Plasencia Ehtëfal

On Nov. 19, 2022, Plasencia Cigars held a launch event for a new release named Ehtëfal in the city of Doha, Qatar. That happened to be the night before the 2022 FIFA World Cup began in that same country, but while the Ehtëfal—in Arabic the name is spelled احتفال, which translates to celebration—debuted at the same time as that aforementioned famous event, the creation is neither a “World Cup cigar,” nor is it a Qatari exclusive release.

A total of 5,000 boxes of 10 cigars were released, with half of those boxes shipping to U.S. stores and half offered to international retailers. The Ehtëfal is a 6 x 52 toro vitola with a blend that incorporates a sun-grown wrapper from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua covering filler tobaccos from both Honduras and Nicaragua that have been aged for 10 years.

“With this special blend, the Plasencia family wants to celebrate that we can meet again,” said Nestor Andrés Plasencia in a press release, “Just as the roots of tobacco come together and become stronger, we too are stronger together. We wish to celebrate this momentous occasion taking place in Qatar with the Plasencia Ehtëfal.”

While prices will vary based on which country the cigars are sold in, the Ehtëfal carries an MSRP of $65 per cigar in the U.S., or $650 for each 10-count box.

• Cigar Reviewed: Plasencia Ehtëfal
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Plasencia Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $65 (Box of 10, $650)
• Release Date: Nov. 19, 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Covered in a very attractive milk chocolate-colored wrapper, the Plasencia Ehtëfal is nicely firm when squeezed and features a small amount of oil on the wrapper. There are numerous smaller veins running up and down the length of all three cigars, and a physical inspection reveals a small soft spot underneath the main band of one. Aromas from the wrappers include sweet cedar, earth, nuttiness, coffee beans and barnyard along with some light milk chocolate sweetness. The aromas of the feet have more distinct notes, with strong cashews leading cocoa nibs, brewed espresso, baker’s spices, leather tack and vanilla beans. Finally, after a v-cut, the cold draws bring flavors of cashews again, along with gritty earth, nutmeg, white pepper, light vanilla sweetness and a touch of floral.

Starting out, the cigar features an interesting floral flavor mixed with white pepper and a touch of spice on my tongue, and while the floral note continues to top the profile during the entirety of the first third, it is joined by a dark chocolate flavor that makes for a very interesting combination. Additional notes include creamy peanuts, dank earth, roasted espresso beans, leather tack, cinnamon and dry straw, while the retrohale features both white pepper and more vanilla bean sweetness. Flavor is at a point just over medium by the end of the first third, but both the body and strength are behind at mild-plus and just under medium, respectively. I could not ask for any better construction, as the straight burn line, copious amounts of smoke and excellent draw are all working together so far.

Unfortunately, there are some changes to the main flavors in the profile of the Plasencia during the second third, as a combination of creamy cedar and cocoa nibs take the top spot, followed by the same floral note that I tasted in the first third—albeit not as strong—as well as peanuts, espresso beans, leather, cinnamon and earth. I notice more pepper on the retrohale as well, but unfortunately, the amount of vanilla bean sweetness is not increasing in tandem. Flavor stays put at just over medium while the body has increased to land at just under medium and the strength easily hits a solid medium. Thankfully, there have been virtually no changes when it comes to construction, as the burn line, smoke production and draws all continue along their excellent paths for all three cigars.

Powdery cocoa nibs and creamy cedar continue to lead the way when it comes to the profile of the Ehtëfal during the final third, but the profile is enhanced by the addition of some new secondary flavors, including citrus peel and salted nuts that combine with returning notes of earth, cinnamon, roasted coffee beans, leather and a slight floral flavor. There is almost no change on the retrohale, where black pepper and vanilla bean sweetness make a very nice—if not exactly unusual—combination that continues until the end of the cigar. Flavor ends at medium-plus, the body ends at a solid medium and the strength increases enough to land just over the medium mark before I take the final puff. Finally, the construction ends the cigar with no surprises, which means an amazing draw, copious amounts of smoke and a burn line that never comes close to needing a correction.

Final Notes

• The Plasencia Ehtëfal was not the only cigar released at the same time as the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Habanos S.A.’s Juan López Hat-Trick debuted on Dec. 18, 2022 during events held in several cities on the final day of the event.
• The box our cigars were taken from was #3029.
• Something I noticed immediately when I opened the box for the first time is that there are magnets embedded into the inside lid and the inside bottom of the box—one on each side—which definitely makes a difference when it comes to keeping the lid closed.
• I cannot say enough about the construction on these cigars: the draws were excellent, there was plenty of dense, gray smoke at all times and the burn lines were almost always straight. In fact, not one of the cigars needed any attention with my lighter at any point, meaning I smoked these cigars for almost six hours without using my lighter once.

• The green and gold color scheme of this release is extremely attractive and the embossing on all three bands is very well done. In fact, if you look closely, you will realize that the same pattern is embossed on the exterior lid of the box as well as the paper insert that is placed over the cigars to help keep them from getting damaged while being shipped.
• Plasencia Cigar advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 52 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Plasencia Ehtëfal cigars, sites sponsor Cigars Direct has them for sale here.