La Sirena
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 10:41AM 
The La Sirena is one of the new cigars from Miami Cigar and Company and is being made in the My Father Factory in Esteli Nicaragua. This line is being blended by Don Pepin Garcia and has a filler containing Nicaraguan Criollo '98 and Corojo '96, a dual binder of Nicaraguan Habano and Corojo, and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. I have been a really big fan of all things with this broadleaf wrapper. The La Sirena (meaning Mermaid in Spanish) has one of the biggest cigar bands I have ever seen. It just about covers the entire cigar! While it is a little overdone, I kind of like it. Its definitely different and catches your eye when you are shopping at your local cigar shop. I am smoking the 5X50 Robusto, which they are calling "The Prince."
The La Sirena is an evenly rolled cigar with a nicely applied triple cap. The Dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is very attractive. The predraw reminds me of the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial, probably due to it using the same wrapper. The draw is just where I like it. This has an earthy flavor before lighting. Once lit the La Sirena starts out with some classic Pepin peppery spice on the tip of the tongue, along with some coffee and chocolate flavors. This is one of those cigars that lets you know what you have coming right from the start. The band has to be removed after about 10 minutes of smoking, so removing it right from the start is probably best. This is a rich, deep cigar, definitely full flavored. As I get a little further into this cigar, the pepper backs off and more of the roasted coffee, earth and dark chocolate flavors continue to develop. It seems like Pepin can wrap this Broadleaf around anything and I will like it! The burn is mostly even and the ash holds on for a solid inch and a half.
At the halfway point I am really enjoying this cigar. The dark chocolate flavors are really present, along with that deep earthyness and some leather. The spice is faint, but is still there on the retrohale. I had heard this was a full bodied cigar with some strength to it, and I think this is a very full flavored cigar with plenty of body, but not an overly strong cigar. I would say medium to full as far as strength goes. There is some molasses sweetness in here as well that rounds out the profile nicely. At the end of this cigar, the stength picks up a little, making for a solid full bodied cigar with a little bit of kick to it. As you can see, I smoked this cigar until I was just about burning my fingers!
The La Sirena was an impressive cigar! The flavor profile had Pepin's signature all over it, but stands on its own among all the Pepin blends. The construction of this cigar was top notch, the burn never had to be touched up and it held an ash very nicely. I will be picking up more of these, even at $9 a piece. If you like rich, full flavored Nicaraguan cigars then this one will be to your liking. Any fan of Connecticut Broadleaf owes it to themselves to give this one a shot!