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| La Palina |
I must say that so far in the 2012 year I have been smoking
some great smokes that fall in the petit corona, Rothschild and lancero
category. I have reviewed a handful of them, but there are still a few that I
have yet to review. The Rothschild is a perfect vitola for me during the weekday,
and I find it as a cigar that I can smoke in the afternoon. It is a cigar that
takes less than 45 minutes to smoke, and when made well can be just as
flavorful or more than a robusto or corona gorda. Typically the Rothschild
measures 4 ½” in length and has a ring gauge of 48, and the Petit Corona
measures 5 1/8” with a 42 ring gauge.
As expected, the size of a certain cigar fluctuates from line
to line and brand to brand depending on the blend. With the amount of cigars
being produced in the industry today there has been a major crossing between
the typical sizes, and because of that we can begin to see a rise in unique and
enjoyable vitolas. The toro, 6 by 50, was not one of the original cigar vitolas
ever made, and it is now one of the most popular sizes on the market. Another
exampling of crossing over between traditional vitolas is the La Palina El Diario KB, Kill Bill. It is
a cigar that captures the length of a Rothschild and the ring gauge of a petit
corona. A cigar that I find to be perfect for a short walk or walking the dog
and as La Palina has stated, “take
these puppies for a walk!”
Measuring 4 ½” with a 40 ring gauge this cigar is simply
gorgeous. A line extension to the highly praised El Diario line; it features all the great qualities of the line in
a smaller and condensed package. The story goes that when Bill Paley first
smoked this cigar it was so strong it nearly killed him, and hence the name “Kill Bill.” Whenever I hear that name
though I think of Quentin Tarantino’s action/thriller movie Kill Bill, and can’t help but think of the
gorgeous Uma Thurman, Black Mamba,
slicing up the Crazy 88 goons with
her Hattori Hanzo sword to Nobody But Me by The Human Beinz.
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| Beautiful wrapper |
Like all cigars in the El
Diario line, the cigar is made in Honduras at the highly acclaimed factory
of Raices Cubanas. Some of my
favorite cigars are coming out of this factory, and it uses the traditional Cuban
method to making cigars and employs only the best rollers. The cigar is draped
with a Corojo ’99 Rosado wrapper from Honduras, two binders that are Honduran
Criollo ’98, and fillers that are Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’98. The
wrapper has a nice Rosado marbled brown coloring to it, and it is definitely
Colorado Rosado in coloring. It has a present and lovely triple cap, is firm to
touch, and has nice aromas of spice, cocoa, rich earth, barnyard and leather.
As I light up the first half of the cigar I am definitely
picking up the strength to this puppy. It is a cigar that is very powerful, and
you can definitely get that Corojo ’99 flavor from the cigar. While very
powerful in terms of strength, it is showing some nice cocoa flavors, rich
earth, damp wood, leather and spices. The spices are really that of cinnamon,
red pepper and cloves, and it is more an Asian spice. It is easily full in
body, and it is great to see the contrast between this size and a El Diario robusto. The cigar is burning
wonderfully, nice even burn line, and it has a beautiful solid dark gray ash.
So far a great cigar, and definitely not for those who prefer something mild.
I am in the second half of the cigar, and while this cigar
has tamed some it is still medium full in body. The spiciness from the first
half has dissipated, but it is still as rich as it was in the first half. I am
loving the damp wood and rich earth flavor profile, and I am also getting a
great amount of cocoa, dark cherry and leather notes on the finish. This cigar
captures all those great El Diario
flavors while showcasing some more strength and unique aspects of its own. When
you have a cigar of this size you are definitely going to be getting more
flavors from the wrapper, and that is playing a factor in the cigar. It is
still burning perfectly, and I smoke these cigars down to their tiny nub where
it remains cool and flavorful.
This is really a great cigar, and definitely a cigar worth
picking up in the four packs. It possesses tons of flavors, a lot of strength,
and is definitely a cigar that is great in the afternoon and evening. I
probably would not smoke this cigar in the morning just because the amount of
strength it possesses, but any time after 10 AM would work for me. I give this
cigar a 93. If you are looking for a better cigar in this sizing you will
definitely have a hard time, and even in this sizing it is more flavorful and
rich than other cigars. This cigar is a prime example of how a smaller size can
be so good and better in comparison with a massive ring gauge cigar.
I have attached my reviews for past sizes in this line below, and I must say that this is one of the finest lines on the market along with the E.P. Carrillo Core Line Maduro, Illusione, and Illusione Epernay lines.
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| Kill Bill |
*Cigars for this assessment were provided by La Palina Cigars for review.
Past Reviews of the La Palina El Diario line.
El Diario Torpedo
Past Reviews of the La Palina El Diario line.
El Diario Torpedo
