San Cristobal La Fuerza

[mwaller]

La Fuerza certainly has many fans on the forum.  So, I decided to pick up a box - TOS OCT 15.  Beautiful, dark cigars; excellent construction.  

Tried my first one last night, and thought it was... meh.  It was smooth and inoffensive, but lacking character. I was expecting more of something... cream, sweetness, fruit notes... but it didn't happen.  Granted, these have only been resting about two weeks since shipment.   

Is it too early to expect greatness, or...?

 

[El Presidente]

Revisit in 4-6 weeks. Post again 

[David88]

I have a 2014 box of la fuerza. To me the taste is pure molasses. It reminds me of the smell while driving past the rum factories in Cuba. Give them a bit more time to see how they develop. 

[jschrader510]

@mwaller I just bought a box with a similar code and have it en-route right now. I'll report back here after they have a bit of down time.

[Corylax18]

Let em rest, They should be better after another few weeks. I enjoy the Fuerzas greatly, but I find them to be a bit muted compared to the principe. If the Fuerzas had that extra depth/pop, I would be deep on them. I have a bunch of Principes, but I usually end up smoking one right after the first!

[PatrickEwing]

I have 2014 EMLs and they are very very good. Perfect construction and wrappers. Wonderfully smooth

[SCgarman]

Love the ElPrincipe. Very full flavored. I want to try bigger vitolas within the marca, but am hesitant for this very reason, too muted and bland flavoring. And the prices on the bigger vitolas are a bit on the higher end, compared to others.

[Bartolomeo]

Fuerza are one of my fav sticks the past two years, smoke 1-2 a week

i think price point is too high on these but love the flavor

one cigar I prefer fresh rather than aged, early 2000-2006 versions are not as flavorful as 13-16 stock IMHO

[rhcolbert]

Haven't had one in a while. Don't recall it, but need to try more before I put final verdict on it 

[NSXCIGAR]

La Fuerza can certainly be good, but I've always found them to be a bit more tamed than I prefer. The La Punta, even more so.

Smoking a La Fuerza makes me angry that there's no Corona or Lonsdale with the El Principe blend. Oh, what a cigar that would be. It might be the only cigar I smoke. 

The El Principe has always been the best SC. When you have a stick that's just so pure with the profile--rich molasses and syrup, I think you want it strong and rich. I just don't like the attempt to hold it back with the other two models. 

I think the SC profile is one of Cuba's best, and I've always found it frustrating that it's only fully realized in a Minuto. 

[mwaller]

Sounds like I need to try El Principe!  EML ABR 15 any good?

[fabes]

Love them. I prefer them over the principe because the principe ends too quickly. A fuerza has time to change. It's a great companion to a good book.

Pricing seems inline with Epicure Especial which I believe is same vitola. At standard price a little steep, but I'll grab them when on sale. 

[dicko]

A recent discovery for me and i love them..medium bodied but full flavoured

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

[nc6789]

Going to smoke my first one from a box from our host (TOS MAR 16) for my 1st wedding anniversary smoke next weekend - wedding box stick! Looking forward to it

[TBird55]

I smoked my first from a box I received from our host ( about 2 weeks ago) today, box code TOS May 16. Enjoyable smoke, easy draw,  plenty of smoke,   mild at the start,  approaching medium halfway very flavorful, the finish was a bit off. Think it needed a bit more rest.

[NSXCIGAR]

5 hours ago, SenorPerfecto said:

This is interesting -- I always considered SC to be just at the top of 3rd tier (1. Cohiba/Trinidad, 2. Monte, RYJ, Boli, Dip, Upmann, Hoyo, Party, Punch, RA, SLR, Robaina, 3. SC, QdO, etc...)...As such I too would expect a box of SC robos to be about $175 rather than $200+

Technically, SC is classified as a "Niche Brand" as is Trinidad. Both are priced with significant premiums, with the one exception being the El Principe (which may account for it being the best selling model by a country mile). The fact that the La Fuerza and the La Punta are priced so high is a big problem for SC, a brand that simply doesn't have the name, history or panache to justify that price like Trinidad does. These issues were discussed at length here:

 

4 hours ago, fabes said:

Love them. I prefer them over the principe because the principe ends too quickly. A fuerza has time to change. It's a great companion to a good book.

I can't argue that the La Fuerza definitely provides for a more complete experience. I wasn't really knocking the La Fuerza in my earlier post even though it may have seemed that way. I think if there were a Corona, Lonsdale or Hermosos No 4 with the El Principe blend in the lineup the La Fuerza would be a great option to have. I guess the cigar that should really be knocked is the La Punta, which really comes up short for me. So mild that the great, unique flavors that the SC profile has just can't be grasped. At least the La Fuerza delivers the flavors, albeit in a more subdued package. The La Punta barely has a pulse. 

 

5 hours ago, mwaller said:

Sounds like I need to try El Principe!  EML ABR 15 any good?

