The La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona was introduced at the 2023 PCA Trade Show in Las Vegas, NV.  It fills a spot that was conspicuously missing from the La Aroma de Cuba lineup since it didn’t have a Connecticut wrapper cigar.  The cigars are made by My Father in Esteli, Nicaragua, featuring Nicaraguan tobacco from their farms, making a bolder Connecticut over traditional Connecticut wrapper cigars.  This cigar was a highlight of the PCA 2023 Trade Show for the Cigar Coop Coalition team.  We hadn’t heard much about the cigar until the point we sat down to interview Andy Green, VP of Marketing for Ashton, as he handed us the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona to smoke.  It was my first cigar of the day, and it really made an impression on the team.

Blend and Origin

• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• MSRP:  $6.50

Cigar purchased at B & B Tobacconist in Asheville, NC

Vitolas Offered

The La Aroma de Cuba is offered in the standard lines used in the other La Aroma de Cuba lines.

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 La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona has a beautiful golden brown wrapper with a slightly rusticated look.  There are some large veins on the wrapper, but nothing too big as to be protruding too much.  The cap is well applied to where you can barely make out the seams of the cap.  The band is a standard La Aroma de Cuba band, but the cigar has a nice gold silk ribbon footband.

Prelight

I cut the cap with a V-cut and tested the draw. It was a perfect milkshake draw, just the way I like it. It has notes of cedar, earth, hay, and a nice candy-like sweetness—kind of your average new-style Connecticut flavor notes.

Tasting Notes

The first third of the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona had notes of cedar, earth, hay, white pepper, cashews, and a hint of buttercream. The cedar, cashew, and buttercream notes were the most dominant at the beginning. The white pepper and buttercream were the notes on the retro-hale, which was a nice contrast. The cigar does get a little hot if you smoke it fast, so I slowed down my smoking pace.

The transition from the first third to the second third developed a coffee bean note to accompany the other notes. The cedar and buttercream were the most dominant, with the cashews, white pepper, and earth fading somewhat into the background. I did get a slight citrus note here and there in the second third as well. The retro-hale remained the same, but the buttercream overpowered the white pepper note, which was nice.

The final third was more savory than sweet. The buttercream, cashews, citrus, and hay notes were still there, but cedar and white pepper notes really came to the forefront. I still got hints of the coffee bean, but it had faded slightly from what I got in the second third. The retro-hale flip-flopped from what I got in the second third, with the white pepper dominating the buttercream note.

Burn

The burn was very good throughout all three-quarters of the cigar. I never had to touch up the cigar or relight it. The smoke volume was voluminous, and the cigar produced a nice gray, firm ash. The burn line was perfect as well. Since I smoked it slow, the cigar never got too hot, but it can if you smoke too fast, so be aware of that.

Draw

The draw was perfect as well. The milkshake draw stayed from beginning to end. That is a little confusing, though, as the cigar can burn a little hot, so even with a perfect draw, I had to control my puffs.

Strength, Body, and Flavor

The strength of the cigar started off medium but progressed to medium-full at the end. The cigar did have a medium-full body throughout, which was nice. The flavor was full and had enough complexity to keep it interesting throughout the whole smoking experience.

Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed the La Aroma de Cuba Connecticut Corona.  I’m a big fan of the Corona format; this blend has been delivered.  It has the creaminess you expect of the Connecticut cigar with a nice savory and spicy element from the Nicaraguan tobaccos.  It had enough complexity to keep my interest during the entire smoke with nice flavors of cedar, cashews, buttercream, hay, earth, coffee bean, white pepper, and a hint of citrus.  I think it’s an excellent addition to the crowded market of the new style of Connecticut cigars and at a great price point as well.

Final Score:  91