La Gloria Cubana Los Gloriosos marks the return to where it all started for E.P. Carrillo.
In the 1980s Ernesto Perez-Carrillo was the OG of boutique cigars with La Gloria Cubana coming out of the El Credito Factory in Little Havana, Miami, Florida. During the cigar boom of the 90s one of the hottest cigars was La Gloria Cubana and back then I remember the cigar would not stay in stock when I began smoking cigars. In 1999, EPC would sell the brand to Swedish Match aka General Cigar where he would work until form his own company which is now called Casa Carrillo.
For the second time since leaving General Cigar they company has tapped him for a collaboration. The first one was with Michael Giannini called Re+United. This time he was asked to create a new cigar for the La Gloria Cubana line. Available in three sizes: Gordo (6 x 60 / $9.99 MSRP), Grandioso (7 x 508 / $10.99) and today’s review Toro (6 x 50 / $8.99).
Cigar Review: La Gloria Cubana Los Gloriosos
Size: 6 x 50 (Toro)
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Nicaragua (Dual: Esteli & Jalapa)
Fillers: Dominican Republic (Corojo ’99), Nicaragua (Condega, Jalapa)
Factory: Casa Carrillo
Release Date: April 2025
Production: Regular
Box Size: 20
The Cigar: The baby blue background sees Gloria pop off the band, but the gold text La Gloria Cubana gets lost on the color. A secondary band of gold and black denotes Los Gloriosos which translates to The Glorious Ones and the cigar is rounded out with a red ribbon foot band. The oily Habano wrapper from Ecuador has a nice color to and a network of thing veins while feeling silky under the fingers. In the hand the cigar has a nice weight to it although the foot feels slightly underfilled. It should be noted I ordered a 5 pack on a whim and all 5 cigars than had a different wrapper color.
The Taste: Once the cap is clipped the cold draw has warm cocoa notes and a subtle earthiness which is matched on the foot of the cigar where it is joined by a subtle almond like paste. Once the cigar is toasted and lit some of that sweetness remains with almonds and cocoa as the initial flavor profile.
As we settle into the first third the sweetness pulls back slightly though almonds and cocoa are the focal point of the the flavor profile with nuances of nougat and earth rounding things out. The retrohale of the LGC Los Gloriosos is insanely smooth with subtle leather and butterscotch component added to the mix.
Moving to the second third the earth note begin to ramp up and the almonds take on a more roasted flavor as they begin to lose some of their sweetness. The retrohale sees a subtle cinnamon develop with birch and a growing leather component. As we move to toward the conclusion of the second third some leather notes appear on the palate and wood notes intensify.
Moving into the final third the cigar sees notes of mocha, earth and a bit of that raw almond sweetness returns alongside some nougat. The cigar has a bit of that classic feel back to the glory days of La Gloria Cubana while feel fresh and new at the same time embracing the cigar culture of today. As the cigar comes to a close I don’t want to end but when it’s time to put down earth, coffee and cedar create a moderate finish that sees some wood and leather added by the retrohale.
Conclusion: In my early days of cigar smoking I would always reach for a La Gloria Cubana. When the brand was sold something changed and I moved away from the cigar. The tobacco source, the grades of tobacco, or even the tobaccos used just didn’t feel the same to me. More often than not this always seems to be the case when a bigger company buys a smaller company and I do not for one second believe it is psychological. Simply put LGC wasn’t same cigar within a year of it being sold.
When I first found out this brand was being launched with Ernesto blending it, I was generally excited and it was one of the cigars I looked forward to smoking the most of the new brands that were showcased a PCA 2025. So obviously I set myself up for disappointment hoping to see some of that magic from back in the day. What shocked me is how much it exceeded expectations proving that the Godfather of Boutique Cigars still has that magical touch. It’s an incredibly balanced cigar with a lot of subtle flavors and complexities that showcases the passion for the brand that Ernesto has as well as his incredible talent. Before I finalized this review I ordered a box of Los Gloriosos and I suggest you do the same.
Price: 95
Price: $8.99 (Before any local or state taxes)
You can find these at Small Batch Cigars where they don’t charge for shipping no matter the size of the order and if you use the coupon code BARRELBURNER you can save 10% off your order once you are logged into the site.
