La Gloria Cubana Medaille d\'Or No. 1 (OSU MAY02)

[cigardawg]

Sat down with Stever yesterday evening to enjoy a nice Habanos. Smoked the first out of a box that I picked up recently. Here are my thoughts:

La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No. 1 (OSU MAY02)

This is a very elegant looking cigar. The wrapper was medium brown with some toothiness. There was only one major vein present. The seams and triple-cap were flawless...very well applied. The pre-light nose was excellent, both sweet and pungent at the same time - earth and honey and burnt sugar all mixed together. The pre-light draw was very firm...almost too firm.

I toasted the foot and lit the cigar with my torch. The draw remained very firm, but the smoke production was adequate. The ash began light gray and very firm. It changed to a more medium gray color as the smoke progressed. There was a nice oily sheen right next to the burn line. The cigar burned laser-straight throughout, never requiring a touch-up. The smoke remained cool down to the last 1.5 inches where it heated up a little. I still smoked it down to less than 1/2 inch.

Upon lighting, the initial tastes were grassy and toasty, with some honey sweetness on the palate. This was a medium bodied smoke. After the first ashing, the cigar developed more pronounced herbaceous flavors, though the toastiness remained. This cigar had a very clean taste and light, but flavorful finish in the mouth. As the smoke continued, the herb and toasty flavors remained and the honey-sweetness made almost ghost-like appearances. Just past the half-way mark, there was this intense burst of honey and burnt sugar that took about 1/2 inch to completely disappear. On the back end, the flavors remained true, but the cigar increased in richness...creating a more luxurious feel in the mouth.

This was a excellent cigar with much room for improvement. I am pretty certain that the firm draw was most like due to over-humidification (the cigar has only been with me for about 2 weeks and this vendor ships slightly "wet"). Regardless, I give this cigar an A- (90-91). A wonderful cigar that will get better and better.

[Homebrew]

Great Review Dawg.:-)

I just picked up two boxes, with the same boxcode.:-D

But I have put them into my longterm storage humi, and have promised myself that I would not touch them until may of 07.;-)

But your review, makes me want to break that promise:hungry:

Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

[hoagie55]

I just ordered a box with the same code based on Dave's - (Homebrew) recommendation.

Now I am really looking froward to sampling one before I put them down for another year.