Cigar smokers who have been exploring boutique brand offerings for more than a decade may recall when the La Palina Mr. Sam first hit the market in 2013 as a limited run of just a few thousand sticks. 

Produced in limited quantities, and rolled down in Miami at El Titan de Bronze, this combo of dark Ecuadorian habano wrapper leaf and all Nicaraguan binder and long-fillers earned the then recently resurrected boutique cigar brand a fair deal of praise, and throngs of fresh followers. 

Skip forward a decade or so, and the La Palina portfolio is still going strong, with loads of new blends and cigar accessory launches hitting the market. But through it all, Mr. Sam remains the same. The blend, branding, original robusto vitola, everything. Which got me thinking. Could this be one of those cases where if it's not broken you shouldn't try and fix it? Or is La Palina resting on some long overused laurels, and just doesn't want to mess with something a recognizable original blend? 

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Unlit Impressions 

Squat and stumpy, this classic-looking 54 x 4¾" robusto really does look and feel like something Mark Twain would spark while writing his latest novel. Get beyond the vintage double banding and twisting typography, and you'll see that this habano wrapper has a crisp Colorado Rosado color and a nice, medium amount of oil. 

The vitola itself feels good too. Sturdy in the hand, it's a firmly packed product with tightly lined seams and a crisply fitted cap that sits at just the right depth. Barrel scents of sourdough, loam, strong cedar, and some ambiguous floral notes are all quite nice. The foot is primarily sweet date nut bread, heavily spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, and somewhat musk-like the more you snort. 

Cold draws are more of a generic baking spice mix, with a little woody maple syrup sweetness and some low-level peppercorn spiciness rounding things out.  

Initial Smoke 

That date nut bread flavor is the first string to be strummed in this blend, followed by some rain-soaked earth, and the recognizable winning mix of baking spices and sweet cedar. Surprisingly mild in strength and quite clean, the finish is a lustrous experience that does not let you down, but instead builds up your anticipation of what is about to come next.  

1st Half   

Layers of leather and Nicaraguan terroir start to take shape after initial impressions settle into their groove. There's a prominent serving of sweet cedar still showing itself here as well, but without going overboard. Retrohales remain clean and baking spice, and pastry bread heavy, while body, strength, and overall flavors stay well within the medium bracket. 

It's not until the second third heats up a bit that things get darker and richer. Nothing maduro-grade, but definitely a good bit more heavily fermented and sun-grown tasting than before. This results in some mild licorice notes, which are more of a retrohale aromatic and a flavor found within the cigar's increasingly long finish than something that strikes you up front. It is within this section of the stick that the unique taste of roasted chestnuts starts to develop. This sweet and creamy flavor profile continues through the mid-section of the barrel and was a definitive characteristic within the center of each cigar I smoked.

2nd Half 

Red and black licorice notes soon turn into a spiced cola flavor, which is a marvelous taste to detect. Especially since those sweet cedar flavors that have slowly grown in prominence since the start are entering their prime. 

Get into the final third, and a mild rye malt flavor forms, sans pumpernickel, but heavy on the sweetener. Cinnamon serves up the secondary flavor profile, and the dark molasses-like nut bread note hits harder than ever while still staying just north of medium. Sweet, roasty, and chewy, this taste slowly fades the closer you get to parting puffs, where the cigar starts to go a bit dry on you.

Parting Puffs 

Unsweetened spiced craft cola continues to hold the crown all the way until it's time to extinguish that glowing cone. It's more of a vanilla bean, cinnamon, and all-spice cigar flavor profile at this point, finished with some mixed peppercorn heat, both red and black licorice, and a dry finish. And although retrohales absolutely rocked in this section of each stick, char proved to be a concern in one of the cigars, with mid-grade nicotine buzz levels hitting on every stick that was lit. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Here is a perfect example of how a crap burn can cause you to fret over a cigar-smoking experience, when it should be encouraging you to relax and enjoy the moment. While the first stick combusted alright, it too struggled to burn straight and tunneled at one point. My review cigar proved to be even more problematic, and while the smoke and draw were near perfect, the need for touch-ups at every third was an annoyance. This heavily influenced my scoring of the cigar, as it was a good bit beyond what I would consider tolerable.

Final Thoughts  

Everything but the burn on this cigar struck me as solid. The spiced cola and chestnut concoction that evolves within the second half is particularly memorable, with the cleanliness of the tobacco speaking volumes even in the midst of parting puffs. 

Retrohales are also a star player, with strong cedar aromatics and medium-sweet nut bread smells making for a really impressive finish. So yes, I am starting to see why La Palina hasn't tinkered with this blend since its debut over a decade back, and for all intents and purposes, may never mess with it. 

Flavor, Aroma & Transitions

Depth & Complexity

Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal

Backstory & Branding

Overall Balance & Repeatability

Stogie Specs

Cigar	La Palina "Mr. Sam"
Wrapper	Habano (Ecuador)
Binder	Nicaragua
Filler	Nicaragua
Factory	El Titan de Bronze (USA)
Size	54 x 4¾" (Robusto)
Strength	Medium-Full
Pairing Drink	Homemade Spiced Ginger Craft Cola
Rating	4.1/5