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Plasencia "Cosecha 149"

Raices Cubanas "Liga de Reyes"

Initial Smoke

Cacao nibs, and the complex combination of dark berries and bitter chocolate that they embody swoop across the taste buds upon light. Fertile Honduran topsoil, sweet Spanish cedar, and a salty cereal grain taste that makes me think of Chex Mix moves in next, while spicy-and-sweet retrohales keep the nose on high alert. As predicted, the draw is a beauty, with a medium body to the oily smoke feeding into a medium-minus flavor and strength profile. 

1st Half

A dozen puffs down the line, and the whole experience has grown into a milk coffee and raw pecan affair, and as the spiciness retreats, those vintage, leather-bound book notes begin to emerge. Flavors of soil increase slightly, and as the fruitiness from earlier shifts to the back of the cigar flavor profile, the blend settles on a comfortable medium mixture of strength, body, and flavor intensity. 

But as those pecans slowly roast, and the peppercorn spice on the nose shifts downward toward the tongue, the cigar slowly grows in magnitude, and by the time you hit the second third you have a fair deal to contend with on all fronts. However, this has very little to do with transitional moments or additional tasting notes. Instead, it is more of an amplification of what was just discussed, followed by a bit more body and a bit of oiliness upon the palate. 

2nd Half

Puff past the 2½″ line, and that milk coffee flavor profile starts to take control of the situation, and boy is it a perfectly timed and tasty build-up. Not only does the entire café tasting session turn into a more espresso-based affair, but the milkiness really makes the body of the cigar feel like a frothy steamed milk topping. This is only improved by the resurrection of those milk chocolate-covered berries, which fit snugly alongside those richer soil tastes.

Cedar potency also increases in the second half, but this is more toward the start of the final third, and this time around it is pretty damn resinous in taste and texture. With medium amounts of mineral mixing itself in with the rest, and a general sweetness to the smoke on the rise, overall impressions of the last third are top-tier.

As the blend burns, a gourmet, dark chocolate Oreo cookie taste forms, and with all of that milky café magic controlling the direction of the blend, an oily, medium-plus finish is achieved that is damn near exquisite. Retrohales help the cigar achieve its goal here, with monitored amounts of spiciness, cedar, soil, and nuttiness floating on the nose. There's also a dab of nicotine to be felt here, which adds a pleasant level of additional relaxation to the whole experience. 

Parting Puffs

Push past that final cigar band, and you may be pleasantly surprised by how retrohales have remained silky smooth and saturated with soil and cedar. Chewy chocolate is dark and direct without being bitter, and as a salty finish fills in a final note of charred wood tannins takes you to a fantastic finish. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Unlike the Cosecha 149, which I found to be a bit unpredictable when it came to performance, the 151 combusted cleanly for the most part. Yes, the burn line did sway a good bit from start to finish, and there was some flaking going on, followed by a single ash drop in the final third. But none of this was enough to justify the need for a touch of the torch or caused the blend to taste or smell out of place. It also burned cool, had a perfect draw, and the medium-plus texture to the smoke was outstanding. 

Final Thoughts

What I find surprising about this blend, is how chocolate and coffee-forward it can be at times. These two tastes may not have been the primary component that made the entire cigar flavor profile tick, but they certainly supported everything up front from cold draws and unlit aromatics onward. This added level of complexity makes the Cosecha 151 a top pick in my book for those in search of a fresh breakfast cigar pairing option, or for those hardcore coffee snobs out there in the crowd reading this right now.

Yes, there is definitely a stall in the second third, where the blend leans heavily on all that formed in the first third and merely amplifies it a bit, but sometimes a build-up is just what is needed. And while the ash flakes and overall unevenness to the burn line were a bit unappealing, combustion of this smoke was superb. 

Now, this isn't me saying that the 151 is better than the 149 when it comes to flavor or aroma. Both blends smell and taste great, it's just that the 151 has a more balanced, lighter overall vibe to it, and it shifts a bit smoother from one section to the next. It also isn't nearly as bold, oily, or dark feeling and tasting, while still retaining a medium-plus depth level on all fronts. This makes the Cosecha 151 a far more favorable blend for those on the hunt for a "crowd pleaser" that they can hand out to members of the wedding party or for when it comes time to shop for golf cigars. Now, all we can do is wait to see what Plasencia's next cosecha cigar looks like, as we continue to smoke through previous harvest years and savor the fruits of their labor.

Overall Balance & Repeatability