La Galera Anemoi Notus test

La Galera has arrived in Switzerland. The Swiss importer The Royal Cigar Company AG revitalizes the Swiss cigar market once again. At the beginning of February 2021, he brought the La Galera brand to the humidors of cigar connoisseurs in Switzerland.

José "Jochy" Blanco's young brand La Galera is enjoying great international success and is constantly tapping into new markets. Based on a long friendship with Jochy, The Royal Cigar Company AG is pleased to establish the brand in Switzerland.

Read this article:

A cigar test is subjective

Notice: How a cigar tastes is influenced by personal taste preferences, taste memories, the shape of the day, what you have eaten or drunk before. Even the lighting mood in the room has an influence on the experienced taste. The notes described here therefore do not have to match your own impressions.

About La Galera Anemoi

Winds play an important role in tobacco cultivation, even if they are generally not considered essential. The Greeks, geniuses themselves, also understood the importance of the wind. The collective name of their wind gods is ANEMOI. The north wind was called Boreas, the south wind was called NotusThe east wind was christened Eurus, and Zephyrus was reserved for the west wind.

The direction of each wind gave the Greeks an idea of whether they should expect a good harvest or prepare for a bad season. La Galera thought it appropriate to pay respect to these omnipresent forces. The Dominican Republic is no exception to the influence of these winds.

Fact Sheet

• Format: Double Robusto (length: 127 / ring gauge: 56)
• Tobacco:
  • Wrapper leaf: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Wrapper: Dom. Republic of Corojo (Jacagua)
  • Filler: Dom. Republic Criollo 98 (La Canela) / Criollo 98 (Potrero) / Piloto (Jacagua)
• Price: Status March 2021
  • CHF 11.50 / box of 20 CHF 230 / set of 5 CHF 57.50
  • EUR 9.40 / box of 20 EUR 182.36
• Buy cigar: Google Search >

Test: Personal impressions of enjoyment

First half

• Tongue, palate: The first 10 minutes or so of my 4 samples were characterized by strong pepper notes, lots of bittersweet and spiciness. This then fizzled out. After that, there were decent portions of nut / cocoa / earth / wood / very little sweetness
• Retronasal: Lots of wood / lots of coffee beans
• R+ ZiZo vacuum technology: Dark, burning wood / extreme amount of espresso beans
• Umami: spicy, meaty
• Strength 3/5

Second half

• Strength 4/5
• A little acidity is added and gives the cigar a very good balance
• The flavors from the first half intensify

What is "retronasal"?

Retronasal cigar enjoyment enhances the taste. What it is and, why it works and how to do it please read here. Especially look at the ZiZo vacuum technology. Incredible increase in the enjoyment of the cigar!

What is the "R+ ZiZo vacuum technology"?

This is the consummate pleasure of a cigar. Hard to describe. I'll try. Here's an example: a baby sucking on a pacifier. Try this technique with a cigar. Very little smoke enters the mouth. But this passes over the tongue and goes right through the nose. I tried it on about 10 cigars before I mastered it. Please be very careful with this technique when practicing: the smoke got to the back of my larynx several times when I did this. It was really bad. But now that I can do it, it's an accomplished technique for enjoying a cigar.

What is umami?

This means "savory", "spicy", "essence", "meaty". This blending of taste sensations is perceived in the middle of the tongue. You can find a good article about it on Wikipedia. 

Non Cuba cigars and the important acclimatization

Acclimatization recommendation: 1 week in the humidor with cellophane.

The fact is: You don't know when the cigar was imported and how long its resting period was at the importer. You also do not know how long the resting phase was at the dealer. The cigars have a shock after their transport from the tropics to us in Europe. They have to acclimatize first. The industry is sales-oriented. The cigars have to get to the retail market quickly. Therefore, it can happen that they do not taste as they should.

If you buy single copies

Place the cigar with the cellophane in the humidor. If your cigar does not have cellophane: Put them in tubos and then in the humidor. Or you can put the single cigar in a Zippo bag and put a small Boveda in it. Then you put it closed in the humidor. Cigars that are stored open without cellophane or a box lose their flavor very quickly. This is proven in this article with experiments.

Conclusion of the La Galera Anemoi Notus

I admit: I didn't like the cigar for the first 10 minutes or so (4 cigars tested, different days and times). It started out spicy (pepper / chili) and bitter. After that these flavors faded. It was amazing and as if blown away by the wind. Now I understand the deeper meaning of this "wind cigar".

After that it became very aromatic and tasted very good. The ash is firm and compact. In the first half, the specimens started with a strength of 3/5. In the course of the smoke, it goes up to 4/5.

PENG! What a power and aroma bomb this is! If you like strong cigars, this cigar is just right for you.