Review of Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra Cigars

The new Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra cigars are the result of a partnership between AJ Fernandez and General Cigar. These cigars were released in July 2019 and are available in three vitolas, including the Media Noche (5.75 x 54) priced at $8.49, which was sampled for this review. The cigars are made with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican fillers. The blend is actually the same as previous versions of this cigar, but improved fermentation, aging and cigar making techniques employed by AJ Fernandez have produced cigars unlike the originals (which will eventually be replaced). For more information about these cigars, please see the press release.

The sample Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra cigar began with a moderate sweet peppery flavor. This was not an initial blast of pepper that quickly faded away like with some other cigars, but an enjoyable and balanced taste that lingered while other flavors joined the mix, such as earth, wood, cocoa and leather. The smoke was medium-to-full bodied, with a smooth, full and rich flavor that was near the top of the medium-to-full range. After about 20 minutes into the cigar, the sweetness was more subtle, and eventually disappeared at about the 45-minute mark. At that point, leather and wood flavors were predominate, until the cigar went out by itself with just over two inches left. Total smoking time was just over an hour.

The Hoyo La Amistad Dark Sumatra Media Noche cigar was very well made and had a great draw, even burn, and held a long ash. No relights were required, just one minor touch-up along the way. I enjoyed the first 45 minutes of the cigar enough to rate that segment with a superior 4.25 points on a 5-point scale. Although I did not enjoy the last 15 to 20 minutes of the cigar as much as the preceding 45 minutes, the cigar still deserves a very good 4+ rating overall.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.

See All New Cigars for 2019 From General Cigar