La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona

Today, we take a look at the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut in the Corona size. La Aroma de Cuba and San Cristobal are two Nicaraguan-made brands owned by Ashton Cigars. While the San Cristobal has offered a Connecticut Shade offering for several years, one gap within the La Aroma de Cuba brand is that there was no Connecticut line. That would all change in 2023 when the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut was introduced, it would become the seventh regular production line under La Aroma de Cuba. The cigar was introduced just before the 2023 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show and was highlighted at the show by Ashton.

The following are the seven offerings (with the associated wrappers) under the La Aroma de Cuba brand. Over the past couple of years, Ashton has been tweaking the packaging on all of La Aroma d Cuba’s lines.

La Aroma de Cuba (Connecticut Broadleaf)
La Aroma de Cuba Edición Especial (Ecuadorian Habano)
La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor (San Andres)
La Aroma de Cuba Reserva (San Andres)
La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse (San Andres)
La Aroma de Cuba Pasión (Nicaraguan Shade Grown)
La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut (Ecuadorian Connecticut)

Without further ado, let’s break down the La Aroma de Cuba (LADC) Connecticut Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table.

La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Connecticut Shade wrapper of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut comes from Ecuador. The Nicaraguan tobaccos come from the Garcia family farms in Condega, Estelí, and Jalapa. The line is produced at the Garcia family’s My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The La Aroma de Cuba is offered in seven sizes. The Robusto, Immensa, and El Jefe sizes are presented in 24-count boxes while the other four sizes are packaged in 25-count boxes.

Rothschild 5 x 50
Robusto: 5 1/4×54
Corona: 5 1/2 x 44
Immensa: 5 3/4 x 60
Monarch: 6 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 50
El Jefe 7 x 58

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona had a light brown color with a slightly weathered look. There wasn’t much in the way of oil on the surface of this wrapper. The wrapper had some visible veins and visible wrapper seams, but also still had an elegance to it.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the LADC Connecticut Corona, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of cream, wood, and cedar. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this time it was time to remove the bad around the footer of the LADC Connecticut Corona, toast up the cigar and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The LADC Connecticut Corona opened up with notes of butter-cream, citrus, wood, and cedar. Early on the butter-cream and citrus notes moved into the forefront. The wood and cedar notes settled into the background. There was a slight underlying sweetness to the cedar that was present from start to finish. As the cigar moved through the first third, a slight black pepper note surfaced in the background. Meanwhile the retro-hale delivered a combination of pepper and cedar. This retro-hale was not overpowering.

As the LADC Connecticut Corona moved through the second third, the butter-cream and citrus combination started to gradually decrease in intensity. Concurrently the background notes of wood, cedar, and pepper were increasing. The wood notes increased at the greater rate. By the midway point the wood notes took over as the primary note. The citrus and butter-cream notes moved into the background. As the cigar approached the end of the second third, the butter-cream notes dissipated.

The wood notes continued to dominate the final third. The pepper notes began to emerge as the main secondary note. While normally I don’t like a woody, peppery combination, there still was a enough coming from the citrus and cedar to offset this combination in my book. This is the way the LADC Connecticut Corona came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the LADC Connecticut Corona performed quite well. The burn maintained a straight burn path and burn line, requiring minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color. This was an ash skewed toward the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels throughout the smoking experience.

Burn of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona

Draw

The draw of the LADC Connecticut Corona also performed quite well. This draw had a touch of resistance to it – which is something that I like. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

Overall the strength and body of the LADC started out not the lower end of medium. There was a slight increase in intensity in both attributes, but overall both the strength and body stayed in the medium range of the spectrum. At the same time, the strength and body balanced each other nicely – with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

Ashton has done a really nice job in using colors to help each of the La Aroma de Cuba blends stand out. Of the seven blends in La Aroma de Cuba, the Connecticut is the only one that did not undergo a packaging change. This is because the Connecticut is the newest addition. In the case of the Connecticut, it uses gold to differentiate the colors. I do like the details Ashton has used with the woman on the band. On each of the seven blends, there are subtle color differences to the dress and flowers the woman is adorned with.

Banding of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut

It is worth noting the 25-count boxes are classic wrap-style boxes. The Corona comes in the wrap-style box. The three 24-count boxes in the line are cabinet style boxes.

Packaging of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Every year when our team comes home from the PCA Trade Show, we are asked what our favorite was of the cigars we smoked. Coming out of the 2023 show, the Coalition team had high praises for the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona. Now almost a year later, after going through the process of a Cigar Coop review, I feel confident with our 2023 assessment. This is a wonderful cigar that really delivers some nice flavors. The flavors aren’t radically different than most Connecticut Shade cigars, but they perform well together – and get a little of that Garcia touch with more boldness. At $6.50 per cigar, you can’t go wrong. I would recommend it to any cigar enthusiast. It’s easily one I would smoke again and one that garners box worthy consideration. Coming it at 90 points, this cigar earns a Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence designation.

Summary

Key Flavors: Wood, Citrus, Butter-Cream, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good