Alma del Campo cigars.
Alma del Campo cigars.
Image: Supplied

There are a couple of advantages to writing about cigars, the primary one being that I get the chance to try a wide range of them. There are, however, many more cigar brands and vitolas within each brand than those that reach our South African shores, so availability and accessibility can be a hindrance.

In addition, as a result of the high duties and taxes that the importers pay on cigars, some are reserved for special occasions, if at all, due to price per stick. Plus, there are cigars that I have had the opportunity to sample and then never again, because a friend brought in a box or two or a couple of sticks.

In general, once I find a cigar in a range that I enjoy, I tend to stick to it, never really going back to sample something I tried when it first arrived at the spot where I get my cigars. Until now.

Plasencia Alma del Campo

In 2017, Plasencia introduced the Alma del Campo (“Soul of the Fields”), the second in its five-part Alma series following from the Alma Fuerte, which was released in 2016. While I smoked a couple of the different vitolas when they came out, I didn’t really take to any and my go-to in the Alma series is from the third series, the Alma del Fuego (“Soul of Fire) Concepcion (which is a Toro).

Plasencia Alma del Campo.
Plasencia Alma del Campo.
Image: Kojo Baffoe

On a whim, I recently picked up the Alma del Campo Guajiro (Robusto Gordo), which has a ring gauge of 52 inches and length of 5.5 inches, and immediately wondered why I haven’t smoked more of these. It is a creamy medium- to full-bodied cigar made of selected tobacco grown on Plasencia’s farm in Nicaragua. As is always the case with Plasencia cigars, it has a lovely draw with notes of spice, vanilla and coffee across all thirds, as one expects from Plasencia, while being well-balanced and not overwhelming on the palate during and after smoking.

Oliva Master Blends 3 Liga Maestro

This was a new discovery for me. I have written about my love for Oliva’s Serie V Double Robusto, which I have been enjoying consistently for at least eight years. In the month since I was introduced to what is the third of a series of what Oliva calls “limited artisanal blends”, I have found myself reaching for the Liga Maestro 5 inch x 50 inch Robusto over the Serie V Double Robusto more and more.

Oliva Master Blends 3 Liga Maestro.
Oliva Master Blends 3 Liga Maestro.
Image: Kojo Baffoe

It has an oval-pressed shape, with a sun-grown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan ligero (leaf from near the top of the plant) filler and Nicaraguan Habano binder; the complexity of the earthy, pepper and dark chocolate flavours, among others, is perfect for my palate. It Is full-bodied and potentially overwhelming if you prefer medium-bodied cigars. The intensity of the cigar from first draw took me by surprise and didn’t let up throughout the cigar.

The band is detailed and opulent, with a picture of Gilberto Fernando Oliva, who settled the Oliva family in Nicaragua after the Cuban revolution and laid the foundation what would become Oliva Cigar Company, with a picture of a forest landscape and the words “hechos a mano en la tradicion Cubana” (“handmade in the Cuban tradition”) among other design elements.

It also comes in Churchill, Torpedo and Maduro Double Robusto vitolas, the latter of which I can’t wait to get my hands on, with its Ecuadorian Maduro Habano wrapper.

Alec Bradley Black Market Esteli Diamond

Alec Bradley has experimented before with the unique diamond cut before with the Nica Puro Diamond Rough-Cut and now has the Black Market Esteli Diamond Rough-Cut to add to the original Black Market and Black Market Esteli. Once you get your head around it, the 6 ¼ inch by 54 ring gauge box-pressed cigar feels good in the hand, and smokes just as comfortably.

Alec Bradley Black Market Esteli Diamond.
Alec Bradley Black Market Esteli Diamond.
Image: Kojo Baffoe

The original Black Market, which was ranked No 6 by Cigar Aficionado for 2022, has a Nicaraguan wrapper, Sumatra binder and blended filler of tobacco from Panama and Honduras.

The Diamond is a limited-edition release with only 1,500 boxes of 16 cigars made for worldwide distribution. Like the Black Market Esteli (Cigar Aficionado No 9 in 2018), it has a Nicaraguan wrapper, double Nicaraguan and Honduran wrapper and a Nicaraguan filler. The Diamond is also said to have an additional Nicaraguan Ligero leaf in the filler.

It is a full-bodied cigar with strong earthy notes that carry right through and a hint of sweetness and cocoa.

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