I've enjoyed Plasencia's cigars for many years now. The El Paraiso factory has made quite a few highly rated cigars over the years, and also a lot of budget-friendly cigars. The Alma Fuerte is the first cigar (as far as I know) with the Plasencia name on it to rank in Cigar Aficionado's top 25 cigars of the year (#9 IN 2017).

First off, the presentation is FANTASTIC. The heavy box comes apart in the middle, and the top part of the box is a large, 4-cigar ashtray. Kinda gimmicky, but also pretty utilitarian and cool. The cigars look really great inside the box.

The cigars themselves look really nice. Deep brown wrappers with no blemishes. Nice weight in the hand. The wrapper only has a faint scent of tobacco. Nice cut; really good draw for this shape.

First few draws...straight tobacco with a woodsy note through the nose.

About 1" in...a few burn corrections, which I have come to expect from this shape of cigar. Medium "strength", just a bit of spice through the nose and some anise and honey on the finish.

About 2" in...large smoke volume. Burning more straight now. As I type with the cigar between my teeth, the aroma from the foot is really nice. It's a distinct woodsy aroma. The flavors are similar; a touch of spice with wood, anise and honey through the nose and on the finish.

About halfway...a nice coconut note has come in out of nowhere. I actually took a draw of the cigar, then looked at it, like, "Wow." The flavors in this cigar are subtle, but very present. If that makes any sense.

A little past halfway...this cigar is tasting great and burning really nicely. Only a couple of small burn corrections, which is surprising for me for this cigar shape. The coconut flavor has become dominant, and the "strength" has kicked up a notch. The anise flavor on the finish is still there. This is one slow burning cigar. I lit it up about an hour ago.

Toward the end...the coconut flavor is still there, along with the anise flavor on the finish. As the cigar burns toward it's end, the flavors linger on the palate between draws. The anise flavor is becoming more intense. I nubbed this cigar further down than any other cigar I've smoked recently.

Final thoughts...rarely, if ever, have I smoked a cigar that lived up to the high ratings on CA, but this one lives up to the hype. Are they worth the retail price? Ehh...depends on how much disposable cash you have, I guess. I snagged this box for a good chunk below retail...and I just snagged a second box at around the same price. :-)
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Thanks for the review!
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Smoking another one of these now. Great smoke, slow burner, but still not worth retail. :-)
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Smoking one of the last 2 cigars from the box that I last did a review from.

I was playing some humidor Tetris and discovered 2 of these in a random box. So I decided today was as good as any to smoke one. My last review was from exactly 3 years ago, so let's see how these have aged.

TL;DR version: All I can say is...WOW. I shoulda bid on a few more boxes.


The first 1/3 is a bit smoother than I remember. The honey I tasted in the original review is still there, which is awesome.

Looking at my original review, I noted a coconut flavor. I'm not tasting it in this one. The honey and woodsy flavors are dominant. I am really digging that honey flavor, as it's not a flavor I taste regularly in cigars. That has got to be a specific leaf they are adding to the blend. Just a couple of minor burn corrections.

Slow burn! At about 1 hr, I'm barely reaching the halfway point. Honey and woodsy flavors are still at the forefront. Burning very evenly.

Toward the end...the woodsy has overpowered the honey, but those are still the dominant flavors. I let 'er die at around 1.5".

Final thoughts...DAMN! I really shoulda shelled out the cash for a few more boxes of these. Retail price is around $200/box of 10. I paid $120 at auction prices, and I'm regretting only buying 2 boxes. :-)

EDIT: total smoking time 1 hr, 40ish min.
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I have two of these resting right now that I picked up cheap on the Devil site. Thanks for the review!
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Hmmm sounds like a great cigar. I would never have known about this cigar if not for this review.

Thanks for the review!
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Smoking another one of these now. If it weren't for the lousy burn, it would be a top 10 smoke for me. Maybe I should try another size.
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OK, so this is crazy, but these cigars have become quite a bit milder since the last one I smoked. I thought maybe it was a fluke and smoked one from another box. Same story. Considerably milder and even...bland. That delicious honey flavor is completely gone. WTF!

Add these to the list of NCs that do not age well.
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Dang, that's a bummer Mark.
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