About The Cigar
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexican Cuban Seed Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5.5 x 52 (Belicoso)
Strength Medium to full bodied
“Mi Amor.” It has such an elegant sound to it. The La Aroma De Cuba Mi Amor, Spanish for “My love,” we feel is a perfect name for a world class cigar. This IS a lifestyle and serious cigar aficionado’s take it very seriously. After all, it IS a labor of love creating and smoking these sticks of art. La Aroma De Cuba’s ‘Mi Amor’ was Cigar Aficionado’s #2 cigar of 2011, falling just shy of Alec Bradley’s Prensado Churchill, which received the #1 spot. Ashton Cigars owns La Aroma De Cuba and which went out on a limb, and a mission, to create a world class cigar with a Mexican wrapper – So join us as we unwrap the ‘Mi Amor’ in this in depth review.
Pre-light Appearance & Construction:
The first thing you notice on this cigar isn’t the dark chocolate wrapper that has no prominent veins, it isn’t the beautiful box press shape of the cigar – it’s the band. The Mi Amor dons a beautifully intricate band who’s yellow, red and gold inlay really pop against the contrasting chocolate color of the cigar. (You can see the band above.) Has a nice earthy pre-light aroma with hints of sweet chocolate that actually makes you salivate a little in anticipation. (Click here to see how the cigar is rolled.) The rollers of this beautiful belicoso also seem to have put a triple cap on this stick.
Flavor
Let us first start off by saying we HATE cigars that are difficult to light – as any cigar enthusiast would. Well, you absolutely will not have that problem with this cigar. A few good seconds of toasting the foot and a few good puffs and you’re off! One of the easiest cigars to light out there for sure. The initial flavor profile consists of sweet, rich chocolate (the very same that is in the pre-light aroma) – a very nice way to start off this cigar. But it’s not overpowering or anywhere near the amount you get out of the Drew Estate Java. The initial predominant sweet chocolate fades within a few minutes, quite literally introducing you to the rest of the flavors Mi Amor has to offer. Cedar and roasted leather take over the palate soon thereafter, but not without that lingering sweetness, until you’re roughly at the halfway point. The sweetness ultimately resides and makes way for some nice wood notes accompanied by a light undertone of cream littered with nuances of pepper and finishes strong with cocoa replacing the sweet chocolate.
Smoking Characteristics
With the Mi Amor being a box-pressed stick it does have some give to it. Not soft, but certainly not hard. To attest to how well constructed LADC made the Mi Amor, when the cigar was cut there were absolutely no excess pieces that ultimately made their way into your mouth, which was a pleasant surprise. The air flow is minimally restricted, but somehow that works for the Mi Amor. You don’t get large amounts of smoke until you hit the halfway point and that’s when it really picks up (and flavors begin to change.) The burn was mostly even although there was one time where a correction had to be made but it was minimal and did not affect the quality or flavors of the cigar.
Editors Final Notes
As we mentioned before, Ashton Cigar and La Aroma De Cuba went on a mission to create a world class cigar utilizing a lesser used Mexican wrapper, and they did just that. The Mi Amor is a well constructed and flavorful cigar that is definitely worthy of being Cigar Aficionado’s #2 cigar of 2011 and one worthy of being in YOUR humidor.