Cigar Weekly

Black Plague · 03-27-2008, 09:57 AM

Here's a brand I heard great things about when I first joined CW back in the day, but I never actually got to try. I can remember when this brand and Bucanero were THE sticks to have. If you had Bucs or La Lunas to trade, you could get anything.

This stick was provided by a generous BOTL on another board, and seeing how I can't even FIND La Luna Fuertes being sold anywhere, I'm guessing this stick has some age on it. This isn't so much a trip down memory lane for me...but let's see if La Luna is as good as everyone used to say it was...

La Luna Natural Fuerte
Perfecto
6 x 46 Perfecto

Prelight: Very nicely shaped, long, "Fancy Tale"-style perfecto: straight-sided with a perfecto foot and a slightly tapered head. Wrapper was a dry-leaf-colored colorado, evenly colored throughout with small, pale veins. Prelight tastings returned medium tobacco.

Beverage: Just water.

Flavor: Started out with a slight chalky taste which quickly dissipated, but then blossomed into a flavor of fresh tobacco leaves drying in the curing barn rafters, chocolate, with floral hints, nuances of citrus fruit and cut grass. Very smooth and incredibly complex. This flavor continued through most of the cigar. One-third down, the distinct aroma and flavor of caramel came forward. The aroma hinted at exotic trees and herbs. The core tobacco flavor took on a more medium-toasted aspect, with a finish that smacked of fruit-and-nut caramel candies (like the ones you get in a Whitman's candy sampler). Two-thirds down, the flavor was floral with a decidedly more herbal aspect to it, with some woody flavors joining the toasted tobacco finish.

Construction: Burn was OK, did require a few touch-ups. Draw was perfect and the ash was beautiful, firm, and bone-white.

Summary: This was an excellent cigar! Very complex, smooth, and rich throughout, thanks to a little box age. I see why everyone raved about these back in the day.

But one question I have is: what happened to La Luna? Their website shows they don't even make any of the Fuertes anymore, I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them, and most all the articles about the La Luna factory are several years old. Did La Luna go belly up?

03-27-2008, 09:57 AM	#1
Black Plague Herf Meister Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Southern Indiana Posts: 7,650	Forgotten Favorites II: La Luna Natural Fuerte Perfecto Here's a brand I heard great things about when I first joined CW back in the day, but I never actually got to try. I can remember when this brand and Bucanero were THE sticks to have. If you had Bucs or La Lunas to trade, you could get anything. This stick was provided by a generous BOTL on another board, and seeing how I can't even FIND La Luna Fuertes being sold anywhere, I'm guessing this stick has some age on it. This isn't so much a trip down memory lane for me...but let's see if La Luna is as good as everyone used to say it was... La Luna Natural Fuerte Perfecto 6 x 46 Perfecto Prelight: Very nicely shaped, long, "Fancy Tale"-style perfecto: straight-sided with a perfecto foot and a slightly tapered head. Wrapper was a dry-leaf-colored colorado, evenly colored throughout with small, pale veins. Prelight tastings returned medium tobacco. Beverage: Just water. Flavor: Started out with a slight chalky taste which quickly dissipated, but then blossomed into a flavor of fresh tobacco leaves drying in the curing barn rafters, chocolate, with floral hints, nuances of citrus fruit and cut grass. Very smooth and incredibly complex. This flavor continued through most of the cigar. One-third down, the distinct aroma and flavor of caramel came forward. The aroma hinted at exotic trees and herbs. The core tobacco flavor took on a more medium-toasted aspect, with a finish that smacked of fruit-and-nut caramel candies (like the ones you get in a Whitman's candy sampler). Two-thirds down, the flavor was floral with a decidedly more herbal aspect to it, with some woody flavors joining the toasted tobacco finish. Construction: Burn was OK, did require a few touch-ups. Draw was perfect and the ash was beautiful, firm, and bone-white. Summary: This was an excellent cigar! Very complex, smooth, and rich throughout, thanks to a little box age. I see why everyone raved about these back in the day. But one question I have is: what happened to La Luna? Their website shows they don't even make any of the Fuertes anymore, I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them, and most all the articles about the La Luna factory are several years old. Did La Luna go belly up?