It’s been over 8 years since I originally reviewed the Plasencia Alma del Campo, so I thought it might be nice to revisit it and see if I still thought so highly of it (I gave it a 9 out of 10 back in the day). Alma del Campo is Spanish for “soul of the field” and it is made entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by the Plasencia family farms…the same farms that supply leaf for cigars like the Davidoff Nicaragua and Cohiba Nicaragua. The wrapper leaf was a medium brown color with a beautiful smoothness and accompanying soft touch. The cigar itself had a mild box-press…just enough that it’s not going to threaten to roll off any tables.
The wrapper leaf had an aroma of clean hay, earth, and mildly sweet natural tobacco. The foot had more earth and hay, but also a really pleasant floral note. The cold draw was excellent, featuring notes of hay and cedar, along with a little indistinct sweetness.
When a Nicaraguan cigar plays in the low $20 price range, it is really is up against heavyweight competition from folks like Padron (1964 Anniversary Series, although a few years ago it was priced more against the Serie 1926), and I’m happy to report that this gem from Plasencia really does perform up to that level. Alma del Campo started out with floral and hay notes, a sweet nuttiness, and cedar and pepper spice on the retrohale. Honestly, I’d rather smoke this than the Padron 1964 Natural any day of the week…and it is pretty close to being on par with the Serie 1926 Natural, too (although that one is much spicier and dynamic than this). I’m happy to see the Plasencia cigar company keeping a high level of consistency all this time later and can’t wait to try some of their newer releases.
