Background:

This is an interesting new project coming from Team La Gloria set for release in September of 2011. The La Gloria Cubana Retro Especial has been in the works for almost 8 years now. The brand was inspired by an antique humidor found at the El Credito Cigar Factory. Team La Gloria wanted to replicate the Retro look of the humidor. It took them two years to finally get the retro feel of the packaging just right. Each frontmark has a unique design and a classic name taken from the old days of El Credito. The cultivation of the cross-bred Connecticut seed grown in Honduras to create the beautiful wrapper that encases the cigars. The cigar features a double binder of bold Nicaraguan and Mexican tobaccos and a filler made up of proprietary blend of ligero and Nicaraguan and Dominican tobacco.

Appearance and Construction:

This new cigar from La Gloria Cubana, the Artesanos Retro Especial has a really nice looking, rustic, toothy golden brown wrapper on it. I am reviewing the Club size which is a 5 3/4" x 47 ring gauge. The cigar is very firm and seems to be packed very well. The band gives the cigar a very Retro feel, which is what they were going for and was executed very well. One clipped the cold draw, while a bit tight, gave off somee nice earthy tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Retro Especial starts off mild-medium with some welcoming earthy flavors, some spice, and an underlying sweetness. The draw gives off just the right amount of resistance and the burn line while wavering a bit, is pretty official. The ash is very dark and almost black where it meets the cigar. The flavors in the first third are already fairly complex. For some reason this cigar reminds me of Fall as I smoke it. The aroma is an Autumn spice with a young tobacco scent.

Second Third:

The Retro Especial Club is building in strength, body and spice as it moves into the second third. Strength wise this La Gloria Cubana is still medium in body, with clean mouth feel and a long finish. A nutty, dry flavor mixed with something earthy, possibly a woodiness, (cedar maybe?), moves into the cigar's complex array of flavors. There is something here that is reminiscent of some Cuban cigars that I have smoked in the past. It's not that twangy taste, but more of the vegetal youngness, it's enjoyable with this particular cigar because it seems to be very much balanced. I think the La Gloria Retro Especial will have some really great aging potential, even a few months in the humidor could do wonders here.

Last Third:

The earthy cedar flavors are definitely in the forefront as the cigar takes its final stand. In the background is a nice creamy sweetness, kind of like a caramel or coffee flavor. The last third of the Retro Especial is really enjoyable.. The strength of the fillers and binders have ramped up a bit to blend perfectly with the unique flavor of the hybrid wrapper. With a little left than an inch left, the cigar became a little bit too hot for my liking. Usually due to my smoking too fast.. Total time smoking this Corona Gorda was over an hour and a half.

Overall Impressions:

I'm not sure if it's the unique wrapper leaf, the interesting mix of fillers and binders, or all things considered, but this La Gloria has some serious character. Lots of complex flavors matched with an interesting aroma and perfect draw and burn. Team La Gloria definitely has an interesting product on their hands here. I can't wait to see the finished packaging, I think it's going to be a real eye catcher. It's good to see a big company like General Cigar create something with some boutique type qualities to it. While I'm sure they will be making a good amount of these babies, the cigar looks and generally performs like a smaller batch cigar. Perfect for Fall, this one will be arriving in our Retail Stores and online very soon within the next week. Keep your eye's peeled!

*UPDATE: These are now available in our retail stores and online in the Brand page section of La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especial.

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Tags: La Gloria Cubana Retro Especial, Team La Gloria, cigar reviews, new cigars, General Cigar Co., medium body, connecticut hybrid wrapper

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601 Natural White Label Toro Review
By gc
8/31/2011 10:36:00 AM

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EO 601 Natural White Label Toro Review

