Quick Smoke: La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale Cubano

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Although this stick came out last year, I’ve only recently gotten around to it. Little about the Retro Especiale line, from band and box to wrapper and taste, is common to the traditional La Gloria Cubana. The blend is a complex mixture of several tobacco strains from four countries, including a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Honduras and a double binder that includes Mexican leaf. Numerous flavors developed throughout, with strength about medium. The draw felt a little loose and the burn wandered a bit, but it is certainly an interesting cigar worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A