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| STARS OF THE SHOW III |
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Page 1 of 2  A rare “A+” grade for one of the brands we tasted!Los Angeles, August 8 – Rob Levin’s Ashton Distributors and Nick Perdomo’s Tabacalera Perdomo are two of the preeminent distributors of premium cigars in the United States. You can tell by the size of their sales displays at the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association convention each year; both have a lot of space and a lot to sell. Both introduced important new brands this year at the IPCPR, with Ashton unveiling the La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial and Perdomo showing a revived Perdomo 2 and a new cigar to honor Nick Perdomo’s late father. We tried them all, plus the original La Aroma de Cuba for comparison and enjoyed them all: La Aroma de Cuba: [Honduras: available in 11 sizes] A beautifully-made and elegantly-presented line, the La Aroma de Cuba brand debuted in 2002 and was promoted as a “taste from another time,” hopefully a happy one. The dark Honduran-grown wrapper is very inviting and you’ll get a gentle, spicy note from the aroma when you light it up. Medium in body, the taste is caramelized with a fairly long and sweet finish. The draw is perfect and this is a solid cigar, but as with most blends, the taste fades in intensity in the second half. There’s a pinch of spice on the finish, but it’s never a bother as the dignity of the presentation is retained through the finish. This is a very fine cigar and a nice value as well, with retail prices of $4.00-5.35 per cigar, not including local tobacco and sales taxes. Overall grade: A-: Excellent. La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial: [Nicaragua: available in 5 sizes] Ashton Distributors debuted this blend at the 2008 International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers show in Las Vegas. It’s made by the ultra-hot Pepin Garcia in his Tabacalera Cubana in Esteli, Nicaragua using an Ecuadorian-grown wrapper and Nicaraguan-grown binder and filler leaves. The marvelous balance of this cigar is what sets it apart. Medium-to-full in body, there’s a spicy aroma and a measured tone in the flavor. It’s caramelized, but demure and steady with a gentle and sophisticated quality to it as well as an even burn. Unless many highly-graded cigars, the Edicion Especial does not offer bright, flavorful highlights, but rather a genteel, consistent and balance tone throughout. It’s not a cigar to be aggressive with, but a contemplative cigar that’s especially good when you can concentrate on it and not be distracted by other tastes or by a lack of time. All five shapes come in boxes of 25 and the pricing is accessible at $6.50 to $8.00 apiece and the No. 1 is a bargain at $6.90 each, not including local sales and tobacco taxes. Overall grade: A: Exceptional. |
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Did you know?
“Cellophane sleeves on cigars were introduced into wide use only in the 1940s.
