San Cristóbal de La Habana – La Punta

I have been neglecting my blog again over the last 2-3 weeks. Been busy with blah,blah, etc, etc. But now im back. I haven’t had a big cigar for the past few weeks. So after Monday i thought it was time for some rich tobacco, i was planning to dig into the Cain 550 Maduro i have but instead i grabbed a San Cristobal – La Punta. I have only had the smaller El Principe in the past, but always been a fan. So as you can gather i was looking forward tot eh light floral flavours but in a bigger hopefully more powerful cigar.

Rolled in : Cuba
Wrapper : Cuban
Binder : Cuban
Filler : Cuban
Size: 5 1/2″ x 52

The people of Nottingham and i am assuming other cities dont really go for the San Cristobals. Lack of tubes, light flavour (like Fonseca?) or heck i dunno. There such tasty light cigar, smooth and creamy exactly what people want. But or some reason people wont even try them, even on offer! I can see why the La Punta might put a few off with the big monte 2 look. But im not afraid . Not a big fan of tapered caps on big 52 gauge cigars, i cut a fair amount off. Pre light draw produced some biscuity sweet flavours and easy draw. The light was easy, few turns under a single jet flame. I was instantly greeted with a creamy sweet smoke topped of with cedar and a tasty herby side. From the word go i still cant see why these cigars are ignored, why Romeos get all the fuss. The first third continued along similar lines, but the complexity of the aromatic flavours never disappointed.

The middle saw the cigar continue to burn perfectly, even with ash that seemed to cling on forever. The smoke remained smooth and creamy but it picked up a little more body. This increase was through the herby flavours to produce a rich aromatic, cedar smoke. The cool light flavours made for an easy going smoke, i didn’t feel the need once to want to recut wider. Towards the end of the middle the creaminess dropped back and a bitter edge came in. The final third saw this bitterness remain and soon melded to become a complex array of aromatic herbs, woods and hints of lemony grass. I found myself burning lips and fingers on this one, all smoked in a good 30 minute walk home.

Wow i can safely say i enjoyed the larger size to the San Cristobals. The complex flavours sat pretty much on a flat line, with a few subtle shifts. The La Punta still remained an enjoyable smoke. Many Dominicans are close to this Habano but none (that i have tried) come this close to complexity. I think anyone who tries will be more than happy with this stogie. Smooth enough to be someone’s first cigar experience and tasty enough for any season aromatic cigar smoker. I really dont have anything negative to say about this cigar….i really dont!

Ratings

Construction .. 9/10
Burn .. 10/10
Flavour (1/3) .. 10/10
Flavour (2/3) .. 9/10
Flavour (3/3) .. 10/10

Overall .. 9.5/10