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La Gloria Cubana Wavell Maduro

Black Plague

Black Plague

New Member
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
539
Talked about for a while, decided I'd finally freaking do it.

Last year, I renounced Cuban snobbery. I finally came full circle and realized that, while Cuban cigars are great, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic are also producing excellent cigars. Going back and looking at all the brands I'd formerly ignored, I started to think about all the cigars I loved back in the day. Specifically, all the cigars I loved that nobody every talks about anymore.

What happened with those cigars? Did our tastes change? Did they change?

I thought a great way to start this off would be with a cigar that people were prepared to kill for during the 90's cigar boom: the La Gloria Cubana Wavell Maduro.

I decided on this one because of an article I'd read featuring Boom-era smokers' memories of La Gloria Cubana (LINK). After strong endorsements from Cigar Aficionado magazine and Rush Limbaugh, this brand blew up. They started as the Carillo family's little cigar brand, but eventually, General Cigar/Swedish Match snatched them up and they've become a national brand that you can find in any tobacconist's humidor.

So do they still deserve the praise they got back in the 90's? Let's see.....

La Gloria Cubana
Wavell Maduro
5 x 50
Produced in the Dominican Republic and Miami, USA
Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder, Dominican and Nicaraguan Filler

Prelight: Box-pressed, hinting that it was most likely produced in the DR, as most Miami-rolled LGCs are round (the box-pressing reduces transit damage). The wrapper was a dark French roast color, nearly oscuro. It looked absolutely great, evenly-colored with hardly a visible vein the whole length. The texture was rough and sandpapery. The filler leaf bulged slightly from the foot.

Beverage: Just water.

Flavor: Toasted the foot and started to draw. From the start, bitter and not very pleasant. Finish was dark coffee grounds, a tad vegetal, with some notes of dry dark earth and varnished wood. One inch in, it got a little better, but was still sour and acidic. It did pick up some chocolate and some woody herbal notes. The smell wasn't much better, having a burnt and ammoniac aroma to it. Halfway through, much the same. Still very woody, herbal, developing a mild black pepper flavor and a touch of licorice. It remained much the same until the end.

Construction: The burn was decent, needing a few corrections. The draw was good and the ash a solid-structured gray-white.

Summary: I have to admit I've never been much of a fan of maduros. To me, they seem to all have that woody flavor that dominates the flavor profile. The overall expression of this Wavell was that it showed promise, but I believe that El Credito may be selling them much too young. The piece of Connecticut Broadleaf that this was wrapped was obviously extremely high-quality, and my fingers and lips didn't turn black, so I'm sure it is naturally that incredibly even color and not "painted."

Many have voiced the opinion that they just aren't as good as they used to be. I believe it may be due to the pressure of becoming a national brand (since General Cigar/Swedish Match distribute them) and having less time to age tobacco before rolling it up and shipping out to tobaconnists. These could become great quality smokes (worthy of the reputation they held during the Boom) if anyone is patient enough to lay them down for a year or two.

If there's a cigar you'd like me to cover for this new series, just shoot me a PM.
 
Great post.

The wavells were my #1 back in the boom days (when you had to fax or call El Credito!), and they still a go to daily smoker for me. I reach for one more often than not when I can't decide what to smoke after day in the office. I'm pretty sure I've smoked more Wavells than any other single vitola.

I agree that they are not what they used to be, but 6-12 months of downtime does A LOT for these sticks. I also tend to prefer them in Natural these days.

The first few puffs are always harsh and bitter but they settle down quickly for me and are just piquant enough to be interesting. For right around $3/stick I'm not sure they can be beat, except by 2000s, maybe.
 
What a blast from the past. Like Cuppa, I smoked these back in the boom days and enjoyed them. It's been many a year since I've had one especially since the Serie R became my preferred LGC. Thanks for the review. Sometimes remembrance is sweeter than the reality of today.

Wilkey
 
Ginseng said:
since the Serie R became my preferred LGC.

Wilkey
Click to expand...

Wait a minute! I thought you were fond of that little short Reserva Figurado bugger that burned so nicely?

Whar's them dang pitchers he posted? :laugh:

(Just popping in for the occasional abuse of an old friend)
 
cigar1993 said:
Ginseng said:
since the Serie R became my preferred LGC.

Wilkey
Click to expand...
Wait a minute! I thought you were fond of that little short Reserva Figurado bugger that burned so nicely?

Whar's them dang pitchers he posted? :laugh:

(Just popping in for the occasional abuse of an old friend)
Click to expand...
Gary! Where the hell you been, old man? :D Wait, I know. ;)

You're right, I do like the natural LGC RFs. Good memory.

Wilkey
 
I enjoy these sticks, but must confess that the surplus I have in my personal arsenal at this point are many, many years old and continuing to age nicely. While out in about in Little Havana recently, I did stop and pick a couple of singles up, and it just was not the same as those Wavells of days gone by. So, in that respect, I concur - the new batches definitely need some more age to them.

But, all in all, they are a great little smoke.
 
I've always felt that the LGCs lost their magic around 1997-98. I still have cigars from two bundles (corona gordas and churchills) I purchased at the El Credito factory in Little Havana in 1998. They were flat tasting when I bought them and have not improved over the years. A far cry from the fantastic flavor the LGCs had in the early boom years. Some say that LGCs went downhill when they were purchased by General/Swedish Match (or whoever it was who bought them) but I think the decline happened before El Credito was purchased. I expect Ernesto had to ramp up production quite a bit in 1997 and 1998 to meet the frantic demand for his smokes and that is what caused the problems.

It's a shame the brand has never fully recovered. I've sampled various LGCs over the years hoping to find the brand has recaptured at least some of its former glory but have been continually disappointed. Until recently. I tried an LGC Reserve Figurado Felicias and it was a really tasty smoke, and actually had some of that tangy earthiness I associate with the LGCs from the glory days. I recommend it for those who wish to get a glimpse of what the old LGCs were like.

If anybody has any perfectly preserved pre-1997 LGCs they want to sell, please let me know! :)
 
I concur with a lot of what has been said here. Age does increadible things to LGCs. The maduros fresh from the store have always been harsh to me. Given a few years, they become one of the finest smokes out there.
 
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