La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild

When I think of the United Cigars portfolio, I find that most of the company’s cigar could fall into one of three categories. There’s the Firecracker Series, an ever-expanding collection of 3 1/2 x 50 cigars of various blends and origins. Then there’s a number of blends that are branded as United _____, such as United Natural, United Connecticut, etc. Finally, there are historical brands that the company has brought back for the modern era.

In January 2022, United announced it was resurrecting La Mezcla Cubana, a brand that was founded by Victor Vitale of the defunct company Legacy Brands. It returned to the market in May 2022 in a single 4 1/2 x 54 parejo size with packaging and a name that reminds me of a bottle of tequila. Most notably, the cigar has a seven-year-old Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed shade wrapper. While the age of the wrapper was interesting, I found it even more interesting that United disclosed where the wrapper came from: ASP Enterprises, Inc.

Here’s how I described the ASP disclosure in the original review:

If you haven’t heard of ASP, it’s by design. The Perez family, which owns ASP, prefers to keep a very low profile. While most cigar manufacturers are very familiar with ASP, if not clients of the company, the Perez family does not publicly boast about the company. While ASP grows tobacco in many countries, one of its specialties is the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper that is being used for this cigar.

And if you are wondering what I thought of the cigars I smoked for the initial review:

The La Mezcla Cubana is neither a complex cigar nor really a revolutionary cigar. It’s a more refined version of lots of classic Connecticut shade profiles, but without the steady black pepper note that I typically find from the lightly-tanned cigars. But just because it’s not the most unique cigar in the world doesn’t make it bad. Flavor-wise, this was as enjoyable as any cigar I’ve smoked for review during the last few weeks and I would gladly smoke a lot more of these, especially for the price. My one gripe is with construction, not just for the burn issues that took away points from the final score, but also for the uneven burns that weren’t part of how this score was calculated. In the end, I think the La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild is a very good cigar with a better price point.

• Cigar Reviewed: La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera Magia Cubana
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut-seed)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & U.S.A. (Pennsylvania)
• Length: 4 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Short Robusto
• MSRP: $5.99 (Box of 50, $299.50)
• Release Date: May 16, 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 3

Of all the cigars that might get reviewed by this website in 2024, the La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild will undoubtedly have a lighter wrapper than almost all of them. It’s a shade that is far paler than what I would consider “golden,” at least not for tobacco. The picture above, which is of a different cigar than the one I’m smoking and shot with studio lighting, doesn’t portray the color I see with my eyes. That very light color does a poor job hiding the veins, cuts of the tobacco and any imperfections—they are very visible. While this cigar has been stored in cellophane, I can’t pick up any scent from the wrapper. Sometimes I struggle to find a discernible smell; in this case, it doesn’t smell like anything. The foot is medium-plus with aromas of sweet chocolate, apples and woods. It’s quite sweet, though a bit artificial. The cold draw is medium-full with a very sweet chocolate malt flavor leading some floral sensations and a general sogginess.

While I wish the La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild started with a bit more smoke production, the initial flavors of soft cedar, a milk-like creaminess and some nuttiness are good enough for me. While this cigar hasn’t gone through extensive aging, based on the flavor, it’s pretty apparent that this cigar is aged, though it seems to still have some life left before it begins the inevitable trajectory of losing its flavor intensity. When I take my time in between puffs, the flavors are a modified version of a classic shade profile: soft cedar woods, creaminess and a mild amount of black pepper tingle towards the end. There’s underlying sweetness and earthiness, but they serve more as accents. If I take consecutive puffs or puff quicker, the cigars will develop some hay and earthy flavors. While I’d prefer the former of the flavor profiles over the latter, I appreciate bouncing back-and-forth between the two. The finish tends to be an extension of how the smoke initially hits the mouth. Sometimes it’s creaminess, sweetness and soft woods; other times, the hay and some acidic flavors enter the fray. Retrohales are where the signs of aging most show up. There’s this characteristic that the flavors have, one that makes it seems like they’ve been stretched out almost to the point of breaking. By doing so, the smoothness really becomes apparent. In terms of the flavors present, it’s mainly just the woodiness and sweetness, though I can detect a flavor that reminds me of the smell of new carpet. The finish adds some creaminess and this very distinct limoncello flavor. Flavor is medium-full or full, body is medium and strength is nonexistent. While the burn line could be more even, construction is great through the first half. The only bit of concern would be some audible cracking I heard during the first 15 minutes, though I’m not sure where the cracks developed and they don’t seem to be negatively impacting my experience.

Just past the halfway mark, the smoke production is noticeably declining. That slows down the burn rate and also means that my lighter is occasionally needed. Flavor-wise, there’s a generic Kellogg’s cereal flavor on top of some tartness, basic dough, black pepper, leather and some coffee. Like before, there can be a wide swing in the flavor profile puff-to-puff, though I don’t find it to be as correlated to my puff rate. Yes, if I puff quickly, the cigar gets bitter. But even when I don’t puff as quickly, some puffs just seem to head to bitterness. Other times, puffs of the La Mezcla Cubana Rothschild can taste like I just finished a spoonful of vanilla cake batter. The finish has a lot of the cereal flavors, but there are also puffs with barnyard or rice cakes. Due to the declining smoke production, I don’t retrohale as much during the second half of the cigar. When I do, there’s a combination of vibrant cashews and cedar, but it unfortunately tends to end with even more bitterness. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is mild-medium. It feels like the draw tightens up slightly as time goes on, though I’m not sure if that’s the cause of the combustion issues. Final smoking time ends right around 90 minutes.