It’s probably quite apparent I have an affinity for the majority of the cigars in the La Sirena portfolio. I’ve been a fan of the brand for a long time. The La Sirena brand came into existence the same year I started this site, 2009. Back then it was a owned by Miami Cigar and Co., and the Classic La Sirena brand was made at the My Father factory. If you ever come across La Sirena cigars that have the Miami Cigar barcode label on 
the back, snatch them up. Don’t get me wrong, the current iteration are made at La Zona, and might be my favorite cigar from that factory. In the early years they made some limited editions, an A size and a Solomon (the Dubloon), which had Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers instead of he Habano wrapper. This was the inspiration for the La Sirena LS LE Lancero, and the newly released (at the recent TPE show) box pressed 6″ x 60. I had the great fortune of smoking both this week, something I’ve been looking forward to. First up was the Lancero, a 7½” x 39 version. These are made at Tabacalera La Isla, which is owned by Hostos Fernández Quesada, nephew of Manolo Qusada, and cousin of Terence Reilly. La Sirena has worked with the Quesadas before, they make their Oceano brand, not to be overlooked. In an effort to balance out the paragraphs, see the next one for the blend info! This cigar was excellent, it exceeded expectations. The burn and draw were perfect, assuming it’s smoked slowly like a lancero should be smoked. It was good for at least 2 hours. There were dark, rich cocoa and coffee with some earth and spice, a total package. These were made in 2022 and are being released at a rate of 1000 per year over four years.
The next night I had the La Sirena LS LE Box Pressed Gordo. This is 6″ x 60 but feels smaller due to the press. I get the idea that Danny Ditkowich is a fan of the 60 rings, as many of his Tobacco Plaza Anniversary cigars have been larger rings. My guess is that if the Lancero was Arielle’s smoke, this was her father’s. Gordos don’t bother me at all, although I’m not a fan of anything too much over 60. The blend, which I said I was going to mention in this paragraph to fill things out, is a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and fillers from the DR, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. This is the same blend as the Lancero, we might imagine the proportions are quite different! The 2024 production of these was 100 boxes of ten, pretty small. Comparing the two is unfair, but fun as they are the same blend in polar opposite formats. Where the Lancero was straightforward and focused, the gordo was mellower and more complex. This could be the proportions or the temperature of the burn or some of both. It’s a great cigar, which compares more with the Mexican Mermaid in my mind than my memories of the Broadleaf La Sirenas of he past. I do have an A and a couple Dubloons around that I could potentially smoke to compare, but age factors in. Better to let these beauties stand on their own as excellent cigars.
Speaking of the La Sirena Mexican Mermaid, I smoked the Robusto yesterday, a size I hadn’t previously smoked for some reason. I’ve smoke a bunch of the toro and the 4″ x 50s, and what they call a lancero but is more of a lonsdale. To recap, the Mexican Mermaid is made at La Isla, has a Mexican wrapper and binder and fillers from Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Sounds like a lot of Mexican tobacco, right? So I started out on Te Amo Maduros back in the mid-90s, so I have a high threshold for what’s now called San Andrés tobacco. I found the 5″ x 50 Robusto to pack a punch, it was earthy with a lot of strong, black coffee notes. I love this blend, besides the classic La Sirena, it’s one of my favorite cigars.
Friday I posted about the Wooden Indian‘s 60th anniversary Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf. There isn’t much more I can say about the Wooden Indian again, great humidor, great lounge, great staff. I’m a year older than the store. Now, the store hasn’t been under the same ownership for all those years, I want to say that Dave Mayer has owned it for close to 20 years. They have grown a lot in the 14 or so years since I first stopped in the store, and have a very good e-commerce business. I heard about this a few weeks ago when I spent an evening at the lounge with Fabien Zeigler and Mike King, and was excited to give the cigar a try. This is a Supreme Leaf in a box pressed 5″ x 56, an Aganorsa puro with a Corojo 99 wrapper. There’s some tie in with Privada, and Wooden Indian sells a lot of their stuff, but I don’t hold that against them. The brand originally came out at the 202 TPE show. The cigar was pretty darned good, on the woody end of my spectrum, burn and draw were excellent. I like some Aganorsa Leaf cigar more than others, and this was a good one. Hit up the folks at WI and five this a shot if you’re a Supreme Leaf fan!
That’s all for today. I have to go swear at some house projects after lunch and then have some cigars. I guess there’s some sort of sporting/popular culture event going on today, if you’re into that, enjoy! Until the next time,
CigarCraig
