Cigar Asylum Cigar Forum - Nica Libre diplomatico

The Nica Libre brand is a creation of A.J. Fernandez and the brand is compared to Padron a lot. I see praises everywhere, but the Nica Libre torpedo I smoked before didn't do anything for me. People kept telling me to give the brand another try, so I lit the 7x50 Nica Libre Diplomatico.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...plomatico1.jpg

The wrapper is dry and has a chocolate color. It looks leathery and mild oily with not a lot of veins. The cigar is a bit box pressed and I feel some soft spots in the construction. The predraw is fine and I taste raisin and dry tobacco.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...plomatico2.jpg

I taste coffee and after half an inch I also taste some wood. The coffee disappears and now I taste an earthy flavor with herbs and wood. After a third I taste musty wood and some puffs later some cheap amd mild chocolate. The musty feel of the flavors disappears.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...plomatico3.jpg

The chocolate slowly gets stronger and after two thirds I taste some nuts. After that the flavors turn into wood with a little bit of nuts and at the end a high dose of herbs and pepper.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...plomatico4.jpg

This cigar lasted me for two whole hours. I got a lot of medium thick smoke. The draw is good. The light gray ash is reasonably firm. The burn is good, although I had to correct it a few times. This cigar is full flavored and medium to full bodied.

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/...plomatico5.jpg

Would I buy this cigar again? Nah, I prefer other A.J. Fernandez blends

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 6 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10