In attendance were Fernand, John, Robert, Joe, John, and Sean.As usual, we gathered to enjoy a good cigar and give our opinion on it by holding a 'group tasting' following dinner.
The six of us dined at nearby Saltoro in Shoreline, where the steaks were fabulous and Scotch selection impressive, before heading over to John’s place to begin the tasting session and enjoy some much needed relaxation and camaraderie.
Our selection for this Herf was the La Gloria Cubana Reserva Figurado Selectos De Lujos Maduro. A beautiful, stylish perfecto measuring 7 1/4 inches long with a ring guage of 54 at it’s broadest point. The 'natural' colored version was Cigar of the Week back on November 5th, which received a 91 from Cigar Aficionado's expert tasting panel.
Following CA's 4-part rating system (Appearance & Construction, Flavor, Smoking Characteristics, and Overall Impression) we began the tasting. This proved to be a well-liked cigar among our group of ‘tasters’.
After averaging our scores, The Cohiba Club's official rating for the La Gloria Cubana Reserva Figurado Selectos De Lujos Maduro is 89. An excellent cigar.
Here's the points breakdown:
I. Appearance & Construction: 14 pts (93% of the points possible)
II. Flavor: 21 pts (84% of the points possible)
III. Smoking Characteristics: 23 pts (92% of the points possible)
IV. Overall Impression: 31 pts (89% of the points possible)
The Appearance, Construction, and Smoking Characteristics of this tapered beauty are where it really stood out. The flavor scoring suffered slightly, bringing in only 84% of the points possible, but the sum-total of the experience garnered many positive comments and therefore the Overall Impression was appropriately high.
We were very pleased to have made this selection and would not hesitate to recommend it.
The real showstopper of the evening, however, was the lighters that Robert handed out as Christmas gifts. Here's the double-barrel shotgun lighter (click image to enlarge).
