Galanes from Por Larranaga

Galanes means the new line from Por Larranaga. The boxing date (BD) is NOV 20 and I tested a sample on 17/04/21; the cigars were about 4-5 months young. For a Cuban cigar, this can be a suboptimal time for tasting. This is because it may already be in the sick phase, when the tobacco has started to mature. This is not a fault of the cigar! You can read more about this in the chapter below. The cigar does indeed have potential!

A cigar test is subjective

Note: How a cigar tastes is influenced by personal taste preferences, taste memories, the form of the day, what you have eaten or drunk beforehand. Even the lighting in the room has an influence on the flavour you experience. The notes described here therefore do not necessarily correspond to your own impressions.

Fact sheet of the Galanes

• Format: Robusto (length: 124 mm / ring gauge: 50)
• Tobacco: Complete Cuba
• Boxing Date (BD): NOV 20
• Price: Status April 2021
  • CHF 10.50 / box of 10 CHF 105.00
  • EUR currently still unknown
• Buy a cigar: Google Search >

Personal impressions of the flavour of Galanes

First half

• Tongue, palate: Very nutty / lots of cocoa (dark chocolate) / lots of acidity / slightly scratchy > no fault of the cigar! You can read more about this in the chapter below. The cigar does indeed have potential!
• RetronasalPepper / Forest floor
• R+ ZiZo vacuum technology: Lots of roasted aromas of mature wood in the forest
• Umami: juicy / roasted / slightly astringent
• Strength 3/5

Second half

• She becomes more snappy and bitchy. > no fault of the cigar! You can read more about this in the chapter below.

What is „retronasal“?

Retronasal cigar enjoyment enhances the flavour. What it is, why it works and how to do it please read here. Take a look at the ZiZo vacuum technology in particular. Incredible enhancement of cigar enjoyment!

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 dummy. Try this technique with a cigar. Very little smoke gets into the mouth. But it passes over the tongue and goes straight through the nose. I tried it with about 10 cigars before I mastered it. Please be very careful with this technique when practising: the smoke hit the back of my larynx several times. That was really bad. But now that I can do it, it's a perfect technique for enjoying a cigar.

What is umami?

This means „savouriness“, „spicy“, „essence“, „meaty“. This mixture of taste sensations is perceived on the centre of the tongue. You can find a good article about this on Wikipedia. 

Recommended acclimatisation: 2 years in the humidor box.

Cuban cigars and the important ageing phase

Cuban cigars are super tasty for the first 1 - 3 months after rolling. After that, the cigar begins to mature. The tobacco used is not yet ready for tasting. Cuba has too few resources. The tobacco cannot mature as long as it should. The cigars are rolled and hardly have a resting phase. Depending on the brand and format, the maturing phase in the humidor at home takes between 2 and over 8 years (or even longer). Very important: this is not a fault of the cigar.

Cuban cigars prefer to be stored no higher than 69%. With a conventional storage of approx. 72%, it becomes too moist and can lead to a strong draw resistance. This is not a fault of the cigar, but Cuban tobacco does not like it too moist.

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 individual cigars in a Zippo bag and put a small Boveda inside. You then seal it and place it in the humidor. Cigars that are stored open without cellophane or a box lose their flavour very quickly. This is demonstrated in this article with experiments.

What is the boxing date of the cigar (BD)?

There is a stamp on the back of the box. There you can see when the cigars were placed in the box. From this point onwards, Cuban cigars are excellent for tasting within 1 - 3 months. If you have not bought a whole box, please ask your retailer for the boxing date.

Note: The boxing date can also be affixed in other places. E.g. on the outer box: Watch this short explanatory video:

Explanatory video about the outer carton

Conclusion of the Galanes

Recommended minimum ageing period for Galanes: 2 years in the box in the humidor. As mentioned: > no fault of the cigar! You can read more about this in the chapter above. I am sure that it will become a beautifully balanced and aromatic cigar after about 2 years of storage. Right at the beginning I noticed a certain spiciness. Later on, it became a little bitchy. Degassing didn't help much here either. The flame was very wide and about 10 cm long! Please take care when degassing. What is degassing and how do you do it?

My Galanes didn't burn very well in the first half; it almost burnt out after about 30 seconds. So I had to keep it glowing well. After that, however, this phase was over and it glowed as usual. In the last third, it glowed out after just under 40 seconds. You can see that the tobacco is currently working very hard. The ash is compact and firm.

All in all, Galanes is a quality product that simply needs time to mature. I recommend buying several boxes at once. Try one immediately after purchase and leave the others to mature for at least 2 years. I'm already looking forward to it.