Cigars.ie

Vegas Robaina Marshall Vs La Gloria Cubana Delicioso & Vegas Robaina Famoso

The Vegas Robaina Marshall is a regional edition cigar for the Adriatic Region that was released early in 2009, although it was part of the 2008 regional edition list. The Marshall became very popular due to an incredible story which is more or less well known by now and it is a great example of what is known as the “Cuban way”. Camelot, the regional distributor of the Adriatic Region were due to receive their first regional edition cigar, the La Gloria Cubana Marshall. Not too long before the release, Camelot and Habanos realised that the rights of the “La Gloria Cubana” trademark belonged to a Swedish company that had no intention of concurring in letting the name to be used without a hefty fee. So Habanos and Camelot then decided that the cigar would be released under the Vegas Robaina brand, keeping the name “Marshall”.

This has left everybody wondering; what happened with the cigars that were already rolled? Were they re-branded as Vegas Robaina? Were the La Gloria Cubana cigars that were rolled put aside and a new production began? If the La Gloria Cubana cigars were put aside and a new production started, what happenned to them? Were the cigars that were already rolled rebranded, and the rest that were left to be rolled had their blend adjusted to the Vegas Robaina profile? If the cigars were re-banded, all of Habanos’ theories about the uniqueness of the blend of each brand surely go down the drain…

A few hints are there to reveal what really happened. As with every regional or limited edition, a small amount of boxes gets into circulation before the official release. This amount of boxes came out with the La Gloria Cubana bands, pictures of which can be seen here. As you can see in the pictures, the cigar boxes were rebranded with a metal plate. If you look closely, you will notice that the metal plate was glued over the regional edition band on the top right corner of the box. This could be a sign that the cigars were ready to go in their boxes when the change of brand took place. When you pull the metal plate, underneath you can see (surprise!) the La Gloria Cubana logo. I looked closely on the wrapper for signs of a clumsy band removal (i.e. torn wrapper), but there was none there.

While the whole process remains a mystery, with the truth only known by Habanos, I decided to put the cigar into the test comparing it with the 2009 La Gloria Cubana Delicioso. The Delicioso was released last year by Habanos and it is the first exclusive cigar available in the Cuban market. It is a Hermoso No.4 measuring 5.0″ by 48 ring gauge and it was released in 2000 jars. The Marshall on the other hand is a Robusto, measuring 4.9″ by 50 ring gauge and it comes in varnished boxes of 10, in a 3-4-3 layer format. The difference in the size eliminates the theory that says that the Delicioso is actually the original Marshall that was put aside in order for the Vegas Robaina to be rolled.

I start my comparison by lighting up the Vegas Robaina Marshall. The Marshall has some similarities but more differences when compared to the Vegas Robaina profile.  It has a mild to medium body and a one dimensional sweet flavour with some wood and leather undertones, and a slightly acidic and spicy finish. There is no real complexity and the flavours change very little from the beginning to the end. It has some construction issues as it suffers with some minor burn and draw problems. The ash is light grey in colour and flaky, and does not reach more than half an inch in length. I scored it with a generous 82 points.

Next in line is the La Gloria Cubana Delicioso. The Delicioso gets more points in the appearance and construction than the Marshall, mainly due to the lovely red/brown oily wrapper. The draw is good all the way though but the cigar has some burn issues from the start. It has a mild to medium body from the beginning, developing into medium in the second third. It has a dominant flavour of grass and wood, with some spicy touches and a sweet finish. The Delicioso shows some promise, with decent complexity and good balance. 86 points overall, with burn being the major problem of this cigar.

I have smoked the two cigars back to back and I can’t say I have come into a satisfying conclusion. The flavours of the Delicioso match those of the La Gloria Cubana regional that I have tried before. Although the Marshall has some similarities, I am not yet convinced that the blend is of a La Gloria Cubana… Sleeves are rolled up again, time to get another cigar in this comparison; the Vegas Robaina Famoso.

The Vegas Robaina I am smoking has a few years on its back, I think about 5-6 at least. It has good construction, great draw and burn, delivering hefty amount of smoke. I am not surprised from the flavours I come across, typical Vegas Robaina. Plenty of flavours, with wood and nuts being predominant, followed by earth and coffee. The body is medium, leaning towards the medium to full towards the end. A very enjoyable cigar, scoring 91 points.

Comparing the Marshall to the Famoso, I found it not as smooth and as nutty and woody as the Famoso or any other Vegas Robaina I have reviewed. The traditional woody flavours are only there in hints when smoking the Marshall and the body is a lot milder when compared to the Famoso. On the other hand, although the similarities between the Marshall and the Delicioso were not striking, the profiles were closer. Both cigars had a mild to medium body, sweet and spicy hints and the same burn issues.

So, 5 hours later and I am trying to answer the initial question… Is the Marshall a Vegas Robaina or a La Gloria Cubana? I can confidently say that it is not a Robaina. The differences between the two cigars were a lot more than the similarities, enough to make me think that the Marshall does not fit the Vegas Robaina profile. On the other side, although the Marshall is not the same cigar as the Delicioso, the similarities are there. Taking in consideration that many of the Regional Editions released tend to differ slightly to the profile of their marca, I would say that the Marshall is a La Gloria Cubana in disguise.

So another question arises; if Habanos were willing to rebrand this cigar, how insistent are they in keeping the profiles of each marca alive? How assured can we be when we smoke a H. Upmann no.2, that it’s not from the same sorting table as a Montecristo? I would love to hear your views…