As you may have guessed, IPCPR is the considered by many to be the mecca of cigar events. Each year all kinds of new products are showcased. So many, in fact, that it is difficult to see everything in the time allotted for the show. One of the booths that I regret not visiting this year was General Cigar. We were kindly invited to sit in on a General product tour by Barry, of A Cigar Smoker’s Journal, but we lost track of time during interviews with other manufacturers.
It wasn’t until Jerry, Brian, Skip, Joe, and I were packing Twitter Brothers of the Leaf Press Kits that I got my first look at the new products. One of which was handed to me by Skip. That cigar was the La Gloria Cubana Serie N. I would assume that the cigar gifted to me, pictured above, is a limited production variety made for IPCPR. My Press Kit sample does not have the applied N on the wrapper.
When the Serie N press release came across my email inbox, I thought I’d snap a picture of my show sample and share the information with the Stogie Review readers. After reading the press release, head down to the comments section and tell us what you think about the latest release from General Cigar.
LA GLORIA CUBANA SERIE N
Richmond, VA—Team La Gloria Cubana is proud to unveil La Gloria Cubana Serie N®, a wholly new collection custom made for the initiated.
A sister brand to the critically-acclaimed La Gloria Cubana Serie R® collection, La Gloria Cubana Serie N debuts into a lofty position. This new, four-cigar collection delivers in spades by marrying proprietary Nicaraguan tobacco with the brand’s signature Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. Through artisanal blending and by employing specific frontmarks to maximize the unique flavor, this stimulating, full-bodied offering is punctuated by spicy notes and balanced to reveal a refined smoke.
La Gloria Cubana Serie N is the brainchild of Yuri Guillen (General Cigar Dominicana’s production manager of manufacturing) who developed this new collection in concert with Benji Menendez, Michael Giannini and Rick Rodriguez, collectively known as Team La Gloria Cubana.
According to Debo Mukherjee, vice president of cigars for General Cigar, parent company of La Gloria Cubana, “In creating La Gloria Cubana Serie N, our intent was to provide tenured smokers with a flavorful powerhouse of a cigar, one worthy of its pedigree, and I believe we have delivered that in spades. We are confident that consumers will respond to the new taste dimension brought forth by the proprietary Nicaraguan tobacco.”
La Gloria Cubana Serie N is sure to capture the attention of tenured smokers, for its fire-engine red, hexagonal wooden box, replete with a gold Serie N logo opens to reveal an eye-catching angular configuration of 24 of the handcrafted cigars.
This striking new collection will debut in October with four exciting new frontmarks. The JSB (5 ½” x 54) will be available for a suggested retail price of $6.35 per cigar, while the Rojo frontmark (6 ½” x 46) will sell for $6.20 per cigar. Generoso (5 ¾” x 49) will carry an SRP of $5.95 per cigar, and Glorioso (6 ½” x 58) will sell for $7.00 per cigar.
La Gloria Cubana cigars are produced by General Cigar Co. Inc., which manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar also produces Macanudo, Cohiba®, Partagas® Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur®, La Gloria Cubana® and several other leading premium brands. In addition, the company grows its own premium Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.
Walt, it’s my understanding that the IPCPR samples don’t have the “N” and the regular production does have it. It’s a cool touch which sets it apart, and, as was explained by Michael (If I recall correctly), lets you know what cigar it is even without the band. The presentation in the red hexagonal box is pretty cool as well. I’m looking forward to trying the sample and picking some of these up when they hit the stores.
If its as strong as the writeup describes … sadly, I may have to wait for my palate to mature a bit more before I can enjoy something as unique as the N.
I really kinda didn’t want to like this smoke, as I’m on a boutique kick right now, but it is a winner.
Great flavors, very good construction, although I only had it on the high end of medium bodied, maybe I’ve been smoking too many heavy, heavy cigars lately.
Very worthy addition to the humidor.
I am a long time smoker of the Serie R. I have tried them all and have never found them anything but fantastic. They are well-made, firm and the flavor—–well, the flavor and the aroma and the easy draw won me over with my first cigar—years ago. Having said all that—–I don’t think any of you can imagine on your best day how much I am looking forward to my first Serie N—–CAN’T WAIT!!!!