La Galera Anemoi Notus test

La Galera has arrived in Switzerland. The Swiss importer The Royal Cigar Company AG revitalises 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 delighted to establish the brand in Switzerland.

Read this article:

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.

About La Galera Anemoi

Winds play an important role in tobacco cultivation, even if they are not generally regarded as 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 Notus, The east wind was baptised 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 a cigar: Google Search >

Test: Personal impressions of enjoyment

First half

• Tongue, palate: The first 10 minutes or so of my 4 samples were characterised 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 flavours from the first half intensify

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. 

Non Cuba cigars and the important acclimatisation process

Acclimatisation recommendation: 1 week in the humidor with cellophane.

The fact is: you don't know when the cigar was imported and how long it rested with the importer. You also don't know how long the resting phase was at the retailer. Cigars are in shock after being transported from the tropics to Europe. They have to acclimatise first. The industry is sales-orientated. The cigars have to be sold quickly. Therefore, they may 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 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.

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 off spicy (pepper / chilli) and bitter. After that these flavours 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, rising to 4/5 in the course of the smoke.

PENG! What a power and flavour bomb this is! If you like strong cigars, this is the cigar for you.