Cigar: Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada
Size: Toro
Smoke time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Appearance & Aroma
The gold, black, and white foil label, sitting atop a thick black and gold craft paper band, catches your attention immediately. The black and gold foil foot band completes the aesthetic and lets you know this is no ordinary cigar. The shade-grown Corojo wrapper conducts a symphony of cedar notes, while the foot has notes of dried fruit and the tiniest hint of vanilla.
Light-Up & Draw
I used my trusty Xikar double guillotine cutter to cut right at the first line of the cap—a perfect cut. The cold draw has more dried fruit with a bit of cinnamon. As I toast the foot, toasted cinnamon bread notes escape. The draw is absolutely perfect, offering copious amounts of smoke.
Early Profile
The first few puffs have lots of white pepper and cedar, and with that comes lots of spice on the lips. Cedar continues to be the prominent note, and occasional cocoa and white pepper pops as it burns through the first third. Those flavors stay consistent until almost the end of the first third, when there’s a slow and subtle transition from white pepper to baking spice. I tap the ash at approximately the 1-inch mark, though it doesn’t appear to have been needed.
Middle Profile & Burn
The draw is still perfect, and the cigar is burning fairly evenly—not perfect, but it does not need any touch-ups from the lighter. In the second third, the cedar is still the star of the show, but playing second fiddle is cocoa and toasted bread, with hints of dried fruit still popping up now and then. Notes of tree nuts emerge in the middle of the second third as well. As the cinnamon recedes towards the end of the third, the white pepper joins the cedar again.
Late Profile
In the beginning of the end, cedar is still intense, with little hints of cream and nutmeg showing up in the first few puffs of the last third. The complexity of the flavors is beginning to mellow out dramatically while the strength is ramping up. It has continued to have an excellent draw and burned well throughout the smoke, not needing to be relit or retouched.
Overall Impression
The Gran Habano XX Aniversario Edicion Limitada is a crowning jewel in a solid portfolio.The blending of Colombian, Nicaraguan and Peruvian tobaccos for the filler is genuinely a work of art. While mild- to medium-strength, the blend may overwhelm the inexperienced smoker. However, this may be the perfect cigar for the seasoned cigar smoker to challenge the palate.
– Review by Annie LeBlanc, a tobacconist at Chesterton’s Fine Cigars in Youngsville, Louisiana.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 3, 2024. You must be a current PCA member to receive a copy of this magazine. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.