La Galera Anemoi

Yesterday afternoon, I hung out at West Coast Cigars in San Jose. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to smoke, but I did know one thing: I wanted to try something new. And in perusing the shelves my gaze fell upon a cigar that I didn’t recognize, the Anemoi by La Galera. To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of La Galera. West Coast carried a few of the vitolas, so I picked out a size similar to a Toro and that was the Anemoi (6.375 X 52). Based on the different color of the secondary band from the other vitolas, I gathered that it must be the main or foundational vitola.

So, I purchased it, sat down, sparked it up, and admittedly was a little surprised. It started out mild and subtle with cedar and black pepper and just a tiny bit of red pepper spice. Unlike the heady Nicaraguans I normally smoke, this Dominican little beauty had a light touch to start out. I’ve gotten so used to the much heavier flavors of the cigars I normally smoke that I forgot what it was like to smoke a milder cigar. I knew then that I’d have to just sit back and let the cigar take me on a journey.

And it certainly did take me on a journey! Long story short, after smoking it, I thought to myself that it was probably one of the most complex cigars I’ve ever smoked. The flavors were all over the place throughout the smoke with all sorts of transitions. At times it was fruity and sweet, then it would get vegetal. At other times, I’d get a hit of red pepper spice, then suddenly it would turn creamy and luscious. And the mildness? Well, that was just at the beginning of the smoke because it gradually got stronger and stronger till it was medium-full at the nub. That really blew me away.

Boreas

I had to leave after I finished the Anemoi, but before I left, I picked up a couple of different vitolas to see what they had to offer. The first one I picked up was the Boreas (shown to the left) which is a 4.75 X 46 petite corona. I also picked up the Zephyrus, which is their gordo vitola at 6 X 60.

So, after dinner last night, I thought I’d try the Boreas out. It was good, but not nearly as good as the Anemoi. It was strong from the get-go and didn’t let up. All the flavors that I tasted in the Anemoi were there, but they relentlessly came at me all at once and just intensified from there. I wasn’t prepared for that. Plus, the nicotine hit was HUGE! Based on that experience, I won’t buy this one again. It’s not that it was bad, but I felt that this cigar grabbed me by short hairs and dragged me along, never letting go. It was a little unsettling.

Zephyrus

Then this morning I lit up the Zephyrus (shown below). I normally don’t smoke gordos, but I wanted to try both ends of the Anemoi spectrum.

This one, I loved. It was a similar experience to the Anemoi in terms of complexity and build-up, but with more influence coming from the binder and filler tobacco, it was a much creamier smoke with a lot less spice. It also had a meaty quality to it that wasn’t present in the Anemoi. I really liked this one!

All in all, I will probably pick up a 5er each of the Anemoi and Zephyrus.