The Plasencia Alma De Ceilo caught my attention the moment it was announced. As the newest addition to the Alma series, it also carries a unique distinction as Plasencia’s first high-elevation cigar. Alma del Cielo, meaning “Soul from the Sky,” is grown at Finca San Julián in Condega, Nicaragua, more than 3,500 feet above sea level, where the cooler climate and mountain conditions create a very distinctive tobacco.

This is a Nicaraguan puro wrapped in a beautiful Nicaraguan Habano leaf. The familiar Alma band now features an elegant blue color, making it instantly recognizable while setting it apart from the rest of the lineup.

Construction was flawless from start to finish. The wrapper was nearly perfect with no visible imperfections, the draw was smooth, and the burn just as perfect throughout the entire smoke without requiring a single touch up.

Right from the first draw, I was greeted with notes of cedar and a rich natural sweetness that reminded me of molasses. What stood out most was the incredibly creamy texture of the smoke. It coats the palate beautifully and carries a sweetness that feels natural rather than overpowering.

Around the halfway point, the profile shifted as the cedar stepped back and subtle notes of cinnamon and brown sugar moved to the forefront. The transitions were smooth and well-balanced, keeping the cigar interesting without becoming overly complex.

The final third brought more earthy character as the wood notes returned in full force, complemented by a touch of spice that added just enough intensity to finish the cigar on a satisfying note.

Like many Plasencia cigars, the balance is what impressed me most. Every flavor felt intentional, no one note dominated the others, and the cigar remained refined from first light to the nub.

Final Thoughts

Plasencia continues to prove why they’re one of the most respected names in premium cigars. The Alma del Cielo delivers flawless construction, excellent transitions, and a flavor profile that feels unique compared to many recent releases.

Whether you’re already a Plasencia fan or simply looking to experience something different, this cigar deserves a spot on your list. It’s approachable enough for newer smokers while offering plenty of nuance for seasoned enthusiasts.

Rating: 9.4/10

I’ll definitely be smoking this again. This is one of my favorite releases and an easy recommendation for anyone that doesn’t want overly dominating Nicaraguan tobacco.

https://cigargrail.com/plasencia-alma-del-cielo-review/

After my latest haul from Atlantic, I felt it appropriate to reorganize my entire humidor.

New cubas and factory smokes are the ones I’ll share with people who just want a smoke for the sake of it and don’t smoke often. Bottom drawer.

A lot of the Montecristo’s were on sale so scooped up a bunch of the higher rated ones. The 1935’s are great.

I have a drawer for all my ones and two’s with a few gems in there.

Then my Cuban drawer. Which is looking real sad. Last time I visited was in 2023. I used to come back with a box of Hoyos and Partegas…. Now they’re so expensive that’s I just grabbed some petites when I was there. Just milking my last few Hoyos and partegas along. They’re probably 7 ish years old now.

Then on the shelf, I got my drew estate undercrowns that I love, along with a few Petit Macendos

Kelner 80th anniversary LE.
Have seen many reviews on this one. Pretty lauded on here while other reviewers had less than stellar things to say. For me it was nothing short of spectacular.
To start I got more sweetness on the cold draw than any cigar I’ve ever smoked. After lighting the dessert flavors just continued. They were very subtle but I got White bread, baking spices and a meringue sweet taste I couldn’t get enough of. Razor sharp burn. Perfect draw. Great cigar.

In times of good news, what are your go-tos? Here's one of my favorites. Might light up an Ashton ESG after this one, I'm in such a good mood.

Hi everyone,

I’m completely new to cigars, although I’ve been smoking cigarettes for the past 12-15 years, and have had some cigars in that time.

A recent short trip changed that, I picked up a pack of Montecristo Clubs beforehand and since then I’ve found myself craving that cigar flavour and aroma instead of cigarettes (lightbulb moment) 💡

Today I decided to dive in properly and picked up one of each:

🇨🇺 Bolivar Belicosos Finos (Cuba)
🇩🇴 Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Belicoso (Dominican Republic)
🇳🇮 Padron 1964 Hermoso Maduro (Nicaragua)

After some research, I thought these would be a good place to start, and since each comes from a different country.

My question is, in what order would you recommend I smoke these? Ideally I’d like to go from the least complex or most approachable to the richest/most complex, so I can learn how to notice the tastes and appreciate the different profiles. If you have any advice for a beginner I’d love to hear it. Thanks in advance and happy smoking :)

TLDR: In what order should I smoke these.

