La Palina LP 01, Not Just a Number

La Palina LP 01, Not Just a Number

How do you survive in the cigar industry for decades? Well it’s simple, you produce high quality cigars and you keep the interest of consumers with new blends. Earlier this year La Palina announced the introduction of their new number series. The first to be released is the LP 01 and LP 02. Today, I’ll be smoking a Petit Corona of the LP 01. The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper is a medium brown with some flat veins. The band inspired by late Paul Rand, who was an American modernist graphic artist, is colorful and very different from the classy bands we expect from La Palina. The cold draw is earthy with sweet tobacco. The notes off the foot is earthy with semi-sweet berry. Now that I’m about an inch in, I’m getting earthy, cedar and hints of berries and citrus. The retrohale is a squeeze of lemon and some white pepper. Mid way through, in addition to those mentioned above I get subtle flashes of pepper on the palate but overall this is a smooth smoke. The finish has an element of cream to it, making this a good experience. The final third continues the profile, with pepper making more of an appearance. The final puffs were slightly bitter but still rich with cedar, citrus, cream and earth. The La Palina LP 01 smokes at a medium body, the burn was good with some flaky ash but nothing too crazy. All said and done, the LP 01 was a good smoke, the blend was pleasing and the price point is right in line. I’m excited to try the next in line for the number series from La Palina, as I can see some great potential with these smokes. The LP 01 is a good everyday smoke and the Petit Corona size is a good stick for you lunch breakers. So go out and try the LP 01 and see if the numbers add up for yourself ….

– David Harvey