La Gloria Cubana Serie R No. 4 (Maduro)
Size: 4 7/8" x 52
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Price $5.25 (single), $77 (box of 25)

This was a spicy little robusto that I smoked at PF Chang's, while waiting on some business associates to arrive for a late dinner. It had a shiny, smooth, nearly black wrapper and was tightly packed with tobacco. It emitted a dense, subdued pre-light aroma, and I worried that it might lack flavor. But fortunately it did not disappoint. I tasted deep, rich, strong black coffee flavors that left me thoroughly satisfied.

I have wanted to try the "real" La Gloria Cubana , ever since I started working my way through a bundle of El Creditos last May. The El Creditos are seconds from the same factory and feature a lot of the same coffee flavors. However, my El Creditos are much milder and less distinctive. (Of course, being seconds, it is entirely possible that my bundle might have come from a different line of cigars, and another bundle in the future might have an entirely different taste profile)

LGC has been around since 1968, when they were originally made in Miami by Cuban expatriate Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Sr. The Serie R was introduced by his son in 1999 as a fuller, heavy bodied alternative to the regular line.