La Riqueza No. 4 Robusto

La Riqueza is made by Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson and Don Pepin Garcia. The name is Spanish for “the riches.” Pete Johnson is very fond of the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, and he does some excellent things with it. I haven’t had a La Riqueza before, so I don’t know how well he did here, but I have high hopes.

Statistics

CotM: February 2014



February 2014





Shape: Box-pressed parejo

Box-pressed parejo





Chosen by: shadowbates

shadowbates





Size: 5″ x 48

5″ x 48





Country of Origin: Nicaragua







Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf









Binder: Nicaraguan









Filler: Nicaraguan







Color: Maduro

Maduro





Strength: Medium







Price Paid: Gift

Gift





Smoke Date: February 10, 2014

February 10, 2014





Age: Less than a week

Accessories Used

Palio Composite cigar cutter, Silver & Chrome Vector Stratos single-flame torch lighter, Handmade English walnut ashtray made by wedgewoodrings.

Pairing

The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky served neat in a Sagaform rocking whisky glass. The Macallan is a sweet and fruity Scotch that is fairly heavy on the oak. The La Riqueza turned out to have a very dry finish, and the sweetness of the whisky was a perfect contrast.

Appearance/Nose

The wrapper was a dark maduro with lots of tooth. The wrapper leaf itself seemed very thick. There was a small imperfection in the wrapper leaf–a tiny hole that looks like with was there when the wrapper was put on. The undamaged binder leaf is visible beneath the opening. As I had mentioned in my review of the Tatuaje Seleccion De Cazador 7th Reserva (another Tatuaje cigar that uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper), there are little sparkly mineral crystals that make the wrapper shimmer in sunlight. The wrapper color was deep and rich marbly brown, a bit like a good fudge brownie. Gorgeous. The band was very “old world” with it’s flat red and gold embossed leaves. The nose was very chocolatey with coffee notes. A bit like unsweetened cocoa powder.

Construction

The construction seemed to be spot on. The cigar was firm and springy throughout. There was a very neatly-applied triple cap on the head. The box press was very sever, making it have very sharp corners. The burn was straight and even the whole way through, requiring zero maintenance. This is especially useful, as I’ve lamented a few times before about the difficulty of rotating a rectangular box-pressed stick. The ash was light gray and very solid. It held for about an inch at a time. (After ashing in my lap during my last couple reviews, I didn’t feel like putting the ash’s longevity to the test, so it may have lasted longer if I had pressed my luck.)

Cold Draw

I snipped off about half of the first cap, and was greeted with a cold draw that was very easy. Again, notes of cocoa featured prominently.

Smoking

First third

Chocolate cake. The first thing I could taste was chocolate cake.there was a light, floral finish after that. The smoke volume coming off the stick was pretty nuts. Smoke was flying everywhere out of this thing! The draw was easy without being loose.

About a half inch in, the chocolate subsided, and underneath was a rich, tobacco flavor. The retrohale had very little, if any spice, which is unusual for a DPG cigar.

I usually find notes that remind me of other tastes, but this one was definitely just tobacco (not that it was bad!) it had a dry flavor reminiscent of walking into a humidor or dry autumn leaves. I know a lot of people have expressed issue with reviewers mentioning a “leather” flavor in their cigars, but I taste what I taste. A definite leather taste emerged about an inch in.

After the ash fell off, the flavor was an equal mixture of dry tobacco, cocoa, cedar, and yes, leather, with a very dry finish.

Second third

Coming into the middle third, the chocolate flavor revived a bit, but nowhere near to the chocolate cake levels of the beginning.

The smoke was thick and sweet with cocoa and cedar flavor. There was not much evolution in this third. Everything pretty much continued as before.

The chocolatey notes died down again, and there was a blend of cocoa, tobacco, and dry cedar.

Final third

Nothing new to report in the final third. The profile remained the same as it pretty much had been up to this point. The burn was still perfect, the ash solid and steady, and the draw smooth and easy. There was really nothing to complain about here.

Notes

Draw: Easy

Easy





Body: Medium

Medium





Primary Flavors: Cocoa, cedar, tobacco, leather

Cocoa, cedar, tobacco, leather





Smoke Output: Full

Full





Smoke Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Overall

This cigar was a bit of a puzzler. The chocolate that absolutely dominated the cold draw and first few puffs faded, leaving a leather, woody, tobacco flavor for the rest of the cigar. This was a tasty cigar, with impeccable construction, but it was a bit of a one-trick pony. Dry, cedary profiles aren’t my favorite, so some transitions would have suited me well. Still, this was hardly a bad cigar, and if you’re into that sort of flavor, this one has it in spades.

Rating