria Cubana Trunk show started back around 2000, and I remember meeting up with some friends after they attended a Trunk Show at Holt’s in Philadelphia, and it happened to be the day my twin niece and nephew were born. This cigar was from 2003, and was a Cameroon wrapped figurado, it seemed like the same shape as the Punch Champion. I hate to give away anything for my friends at The Cigar Authority, but this cigar was too good not to talk about.  The burn and draw were perfect, these cigars were lovingly stored by Dave Garofalo for the last thirteen years or so, and the cigar smoked like the well aged vintage cigar that it was. The flavor was sweet and mellow, very smooth, and very full flavored.  The Cameroon wrapper was perfect, it’s amazing that this fragile wrapper held up so well.  I’m a La Gloria fan from way back, and I wish I had tried this when it was originally released, but I’m thrilled I had the chance to try it now.  If you are a listener of The Cigar Authority show, and you have $20 a month to spare on the care package, I recommend it. There have consistently been well over $20 worth of smokes and it’s a great way to try some new cigars and interact with the show.    **UPDATE** – After listening to the show when they smoked this cigar, Dave Garofalo revealed that this cigar was made from the same components that made up the Partagas 150 which was released in 1995.  The Cameroon wrapper was 18 years old then, making this cigar’s wrapper 38 years old! This La Gloria Cubana Trunk Show Liga No. 6 was the Partagas 150 in a special shape, and was a once in a lifetime smoke, and it’s next to impossible to find any information on the internet about this.

Tonight I took a drive down to Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA and bought a few Sobremesa cigars since hearing about them on the aforementioned podcast.  I got a couple of the El Americano 6″ x 52 toros and a couple of Corona Grande 5¼” x 44 coronas.  This line was the subject of the one interview I posted from the IPCPR show (here). I’ve known Steve Saka for going on twenty years, I first had occasion to talk to him on the phone back in 1996 when I took part in his Monthly Officious Taste Test that he posted on the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group, and later on the Cigar Nexus website, where I ended up rating the Cuban Montecristo No. 2 a dog rocket (long story). I met him in person by Cleopatra’s Barge in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas at a cigar party he was a part of throwing called Boondoggle in 1997 (the link is to one of my very first websites! Embarrassing, I know).  We’ve kept in touch ever since, and I’ve seen him get into the cigar industry, first working with JR Cigars and then with Drew Estate. Obviously I’ve been chomping at the bit to try his solo effort, the Sobremesa, from his new company, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust.  I chose one of the El Americanos and put the other three cigars in the humidor for a rest. Steve cautioned not to expect a powerhouse like the Liga Privada, which began it’s life as something for him to smoke when he started working at Drew Estate. I can say that he is spot on, as the Sobremesa is quite the opposite.  This cigar is a complex blend, it is made up of La Meca Ecuador Habano #1 Rosado wrapper, Matacapan Negro de Temporal binder (Mexican) and five fillers: Nicaraguan Gk Condega C-SG Seco,  Nicaraguan Pueblo Nuevo Criollo Viso, Nicaraguan La Joya Esteli C-98 Viso, Nicaraguan ASP Esteli Hybrid Ligero and USA Lancaster County Broadleaf Ligero. It’s a beautiful smoke, very refined, a nice bit of bright cinnamon spice. I would have thought the PA ligero would have given it more punch, but it really was a nice, medium strength cigar that is quite unique in my opinion. Even if I didn’t know Steve, I would have been entranced by the flavor of this cigar. It’s going to be hard to leave the other cigars I bought sit in the humidor for too long. I really didn’t need to find another $12.50 cigar that I think is a good value…thanks Steve! 🙂

OK, on to the  winner of this month’s giveaway. I added two cigars to the selection, a Kilo Robusto and a MUWAT, Kentucky Fire Cured Hamhock (I had it in my pocket and didn’t get around to smoking it ans was too lazy to put it away!).  SO that brings it up to 12 cigars and the Stage V Cigar Clinger.  There were 78 entries, and Random.org tells me comment number 20 is the winner. James Appello needs to send me his address so I can send these goodies out.  There won’t be a First Wednesday giveaway in December as I will be, once again, trying to pull off the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways. Thanks to everyone who entered, I expect to se you all entering next month.  Thanks to the folks at Stage V Cigar Clinger, and Southern Draw for pitching in some goodies.

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig