La Flor de Cano Siboney RE Canada 2014 (UME DIC14)

[encephalization]

La Flor de Cano Siboney RE Canada 2014

Ring gauge: 42, Length: 4 1/3"

I thought I’d do a review (my first) of this little thing, which I received a box of a couple of months. Smoked on empty stomach with water. I’ve seen mixed reviews of this cigar (including a very well-written piece by @CanuckSARTech on this board) but one more won’t hurt, right? These things have had a bit more than a year now. To start out, with exception of the slightly dull color, these cigars look great and feel to have perfect firmness.

I initially hesitated to divide this small stick into three but it does break down fairly well into that. The first third does not really stand out, mainly dominated by floral notes and sweetness. However, I do not taste any of the sour notes that I’ve seen other experience. Halfway through (yes, halfway through a third of a very small smoke…) there is a pocket of pepper that takes me by surprise.

 

Maybe that sting of strength was an omen because the second third comes with more strength and a lot more pepper. The floral notes are not completely gone but are in the background of wood and more classic Cuban harshness. This third is definitely my favorite of the cigar.

 

The final third is more alike the beginning, the flavors die down quite quickly and almost becomes flat. A bit of a letdown.

Overall, the burn has been excellent throughout and I finish just after 30 minutes from lightening it up (I tried my best to slow down my usually fast smoking pace). I would put it somewhere around medium strength but the second third was closer to medium-full. Unfortunately, I did not smoke this when it first came out so it is hard for me to gauge if it has gotten better with age. I did not experience any of the sourness that several others have mentioned, so maybe that is a good sign. After giving a few of these away, I've got another 17-18 to let sit for another while and maybe return in six months or so.

For this size there are a number of other cigars I would easily pick up before the Siboney but I have to say that I was rather pleasantly surprised since I had expected very little from it. I am not sure what the price point was at release but getting these at around $9 seems fair. Far from a classic but not bad enough to sit down.

[Perla]

Thank you for the review ??. I have a single of them, will try when it's getting warmer. 

[strikethebox7]

Great review!

[TheMonk]

Nicely done!

[Lotusguy]

These take me close to an hour to smoke.

[dicko]

Thanks for the review

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[encephalization]

21 hours ago, Lotusguy said:

These take me close to an hour to smoke.

You're a better man than me 

To be fair, I need to remind myself to slow down. The burn, structure, and ash on this were excellent so there is not really an excuse. I could see smoking this for at least 45 minutes.

[Mattb82]

Nice Review!