The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Plasencia Alma Del Cielo (Amanecer) - Hexagono (Box Press) (6 x 60) is based on the journal entry dated 2025-06-30

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

It’s a very light and warm brown, but with a light sheen and some light mottling in spots. It looks to be a thinner wrapper with some creases and stretch marks, showing bulges and lumps from the binder beneath. There are several veins, but they’re all thin and pressed in. The Hexágono press seems a little sharper at the edges than the other Alma blends, but the cigar has a nice firmness to it. The seams are all tight and blend nicely. The triple cap is perfect. Plasencia always seems to have great construction, not to mention sleek and well-done labels.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Good (3)

The draw has good resistance, but the burn has some challenges. It starts very wavy, and while it smooths out, the burn line gets uneven with one side of the cigar burning faster than the other. The ash is a light-to-medium gray with dark and thick striations. It’s able to hold until almost the midpoint, but it’s very flaky. The burn does improve with time but never gets to a fully even or sharp burn line.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Light and very nutty to start, a mix of almond and cashew. There’s also a very strong, sweet citrusy zest with cinnamon and baking spice flavors over a light, cedary foundation. Within the first third, there’s a gradual introduction of some light earth and mild baking cocoa. It’s starting off nicely, super smooth and wrapped up in a very creamy finish.

Into the second third, it’s still very mild but with nice flavor. The wood, nut, and citrus notes are really dominant while the rest are mild. Complexity has been building with some pepper, breadiness, and caramel flavors as well. This reminds me of a nice cinnamon pastry where they put a little orange zest into the icing.

With the final third, the earth and baking cocoa have reached a healthy medium strength while there’s some refined leather making an appearance. The pepper that’s built up is leaving a nice, mild tingle. There haven’t really been any transitions, just a gradual building of the intensity and a slow addition of other flavors that all complement the blend.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

I’m finding the entire Alma line to be potentially polarizing because a lot of them feel more like science experiments with unusual and rare tobaccos from Plasencia’s farms. So these cigars will either be loved or highly disappointing depending on your palate and ability to cover their higher cost of entry. With the Cielo, it really landed with my palate, and I avoided some of the more offending burn and wrapper issues others have complained about with the fragility of the wrapper. I’m a fan of this one and it’s possibly my favorite of the Alma line, even though it’s also the most expensive.

Review Base Rating (0-5):

4.75

Would I Buy It Again?

Signs point to yes (recommended)

Review Final Score (0-10):

9.17

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.