Review of La Gloria Cubana Gran Legado CigarBy: Gary Manelski La Gloria Cubana Gran Legado limited edition cigars are made in the Dominican Republic by 20 of the brand's most experienced cigar rollers and bunchers at the El Credito cigar factory, each having at least 15 years of experience. The cigars are made with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and a blend of choice Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. Each cigar wears a band with a facsimile signature of the artisan who created it. The cigars became available during July 2024, in one Perfecto shape that is tapered on both ends. The LGC Gran Legado measures 7.75 x 62, and is priced at $14.99 per cigar. For more information about these cigars, please check out the press release and/or scroll down to scan the QR Code with your phone. My first sample LGC Gran Legado cigar could not be reviewed due to a very restrictive draw (read footnote)*. However, the second sample was a completely different story. The second sample began with a very pleasant naturally sweet tobacco flavor, with a nice rich earthy flavor ramping up within the first couple of minutes. There were no problems with the draw this time, but a booster light was applied after 10-15 minutes when the volume of smoke began decreasing, which was not due to the draw, but a burn issue. The flavor was still very enjoyable but just a bit less sweet at this point. The smoke was medium-to-full bodied, and not overpowering. At the 20-minute point, a leather flavor began to kick in. At the 30-minute mark, the flavor was now a nice mix of leather and earth, along with some lingering sweetness. After 50 minutes into the smoking session, I ashed the cigar for the first time and a relight was needed. The flavors remained pretty much consistent and were still enjoyable. After 75 minutes of smoking time, a touch-up was applied. The flavor was now predominately leather along with a subtle sweetness and some hints of spice. At the 95-minute point, I ashed the cigar for only the second time and also had to relight it. The flavor began slipping just a bit at this point. About 20 minutes later, another booster light was applied, the ash fell off by itself, and the flavor dropped another notch. Ten minutes later, after 125 minutes of smoking time, another booster light was needed. Ten minutes after that, the cigar went out by itself for the last time with 2ΒΌ inches remaining, making for a total smoke time of two hours and 15 minutes. This ties my personal record for being the longest amount of time that it ever took me to smoke any cigar. Some other lines of La Gloria Cubana cigars are also known to have burn issues, but are still popular for also having very enjoyable flavors (an acceptable trade-off, up to a certain point). To help reduce the number of relights and touch-ups, it is a good idea to puff and rotate frequently, especially with such a large cigar. An even burn also keeps the flavors in balance. My second sample La Gloria Cubana Gran Legado cigar had a good draw, an occasional uneven burn, and held a long ash. Although its great flavor (4.5 points) tailed off a bit after the first hour and a half, I still consider it to be a superior cigar worthy of an overall rating of 4.25 points on a 5-point scale. The LGC Gran Legado Perfecto is recommended for more seasoned cigar smokers who have plenty of time to enjoy a humongous cigar for more than a couple of hours. Unlike some other very large cigars, the LGC Gran Legado is not distinctive just because of its size, since it was made with higher primings of premium Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobacco leaves, and was constructed by some of the best rollers and bunchers in the industry. Only 19,000 of these cigars were produced, so try one while you can. Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. More Very Large Cigars: |
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*FOOTNOTE: In a futile attempt to rectify the restrictive draw in my first sample LGC Gran Legado, I struggled with the cigar for almost an hour, using all the various tools and techniques in my arsenal. This only slightly improved the draw, which was almost non-existent at the start. Therefore, the restrictive draw may not have been caused by a plug. It seemed to me that the bunch was just packed too tight. These types of issues are very rare in the cigar industry these days, and especially if the particular cigar was made by one of the best rollers in the business. It would be hard to believe that this cigar was not draw tested at all at the factory, but maybe was simply sorted into the wrong pile after the test was done (video of a standard draw testing machine). Regardless of what might have caused the restrictive draw, it is not entirely the buncher's fault if quality controls did not detect this type of defect.
Sample #1 Defective
Sample #2 Reviewed
