La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Magnifico Review

2026-08-01  Not Even Free · 1/4 My Money · by Eric

Filed under: Box-Pressed · Burn Issues · Tight Draw · Nicaragua · Retrohale · San Andrés · The Draw

Verdict: Not Even Free (1/4). Leather and earth start to finish, with the little bit of sweetness I needed showing up late in the first third, carrying into the second, and then leaving for good after a relight, wrapped around a snug draw and a burn that fought me the whole way. At right around a ten-dollar stick, this is one I'd put down and reach for anything else, which is exactly what I did about three-quarters of an inch from where I'd normally stop.

This is the Mi Amor line from La Aroma de Cuba, Ashton's brand made in Nicaragua by the García family at My Father (blended by José "Pepín" García). The Magnifico is the 6 x 52 size, a soft box-pressed toro, with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. On paper it's a blend I usually like the parts of, which made the way it landed a bit of a surprise.

The Setup

• Cigar: La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, Magnifico (6 x 52), a soft box press with a triple cap. Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler, made in Nicaragua by My Father.
• Street price: ~$10.25 retail for a single. I don't love it at that number.
• What I paid: ~$10, retail, at my local B&M. My own money, nobody sent me this. (I checked my email in case I'd ordered it online — no order for it anywhere, so this was the walk-in-and-grab-one kind of buy.)
• Storage: 69% RH. It normally lives in my humidor at 69%, but I was traveling, so this one came out of my large Boveda bag, also running 69%. It came in its cellophane, so it never got wet on me.
• When/where: ~9pm, after dark, back porch, at the end of a long day of travel and ready to relax.
• Weather: 74°F, felt like 76°, 70% humidity.
• Food beforehand: barbecue chicken and a San Pellegrino, about 20 to 30 minutes before.
• First cigar of the day, paired with water.

Light Up and First Third

The cap cut clean. Primary band slid right off, and the secondary band felt like it had a little glue on the wrapper and didn't want to move. One thing before I even lit it: the cap wasn't glued down well at all, only attached in one tiny section, so I put a dab of my own glue on it and let it dry before lighting. Cold draw was good, with a very faint general tobacco sweetness and nothing else.

Light up and it's bready, a strong bready note right away. No pepper or spice at all through the retro. Under it there's a leathery, earthy bitterness that lingers on the palate, mixed with that breadiness, and very little sweetness — a tiny bit at the front that fades fast. I'm not used to a bready flavor with no sweetness behind it, and it's a little weird.

Halfway through the first third the profile hadn't really moved. Still bready, definitely that leather and earth with the little bitterness that hangs around, and now a slightly roasted nut flavor showing up. Still essentially no sweetness, and I'm missing it — my palate wants something sweet on this and isn't getting it. The burn was slightly wavy but really good, one narrow box side running a hair slow, so I rotated it to the bottom.

About two-thirds through the first third, a touch of sweetness finally showed up in the background that wasn't there at the start. It made the whole thing more enjoyable, and it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me wanting it to be there.

Second Third

That little bit of sweetness carried in, and with a light coffee now joining the bready base and the leather, it was much more enjoyable than the opening. The all earth-leather-coffee profile isn't my cup of tea unless there's some sweetness riding with it, and for a stretch here there was.

The smoke texture was a little thinner than I want, and it had been that way from the start. The draw was a little snug too, workable, not something I'd normally reach for a draw tool on.

I ashed it at the start of this third and it broke up a little and didn't feel quite lit right, so I touched it up and evened the burn line. The draw kept tightening to where I was working to pull smoke, so I ran the draw tool through it. It pulled out a decent-sized stem, and the draw got better after, not excellent but decent enough.

The relight cost me some flavor. The leather ramped way up, the earth came forward, that bit of sweetness was gone, and there was only a very distant roasted nut in the background. The good news on this end: the secondary band came off with no problem and no damage to the wrapper underneath.

No spice ramp-up at all. I could retro the entire thing, which isn't how my final thirds usually go, and there was maybe a tinge of spice, next to nothing, plus a little of that sweetness back on the retro. Then near the end of this third the burn went really wonky, one side barely moving while the other ran a good half inch ahead.

Final Third

The primary band just slid up and off on its own, didn't even have to unwrap it. Smoke production came back to a normal level after the touch-up, after thinning out again on me.

It started burning weird again on that same side, even after more than a touch-up, so I rolled the ash off, touched it up again, and evened it out. It went wonky a third time on the same side, so I rotated it down. The sweetness was gone for good now, just earth and leather left. Retro it and you'd get a tinge of sweetness that leaves very quickly, then back to earth and leather with a light bitterness that never really ramped up.

With about three-quarters of an inch left to where I'd normally stop, I put it down. Even if someone handed me one, I'd say thanks but no thanks.

Construction

• Wrapper: medium brown, a little splotchy, box pressed, sitting a touch thicker at the head than the foot (don't think that's by design). Triple cap. The cap was barely glued down when I got it, only holding in one small spot, so I re-glued it before lighting.
• Draw: good on the cold draw, a little snug once lit, and it tightened as it went. The draw tool opened it up and pulled a decent stem out. Better after, not excellent.
• Burn: the problem. Slightly wavy early, then one side consistently refused to keep up, a half inch behind at points. Multiple touch-ups plus a relight, and it kept going wonky on the same side every time.
• Ash: the bright spot. Tight, stacked like dimes the whole way, and held on even through touch-ups when it usually flakes.
• Smoke output: a little thin from the start, thinned more when the draw closed up, came back after touch-ups.
• Band: primary slid off easily on its own; secondary was glued to the wrapper but came off clean with no damage underneath.

Bottom Line

Leather and earth carried this cigar from light to the point I set it down, with a short window of sweetness that started late in the first third and carried into the second, made it briefly enjoyable, and then left after the relight and didn't come back. No pepper, no real spice, very little sweetness, thin-ish smoke, a draw that kept snugging up, and a burn that never once cooperated. A dry earth-leather-coffee profile with no sweetness behind it isn't my thing, and there wasn't enough in the flavor to make me want to fight the mechanics for it.

Would I smoke it again? Not Even Free. At ~$10.25 this is a pass, and I'd pass even if you handed me one. If a bone-dry leather-and-earth profile with almost no sweetness is exactly what you're after, and you don't mind babysitting a burn, you might land a tier or two higher than I did. For my palate, on this stick, it was a no.

Best for: someone who likes a dry, no-sweetness leather-and-earth cigar and doesn't mind touching up the burn every third. Not for anyone chasing sweetness or an easy draw.

My rating scale, one question only... would I spend my own money on this again? 4 Box Buy (box on hand, always) / 3 Five-Pack (yes, a few live in the humidor) / 2 Hand-Me-One (wouldn't buy it, wouldn't turn one down) / 1 Not Even Free (I'd rather smoke nothing).

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