La Aroma de Cuba El Jefe 7″ * 58

A bigger, longer-burning format in the original La Aroma de Cuba lineup, the El Jefe stretches the blend into a Churchill-plus shape.

The cigar uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan long-filler, hand-rolled at My Father Cigars in Estelí, Nicaragua. The blend in its current form was developed by Don Pepin Garcia in 2009, succeeding the original Dominican-made La Aroma de Cuba that launched under Ashton in 2002. El Jefe measures 7 by 58 and ships in boxes of 24.

The flavor tends to open with cedar and cocoa, with leather, earth, and a soft molasses sweetness from the Broadleaf wrapper building through the middle before a black-pepper finish. Body settles in the medium-to-full range. Rated 93 by Cigar Aficionado. The combination of length and 58 ring gauge produces a slower, denser burn and gives the Broadleaf room to bring out its sweeter side as the cigar develops. The size fits a long evening session rather than a shorter break.

Pairings: bourbon, espresso, or porter.