La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse is a $20 cigar which is a far cry from the value cigars LADC was known for. Acquired in 2003, the brand would be rebranded by My Father Cigars for Ashton in 2009. The brand was success partly I part was because of the price. The 2009 La Aroma de Cuba Robusto was a $5.25 cigar. Granted there are many factors that go into pricing such as labor, tobacco rarity, tobacco age, bands, boxes, etc. But this release moves into the Ashton ESG territory in terms of pricing and changes the dynamic of the brand.
The La Aroma de Cuba Nobelesse was first released in 2014 as a limited edition cigar. Both that cigar and the 2024 is made for Ashton at My Father Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua, but the similarity stops there. The new release contains a completely different blend.
Finding the cigar for the rest of 2024 will be a bit difficulty as only 750 boxes of four sizes have been made for Ashton’s top 300 accounts. Those 300 accounts will have exclusive access to the cigar for the remainder of the year.
Cigar Review: La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse
Size: 6 x 52 Coronation (Toro)
Wrapper: San Andres Oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Fillers: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Release Date: June 2024
Box Count: 24
The Cigar: Featuring the cameo style logo of La Aroma de Cuba the cigar has an old world feel to it with a modern twist of light purple accents. The box pressed cigar has an oval feel to it, thought not as pronounced as a cigar that adorned the name. The San Andres Oscuro wrapper is absolutely flawless with a nice amount of oils present. In the hand the cigar firm with no voids of tobacco and a slightly above average weight.
The Taste: The cold draw has initial notes of graham cracker and cocoa but after taking a second pull after a brief conversation with my wife the cigar reminded me of the stick from fun dip. Not the new fun dip, but the fun dip from my youth that was loaded with sugar. The aroma from the foot of the cigar matches the cold draw with cocoa and graham cracker but also sees the addition of some marshmallow fluff.
Smoking our way into the first third of the Noblesse there is a subtle pepper component to start before it pulls back to reveal notes of mocha, graham cracker and a subtle anise. As we break the one-inch mark in this incredibly slow smoking cigar there is a touch of earth developing as hint of lemongrass beings to grown in intensity. The retrohale of the cigar has some spice to it while adding to the sweetness of mocha and graham cracker.
The second third of this medium body cigar is struggling to become more than that in terms of flavor. It’s incredibly smooth but it lacks some depth. It is enjoyable, but it hasn’t done anything to stand out. There are notes of nuts, mocha and lemongrass but none of them are really forthcoming. As we cross over the halfway point espresso and black pepper become dominant with a touch of anise. The retrohale has some more lingering lemongrass.
The final third continues down the same path with notes of chocolate and espresso and a lingering pepper. There is a touch of cashews preset as we move past where the band once was. As the Noblesse hits its final inch or so, notes of leather become dominant and take away from how smooth the cigar was. The retrohale has pepper, salt and some espresso notes.
Conclusion: With Ashton only releasing 700 boxes of the La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse I can’t help but wonder if they were rushed to get on the market. At almost $20 I definitely had expected and hoped for more. It wasn’t a bad cigar by any stretch of the imagination and price doesn’t factor into our scoring but I wanted more. The cigar finished as medium-full in strength and barely medium in flavor. It was however, an incredibly smooth cigar. I will continue to try these from time to time just to see how they progress over time in case they were rushed.
Score: 91
Price: $19.50 (Before any local or state taxes)
