Plasencia Year of the Tiger review by Don José
Hey team, Don José here back with another review.
Today we have the
Year of the Tiger
by Plasencia
If this is your first time here, my reviews rate each cigar on 10 factors and each factor gets a rating out of 10 giving me an overall out of 100. The 10 factors are: Construction, Draw, Burn, Flavour, 1/3 overall, 2/3 overall, 3/3 overall, Journey (how well it flows), Complexity & Value for money.
The Plesencia 'Year of the Tiger' is the second release form the company to celebrate Chinese new year following on from last years 'Year of the Ox'.
It is a 'Limited Release' however not quite as limited as some lines with 6,250 Boxes of 8 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars) being release this year.
The cigar itself is a Nicaraguan puro that features a dark chocolatey maduro wrapper, and it is made from tobacco that has been aged for ten years! The combo of 10 year aged tobacco and the Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory have me very excited to try this stick.
Details:
Brand: Plasencia
Size: 6 1/4 x 54 (Toro)
Wrapper: Nicaragua Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
let's get into the review.
First thoughts
White pepper, nuts, sweetness and a hint of mint on the cold draw. This stick has quite a smooth and milk chocolate coloured wrapper, lighter than what I would consider a Maduro however that is what it is listed to be.
Construction
Construction is exceptional. I cannot see a single blemish or 'let down' of any kind.
Burn & Draw As expected from the construction this cigar has a perfect burn and draw too. For me, Plasencia have always been a bit of an under recognised brand, especially in NZ (Although Grant has been working hard to change that in recent years), their cigars in my experience, are always outstanding in quality and flavour.
Flavour & Complexity Pepper continues throughout slightly increase as you work through the thirds, a little sweetness comes and goes and nuts and earth are present at nearly all times. The aged tobacco gives it a nice smooth creaminess and mellow out the boldness that feels like it would be present in this blend otherwise. Great complexity overall.
Strength 65% - Mid strength, however mostly due to the mellowing from age IMO.
Enjoyment / Journey This is an outstanding cigar. I feel it might not be everyones cup of tea as the ageing and blend give it a subtlety in its flavours and strength that some cigar fans may not appreciate, but if you are smoking in the piece and quiet and focusing on the cigar it will delight you.
Overall Overall another awesome offering from Plasencia, and in many ways a very different cigar for them. Keep them coming I say! At the time of writing this there are only 11 of these available in NZ so... if you want some, don't fuck about.
I rate this cigar 92 points.
A look at the numbers.
Construction -- 10/10
Burn -- 10/10
Draw -- 10/10
Flavour -- 8/10
Complexity -- 9/10
First 1/3 -- 9/10
Second 1/3 -- 9/10
Third 1/3 -- 10/10
Journey -- 9/10
Value -- 8/10
About the author
Joe Murdie aka Don José has been reviewing cigars in New Zealand for over 10 years now, originally as a writer for NZBlokes, a mens magazine.
Outside of Cigars Joe is an international award winning film-maker based in Wānaka, OTA.
