La Vieja Habana was Drew Estate’s first brand, originally made in 1994. They stopped production in 1998, then brought it back but after hurricanes devastated Nicaragua later that year they ended production again. In 2002 Drew Estate opened their own cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and re-introduced the La Vieja Habana brand. The Cuban Corojo size I smoked for this review was the Chateau Corona. They come in a colorful box holding 20 cello-wrapped cigars packed in loose tobacco for around $30 a box. The cigar is 5 ½” long with a ring gauge of 46.
Flavor
The Cuban Corojo wrapper makes this is a spicy cigar but not over the top. The corojo wrapper also offers a touch of sweetness which balances well with the spice. The taste is consistent through out the cigar. Do not try to smoke these too much below the 2” mark. The cigar becomes quite strong beyond that point and pretty much un-smokable. The aroma is typical of an average cigar and not too spectacular. It does generate a nice thick grey smoke.
Draw and Construction
The draw is fairly easy for a ‘Cuban Sandwich’ type cigar which is a mixture of long and short leaf tobacco. The feel is tighter than most short fills and I suggest using a punch to keep the cap in tact. I did not have to deal with the normal bits of tobacco in my mouth that one usually finds smoking most shorts fills. On closer examination I noticed that the cap is well wrapped and tight to keep that from happening. The cigar burns even and will last about 1 hour. The ash held only for about 1”. The tobacco is all from Nicaragua.
Value
The La Vieja Habana is one of the higher priced ‘Cuban Sandwich’ type cigars but still only about $1.60. It smokes more like a long fill that others in it’s price range. It is a nice cigar and a decent value. There are also plenty of deals out there and I was able to buy my box for as low as $25. This may be another cigar for the Top 10 Cigars Under $2 list.
