In 2022, Plasencia Cigars quietly started telling retailers of an ultra-premium limited edition offering known as the Plasencia Ehtëfal. The release of the Plasencia Ehtëfal was meant to coincide with the 2022 FIFA World Cup that was taking place in Qatar in November 2022. Plasencia Cigars made it clear that this was not a commemorative cigar for the World Cup but more of a celebratory cigar (Ehtëfal is the Arabic word for celebration). Today, we take a closer look at the Plasencia Ehtëfal offering.

When Plasencia Cigars decided it would produce and distribute its own branded cigars, one thing that became quite apparent was that Plasencia was aiming to be a player in the ultra-premium space. Offerings such as the Plasencia Alma Fuerte were priced in the $20.00 range. Some of the limited Chinese Zodiac offerings hit price points above $50.00. The Plasencia Ehtëfal would become one of Plasencia’s highest-priced cigars to date, coming in at $65.00 per cigar. Word is that in the upcoming months, Plasencia has a limited edition cigar that will crack the $100.00 price point.

For now, let’s turn our attention back to the Plasencia Ehtëfal and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Plasencia Ehtëfal features a sun-grown wrapper from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua. The binder and fillers are from a selection of ten years aged tobaccos from the Plasencia farms in Honduras and Nicaragua. Production for the Plasencia Ehtëfal comes from the Plasencia factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Jalapa)
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Plasencia Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Plasencia Ehtëfal was offered in one size – a 6 x 52 Toro. The cigars were presented in ten-count boxes. A total of 2,500 boxes were produced.

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper of the Plasencia Ehtëfal had a dark roasted coffee bean color. The surface of the wrapper didn’t have much in the way of oil on it. There were some visible veins on the surface of the wrapper. Despite the darker color, there were some visible seams.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Before lighting up the Plasencia Ehtëfal, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was detached, it was on to the pre-light draw stage. The cold draw delivered a mix of coffee, cedar, and earth notes. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. It was time to remove the footer band of the Plasencia Ehtëfal, toast up the footer, and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Plasencia Ehtëfal opened up with notes of chocolate, cedar, fruit, baker’s spice, and earth. The chocolate and fruit notes moved to the forefront during the early stages. The cedar, baker’s spice, and earth notes settled in the background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered a mix of fruit and cedar notes.

Later, in the first third of the Plasencia Ehtëfal, the fruit notes receded into the background. The chocolate notes remained in the forefront as the cigar entered the second third. Meanwhile, some white pepper notes emerged in the background with the cedar, fruit, baker’s spice, and earth. During the second third, the chocolate notes morphed into more of a coffee note. Around the same time, the cedar notes joined the coffee in the forefront.

There wasn’t much of a change going into the final third. The combination of coffee and cedar remained the primary notes. The fruit, baker’s spice, earth, and white pepper rounded out the flavor profile. There was a slight increase in the baker’s spice and white pepper, but not something overpowering. As the Plasencia Ehtëfal came to a close, it finished with a soft, cool nub.

Burn

The Plasencia Ehtëfal scored nicely when it came to its burn. This is a burn that maintained a straight burn path and maintained a sharp burn line. The resulting ash was firm. This was an ash that was white to light gray. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels throughout the smoking experience.

Draw

Overall, the draw performed exceptionally well for the Plasencia Ehtëfal. This draw had a touch of resistance to it – which is something I like. At the same time, the Plasencia Ehtëfal was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Plasencia Ehtëfal started out with medium strength and medium body. As the smoking experience progressed, there was a minor increase in both strength and body. While there was more in the way of strength and body toward the end of the smoking experience, both the strength and body were still in the medium range of the spectrum.

The body maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience in terms of strength versus body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

Overall, I like the green color scheme on both the bands and the box of the Plasencia Ehtëfal. Green seems trendy in bands lately, and it works well with this cigar. In addition, the footer band has a slight red accent, making it stand out.

Box of the Plasencia Ehtëfal; Photo Credit: Plasencia Cigar

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Regarding the Plasencia branded cigars, I have been much more of a fan of the regular production core offerings than the ultra-premium offerings. Given this history, I was a little skeptical about how the Plasencia Ehtëfal would perform – especially considering its price point. The good news is the Plasencia Ehtëfal came through with flying colors. This was an excellent cigar in the category that matters most – flavor. The construction was outstanding, but given this is a $65.00 cigar, nothing short of excellent should be acceptable. Ultimately, the Plasencia Ehtëfal is a cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s a higher price point, but worthy of what the mission of the cigar is – celebratory. Coming in at 90 points, the Plasencia Ehtëfal earns the Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence designation.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Chocolate, Earth, Baker’s Spice, Cedar, Fruit, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good