Cigar Info
La Tribu (“The Tribe”) is a special cigar project that was years in the making. This project involved the collaboration of Atlantic Cigar with some of the best tobacco experts from both Cuba and the rest of Latin America. The goal was to examine closely the way cigars are produced by studying years of research from the Cuban and American cigar markets.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The creation of this unique cigar involved the use of traditional and modern techniques, and deep, open discussions from many schools of thought. The from Atlantic Cigar was one of the first to be granted complete access to all of Cuba’s cigar facilities and to their prestigious Tobacco Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones del Tabaco).
The team spent countless hours studying, learning and developing a specific approach for the creation of this cigar. The result is a cigar that is reminiscent of the great Cuban cigars of the past with a modern day twist using the very best tobaccos grown today. The result is a cigar with a flavor profile that is a combination of Cuban, Nicaraguan and Dominican. This was accomplished with the help of top blends from each of these countries.
The blend is comprised of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Dominican binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos. The cigars were minimally processed using natural techniques, then aged in cedar cabinets. The true flavors of the tobacco are allowed to shine, never sacrificing flavor for appearance and never altering the true natural essence of the tobacco. The highest levels of quality control are incorporated in the production of this cigar from draw testing to weighing each cigar. The focus of La Tribu is quality over quantity, done in small batches to ensure perfection.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Corona Gorda
Length: 5.6″
Ring Gauge: 46
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 4 – Alan (Eulogy) Jeff (ExpendableYouth) Robert (NavyPiper) Matt C. (Big Matt)
Price: $5.00
Age: 1 year
Release Date: 2012
Contributed by: Atlantic Cigar
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
“I suppose that rustic would be the nicest way to describe the wrapper. The wrapper is uneven in color from the top of the cigar to the bottom and even the front to the back; varying from a light and dark brown. There is a double cap, but it is applied fairly poorly and is slightly bunched at the top cap.” –Alan (Eulogy)
Aroma: 89
“Prelight I found brown sugar, dried fruit and subtle barnyard notes. Postlight the aroma filling my backyard is of a traditional cigar and I really like it: pepper, leather, and rich aged tobacco… no sweetness..” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The cap seems to be severely under filled, and compacts down considerably from just the weight of my lips. There is an immediate black of dark oily mouth coating black pepper. There is also a rich cedar, and leather that complement the spice quite nicely. I am hoping as I continue on the pepper will subside a bit since it is almost overwhelming for me right now. The retro-hale is a woody mineral.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“First third was a flat out blast of pepper for roughly the first ½”. After that it was a pretty even combination of pepper, leather, savory spices, and some sage. Draw was good, burn is good-not perfectly straight but seems to even itself out, so didn’t need to tough it up. Ash is good, tight, and goes about a little over an inch.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“There’s a nice sweet tobacco flavor that has become the dominant flavor. It works really well with the cedar and leather flavors. The level of pepper has backed off quite a bit but still lingers i Save & Exit n the back of the throat.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“As I continue into the second-third the pepper has begun to die down a bit and I am now getting a richer leather, cedar, and grass profile. The smoke output is still really good, but the cap is still crushing pretty hard. The retro-hale has picked up a sweetness to it, and the mineral is almost completely drowned out now.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
Final Third
Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium
“There is a burnt caramel flavor from time to time that adds a great dimension, but it is mostly a sweet tobacco, cedar, and slightly stronger pepper than the previous third. It’s been a pretty solid cigar throughout.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“This is a really good cigar. The brown sugar although subtle on the exhale is now present with the espresso, earth, leather and nuts. The body and complexity although not thru the roof is a very pleasant experience. This is a medium to full cigar that could make its way into my regular rotation.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 91
“The draw is what I would consider to be very good. There is a little resistance but cigar geeks will love it.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Burn: 88
“Burn was good throughout. It would be straight, begin to get a little crooked, and about the time I’d think I’d have to touch it up, it would even itself out.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Construction: 90
“No construction problems noticed during the smoke.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 90
“Solid flavors throughout, but it’s still an average cigar. I would smoke another if I was offered one, but I wouldn’t go out of my to smoke another.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“A nice overall smoke I wouldn’t mind having a couple of these in my rotation.” –Jeff (ExpendableYouth)
“I enjoyed this review. I haven’t had many cigars that have the red pepper flavor so it was a treat for me. It would have been nice if the ‘peppers’ would have been willing to share the ‘spotlight’ as it were in the mix of flavors but I would smoke another anytime.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
“I really enjoyed this cigar and I think most cigar folks will too. It was a medium-full strength experience and while the transitions were not ground breaking they were very good. This cigar tasted like a cigar; and what I mean by that is it had a very traditional profile with the earth, leather, oak, cedar and lets not forget various peppers. It never required a touch-up even though the burn at times was not pretty. This cigar definitely has the potential to make it into my regular rotation and I wouldn’t hand it out to my mooching friends as I would want them all to myself.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 92
|
Reviewer
|
Appearance
|
Aroma
|
1/3
|
2/3
|
3/3
|
Draw
|
Burn
|
Constr.
|
Overall
Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan | 87 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
| Jeff | 90 | 88 | 88 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Robert | 87 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 90 | 90 |
| Matt C. | 87 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 90 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.