Smoked: Cuba Aliados Original Blend

Smoked at: Fairfield, Ohio

Cuba Aliados Original Blend is a Hondruran puro brought into the Oliva fold. The wrapper is reddish brown, toothy and not very oily with some serious veinage. One in particular would meet with a phlebotomist’s approval.

Initial tastes are wood, roasted peanuts, hazelnuts, pepper, salty, earthy. There’s a hard to define sweetness somewhere between toffee and saltwater taffy that sneaks into the background. It settles into more of caramel and nutmeg by the second third.

I’m finding it difficult to identify the wood flavor. The flavor profile is unique to any Oliva I have ever smoked. It’s my understanding Oliva purchased the brand and kept the original blend for this stick. It does have the Honduran earthiness I have tasted before in Punch Gran Puro & an Eiroa. Not surprising Eiroa tobacco is in the original blend.

The cigar is mellow with some creaminess through the first third. Then it picks up more body and some strength through the rest of the smoke along with subtle notes of tea and grass. The retrohale is peppery with an herbal hint.

The construction is impressive for a cigar with a wrapper that looks wafer thin and flimsy. It keeps an impressive even burn line, puts out more than an ample supply of smoke, excellent draw and fairly firm white ash.

Cuba Aliados Original Blend is a good cigar worthy of purchase. I think you’ll find it an enjoyable medium bodied smoke.