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Cigar Review La Palina Cigars, El Ano 1896 Oscuro

The name of this cigar does not roll off your tongue very easily. Cigar marketing has become so elaborate trying to distinguish one brand from another.
Even within their  own brand names may become confusing. The cigar consumer may think they are smoking one cigar that someone told them about but the cigar lines become confusing.
The cigar is a new offering from La Palina Cigars. I received the smoke from Clay Roberts of La Palina Cigars. As always, how or where I received the cigar does not impact my subjective judgment
about the review. Please try it out if you like what I wrote commented about.

Cigar Specs:

Brand/Name of Cigar: La Palina / El Ano 1896 Oscuro
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua 
Size: 5 x 52, Robusto
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Oscuro
Binder: NA
Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua 
Place and Date Purchased: Gratis
When and where smoked:  Lone Wolf Cigar Lounge, Los Angeles , Ca. 10/16/2016

Appearance and Construction: 

Boxed press, dark brown wrapper, and a very classy black and gold band. The cigar also had a impressive looking wrapper that covered the whole body. I almost did not want to take the printed wrapper off it was so good looking. However, my job was to report on the cigar blend, not just look at it.  It was very solid and slightly oily to the touch. No blemishes or soft spots were evident.  Well constructed with no obvious imperfections.




 Flavor/ Taste Aroma: 

There was an initial hit of chocolate/coffee combo.  A patron of the lounge commented to me the aroma of nuts was quite noticeable. The cigar was generally milder than I thought it would be. If you like classifications  it medium in scope but not at all overpowering or spicy. Nothing in the first third of the smoke would be described as, " This is unbelievable cigar.

Smoking Characteristics: 

Light grey ash which burned very cool and steady. There was no tunneling or edges that might have challenged the cigar smoker. The ash might be the most impressive point about the cigar. While this is clearly important, is it enough to make your purchase the smoke?

Cigar at the start

15 minutes into the smoke

35 minutes into the smoke.

1hour into the smoke.

Conclusion/ Overall Impression:

As I stated earlier, the cigar had great construction, burn  and ash.  As for flavor it was underwhelming with no real feel or passion. The taste was muddled with no high points. If you like a good looking but not very complex blend, this could be your baby.

Final Thoughts and Numbers:

With a brand new blend, and the threat of the FDA  causing cigar companies rushing product  into production perhaps too early, this cigar needs to sit in the humidor for a decent amount of time. Maybe in the second run, La Palina could add some spice to the mix and give it some character. 

The cigar shows some promise but right now it is  pass. 

Appearance/ Construction:  4 out of 5

Flavor/ Taste Aroma: 2 out of 5

Smoking Characteristics: 3.5 out of 5.

Conclusion/ Overall Impression: 3 out of 5

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