La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch

While most cigar companies tend to release new cigar lines with cigars in regular boxes, every once in a while, a new line debuts as part of a sampler or event-exclusive. Such was the case of the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch, a new line from Ashton Distributors Inc. that came out in March as part of a sampler called the La Aroma de Cuba ‘92-93 Rated’ Fresh Pack Sampler.

As the name implies, it uses a habano wrapper, specifically a habano rosado leaf grown in Ecuador. Underneath that is a Nicaraguan binder and filler, with the filler coming from the Estelí, Jalapa & Namanji regions of the country. The company says that the blend is medium-full with notes of coffee bean, molasses, cream, cedar, and spice.

After debuting in the sampler, the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch got a full release in September, with the cigars offered in traditional 25-count boxes. It is offered in one size, a 6 x 52 toro that is priced at $9.85 and $246.25 per box.

While the cigar is a regular production line, only 3,000 boxes were produced for release in 2025.

• Cigar Reviewed: La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano Rosado)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí, Jalapa & Namanji)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $9.85 (Box of 25, $246.25)
• Release Date: March 2025
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

In the hand, the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch looks and feels like a pretty standard cigar, though I’m immediately drawn to the blue in the band, as it’s a distinct difference from the standard red that is typically found in other La Aroma de Cuba bands. I’d say that the first cigar is drier than it is oily, though it’s not completely devoid of oils. There’s some give in spots, but the cigar is generally firm, and there are also some changes in the wrapper’s color that are noticeable at the seams, when a darker color sits below the seam line that starts at the foot of the cigar. The second cigar is drier and firmer, while the third cigar feels both drier and lighter than the first cigar. The first cigar’s foot has a cool, slightly sweet aroma, and I get some suggestions of applesauce or green apple candy. The second cigar has more of an apple bran muffin or apple pastry sensation, something the third cigar repeats, but in a mellower manner. The cold draws are all good in terms of air flow, though the flavor isn’t as interesting as the aroma. There’s some moist muffin and a bit of black pepper that comes out on the finish, but that’s about all I pick up.

The first puffs of the first La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch have a thin smoke but a fairly potent flavor, with a crisp combination of the signature wood and pepper flavors. The second cigar has a notably thicker, chewier smoke, while the flavor is richer with earth coating my palate and pepper tingling my nostrils. The third is in between those two marks, with the smoke and flavor a touch thin but not as noticeable as it was in the first cigar, and with a damp peanut flavor that stands out more than it does in the other two. There are some puffs when I get a bit of leather, as well as an aroma of really well-done kettle corn, the latter of which reminds me of a concession stand at a ballpark. By the one-inch mark, the flavor has moved to damp peanuts, some black pepper, a bit of mineralality, and some dry club soda. After a couple more puffs, a little more creaminess starts to emerge, then a rich, damp wood comes along to really get into some classic habano flavors. There are a couple of moments where the creaminess and habano flavors aren’t congruent, as the former is a light, thin, melted vanilla ice cream, while the latter is driven by wood and pepper. Once the habano flavor takes over and pushes out the creaminess, the overall flavor is better, despite how much I like creaminess in a profile. The flavor is right around medium, the body leans towards a thin medium-minus, and the strength is mild. Construction is very good thus far, with no notes or any demerits for draw, burn line, smoke production or combustion.

The second third starts with a milder flavor than the first third had been offering, possibly a brief respite from a building intensity, or possibly an all-new direction for the cigar is on the horizon. This clears the way for some creaminess to come back into the profile, and when it doesn’t have to fight against the wood and pepper, it is able to shine. Peanut shells are the next component to join the profile, while a bit of light, clay-based mud follows along after that. There has been no shortage of flavor transitions ahead of the midway point, and I find myself challenged to keep up with them all. Past the midway point, there’s a bit of a slowdown with the flavor changes, and the flavor settles in with a thicker creaminess, some hazelnut and peanuts, a little bit of wood, and a very subtle accent of pepper, with the signature habano flavors trailiing off and reaching a point where I wouldn’t automatically assume that this is a habano-forward blend judging by the puffs in the back half of the second third. Flavor is right around medium, body is medium and strength is medium-minus. Construction remains very good, and as long as I take a puff at the standard interval, there are no issues with combustion.

The La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch gets into its final third by returning to a more habano-forward profile, though it’s not so habano-forward as to be unmistakable. I get a bit of charred wood in the flavor with a little bit of that char carrying over to the pepper. It’s a flavor that takes the reins fairly quickly, familiar enough to not be a complete departure, but also different enough so as not to make it seem like a textbook execution. I find myself surprised by how the cigars all seem to find a common flavor spot and settle in, especially in light of how many changes were made in the first third, almost as if the blend was a fidgety child who couldn’t sit still. The flavor is good—nutty, peppery, a little creamy, with some char mixed in as well—but the lack of changes makes my taste buds a bit complacent with the profile. It’s not boring, and it’s certainly not enjoyable, but it seems to have engaged its cruise control a ways back. Flavor finishes medium-plus, body is medium and strength is medium-minus, a bit less strong than it was in the second third, which seemed to be the peak. Construction is good, with just a pair of relights needed across the three cigars to touch up the cigar after I let it rest for too long.

Final Notes

• I’m not one to try and build them up for any particular reason, and if anything, I tend to tap the ash early so as to avoid having it end up on my desk, lap, or elsewhere. But the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch had no problem getting to impressive clumps of around two inches.
• If you’d like to pick up the La Aroma de Cuba ‘92-93 Rated’ Fresh Pack Sampler, it has an MSRP of $39.99.
• Just before I started this review, I had a colleague tell me that he had just smoked an Ashton VSG for the first time in a while and went on to say how good it was. I think the VSG is one of those Hall of Fame lines, a cigar that is absolutely fantastic and one that anyone who considers themselves a remotely serious cigar smoker should have smoked enough to have a solid opinion about.
• I really like the band that the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch wears, as I like the use of navy blue at the bottom of a classic, iconic design.
• Namanji isn’t as well-known as a tobacco-growing region as places like Condega, Estelí, Jalapa, ore even Ometepe, but it isn’t a totally new region. It’s located in Jinotega, about 20 miles east of Estelí, and has a unique microclimate that makes it well-suited for growing tobacco, including wrapper.
• The La Aroma de Cuba Pasión uses a wrapper grown in Namanji by the García family, owners of My Father Cigars.
• None of the three cigars hit me with much nicotine strength, though I thought the third was on its way to doing so, only to back off in the final third.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• The company lists these as a 6 x 52 toro. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 25 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, and Famous Smoke Shop carry the La Aroma de Cuba Habano Reserve Monarch.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Suns. I was previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, and Goodyear Ballpark, spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I’m a voiceover artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.