San Cristóbal de la Habana Prado Prelight
San Cristóbal de la Habana is a much more modern brand than it’s name and aesthetic may imply. It was introduced in 1999 in celebration of the city’s long history going into the new millennium. San Cristóbal de la Habana is the name given to the modern city of Havana in 1519. While there was a cigar brand operating under this name prior to the Cuban Revolution, the revival of the brand is not connected. The Prado is a Petit Pirámides 5″ x 50 that debuted in 2018 as a Habanos Specialist & La Casa Del Habano Exclusive.
There’s a very nice looking wrapper on the example of the Prado. It seems relatively overpacked. Especially where the the cigar begins to taper to the head right above the band. A straight cut reveals a very tight draw. I cut it one more time slightly lower, and it helped but not much. I tried to loosen up the draw with a draw tool, but again, not much help. Hopefully the draw opens up a bit as we get going.
San Cristóbal de la Habana Prado First Third
At first light the profile is a pretty classic Cuban one. Floral spice, cream, and tea biscuits are the first notes that jump out to me. The palate is showing tea biscuits, and creamy coffee. The retrohale is all sweet cream and some floral spice. About a half inch in some barnyard, and dark honey appear. The barnyard tone is ramping up quickly to become the dominant flavor on the retrohale. Feels like the blend really came into it’s own quickly here. I’m reminded of the Por Larrañaga flavor profile here – I usually associate that sweet barnyard flavor with their cigars. The palate is now toasted bread, and a bit of sage. The Retrohale is barnyard, sweet cream, green bell peppers, and a touch of that floral spice. I’m really working hard for the smoke here, and it’s making me wish this draw was just a notch or two more open. I’m trying to massage around the band a bit to get more airflow, but I’m not having much luck.
San Cristóbal de la Habana Prado Second Third
I decided to try cutting this cigar one more time in hopes of opening it up a bit. Unfortunately all I get is a bit. There isn’t too much in terms of flavor shifts in the second third, but the barnyard continues to ramp up both on the palate and the retro. The palate notes are barnyard, and toasted bread. Retrohale is showing green pepper, floral spice, and sweet cream, which is beginning to tone down. There’s a slow ramp up of some espresso notes as we approach the LCDH band. I’m slowly resigning to the fact that I have a dud of a cigar here. It’s a real shame because I feel like this blend has a lot of potential, it’s just very difficult to get past a draw issue this bad.
San Cristóbal de la Habana Prado Final Third
It feels like the blend still has something to say here in the final third. The barnyard and coffee tones are coming together really nicely. Notes on the palate are toasted bread, and slightly astringent espresso. The retro is mainly barnyard, green pepper, there’s still a tiny bit of that sweet cream in the background, but it’s quickly fading. There’s hints of a rich chocolate on some of the pulls, which really makes me wonder what this blend could have been given a better roll.
San Cristóbal de la Habana Prado Conclusions
I’m left a little frustrated after this cigar. I feel like given different circumstances I really would have enjoyed the flavors this blend has to offer, but it’s just so difficult to tell given the construction issues. The barnyard, and sweet cream notes were very interesting, but I would have liked to see some more of that rich chocolate show up in the blend. I picked this cigar up as a single at James J Fox in London back in November. Unfortunately I don’t have the box date or code, but I’d assume it’s at least a year old at this point. Was the cigar too young? It’s possible. Was it rolled in a way that made it almost unsmokeable? Definitely. Frankly I don’t see myself giving this one another shot, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one. Was this a dud? How have your experiences been with the Prado?
