Cigar Info
The Forged Cigar Company, recently formed offshoot of General Cigar and distributor of La Gloria Cubana, announced La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady earlier this year. This is a Limited Edition cigar and uses tobacco from five countries. It is meant to honor the artisans at the El Credito Cigar Factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. La Gloria Cubana Spirit of the Lady is only available in the United States.
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.
It comes in two sizes, both box-pressed: Spirit of the Lady Toro (6” x 50) $12.99, and Spirit of the Lady Churchill (7” x 50) $14.99. Only 600 boxes of each were made. The blend for Spirit of the Lad uses a seven-year-aged wrapper from the Olancho San Agustín region of Honduras, Cameroon binder, and Mexican, Nicaraguan, and Dominican fillers.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Honduras (Olancho San Agustin)
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Mexico
Factory: General Cigar Dominicana
Blender: Jhonys Diaz
Number of reviewers: 4 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Randy B. (randobush)
Price: $12.99
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: March 2021
Contributed by: General Cigar
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 87
“Some lumps and bumps, a flaw in the wrapper by the cap, dark brown wrapper, box-pressed” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Aroma: 92
“Strong Leather aroma coming off this cigar from the foot to the cap.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Right off the start getting a smooth creamy leather flavor with light baker spice on the retrohale. Pretty good smoke output. The light gray ash that is flaky appearance but staying on.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“Slight sweetness, ginger, Graham, a coffee hint of milk chocolate and pepper” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Very little transition. The creamy leather flavor is still the main flavor. Baker spice fading away and transitioning to a lite
black pepper/mild red pepper on the retrohale” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“More of the same from first third, flavor-wise. Super smooth and enjoyable, with great smoke output, great draw, great mouthfeel & finish. Again, a sheer delight when retrohaling, just kind of cedar and smoke when not retrohaling.
A little bit of cinnamon & baking spice creeping in as well. ” –Randy B. (randobush)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“By the final third this has become a much harsher blend, but that could be due to the horrible burn issues. A very harsh dirt flavor along with still the slightest notes of a bitter black coffee is all I’ve gotten most of the cigar.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“Flavors go solid mild in the final third as complexity diminishes. Still good, just very light and mild in the final third.
Ashtray flavor coming in now so this is where I’ll end it. “” –Randy B. (randobush)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 89
“Far to open. Seems almost underfilled. Some puffs were more air than smoke.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Burn: 86
“Lot of uneven burn needed multiple touch-ups and a couple relights” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Construction: 87
“Very good feel and construction. The only issue that for what feels as a box press seems to be smoking fast which I would have not expected.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 89
“Very enjoyable smoke. The cigar had a creamy mouthfeel with flavors of leather, baker spice, black pepper, oak, and very slight red pepper. The cigar smoked faster than I would have liked. I could imagine this cigar pairing well with black coffee, brown ale, or bourbon. ” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“I liked the flavors of the first third and into the 2nd third, after that, the pepper overwhelmed the other flavors. Not bad.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“An earthy, slightly coffee flavored Maduro but very one-note. It became quite harsh likely due to the need to relight so many times. The construction and burn were very lacking. At a budget stick price, this would not be an awful choice but at a higher price point, the construction would make this an absolute no-buy for me.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“From prelight to midway through the final third, this cigar was enjoyable. Kind of unique in that with the retrohale, flavors were outstanding, without the retro, very plain. My recommendation is if you do not retro, this cigar is only fair on flavors, with retro it’s pretty good all the way until midway through the final third, where I ended it.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 66
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Chad M. | 87 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Joseph S. | 85 | 88 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 90 | 83 | 85 | 88 |
| Lauren S. | 87 | 92 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 88 | 78 | 85 | 85 |
| Randy B. | 95 | 92 | 95 | 92 | 87 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 92 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.