La Palina Illumination Colonial

📌 Brand: La Palina
📌 Line: Illumination
📌 Size: Colonial (5 1/4" × 44)
📌 Weight: 11.1 g
📌 Age: 1 years
📌 Origin: USA

Tasting Notes

• Hay – Light and airy with little depth

• Dry Cedar – Soft woodiness without development

• White Pepper – Mild retrohale bite

• Paper-Dry Finish – Thin and fleeting

First Impressions

The Colonial appears clean with a light Ecuadorian wrapper, but the roll feels uneven and slightly underfilled. Pre-light aroma gives hay and faint floral notes. Cold draw is loose, showing minimal resistance and mild white pepper.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Hay and soft cedar dominate but feel thin. Burn becomes wavy early on.

• Second Third – Flavors remain very mild and bland, with almost no evolution. Burn continues to wander.

• Final Third – Pepper rises slightly but remains muted. Wavy burn persists, requiring corrections. Body never develops beyond mild.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Copper & Kings American Brandy Butchertown - Intense grape, oak, and spice bring much-needed richness to a cigar that delivers very little on its own.

• Tea – Nepal Jun Chiyabari Summer Black Tea - Floral, sweet, and crisp — adds complexity the cigar lacks while staying gentle enough not to overwhelm.

Music Pairing

“Blood” – The Middle East
Atmospheric, emotional layering adds depth that mirrors what the blend tries to offer but never reaches.

Final Thoughts

La Palina Illumination Colonial suffers from a very mild, almost empty profile paired with a consistently wavy burn. While smooth and approachable, it never evolves or delivers meaningful depth, leaving the experience flat.

Final Score: 4/10
Why not a 10?
Bland flavor, wandering burn, and a thin profile with no evolution.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.