The Alma Del Fuego by Plasencia

BRAND / CO:  Plasencia
CIGAR:  Alma Del Fuego [Concepcion]
VITOLA:  Toro (Box Press) - 6" x 54
STRENGTH:  Medium - Full
WRAPPER:  Nicaraguan Jalapa Sun Grown, Natural
BINDER:  Nicaragua (Ometepe Aged 7-Yrs, Undisclosed)
FILLER:  Nicaragua (Ometepe Aged 7-Yrs, Undisclosed)
ORIGIN:  Nicaragua, Plasencia Cigars S.A.

APPEARANCE & CONSTRUCTION:   
A reddish chocolate brown with a heavy sheen and good mottling.  This one has a closed foot, which is something I haven't seen on any of the Plasencia vitolas I've encountered.  There's a lot of contrasting light and dark areas in the coloring between the veins and areas where oil has seeped.  Speakig of veins, there's a lot of them but they're thin and pressed in.  The seams are all tight and blend in while the triple cap is clean and even with a couple wrinkles.  This box press is soft, only lightly squaring the cigar off.  The red bands are the perfect color for the theme and natural color of the wrapper.

DRAW & BURN:   Good / Great
The draw had a little extra resistance but it's quite good.  The burn line gets to dead even within the first inch.  The ash is a very light gray, with tight, even striations.  It's a good burn at the start and that holds true the entirety of the smoke. The ash lasts through the first third and the cigar creates a nice, thick white smoke the entire burn.

FLAVOR PROFILE:   Great
Baking spice, heavy cinnamon, citrus sweet, earth, oak and baking cocoa hit immediately.  The early sweet is surprisingly heavy and citrusy after the more savory approach of the other Alma blends.  I would've expected more pepper, but I'm really not getting any yet.  But the red bands, fire literally being in the name and volcanic soil don't automatically mean heavy, fiery spice. I'm starting to get molasses sweet, light aromatics and a bit of anise or clove and it's all wrapped up in a very nice creaminess.  I'm enjoying this but it's very different from what I expected coming in. 

With the second, it's mostly been a minor increase in flavor strength to start.  That molasses sweet is combining with the breadiness to give it that dark molasses bread flavor. There's occasional blips of pepper, but not much.  I'm at the midpoint and the overall profile has been very dark, sweet and earthy.  It's not complex, but it's got a nice robustness to the flavors that are present.

With the final third, the pepper is still on the mild-medium side but finally leaving a mouth tingle.  The same base profile carries on as it has through the entirety of the smoke.  I really dig it, but this might be another polarizing blend for some.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:   Excellent
I like dark, sweet and earthy so this really resonated with my palate.  I think the biggest issue is it's easy to think this cigar is going to be a spice bomb with all the references to fire, but Ometepe isn't really a pepper heavy tobacco.  It's used more to bring strong sweet and earth, especially with extra aging and the Alma Del Fuego does that in spades.

I still struggle a bit with the value proposition because of the lack of complexity and other flavors.  Even though it is on the more affordable side of Plasencia's lineup, it's still not cheap.  If you really want to experience Ometepe tobacco, this is the only cigar I know of on the market that makes it the primary leaf and it's absolutely worth the price of admission for that.

Purchase Singles or By the Box HERE

Reviewed by Sean McCloskey from The Collective.