Team La Gloria Cubana recently announced the debut of a new cigar – ‘El Perrito,’ or ‘the Little Dog,’ which is the product of two factory supervisors at their El Credito factory in the Dominican Republic.
The cigar certainly has a rustic look and feel to it, very reminiscent of the Originals series from Jesus Fuego. At 5 ½” x 38 ring gauge, it immediately jumps out as a ‘dog walker’ cigar – something that can be smoked fairly quickly, such as when you’re out walking the dog. This of course, makes the ‘El Perrito’ name that much more fitting.
Absent from the cigar is the typical La Gloria Cubana band in favor of a simple red band with ‘El Credito’ written on it in capital letters.
The cigar is made with just two filler leaves, one Nicaraguan and one Dominican, which are then bound with a Connecticut broadleaf and wrapped with an Ecuadorian Habano leaf and rolled with a torpedo-like head.
The pre-light aroma has a collection of notes, including graham cracker, cocoa powder, chocolate and an occasional meaty note that sneaks through, while the cold draw, which doesn’t require a clip as the cigar comes without a cap, predominantly echoes the cocoa powder note. The draw was easy, maybe a smidge too easy, but nothing that detracted from the cigar.
A total of three cigars were smoked for this review, one of which came from a Phoenix-area retailer, with the other two coming from General Cigar, the parent company of La Gloria Cubana. What became readily apparent after the first two was that some specific attention would need to be paid to the flavors that come through. The billing of this cigar being a “war of flavors’ certainly seemed to be truth in advertising.
Packed in this little cigar are flavors that elicit notes of cracker, pork, and red meat, along with a bit of pepper that creeps up in the second half of the cigar, and is particularly noticeable in the nose.
Like many small ring gauge cigars, the ash struggles to stay on El Perrito, so be careful when holding it over yourself or anything you don’t want ash in. Smoking time is easily under an hour, and could probably be cut down closer to 30 minutes if smoked a bit more aggressively.
El Perrito certainly leaves a big impression flavor-wise for such a small cigar. It is a bit hard to get your head around at times, mainly because the flavors come at you with both speed and intensity. This is certainly one war you want to be prepared for should you choose to get involved.
The cigar is currently at or making its way to retailers across the country, and comes with a suggested retail price of $2.50 per cigar, before taxes. They are being shipped in 50-count cabinets with a price tag of $125, before taxes.
At this price, it’s hard not to try a few, and while they don’t seem like they’ll become a mainstay in many humidors, they are an enjoyable addition to your mix of cigars that just happens to come with both a small size and small price tag. Packed with so many flavors, this cigar will be one to revisit in a few months to see if the flavors mellow and blend into a combination that produces a bit smoother yet still potent punch.
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