SCdLH La Punta KMM - May 03

[cigar no baka]

OK I don't know what this abbreviation stands for. A BOTL on another site gave me this at a herf and it has been in my humidor for a while. I'm assuming that this was a Cuban so correct me if I am wrong.

Excellent contruction and draw, slightly uneven burn.

But the taste was excellent, had kind of a woody, oak flavor to it. One of the finest cigars I've had yet. If this is a Cuban, it is the first Cuban I have had that I liked, but I've only had a few. And it was strong as HELL. I am a relatively slow smoker, but this cigar was still loaded with nicotine, and I should have slowed down even more, cause it left me feeling WOOOAH!!!

So I hope to buy some more of these someday, as it was better than 90% of the NC I have had.

[CoventryCat86]

Which abbreviation?

San Cristobal de la Habana or the KMM box code which doesn't mean shit?

MAY 03 is pretty self explanatory.

SC's are one of my favorite Havanas but I don't buy the La Puntas because they're one of those pointy ended cigars which I generally do not like.

The two pointy vitolas are Camapanas, 5 1/2 x 50 (like this La Punta and a BBF) and a Piramides, 6 1/8 x 52 (Monte No. 2).

'03 is a very good year for San Cristobals.

[CoventryCat86]

Oh, I'm sorry CNB, I looked at your post a little closer (sometimes I'm kinda slow) and you didn't know what "SCdLH" meant.

San Cristobal de la Habana is a relatively new line of Cuban cigars that were first released in November of 1999. The only have four vitolas on the market right now but they did release some limited edition ones within the last year or so. Here's a list of the four vitolas that are currently offered:

El Morro - 7 1/4 x 49 "Paco" vitola
El Principe - 4 3/8 x 42 "Minuto" vitola
La Fuerza - 5 1/2 x 50 "Gorditos" vitola
La Punta - 5 1/2 x 52 "Campanas" vitola

The names come from the fort that defended Havana back in the 1500's.

What's very unique about the La Fuerza and the El Morro is the vitola of those two models. San Cristobal is the ONLY Cuban cigar manufacturer at the present time to offer cigars with these dimensions making these unique cigars.

The standard "Julieta" or churchill is 7 x 47 and the standard "Prominentes" or double corona is 7 5/8 x 49. Personally I love the "Paco" vitola because it's kind of a compromise between the two.

I also like the La Fuerza which to me is a happy medium between a Coronas Gordas 5 5/8 x 46 and a Robusto, 4 7/8 x 50. The Robustos vitola has never appealed to me because I think they're too short and sometimes I like a slightly larger diameter than a Coronas Gordas so the "Gorditos" fit the bill perfectly for me!

Not only that, I really like the flavor profile of the San Cristobals. To me, the wrapper has a unique "peppery" flavor that is noticeably different from just about any other Cuban cigar you'll run across.

Again, these are probably my favorite brand of Cuban cigar along with Saint Luis Reys which have a unique "citrus" flavor for the most part.

If you hand me an SC or an SLR with no wrapper, the second I put it in my mouth, I can tell what it is.

[ggiese]

KMM - May 2003 - means the cigars were produced in the Briones Montoto (Romeo y Julieta) factory, May of 2003.

[CoventryCat86]

KMM - May 2003 - means the cigars were produced in the Briones Montoto (Romeo y Julieta) factory, May of 2003.

You sure about that? They change the box codes at least three or four times a year these days therefore it's almost impossible to determine exactly which factory the cigars were "produced" in which doesn't matter for shit anyway!

[ggiese]

You sure about that? They change the box codes at least three or four times a year these days therefore it's almost impossible to determine exactly which factory the cigars were "produced" in which doesn't matter for shit anyway!

That's what I get for the 2003 production codes, Bill...

But you're right - it really is more of a "secret" code Cuba uses to determine if a product is real or counterfeit. There really is no telling if that information is 100% accurate unless you're in the Cuban ministry that handles such things. It really does somewhat conflict with other information that shows San Cristobal being primarily made in the La Corona factory.

The info is really more of an observation from very experienced Cuban cigar smokers who track that sort of thing. I thought I'd offer it up as more of a trivia exercise...

[cigarsarge]

All I know is that the El Principe is a damn good short smoke.

[cigar no baka]

Ok thanks for all the information guys. I really liked this cigar, so I will be delving more into the world of Cubans someday for sure.

[stjohnroe]

I have only tried the Fuerza and the Principe, and I have enjoyed them thouroughly. I find that the Principe is perfect when you don't have much time and IMHO is probably the joint best minuto out there (the other being the RASCC).

[Moheganson]

San Cristobals are great cigars!