Cigar Reviews
Plasencia Alma del Fuego
I just can’t get enough of this El Paso weather the past few weeks. semi-humid, 75 degrees, slightly cloud and sunny. It doesn’t get much better than that. I paired the weather with a Plasencia Alma del Fuego and a bottle of Bruery’s Pie Happy.
The Good Stuff:
Recently Plasencia cigars has decided to release a few blends into their very small, yet growing portfolio and the cigar world has never been more pleased. This year, they released their newest blend Alma del Fuego or “Soul of Fire”. Paying homage to the Ometepe region in Nicaragua where some of the most nutrient rich soil in the world is found making it an idea spot for tobacco farming. The cigar features a Sun Grown Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, double Nicaraguan binder, and nicaraguan filler with a blend aimed at delivering both body and strength. Both of the binders and half of the filler tobacco is farmed in the Ometepe region at Plasencia farms before aging for seven years. The cigar is offered in three soft-box-pressed sizes: Candente (5 x 50), Conception (6 x 54), and the Flama (6 1/2 x 38). Each come packaged in boxes of 10 featuring a box that turns into an ashtray like the past recent releases ranging between $15 and $17 a stick. I got mine over from our friends at Cuenca Cigars who have them in stock now.
- Size: 6 x 54
- Wrapper: Sun Grown Jalapa Nicaraguan
- Binder: Nicaraguan / Undisclosed
- Filler: Nicaraguan / Undisclosed
- Body: Full
- Strength: Full
- Price: $16
- Pairing: Bruery Pie Happy (Old Ale 16.1% ABV)
Prelight:
The Plasencia Alma Del Fuego starts out with a consistently dark, chocolatey brown wrapper that features some lighter areas around the minor veins located in the wrapper’s leaf. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and gritty while the wrapper itself is extremely hard and dense. The cigar is packed very tightly and it weighs a ton. As previously mentioned there are a few smaller veins and slight webbing located throughout the cigar’s soft-box-pressed body leading up to it’s round triple-wrapped cap while the foot of the cigar features an unfinished foot where the wrapper leaf is folded over the foot of the cigar. The cigar is polished of with a large red and white band with the Plasencia crest and words “Alma del Fuego” across the front as well as a very small secondary band located just above it with multiple Plasencia logos surrounding it. There is also a third foot band with also carries the words “Alma Del Fuego” embossed across the front.
The wrapper on the Plasencia Alma Del Fuego gives off a very sweet mixture of gingerbread and natural tobacco while the foot of the cigar is much more woods with notes of tobacco and spice. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces a more of those sweet gingerbread flavors, natural tobacco and musk.
First Third:
The Plasencia Alma Del Fuego starts out with a massive cayenne pepper zing which caught me off guard. After the first few draws the pepper fades and the Alma del Fuego greets with me with sweet cinnamon and spice, bold oak and musk, light gingerbread and light caramel with a good amount of natural tobacco flavors. The draw is absolutely beautiful as each tiny puff kicks out massive clouds of a thick, white smoke which really hang around for quiet a while before dissipating while the cigar itself releases very minor amounts of stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for an inch before falling into my ashtray. Again, I want to note how comfortable soft-box-pressed cigars feel both in my hand and mouth. Please keep making them.
Second Third:
Into the second third if the Plasencia Alma del Fuego and this cigar is just pouring on flavors. The musk, cinnamon, and brown sugar sweetness lead the charge backed by oak, natural tobacco, spice, dirt, and caramel. The retrohale really brings out the spice and oak as well as some of that pepper I encountered during the first few draws. The burn line is still dead even and razor thin while I am already feeling a decent little nicotine from this cigar already.
Finish:
Now into the final third of the Plasencia Alma del Fuego and this is the cigar that just keeps on giving. The spice has become very sharp and the main flavor backed by loads of oak, cinnamon, gingerbread and sweetness as well as light musk, natural tobacco, espresso and cherry. The flavor profile in this beast is just incredible. It took me almost two hours to take this cigar down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. I also never once had to touch up or relight the cigar despite having to slow down a bit towards the end as the cigar reached well within the full body, full strength arena. I close out with a good nicotine kick that’ll last a bit I’m sure.
Overview:
As I stated earlier, Plasencia doesn’t just add any ol’ cigar to their portfolio. When they add a cigar they make sure it’s truly something special and their latest releases are testament to that. The Alma del Fuego is a departure from what they have released lately in terms of flavor profile offering a complex, sweetness-focused blend of flavors. The profile is really incredible while the smoking experience was flawless from start to finish. The price is high, which you expect, but you get every penny you pay for. While I won’t be smoking these every other day this is a perfect cigar to add to my rotation when I am searching from something full, complex, and special.
Pairing:
Today I decided to pair my Plasencia Alma del Fuego with a bottle of Bruery’s Pie Happy, a 16.1% Old Ale aged in bourbon barrels with apples, spice and vanilla added. The beer leads with huge amounts of apple and cinnamon backed by notes of caramel, malt, and ginger with a light mouthfeel before finishing with more apple, malt and ginger and a good amount of bourbon bite. Tastes like the holidays. The sweetness, caramel, and gingerbread notes from the Alma del Fuego made me want to reach for this cigar and boy did this pairing deliver.
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