Today's review is another new cigar by Don Pepin Garcia, the La Reloba. This cigar is available in two wrappers, a Sumatra, and the one reviewing today, the Habano. These are available in 4 basic sizes, a Robusto, Corona, Toro, and Torpedo. I am reviewing the Toro, which measures in at 6 X 52.
The La Reloba Habano has a fairly non descript brown wrapper with a silky smooth feel to it. Being made by Pepin, it is topped off with a nice triple cap. The predraw shows a slightly open (but not too open) draw with a dusty cocoa and slightly mustly flavor. This cigar starts out with typical Pepin spice with a hardwood undertone. After getting into this cigar a little more, a slight hay flavor shows up, but recedes quickly. The spice also recedes, leaving that hardwood/cedar flavor as the dominant characteristic to this cigar. This definitely tastes like a Pepin, almost like a lighter version of the Cuban Classic, but not as complex. The ash is nice and white, and just a little flaky. The burn is strait, even in the slightly breezy smoking conditions. A slightly vegetal undertone has shown up, but isnt necessarily unpleasant. There is also a slightly sweet flavor going on here.
This is a solid cigar, but doesn't quite "get there." It seems like something really good is just out of reach in the flavor profile. The flavors that are in the La Reloba aren't muted or anything, I just feel that some other component to the blend would have pushed this to the next level. It doesn't have that "wow" factor like some of the other newer Pepin cigars like the My Father Le Bijou or Jaime Garcia Reserva Selection. That being said, this is still a good medium bodied cigar. I picked this cigar up for right around $6, which seems fair for this cigar.
Side note: I smoked the La Reloba Sumatra at the Pepin event last week and liked it more than the Habano. That aspect to the blend I thought was missing seemed to be present in the Sumatra. It had a little more spice and complexity, so if you see either of these, definitely give the Sumatra a shot. I might grab another Sumatra to review in the future....
Have you had a chance to try either of the La Relobas?
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