Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch is medium brown with some marbling and carries some lightly raised veins. The seams are a bit raised and the head is well finished. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional design for the brand and has a blue base with the woman wearing a burgundy dress. The foot carries a blue ribbon. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of wood and earth while the foot brings cedar and some spice. The pre-light draw brings an airy mix of cedar and floral notes.
Seth: The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch is a decent looking cigar. It sports a lovely wrapper that has a great reddish hue, and it is dark Colorado in coloring. There are small veins scattered throughout, and the wrapper is oily with a nice leather texture. It is firm in hand with aromas of rich earth, sweet spices, tobacco and leather.
John: The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch comes in cellophane with a UPC sticker containing the cigar information, which tears upon opening. The cigar features a primary band paired with a blue ribbon foot band. I weighed the cigar at 16.9 grams, and the humidity measured 59.8% on the Humidimeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included chocolate, bread, tobacco and aged cedar, while the foot presented those same elements along with an additional sweet earth.
Jiunn: The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch has a Colorado Maduro wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give baking spices and barnyard.

La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted oak, meatiness, black pepper, earth and some construction paper. At a quarter inch in, the meatiness becomes very light. At a half inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit. The retrohale is toasted oak, meatiness and some lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch and a quarter in, the construction paper has bumped up to the middle of the profile. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper returns to its previous level. At an inch and three quarters in, the black pepper mellows again, and the construction paper increases a bit more. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is a bit ahead of the construction paper, with earth slightly farther behind. The black pepper is just behind the middle of the profile with some meatiness in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third begins with a nice bit of sweet spice that is paired with cream and coffee notes. There are some toasted wood and sweet tobacco notes present as well, and the strength and body is around medium-full.
John: The cigar opens with creamy dry earth and wood, accompanied by medium-strength baking spices on the finish and musty, stale wood through the post draw. As the first third develops, the baking spices begin to linger into the post draw, pulling earth with them. Approaching the halfway point, the baking spices retreat to light-plus strength, while the musty stale wood transitions into sweet wood and tobacco on the finish. In the bottom half of the third, sweet tobacco combines with tannic wood and light-plus baking spices, defining the post draw.
Jiunn: The initial profile gives a funky meat/mushroom umami like quality and barnyard. Soon, minerals and creamy milk joins. What’s slightly interesting is the pure lack of spice via mouth draws. But on the retrohale, there is spice in the form of spicy cedar. The finish shows a combination of the meat/mushroom and cream .Strength and body is medium.

La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the combination of the toasted oak and construction paper near the front take on a pretty stale quality. At a half inch in, the black pepper is now very mellow. The retrohale is now a mix of lightly stale toasted oak and construction paper with some earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak up front and the construction paper a bit behind both carry a stale note, while some earth is a bit further behind. There is some light black pepper and meatiness in the background. The strength remained slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Sweet spices paired with some cream and coffee. Wood and tobacco notes are present as well Like before, medium-full in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with creamy wood and baking spices, with sweet tobacco following, and light-plus spices on the finish, which grow to medium-minus strength through the post draw. As it settles in, the profile is driven primarily by wood up front, followed by baking spices. By the halfway mark, dark roast coffee enters the retrohale, while earth joins the finish.
Jiunn: The second third shifts from the barnyard umami vibe to minerals and cedar. Retrohale is still the same, which is nice because that’s where the spice is at. Strength and body remains medium.

La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth increases to become even with the toasted oak up front. At a half inch in, the black pepper increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted oak, construction paper, earth and a vegetal note. At an inch in, a vegetal note joins the middle of the profile. At an inch and a half in, the vegetal note gains a decent bitterness to it. As the cigar wraps up, the stale toasted oak and earth are even up front with construction paper right behind. The bitter vegetal note is in the middle of the profile with black pepper right behind and some meatiness in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the second. Cream and coffee with sweet spices, wood, tobacco and leather. The cigar remains at that medium-full level to the end.
John: The final third opens with creamy earth and wood, with earth leading into the finish and light-plus baking spices joining through the post draw. As the final third continues, bitterness joins the earth on the finish. By the halfway point, the bitterness has increased to medium strength, sharpening the closing profile.
Jiunn: The final third is less eventful. There’s now just wood and minerals without any of the creaminess that the first two thirds had. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: The burn was good from start to finish.
John: The burn was straight through the first third. Mild waviness developed in the second third and carried through the last third, but never threatened combustion.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect, giving an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was great throughout the cigar.
John: The draw measured 38 inches of water on the Cigar Medics Draw Machine. Subjectively, it fell right in the ideal zone, offering a perfect balance of resistance and openness.
Jiunn: The draw performance was also perfect, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted oak, meatiness, black pepper, earth and some construction paper. The meatiness and black pepper mellowed very quickly. Later, the construction paper and pepper both increased. The second third saw the oak and construction paper take on a stale note and the pepper was very mellow. The final third saw the earth become even with the oak up front. A vegetal note then joined the middle of the profile and then gained a decent bitterness. The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch seemed to be pretty dry in the humidity department and gave that flavor profile that tends to come with it, which is where the stale note came in. It started average but dropped a level as it came to the second third. The vegetal note with bitterness did the profile no favors in the final third. I’m hoping the other had a very different experience with this cigar and I had a one off. Unless the other report on a very different experience, I wouldn’t see myself coming back to this cigar.
Seth: The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch is a decent cigar, but nothing special. To be honest, I am not sure there is much to write home about with the blend. Yes, it is different from the other La Aroma offerings, but they have so many blends that there is a lot of overlap and it is hard to tell the difference between some of the blends. Lots of wood, spice and coffee notes. Good construction as well on the blend, but not a cigar I will come back to in the future.
John: The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch presents itself as a cigar built around steadiness and structure rather than shifts or surprises. The opening third lays out its intentions clearly with creamy earth, measured wood, medium-strength baking spices and a post-draw that initially leans musty before smoothing into a more agreeable combination of sweet wood and tobacco. It’s a first third that feels comfortably medium strength, offering just enough nuance through the interplay of sweetness and tannic accents to keep the profile engaging. Once the cigar transitions into the second third, the profile focuses around wood and baking spices, with sweet tobacco serving as the connective element. The addition of dark roast coffee on the retrohale is a pleasant expansion, but it arrives more as a brief accent than a lasting direction. The earth joining the finish gives this portion more grounding, but also moves the cigar toward a slightly heavier footprint. It’s still balanced, still approachable, but the range has narrowed compared to the opening. The final third continues that contraction. The earth that was supporting earlier becomes the dominant voice, carrying the finish and slowly being joined, and eventually overtaken, by a steadily intensifying bitterness. The creamy elements that showed up earlier are still present, but they don’t have quite enough weight to offset the dryness and bite that build into the closing half. Construction-wise, the Monarch behaved admirably, with an excellent draw and a mostly straight burn that allowed the flavors to present cleanly. In the end, the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch offers a respectable and steady smoking experience, one that shines brightest in the first third, becomes more linear through the midpoint and closes with a firmer, more earth-driven edge. It’s a cigar that rewards smokers who enjoy a consistent wood-and-earth core with enough spice to keep things lively, even if it doesn’t chase broader complexity. Total smoking time was 2 hours.
Jiunn: This La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch was a unique smoke with its funky barnyard and umami and it was fun to smoke. The cigar fairs on the less spice and strength, which seems right based on my recollection (regardless when it was made at Fuente or by Pepin). I’d recommend to give it a shot for its fun and unique factors.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

4.58

Cost/Point

$2.15

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$1.64

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.61

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$1.44

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch