The Alma Del Cielo by Plasencia

I'm sure most of you know the Alma Del Cielo is the latest addition to the Plasencia Alma line. The "Soul of Heaven" is in reference to some of the filler tobacco coming from Finca San Julián, a farm owned by Melalina Torres, Nestor Jr's grandmother, that was originally sold by the family in 1961 before his father Nestor Sr. bought it back in 1998 as an anniversary gift for his wife.  That farm is also at an elevation of 3500 feet, using water from a mountain stream that runs throughout it, providing a unique and colder growing climate for the sun grown tobacco.  I'm honestly not so sure the altitude directly affects the tobacco as much as the resultant changes in the growing environment; lower temperatures, more direct sun, and different mineral and nutrients in the soil and water.

BRAND / CO:  Plasencia
CIGAR:  Alma Del Cielo [Amanecer]
VITOLA:  Hexagono (Box Press) - 6" x 60
STRENGTH:  Mellow - Medium
WRAPPER:  Nicaraguan Condega, Natural
BINDER:  Nicaragua
FILLER:  Nicaragua (Finca San Julián)
ORIGIN:  Nicaragua, Plasencia Cigars S.A.

APPEARANCE & CONSTRUCTION:   Good
A very light and warm brown, but with a light sheen and some light mottling in spots.  It looks to be a thinner wrapper with some creases, stretch marks and showing bulges and lumps from the binder beneath.  There's several veins but they're all thin and pressed in. The Hexagano press seems a little sharper at the edges than the other Alma blends, but the cigar has a nice firmness to it   The seams are all tight and blend nicely.  The triple cap is perfect.  Plasencia always seems to have great construction not to mention sleek and well done labels.

DRAW & BURN:   Good / Good
The draw has good resistance but the burn has some challenges.  It starts very wavy, and while it smoothes out, the burn line gets uneven with one side of the cigar burning faster than the other.  The ash is a light-medium gray with dark and thick striations.  It's able to hold until almost the midpoint, but it's very flaky.  The burn does improve with time but never getting to a full even or sharp burn line.

FLAVOR PROFILE:   Excellent
Light and very nutty to start, a mix of almond and cashew.  There's also a very strong sweet citrusy zest with cinnamon and baking spice flavors over a light, cedary foundation.  Within the first third, there's a gradual introduction of some light earth and mild baking cocoa. It's starting off but nicely, super smooth and wrapped up in a very creamy finish.

Into the second third, it's still very mild but with nice flavor.  The wood, nut and citrus notes are really dominant while the rest are mild.  Complexity has been building with some pepper, breadiness and caramel flavors as well.  This reminds me of a nice cinnamon pastry where they put a little orange zest into the icing. 

With the final third, the earth and baking cocoa have reached a healthy medium strength while there's some refined leather making an appearance.  The pepper that's built up is leaving a nice, mild tingle.  There haven't really been any transitions, just a gradual building of the intensity and a slow additions of other flavors that all complement the blend.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:   Excellent
I'm finding the entire Alma line to be potentially polarizing because a lot of them feel a more like science experiments with unusual and rare tobaccos from Plasencia's farms.  So these cigars will either be loved or highly disappointing depending on your palate and ability to cover their higher cost of entry.  With the Cielo, it really landed with my palate and I avoided some of the more offending burn and wrapper issues others have complained about with the fragility of the wrapper.  I'm a fan of this one and possibly my favorite of the Alma line even though it's also the most expensive.

Purchase Singles or by the Box HERE

Reviewed by Sean McCloskey of The Collective