From the master of passion – of loving what you do – comes the La Aroma de Cuba Pasion cigar line. José “Don Pepin” Garcia has long been known as one of the best blenders in the world. With multiple Cigar Aficionado Cigar of the Year wins for My Father and Flor de las Antillas cigars, he’s a certified legend of the art of tobacco blending. If anyone knows about passion, it’s him. These cigars are an Ashton product, but it’s the Garcias doing the cigar-making behind the scenes.
La Aroma de Cuba Pasion cigars are Nicaraguan puros, as so many Garcia blends are. The lush interior tobaccos are complemented by the reddish shade-grown wrapper cultivated on a special farm in Namanji, not far from Estelí. The company tells us that it has a perfect microclimate offering “warm days, cool nights, and fertile black soils.” For this reason, a third of the acreage there is devoted to shade-grown tobacco on “plots shielded from direct sunlight and nourished by the basin’s snaking river.”
The sound of it really has us wishing we were there, walking the rows of broad green leaves while puffing away on an experimental roll of a new blend.
Some of the leaf used in La Aroma de Cuba Pasion cigars has been triple fermented, which generally leads to a milder, smoother flavor profile. The fermentation of tobacco isn’t like the fermentation of alcohol. We’re not turning sugar into booze. Instead, the leaf is losing nicotine and ammonia (among other compounds) while developing a particular character that the cigar company is looking for. Tobacco is piled up in bundled stacks called pilones and carefully monitored. When a pilon reaches a certain temperature, it is unpacked and can be rearranged for an additional fermentation phase.
This tobacco went through it thrice.
It’s a delicate process because over fermented tobacco loses too much of its soul, and can be bland. Of course, the Garcias are masters and know when to stop the music. That’s why La Aroma de Cuba Pasion cigars have that glorious flavor that Don Pepin is known so well for. Smoked cashew, leather, cedar, and molasses “layer the palate with an extravagant spice and a medium to full-bodied finish.” It’s a heck of a smoke!
If the brand sounds vaguely familiar, it might be because of its historical significance. Churchill was often puffing away on old school La Aroma de Cuba stogies while he managed the defense of Western Civilization from the Nazis. You probably don’t have a project that epic on your plate, but you’re more than welcome to light one of these up and watch WWII documentaries until you pass out.
Please browse our selection of La Aroma de Cuba Pasion cigars at your leisure.
