Stogie Reviews: La Gloria Cubana Medaille d’Or No. 1 Maduro

These days there are so many new cigar releases, it seems that reviews are reserved for the latest debuts. That, of course, makes sense. What would you think of a music critic raving about The Beatles, or a book reviewer ecstatic over stumbling across a fascinating novel called The Great Gatsby?

On the other hand, you can certainly do worse than to spend time listening to Beatles’ recordings, and Gatsby is among the current big read selections of the National Endowment for the Arts. We shouldn’t forget that not everyone’s heard of or been exposed to everything. I’m constantly amazed at all the things I read and hear for the first time that I feel I should have known years ago.

All of which is a Paul Byrd-style windmill windup to this revelation: I’ve been bowled over by a vitola from that one-time darling of the cigar boom, La Gloria Cubana. It is the Medaille d’Or No. 1 Maduro, a long, slim stick that appears to be oozing oil and elegance. Lighting one up, I feel the best place to smoke it would be at an outdoor French café, sipping coffee and reading Le Monde (if I read French).

Some years back, I smoked La Gloria Cubanas quite often, usually the popular Wavells and Corona Gordas. But after a couple of Serie Rs whipped up on me, I drifted away from the entire brand. I’m not sure why this stick caught my eye in a local B&M humidor, but I’m glad it did.

Over several days, I smoked three No. 1s. At a length of six and 3/4 inches by 43 ring gauge, they were consistent in taste and burn. There was the typical maduro sweetness, accentuated over the course of the cigar with tastes of leather, coffee, and damp earth.

Befitting its reputation as “Cuban-like,” the Glory of Cuba, made in the Dominican Republic, doesn’t utilize exotic tobaccos. The wrapper is Ecuadorian, the binder Nicaraguan, and the filler a mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan. They produce a tight, white ash.

I had draw problems with two of the three. They felt plugged. With one of them, I eliminated the problem by clipping a bit more at the foot. The other, though, wasn’t as easy to fix. It finally worked itself out, more or less, about half way down.

I’d call this a medium strength cigar. When the draw is going well, the smoke is thick and rich.

Like most of the multitude of LCGs, this stick is reasonably priced. I paid $5.30, while boxes of 25 run about $67 on the Internet. They aren’t always in stock, either at shops or websites, but they’re worth searching out. The draw difficulties forced me to cut my rating a little, so I give the Medaille d’Or No. 1 a solid three and 1/2 out of five stogies.

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-George E