Cigar Review: La Gianna Maduro Robusto

The La Gianna Havana brand first came to market in 1994 and has continued non-stop ever since. Totalamente Hecho a Mano in Spanish means “totally made by hand” using tobaccos from Danli, Honduras and this is where and how La Gianna Havana cigars were born. Danli has been a tobacco source and cigar manufacturing region since 1765, when the Spanish crown established a royal tobacco trading post. In recent years, the brand underwent a packaging change with new bands and boxes and is distributed by United Cigars.

Cigar Review: La Gianna Maduro
Wrapper: San Andres
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge 50
Size: Robusto

The Look: According to a press release from United Cigars, The box itself, designed by Davidoff of Geneva, is comprised of two parts. The cigars are contained in a lacquered drawer that slides out of the outer frame which is then laid into a slot on the back side to properly display the cigars. “We wanted the packaging to represent the true grace of the line,” expressed Oliver Nivaud, Director of Sales & Marketing for United Cigars. “After 25 years on the market it’s great to see her all dressed up to match the elegance of the blend.” The cigar was also rebranded with new bands showcasing the cherub La Gianna logo. The cigar features a dark wrapper that is flawless with a nice amount of oils visible. In the hand it is firm, with no voids of tobacco.

The Notes: The cold draw of the La Gianna Maduro serves up notes of earth with a subtle chocolate graham cracker on the palate while the aroma on the foot reveals a subtle spice along side additional earth. Once the cigar is toasted and lit the initial note is a chocolate graham crackers carrying over from the cold draw.

Moving into the first third notes of earth dominate the palate while the background showcases notes of nuts, espresso and nougat. The retrohale serves up additional nuttiness with a subtle spice and sweetness. The cigar at this point offers up a throwback to when Maduro cigars were blended to be stronger but to offer up some sweetness as well.

The second third sees the earthy notes pull back considerably as notes of chocolate, nougat and a butter sweetness envelop the palate. The retrohale sees the nougat sweetness is intensified on the retrohale where it is joined by some subtle spice.

As we finish the La Gianna Havana Maduro notes of espresso become the focal point with nuances of chocolate and earth. The finish is fairly long and clean, with the retrohale seeing more spice alongside earth and espresso notes.

The Finish: Often at times I am guilty of only smoking brands that have a lot of fanfare behind them. We like to play a game where I work where we remove the band and give the cigar to each other to try and guess country of origin and tobaccos. Every time someone picks this cigar I am always amazed at how good it is and say I need to smoke them more often, especially given the price. It’s at the point where I know this cigar well, but I still find myself enamored with the classic Maduro profile. It’s a cigar that should get a lot more recognition than it does, because it damn well deserves it.

Score: 93
Price: $7.99 / $135.99