Cigar Review: La Galera Imperial Jade Corona Cigar

For the La Galera Imperial Jade Corona cigar’s blend, José “Jochy” Blanco and the team at Tabacalera Palma pair the wrapper with a Dominican-grown Criollo binder from Tabacalera Palma’s Jacagua farm, along with Piloto Cubano filler from that same farm and Dominican Criollo 98 from the company’s La Canela farm.

About the La Galera Imperial Jade Corona Cigar

Owner: La Galera
Factory: Tabacalera Palma
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Medium – Full
Size: Corona – 5 1/2 by 44 ring gauge

Reviewed by: Ross from the Windsor shop

The Beginning

The La Galera Imperial Jade Corona starts off with a nice hit of black pepper before showing some herbal tea notes and more of the soft textured body. Not an explosive start but a vibrant one.

Retrohaling gives a much more vibrant taste with a nose-tingling pepper that seems accented by a red chilli pepper aroma. There isn’t heat attached to it, but that flavour is really there. Very interesting.

The Middle

The pepper notes that had been destined for the palate at the start seem to have detoured, yet the retrohales still get plenty of it. While puffs are initially subtle in flavour, they begin to unpack on the finish, revealing a bit of cedar and a nice tang that is reminiscent of my baseline flavours of Cameroon tobacco. That means a sweet and spicy flavour.

The End

As the La Galera Imperial Jade Corona comes to an end, the body of the smoke is a hearty medium-full. Pepper seems to still be largely on hiatus but the sweet and spicy flavours are still there. A bit more cedar comes out of the profile, though with a bit sharper sensation. Earthiness then emerges and brings with it a somewhat hearty black pepper.

Burn

Construction is absolutely fantastic, particularly the razor sharp burn line or the seemingly rock solid ash.

Draw

The draw on this cigar is perfect for me, resistance is there but always gives you the right amount of smoke you need.

Overall

The La Galera Imperial Jade is a real flavour bomb. After the early pepper receded there was mostly cedar and sweet notes that dominated the flavour. It doesn’t give too much variant on taste, but what it does give is strong and delicious.

Ross Rating: 8/10

What alcoholic drink would I pair La Galera Imperial Jade with?

After recently visiting America I loved drinking Modelo beer. So much so we now stock it. This type of beer goes very will with cigars with a strong flavour profile.

What soft drink would I pair La Galera Imperial Jade with?

Traditional Lemonade – Waitrose does a very good one.

Would I smoke La Galera Imperial Jade again?

There aren’t too many Cameroon wrappers on the market. This offers something so different, it’s great to break up the flavour profiles of most Dominican-made cigars. Yes please, I’ll have another.