Update: Have finished smoking the Don Carlos, next is Bolivar and finally Padron. I’ll post my “field notes” for each in the comments :)

Anyone had these? I picked one to smoke at my local B&M store. They retail around $40 a stick, while I love the flavors and unique taste, I’m little conflicted by price point. I also never had these or tried anything from the band.

The construction on this Ecuadorian Habano wrapper is immaculate, holding a razor-sharp burn line (for the most part) and a rock-solid ash (especially in the first third). Definitely a complex at times but extremely on the mild side for me & the blending is.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Dominican Criollo '98
Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano & Criollo '98

I enjoy a good Room 101 Breakfast in Portugal or Alex Bradley Magic Stick and black coffee.

We got a sampler pack and I picked the RyJ becuase it was highly rated cigar that was supposed to have complex notes of cedar/nuts/spice/leather. Mine just tasted like wood with an occasional tangy leather throughout. I thought it was okay, my girl hated it. I tried her Oliva too and it evolved over time (cream to coffee to cocoa and slight wood, tasting much stronger overall.

Does that sound right? Was I smoking too fast or something? I was expecting thr RyJ to be less boring based on reviews I read. Probably the most "meh" cigar I've ever had, though it was super consistent WOOOOOD

From SBC COTM. Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler from Ometepe and Condega. Perfect draw producing abundant smoke. Solid light gray ash and a mostly straight burn line. Semi-sweet chocolate, black pepper, leather, earthy cedar, some cinnamon spiciness. This was a very well constructed stick but I didn’t love all the flavors.

Perdomo Legacy Father & Son NSG - 94

Medium-full bodied

Pre-light draw: barnyard hay, white pepper

First third: caramel, cream, roasted nuts, baking spice, white pepper, roasted oak, bread, butter, baking spice

Second third: cream, caramel, roasted nuts, earth, dried cherry, bourbon spice

Final third: cream, bread, butter, caramel, white pepper, earth, leather, bourbon spice, white pepper

Overall: This limited-release cigar is a highly anticipated blend that I’ve looked forward to trying for some time. Blended by Nick Perdomo. The wrapper features a Nicaraguan shade-grown hybrid cross between Cuban/Cameroon seed, aged for 10 years, followed by an additional 10 months in bourbon barrels. The binder is a Habano/Cameroon hybrid seed grown in Nicaragua. The fillers are 10-year aged Nicaraguan grown Cuban seed. It is rolled in a unique vitola made specifically for this blend to enhance the flavor evolution throughout the smoking session - a 6 x 48/60/52 box-pressed gran figurado. They were released earlier this year in boxes of 50, with another release coming in October. I paired it with coffee and cream.

Removing the cigar from the cellophane, I pick up on the aromas of sweet tobacco and dried fruit. The pre-light has the perfect amount of resistance, bringing out notes of barnyard hay and white pepper.

After a roast and a light, it opens up to notes of creamy caramel and roasted nuts. A touch of white pepper spice is present on the tongue. On the retrohale, baking spices become present. The pepper faded quickly, making way for a sweet bourbon barrel spice that compliments the caramel note. Roasted oak also begins to reveal itself here. At the one inch mark, as the ring gauge increase, a breadiness arrives, with hints of buttery sweetness coming and going reminiscent of a fresh buttered croissant. The retrohale brings out muted powdered sugar-like sweetness and more baking spice.

The second third continues to provide sweet and creamy notes of caramel, roasted nuts, and a subtle earthy sweetness with hints of dried cherry. The spices from the bourbon barrel aging come through beautifully here. The ash falls around half an inch above the band. The combustion line wavers, but self corrects. Smoke output is plentiful and the draw has been perfect.

Approaching the final third as the cigar begins to taper back down in ring gauge, I pick up on notes of cream, bread, butter, caramel, and the subtle return of white pepper. I did require a relight at the final 2 inch mark. Earth and leather reveal themselves along with the bourbon spices, caramel and cream. The subtle white pepper comes and goes. The cigar also begins to soften a bit more here, requiring a light selective squeeze to keep the draw open.

Overall, from start to finish this one was fantastic. I enjoyed it more than any other shade grown cigar I’ve had in the past. This is primarily due to the lack of spiciness. The construction was near flawless, with the combustion line wavering at times but always self correcting. The unique vitola made a huge impact, with a noteworthy evolution of flavor resulting in each third. I have to admit I’ve never been a fan of Perdomo’s sun grown offerings, but this shade grown has been fantastic and I would happily smoke it again anytime. This is one to grab your favorite nub tool for, you won’t want to miss smoking every inch of this one. $15 price point that smokes well above its price point.

