EL Credito Apprentice Cigars
Size: 7" x 50
Price: $2

The El Credito factory, located in the Little Havana district of Miami, is owned by Cuban-expatriate Ernesto Carillo and produces cigars for sale under (4) brand names: La Gloria Cubana, La Hoja Selecta, El Rico Habano and Dos Gonzales.

LGC is, of course, the most well-known and popular, and it remains on my list of cigars to try the next time I buy singles from a brick-and-mortar.

The Apprentice cigars are rolled by new employees with less than six months experience on the job--suppposedly using the same quality tobacco and blends as the premium cigars. Of course, the cigars are unbanded, so there is no way to know which brand or blend you are going to find in a given bundle.

I fully expected these cigars to have burn or construction problems, or to have blemishes on the wrappers, but my bundle hasn't had any of these afflictions. They have had a tendency to grow tiny spots of white mold--or is that bloom? I can never tell-- but that's no big deal since it can be wiped off with my fingers and hasn't affected the taste. They have a medium-to-loose draw and the distinctive flavor of strong, black coffee.

Not a bad cigar by any means, but probably not one I'll seek out again. There are better bargains to be had.