Cigar Aficionado

The Alma del Cielo from Plasencia Cigars was unveiled with some velvet-roped fanfare at last month’s PCA trade show in New Orleans. After an eloquent introduction by Nestor Andrés Plasencia—and a live performance by R&B artist October London—the cigars were ceremoniously lowered from the ceiling as though descending from the sky. Now, they’re shipping to retailers all over the United States and internationally. 

Alma del Cielo is the fourth release in Plasencia Cigars’ Alma series, and is defined by a high-altitude tobacco grown in the mountains of Nicaragua’s Condega region. This is unusual, as most tobacco in Nicaragua is grown in foothill valleys at the base of mountains, or on lower-elevation hills. Alma del cielo translates to “soul of the sky” in Spanish.

The farm in question is called Finca San Julián, and that high altitude—3,500 feet above sea level—means different weather from other parts of Nicaragua. The temperature is lower, especially in the evening. “The cold nights give us the specific flavor,” says Plasencia. The higher elevation and lack of shade found in a valley also leads to more sunlight, which also impacts the character of tobacco. 

Finca San Julián was once a cattle and coffee farm owned by Plasencia’s maternal grandfather. It was sold off in 1961. Nestor’s father, Cigar Aficionado Hall of Famer Nestor Plasencia, bought the farm for his wife in 1998, who used to spend time there as a child. Plasencia uses some of the tobacco from this farm in the filler for Alma del Cielo. All the tobacco in the blend is from Nicaragua, all grown by the Plasencias, including the wrapper leaf from Jalapa. 

Alma del Cielo is intended to be a medium-bodied cigar, and comes in three sizes, each packed in boxes of 10: Celeste, measuring 4 7/8 inches long by 52 ring gauge ($25); Boreal, 6 1/8 by 54 ($27.50); and Amanecer, a 6-by-60 with Plasencia’s signature hexagonally-pressed shape ($29.50). Like the rest of the Alma series, Alme del Cielo is made in Nicaragua at Plasencia Cigars S.A.

For a vertical brand tasting of the new Plasencia Alma del Cielo, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.

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