The full-bodied flavour of the Plasencia Cosecha 151 cigar

If you have been on this cigar journey with me over the past about three years, you will know that I am a fan of Plasencia cigars. Beyond making excellent cigars and producing tobacco for many other cigar brands, the story of Plasencia, which I have touched on before, is one of commitment, dedication, focus and family with a healthy dose of resilience.

It all started in 1865 in Cuba and has involved multiple relocations due to political unrest. 

Their Alma series of cigars are all wonderful smokes with my favourites still the Alma Del Fuego Concepcion (after three years, I still never tire of this) and the Alma del Campo Guajiro. The cigar that I now wait for is the Cosecha, which means “harvest” in Spanish. I didn’t enjoy the Plasencia Cosecha 146. I love the Cosecha 149, in particular the Gordito, but I am not alone, so whenever stock comes in, it lasts a few weeks, at most.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though. Last year, at the 2023 PCA Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Plasencia unveiled the Cosecha 151, which celebrates Plasencia’s 151st “continuous” harvest in 2016, which is more than admirable considering they had to shift from planting in Cuba to Nicaragua and Honduras. They now have multiple factories and plantations in Nicaragua, Honduras and Dominican Republic. 

The Cosecha 151 is a worthy addition to the Cosecha series and is blended and produced at their Tabacos de Oriente factory in Honduras, which was headed by Don Conrado Plasencia, uncle of Néstor Plasencia Sr, until his passing towards the end of 2023.

It is a 100% (puro) Honduran cigar with wrapper, filler and binder all from their farms in Honduras. It comes in three vitolas: La Musica, a 5 x 50 robusto; La Tradición, a 5 7/8 x 54 Toro; and the San Diego, a 5¾ x 46 corona gorda. The wrapper is earthy and chocolate brown in colour, with three bands — top, middle and bottom — all with gold, white and brownish colours. The Cosecha 151 embossed in gold reflects the quality of the smoke.

Having smoked both La Musica and La Tradición, the only thing that separates them is the amount of time I have to indulge. That they took their time with the tobacco from harvesting in 2016 also comes out in the smoke. Not as heavy as the 149, it is still a full-bodied cigar full of flavour, albeit subtle in some parts.

In the first few pulls of the La Tradición, I was immediately hit with some spiciness, in particular white pepper at the back of the tongue (the pharyngeal part), though that did subside a bit in the first third. There was also a Christmas fruitcake with mint undertones that became tempered the further I got into it.

In the second third, the spiciness did return with a fruity and/or dark chocolate sweetness that lingers atop wood and earth flavours. Pairing it, unintentionally, with some lemon flavoured water, I found that the lemon enhanced the sweetness and the black pepper that came to the fore the deeper I got into the cigar. It is a well-balanced and well-constructed cigar that doesn’t overwhelm, burns evenly and encourages you to sit back to experience the range of flavours that come through.

I have been smoking La Musica a lot more regularly with La Tradición being ideal as a Sunday afternoon smoke with a good book.