In the dark recesses of my basement, in the place that I call my “Lab, ” I now have settled in after my dinner of Italian sausage and peppers to review my latest cigar. While the words appear on the computer display at a snail’s pace, I begin the journey of smoking the La Sirena Trident. I try to capture all the nuances as I reflect on my smoking and how this has become one of my favorite after-dinner rituals. With Diana Krall playing in the background and a simple 12-year-old port to sip on, I have dimmed the lights, settling back in my chair, chewing and savoring – I smoke.
The La Sirena Story-
From the master blender Don José “Pepin” Garcia and his son, Jaime Garcia comes a full-on smoke that is blended with some pretty outstanding tobacco. Using Corojo 99 and Crillo 98 Ligero filler tobacco, Pepin then complemented this cigar with a superb Crillo 99 binder. True to his selection he then used a triple cap Connecticut Maduro to mellow it out just a tad, while still keeping the body full and rich.
Statistics –
Name: La Sirena Trident
Produced by: Miami Cigars
Country: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Filler: Nic. Corojo 99 Viso, Nic. Criollo 98 Ligero
Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo 99
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Size: Churchill
Ring Gauge: 50
Length: 7”
Appearance –
You can’t help but notice the OMG size cigar band that anoints this medium tannish brown stick. The band is lavish and very eye-catching. When I talked to Arielle Ditkowich (Brand Manager) about how she and her crew came up with the large band, she said that she wanted something that attracted people to her smoke. She said the minute she saw the look of the band she knew that they had made the right choice of being slightly larger and more ornate than others out in the market place. A+ my dear – you got it right.
Construction –
The La Sirena’s wrapper is very grainy with lots of texture. The triple cap is always a bonus, and I could find nothing wrong with the look and feel of the smoke. There was a slight woodsy aroma that was prevalent when I lifted it to my nose, and after I clipped the end, the pre-light draw had a deep cedary flavor.
Burn –
The smoking of this cigar was near perfect. The Trident’s burn, and the ash and the amount of smoke that was produced, was just the way it should be. I don’t remember the last stogie that I smoked that seemed as perfect in its burn as this lovely.
Flavor –
Without a doubt this cigar is one of the more full-bodied sticks that I have sparked up in a while. The “Pepin Punch,” as I call it, is in full effect. Lots of spice! Lots of peppery, honey cedar that flows well around my palate. Like a roller coaster climbing up a big hill, the taste increased with a thick nose tickle of deep rich coffee chocolate goodness. By the time the last third of the cigar came around, I was in a cigar lover’s coma, because of the assault of flavor that took place on my palate.
Finish –
I was slightly disappointed that the cigar never quite mellowed out. The flavor profile was outstanding, but became slightly bitter toward the end. The black pepper was very full and harshly straight forward, which took the fun out of trying to burn my fingers and my mustache hair; so I put it down before I started to nub the smoke.
Conclusion –
Maybe I was being a wimp tonight. Maybe I wasn’t getting enough oxygen between pulls on the stogie. For whatever reason, the smoke was just a little too much for me tonight. That’s not because the cigar is “bad.” On the contrary, the smoke is exceptionally good in so many ways. But for me it was just a little “too much.” I do recommend you go smoke the La Sirena, because the flavor is right on the money. Just be aware that this smoke has a lot of body and punch.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States.