Should be fine. It's hard to find a bad run of El Principe. EML 14 and 15 have been fine. Although I had an EML MAY 15 that was significantly better than a box of EML JUL 15. I rated the JUL box at a 90-91 and the MAY box at 92-93. So both were very good but the MAY box was great. I've had more construction issues than flavor issues with these--they can be underfilled and have some burn issues occasionally. But for the most part the flavor is always there. And I actually prefer these with a lighter wrapper.

[fabes]

30 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

I can't argue that the La Fuerza definitely provides for a more complete experience. I wasn't really knocking the La Fuerza in my earlier post even though it may have seemed that way. I think if there were a Corona, Lonsdale or Hermosos No 4 with the El Principe blend in the lineup the La Fuerza would be a great option to have. I guess the cigar that should really be knocked is the La Punta, which really comes up short for me. So mild that the great, unique flavors that the SC profile has just can't be grasped. At least the La Fuerza delivers the flavors, albeit in a more subdued package. The La Punta barely has a pulse. 

I definitely agree on the La Punta. I haven't had one that left a mark on me. 

All those sizes you mentioned would be great. I wish the Mercaderes was available as a regular offering. I like the hermosos no.1 size and the one sample I had was outstanding. 

[JohnS]

10 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Revisit in 4-6 weeks. Post again 

Acclimatise in your humidor and let them settle in thereafter. Yes, sage advice.

9 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

Let em rest, They should be better after another few weeks. I enjoy the Fuerzas greatly, but I find them to be a bit muted compared to the principe. If the Fuerzas had that extra depth/pop, I would be deep on them. I have a bunch of Principes, but I usually end up smoking one right after the first!

This is just so true!

7 hours ago, mwaller said:

Sounds like I need to try El Principe!  EML ABR 15 any good?

I'm going through an EML Abr 15 El Principe box at the moment and they are just great, 90 - 92 on a 100 point scale. I went through an EML Feb 15 box before this and were simply awesome, 93-94. As @NSXCIGAR has mentioned, 2014/15 El Principe production has tended to be very reliable construction wise and flavour-wise.

[Smallclub]

II too think the Fuerza and Punta are good but a bit too mild and too expensive for cigars that often leave you wanting more…

If HSA would have the guts to release a mareva or corona based on the El Principe and priced "normally", all the regular El Principe smokers would jump on it.

(And Vegas Robaina should have a minuto or a mareva, IMHO. )

[SirVantes]

The thing is, there was a corona-sized SC (a 43 x 135 dalias cortas) which, to my palate, was the best out of the 3 LCDH SC releases and fuller than the current line.  And they killed it off in 2011.  It passeth understanding.  Whenever I find any mouldering in an LCDH, I grab em.

[Smallclub]

1 hour ago, Sir Vantes said:

The thing is, there was a corona-sized SC (a 43 x 135 dalias cortas) which, to my palate, was the best out of the 3 LCDH SC releases and fuller than the current line.

The blend of the Oficios is inferior to that of the El Principe IMHO, and in my experience it doesn't age very well… I purchased some 2007's last year and they were very disappointing. They still have the edges they had in 2008/2009…

To me the best of the 3 LCDH release is the Muralla, which retains all the molasse/moka sweetness of the SCDLH blend – huge, pricey but absolutely delicious…

[Fugu]

Close runner-up Mercaderes

13 minutes ago, Smallclub said:

To me the best of the 3 LCDH release is the Muralla, which retains all the molasse/moka sweetness of the SCDLH blend – huge, pricey but absolutely delicious…

 

[SirVantes]

34 minutes ago, Smallclub said:

The blend of the Oficios is inferior to that of the El Principe IMHO, and in my experience it doesn't age very well… I purchased some 2007's last year and they were very disappointing. They still have the edges they had in 2008/2009...

I'm smoking through an EMA JUN 07 box of Oficios and an OEB MAR 06 box of Mercaderes, and I rate the littler one by a nose.  Both very enjoyable.

[rhcolbert]

22 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

La Fuerza can certainly be good, but I've always found them to be a bit more tamed than I prefer. The La Punta, even more so.

Smoking a La Fuerza makes me angry that there's no Corona or Lonsdale with the El Principe blend. Oh, what a cigar that would be. It might be the only cigar I smoke. 

The El Principe has always been the best SC. When you have a stick that's just so pure with the profile--rich molasses and syrup, I think you want it strong and rich. I just don't like the attempt to hold it back with the other two models. 

I think the SC profile is one of Cuba's best, and I've always found it frustrating that it's only fully realized in a Minuto. 

Yes yes! Omg lonsdale wirh the el p blend would be epic

[TBird55]

On 3/9/2017 at 8:33 PM, TBird55 said:

I smoked my first from a box I received from our host ( about 2 weeks ago) today, box code TOS May 16. Enjoyable smoke, easy draw,  plenty of smoke,   mild at the start,  approaching medium halfway very flavorful, the finish was a bit off. Think it needed a bit more rest.

 Update,  after only one more week down time.  Really enjoyed the cigar from start to finish.  I can see this cigar becoming a favorite.  Glad I have another box on the way, because I have a feeling that these won't last too long in my humidor.