8/2/2019 Seth's Humidor Reviews the La Palina Babe

1/3

March 6, 2012

Cigar Review: La Palina Family Series Babe

La Palina "Babe"For some reason I thought I had not reviewed The Family Series line byLa Palina, but then I

realized I had and thought that was silly. The line is a classic in my opinion, and since my first

one of these cigars atDrapers in Washington D.C. I have loved them. I know that I havediscussed the line plenty of times in the past, but it is such a great story that it is hard not to talk

about.La Palina Cigars first began in 1896 when a man by the name of Sam Paley started hisown cigar shop in Chicago, Illinois. Once he opened his shop he opened a neighboring cigar

company called Congress Cigar Company, and the name of one of the first products was LaPalina. The cigar was named in honor of his wife, Goldie Drell Paley. Eventually he moved the

cigar company to Philadelphia in 1910, and it was in that year that Sam Paley' son, William S.Paley joined the company as Vice President of Advertisement. While working with the company,

he began to do advertisement on the radio forLa Palina Cigars, and found the advertisement to

be very successful. He eventually went into radio, and started Columbia Broadcasting System

(CBS). Eventually in 1926 the cigar company his father started came to an end and with it so did

La Palina Cigars.

Eventually in 2008, the son of William Paley and grandson of Sam Paley, Bill Paley began the

journey of remakingLa Palina Cigars. It has been over 80 years since the original line, and BillPaley was determined to bring back a part of his families history. He wished to make a luxury

cigar for his families retreat in the Bahamas at The Lightbourne House. During this quest hefound himself at the Graycliff Factory working with Avelino Lara. As you know, Mr. Lara was

the famous blender of the Cuban Cohiba line for Fidel Castro, and eventually came to work for

Graycliffafter leaving Cuba. While blending tobacco at the factory Mr. Paley found the cigar he

was looking for, and soLa Palina Cigars was reborn and released to the public in 2010. The lineis made in the traditional Cuban fashion as all are in the factory, and utilizes some of the finest

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HZSsIRHt_G0/T1Y7cJWlhSI/AAAAAAAACA8/c-eHakvF2ug/s1600/IMG_2824.JPG

8/2/2019 Seth's Humidor Reviews the La Palina Babe

2/3

and rarest tobacco available. The vitola I chose this time wasBabe. The cigar gets its name from

Bills mother, Barbara Babe Cushing Paley.

The cigar is a robusto vitola measuring 5.25" with a 50 ring gauge, and feature a Costa Rican

wrapper and a Costa Rican binder. I imagine that the filler and binder are Costa Rican Jaltepec,

but I am not positive. The filler is a combination of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco, and I cansay for certain that it is some of the finest tobacco from the prominent regions of those twocountries. Costa Rican tobacco is known for being incredibly flavorful and also expensive. The

cigar is beautiful in appearance with a marbled brown wrapper that is oily and silky. There aresome veins present in the toothy wrapper, and it has a coloring of dark tan, Colorado Claro in

coloring. Holding the foot of the cigar, and the wrapper to my nose I get aromas of stone fruit,coffee, leather and cocoa, and I am eagerly awaiting this terrific robusto.

Nice toothy wrapper

As I light up the cigar I am immediately greeted with an abundance of flavors, and a cigar that isproducing a great amount of smoke. There are some noticeable cream and coffee flavors present,

but I am also getting some spice notes, light cherry flavors and a finish of barnyard and leather. Itis a solid cigar that shows wonderful flavors so far, and has a great complexity level. I would say

the strength of the cigar is a solid medium, maybe a little bit stronger in this third, but verybalanced. It has a terrific burn line thus far, razor sharp, and it is leaving a solid light gray ash on

the end of the cigar. Overall it shows those great Graycliffflavors with a nice twist, and very

enjoyable.

I am in the second third of the cigar now, and the flavors have definitely gotten stronger. Not somuch stronger in terms of strength/body, but in presence. The cherry notes are very present, and

they are more like dark cherry notes. The spice flavors are showing bits of cinnamon, cayenneand cloves, and the coffee and cream notes are still very present as well. There is a nice finish of

leather and wood with the cigar, and it is a very enjoyable cigar. I would say the strength hasdecreased some in this third, and I would say it is more around the medium level. The cigar is

still burning evenly, and I am still holding on to the ash from the beginning of the cigar.

When I get into the final third of the cigar I really don't want this cigar to end, but I have anothercigar ready to get lit up so I am pretty happy. The flavors are still very similar to what they werein the second third, but it is so enjoyable that I really don't want it to change. I am loving the

cream and coffee notes, and they pair wonderfully with those dark cherry notes and the wood

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NySGDJBwiA4/T1Y7hCxSAGI/AAAAAAAACBE/4zgiJZbPcxo/s1600/IMG_2820.JPG

8/2/2019 Seth's Humidor Reviews the La Palina Babe

3/3

flavors. There is a presence of rich earth in this third, and it finishes of spices and leather. I

would say the cigar finishes at a solid medium level, and the burn line is still perfect. When I

smoke the cigar down to the nub it is still cool and flavorful, and I immediately light up mysecond one.

This was really a terrific robusto, and I loved the flavor profile. This cigar definitely showedsome characteristics that you see with a Graycliffcigar, and that is a positive aspect. The cigardelivered a plethora of complex flavors throughout, performed wonderfully in terms of

construction, and provided a solid amount of strength as well. It really is a great line, and Ialways save these for special occasions. With the release of theEl Diario line,La Palina has

really announced itself as a company that makes everyday cigar and special occasion cigars, andboth lines are fabulous. If you had to make me choose, I would struggle, but I think I would

choose this line more often than not. I find the line to be just as flavorful, though different than

theEl Diario line, but less rich and more of a cigar that I could smoke more of in one day. I givethis cigar 95 points, and it was nice to smoke one of these beauties again. It had been some time,

and even though it was not a special occasion it is good to splurge from time to time.

Family Series Babe

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KDTDDJdNyL8/T1Y7q6Skd0I/AAAAAAAACBM/SOhLaTqfUt8/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG