El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva Belicoso

By Tony Casas | October 15, 2018

We went from High 80’s/90’s to 50’s real quick over here. Not that I am complaining I absolutely love the fall weather. It allows me to relax, this round with a El Galan Vegas Del Purial paired with a Bruery Coconut Macadoom.

The Good Stuff:

El Galan Vegas Del Purial is the newest offering to make it’s way onto shelved from El Galan. The cigar is named to honor Felix A. Mesa’s family legacy as well as the name of the farm in Cuba where his grandparents grew tobacco. The El Galan Vegas Del Purial is composed of Nicaraguan filler, and Nicaraguan binder called FFMC96, warped in an Ecuadorian Sumatran wrapper. The cigars are produced at the El Galan Cigars S.A. factory in Esteli Nicaragua and come in four sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Belicoso (5 1/2 x 52), Lancero (7 x 38), and Super Toro (6 3/4 x 52). All come packaged in 20 count boxes ranging between $8.90 and $10 a stick. Our great friends over at Cuenca Cigars sent a few of these our way to review and you can order them directly from the site here.

Size: 5 1/2 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan FFMC96
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $9.40
Pairing: Bruery Coconut Macadoom (Imperial Stout 19.3% ABV)

Prelight:

The wrapper on the El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva is a beautifully consistent, milky brown with only some darker, more orangish areas around the cap. The wrapper is seamlessly laid over itself while it sports some minor tooth, a good amount of oil, very minor veining, and some natural leaf webbing. The cigar is packed generously as the cigar feels very thick and tough with no soft spots. The wrapper however feels very thin and delicate so I didn’t want to handle the cigar too much prior to smoking it. The cigar is polished off with a tapered, belicoso style cap, and an manilla band carrying the colorful Vegas del Purial crest along with a secondary maroon band with the words “Gran Reserva” spelled out across the front.

The wrapper on the Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva gives off very sweet honey, oat, and cashew aromas while the foot of the cigar carries more earthiness, spice, and natural tobacco scents. The Cold draw produces some great honey, cashew, coffee, and natural tobacco flavors with just a hint of pepper. 

First Third:

The Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva starts off with some very minor black pepper which faded pretty much completely after the first few puffs leaving behind some soft spice and vanilla with a good amount of creamed coffee, cashew, honey, and really nice natural tobacco flavors. As I smoke on a bit there is some interesting pine notes that pop in and out. The draw is slightly tight but opens up the more that I smoke the cigar. The burn line is razor thin and even for the most part leaving behind a trail of semi-compacted medium gray ash which held one or about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva and the flavors have really balanced out. The cashew, honey, and earthiness lead the charge backed by spice, cedar, and some soft cinnamon. The retrohale really bings out the spice and cedar and I find myself retrohaling this bad boy quite often. The burn line is still slightly wavy but haven’t had to reach for my torch, the draw has completely opened up and have been smoking like a dream. I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine.

Finish:

Into the final half of the El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva and this is where I believe the cigar really begins to shine. The body has ramped up to the medium/full arena while it lets loose a ton of cedar, honey, and earthiness backed by vanilla, spice, pine, and cinnamon. The flavor profile is really enjoyable and extremely well balanced. I feel only the slightest nicotine kick as it took me an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. 

Overview:

The El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva is a solid cigar. It offers a great profile, which isn’t the most complex but is perfectly balanced creating a fantastic experience. The burn was slightly wavy but I never once had to reach for my torch to touch up or relight the cigar. The price is spot-on for a cigar that preforms this way and the overall construction of the cigar was flawless. This is, and will be a solid addition to my everyday rotation.

Pairing:

Coconut Macadoom is a 19.3% Imperial Stout Aged in bourbon barrels with lactose, vanilla, and coconut. This is a Bruery Hoarders Society exclusive beer with only a couple hundred bottles ever produced. The beer leads with a ton of sweet vanilla, bold coconut, tangy cherry, caramel, roasted malt, and dark, rich chocolate and a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with a ton more vanilla and coconut, dark chocolate, boozy bourbon, oak, and coffee. What a flavor bomb. In most cases this beer could easily overpower a cigar but the El Galan Vegas Del Purial Gran Reserva held it’s own and the flavors really complimented each other.