La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Magnifico

La Aroma de Cuba was introduced as Ashton Cigars’ foray into the value-priced cigar-range (Sticks I categorize in the $5 to $7 price range that I would consider high quality)   Over the past year, Ashton worked with the legendary Don Pepin Garcia to re-blend the base La Aroma de Cuba stick – and the results were nothing short than outstanding.   However the alliance between Ashton and Pepin did not stop there.  When IPCPR 2010 time came around, another Ashton-Pepin collaboration was introduced.  This stick is called the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor.  This is one outstanding stick.  In fact, I think its safe to say that this might be now the flagship cigar of the La Aroma de Cuba line.

Now we all know that Pepin loves Nicaraguan tobacco.   The recent collaborations with Nestor Miranda have shown Pepin’s openness to look beyond the boarders of Nicaragua.   For the Mi Amor, Pepin bends a little here too – utilizing a Mexican Cuban seed wrapper.

Here is a breakdown of the blend:

Wrapper: Mexican Cuban Seed
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

The Mi Amor is available in the following sizes:

Belicoso:  5.5″ x 54
Churchill:  7.0″ x 50
Magnifico: 6.0″ x 52
Robusto: 5.0″ x 50
Valentino: 5.7″ x 58

For my selection in this review, I opted for the beautiful box-press Magnifico.    I’ve mentioned many times that normally with Nicaraguan tobaccos, I get a salty start to the cigar.  This was not the case with the Mi Amor.  However upon lighting it, I did get some of those famous pepper notes that Pepin is known for.  The start  definitely had a cedar-like sweetness as well.   As the cigar progressed, I got some coffee tones start to emerge and they got more prevalent than the pepper and cedar notes.  Looking at the beautiful Mexican Cuban seed wrapper, the coffee taste was almost reflective of it. In the second half of the stick, the taste really gets rich.   The taste transitions to more of a rich chocolate flavor with lots of sweetness.  This was not infused sweetness, but the natural sweetness that comes from the tobaccos.  As for strength, I would categorize this as a medium and for body, I put this in the medium to full-bodied range.

The burn was not flawless.  Although it did not have to be re-lit, it did have to be touched up a few times.  This could be because it was new on the shelf.  There were also no draw issues.

Finally, for those who are scared away from Mexican wrappers, here is another case study on why that is not warranted.

As for price, while La Aroma de Cuba is targeted in the value-range, I do believe this stick is on the high end of this range, and in most retailers it will probably exceed it.   Overall, this was a terrific stick.  If not for some of the uneven burn, I would have assessed this a Memorable.  I’ll reserve my right to change this in the future.

Assessment: Nice to Have