Originally the mildest of the 601 Family by E.O. Brands was the Black Label Connecticut Blend. While being the mildest, I would not necessarily call it mild. More like a medium strength cigar wrapped in a Connecticut wrapper to tone it down a bit. The 601 Black was discontinued in 2010 and replaced by this new 601 "Natural", which happens to have a white band, so I'm sure calling it the 601 White Label is going to be pretty common as well. I love, love the fact that Eddie Ortega and Erik Espinosa decided to redesign the original departure from the 601 branding and go back to something very similar to the original, but with a modern twist. The last packaging attempt made the 601 Brands look cheap, which is definitely not the case. While the cigars themselves are not mega bucks by any means, they have a certain level of quality and flavor that people who smoke the brand know very well.. Still to this day, although blended by Don Pepin Garcia, I don't feel like 601 gets the accolades it deserves. Out of all the blends, Blue, Green, Red, and Now White, there is not one cigar that holds the pack back, they are all in great in their own ways. But I digress. Lets jump into the new 601 White label "Natural". The cigar uses Nicaraguan / Ecuadorian filler and binder with a Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. The Flavor Profile on the inside of the box is stated as "Mild Bodied. Smooth rich and creamy." Being a 601 / DPG Cigar I truly have a hard time believing this is a true mild cigar, but what the heck lets give it a try and see what happens.

Appearance / Construction / Pre-light:

As stated above, I love the new band, so much better than the in between phase, and the white really goes well with the golden brown light color of the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. The cigar is very well rolled with a standard DPG triple cap, and a consistent firmness throughout. No soft spots. The cigar gives off a sweet hay aroma especially at the foot. The pre-light cold draw gives off a ton of flavors of sweet tobacco flavors, some earthiness, and a bit of grassiness.

First Third:

Once clipped and torched the 601 Natural greets me with a bouquet of nice flavor. When I think of Mild cigars, I generally think of a cigar with much less flavor than this. The cigar is reminding me of the original 601 Black Label Connecticut, but scaled back a bit, with a creamier flavor. The retrohale through the nasal passage brings some spice into the picture, but nothing overwhelming. So far the cigar is very smooth and creamy, maybe a bit more flavor and a little bit more body than a Mild body cigar smoker is used to. While the ash is a bit frail, dropping off at 1/2 inch increments, the draw is just about perfect. As the first third comes to an end the vanilla creaminess of the cigar is really coming to the forefront. The 601 Natural is starting to show some real character in the flavor department.

Second Third:

I chose the Toro Size of this 601 so I could accurately determine each third's flavor characteristics. Sometimes a Robusto size just isn't enough. Buy the time you get to the last third of a Robusto, your really dealing with the very end of the cigar.. Which if the cigar is very good, is still ramping up flavor without getting bitter. Too often though, the last third is a only good for a handful of puffs before it becomes bitter and a bit to hot to smoke. The second third of this cigar is progressing very nicely. As a full body cigar smoker, I would enjoy this as a first cigar of the day, or if I was looking for something milder to switch it up. For smokers that want to try a milder Nicaraguan cigar, which equates to something really closer to medium body comparitively.. This is a great smoke.

Last Third:

The last third of the 601 Natural was very good, continued on very smooth. So smooth in fact that I forgot to take pictures of it! I went about my business, working, talking on the phone and generally enjoying the sweet, creamy flavors that this 601 was outputting. I did not notice any huge flavor changes in the the last third of the cigar, it remained very good throughout. The very end became kind of bitter, but that's to be expected for a Connecticut wrapper, especially at the speed I smoke (Too Fast!) For those of you who smoked the original 601 Black Connecticut and found it to be a bit too strong, I suggest you revisit the lighter 601's by trying the new White Connecticut. I found it to be a bit more refined, with absolutely less strength. The original was more of a spicy Nicaraguan Cigar with a lighter wrapper that functioned to calm it down. The new 601 Natural has more balance and smoother, creamier flavors, with the wrapper contributing more to the overall flavor of the cigar. While this is a morning cigar for myself, this may be a perfect cigar for someone who smokes milder stuff who wants to up the ante just a bit.

Enjoy and Keep on Smokin!

~GC

Click here to browse the 601 Natural Connecticut Line

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Tags: 601 Natural, 601 white label, connecticut, 601 black label, discontinued, smooth and creamy, mild cigars, cigar reviews

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