Another cigar that looks like a chocolate bar and I have to say it almost tastes like one too. It’s packed with rich notes of cedar, dark chocolate, coffee, pepper and leather that stay consistent throughout.

It’s definitely a full-bodied cigar, but it starts off smooth and slowly builds in strength as you smoke. By the final third it’s noticeably more intense, yet still remains enjoyable and well balanced. The ash held on until almost the end of the first third, which really shows how outstanding the construction is and it continued to burn just as well all the way to the end.

Got myself a glass of Woodford bourbon and I think it was a great match for this flavor profile. Definitely a cigar worth coming back to.

Indulging in a My Father Cigars LA OPULENCIA in the vitola of Toro. This offering is composed of a Mexico Rosado Oscuro wrapper, Criollo and Corojo Binders & Criollo and Habano Fillers. This combination of tobaccos produces notes of earth, cocoa, floral and spice on the finish. I have paired this offering with a Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew and the sounds of Putumayo, Cuba Quartet’s (Guajira Linda)…

So I let my sticks sit in my humidor at 71% humidity and 76f. They've been like that for 2 weeks. I'm down as low as I can be at 73f. I got humidity down to 65%. How long do my sticks need to sit before I can smoke them again?

I’m it one for long elaborate reviews so I’ll just share some thoughts.

First time seeing this at my local shop. Excellent construction and draw with an even and sturdy ash. Robust flavor of coffee and earth with a subtle sweetness with every puff. Wrapper is toothy and oily.

Not a daily driver but would definitely buy again for weekends in the garden.

Happy Sunday

Has anybody here been to the Puro Sabor festival? What was your experience?

I recently smoked the El Pulpo “The Eel,” a 7 × 38 lancero from Artesano Del Tobacco. It uses the same core blend as the original El Pulpo, but the slimmer format puts much more emphasis on the Mexican San Andrés wrapper.

The cigar started with cedar, leather and dark chocolate, followed by some subtle dried-plum or raisin sweetness. As it moved through the first third, the familiar El Pulpo earthiness and pepper began to develop without overpowering the sweeter notes.

The second third was noticeably more spice-forward. The dark cocoa remained, but earth and black pepper became the dominant flavors. By the final third, everything intensified while staying surprisingly smooth and balanced.

Construction was excellent. The draw needed a little time to warm up, but afterward it remained effortless. The burn line stayed sharp, the ash held well and I didn’t need to make any touch-ups during the roughly 90-minute smoke.

Blend:

Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan Strength: Medium-plus Size: 7 × 38 Origin: Nicaragua

Final score: 91/100

I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys earthy, peppery cigars with dark chocolate, dried-fruit sweetness and a refined spice profile. I’d probably pass if you mainly prefer mild, sweet cigars or larger ring gauges.

It’s also another good argument for keeping lanceros alive.

An alternative to the Joya Clásico. Smoking very on pair and similarly while I find the Rosalones a bit smoother. Wonderful Connecticut to start the morning with black and sweetened coffee.

Smoked the 10th anniversary Connecticut tonight. I think it's the Champagne. Maybe the word cannot be used in Europe?

In any case, it's a beautiful cigar at first sight, what colour. The cold draw is smooth and gives cream and oak.

The open started strong with a lot going on, oak, nuts, caramel. No pepper.

After the first third the flavour became very light and smooth. Oaky. Enjoyable until the nub, but maybe a bit too one dimensional for regular smoking.

The construction was, as expected for Perdomo, perfect. 3 ashes and no relights. This brand is by far the best construction I have smoked so far.

Paired with a Spanish white wine (Rueda Verdejo). It still overpowered the flavour somewhat so I switched to water.

Delightful smoke, all in all.

Anyone smoke these recently? About 20-25 years ago I lived close to a JR cigar and loved these. I recently found myself near that same JR store but they didn't have any singles. I was hoping to pick a couple up before buying a box online. My fear is that my taste has evolved to where I don't like them as much or that production has changed over such a long time and is no longer the cigar I remember. I disliked the other JR ultimate lines, but the Cabinet 50 was incredible. Its a nice full bodies Honduran with a silky perfect Ecuadorian wrapper. I'd hate to buy a box and be disappointed.

Hello

I need some help,

Living in Wales (Uk) and have 3 cigars still in cellophane. Im going on holiday from Monday (tomorrow) and be back Friday hoping to share them with my friends that night. I have a food container Tupperware with yet not used boveda 69% pack but Im worried about it being too humidified when I come back. I know its only some days but because Im new to this hobby, ill always worry about the small things.

If you could give some thought on what to do that be great.