90 Miles Nicaragua RA

The 90 Miles Nicaragua RA is a cigar dedicated and created in the memory of Roberto Alonso, a family friend and director of sales and marketing for Flor de Gonzalez Cigars, who recently passed away. This Nicaraguan puro is a 7×38 lancero (Roberto Alonso’s favorite vitola) and comes in a neat, rustic box with loose burlap partially covering the 20 cigars. One of the most touching aspects of the presentation is the band, which features a sketch that was inspired by something Roberto had drawn on a napkin while in route to Nicaragua in 2011. Needless to say this is a tremendous tribute and demonstrates how much Roberto must have meant to the company and the family.

90 Miles Nicaragua RA Breakdown

Setting my emotions aside, I must evaluate the cigar based on its performance and flavor and not allow the heartfelt tribute to influence my judgement. The Nicaragua RA sports a nipple on the cap and a closed foot, which I like to taste fully, therefore I skip the traditional toasting on this one and go straight to smoking. After I burning through the closed foot, I can tell this will be a full-flavored offering with strong notes of charred oak – there is also a cedar flavor that is prevalent.

While the draw is a tad snug, it isn’t distracting nor ruining my smoking experience. The dominating flavor thus far is oak, which is really interesting because the retrohale reminds me of whiskey. Charred oak and whiskey??? What’s not to love?

As with most Nicaraguan cigars, you will get a dose of earthy spices accompanying the cedar, and with the Nicaragua RA you get the bonus of oak and whiskey notes. This cigar has some complexity to it and I would place the strength of the nicotine in the medium range. As I wind my way to the finish, I do encounter some burn issues, having to relight a few times.

The perfect drink pairing with this cigar is bourbon. This cigar simply screams for a nice glass of bourbon by it’s side. While I am not sure if Roberto was a whiskey man, I can tell you that this tribute cigar did a marvelous job honoring a lost friend both in presentation and performance.

Would I smoke this cigar again?

Yes, I would. For under 8 bucks, this is a really enjoyable lancero and the fact that it has a whiskey flavor to it and pairs well with bourbon is a double-win in my book. Had it burned better after the halfway mark, I would have given it a higher rating.

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