2020 Cigar of the Year Countdown: #26: La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press Robusto

“For whatever reason, the La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press flew under the radar…but it’s a cigar worth checking out.”

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Nicaraguan Jalapa, Dominican Piloto Cubano, and Brazilian Mata Fina
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 50
Price: $6.29

Sponsor: No
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press Robusto (5/5/20)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 7 (2010, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Coming in at #26 is the La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press Robusto. The past ten years have certainly been interesting for General Cigar’s La Gloria Cubana brand. The brand has been the home for several innovative projects at General, including several releases out of Nicaragua. With the La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press, it was a return to some of the classic cigar making roots of the brand.

The La Gloria Cubana Spanish Press is the first all box-pressed line in La Gloria Cubana. As the name indicates, it utilizes a pre-embargo technique known as Spanish box-pressing. With the Spanish Press technique, freshly rolled cigars are placed into wooden trays with dividers to apply uniform pressure to the cigars. The trays are then pressed to define their shape. After the cigars are pressed, the cigars are placed in specially sized boxes that apply slight pressure to maintain their shape.

The blend feature a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, Mexican San Andres binder, and a combination of Nicaragua, Dominican, and Brazilian tobaccos in the filler. The Robusto size measures 5 1/2 x 50. Production is handled out of General Cigar Dominicana with La Gloria Cubana’s “factory within a factory” at that facility.

Flavorwise, it’s one of the more unique profiles to come out of La Gloria Cubana, delivering notes of natural tobacco, pepper, baker’s spice, earth, and red licorice.

It’s the seventh time General Cigar has landed on the Cigar Coop Countdown. It’s also the fourth year in a row General Cigar has placed on the Countdown. Brand-wise, four of those seven years General has been on the Countdown have featured a La Gloria Cubana cigar.