Plasencia Alma Fuerte Nestor IV Toro

📌 Brand: Plasencia
📌 Line: Alma Fuerte
📌 Size: Néstor IV – Box-Pressed Toro (6 1/4" × 54)
📌 Weight: 21.6 g
📌 Age: 2 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

‍ ‍Tasting Notes

• Dark Chocolate – Rich and slightly bittersweet foundation

• Oak – Deep woody character throughout

• Molasses – Dark sweetness adding weight to the profile

• Cinnamon – Warm spice lingering through the finish

First Impressions

The Plasencia Alma Fuerte Néstor IV certainly looks the part. The substantial box-pressed Toro has a dark Nicaraguan wrapper and feels dense and beautifully constructed. It's a Nicaraguan puro, using Nicaraguan wrapper, binder, and filler.

Pre-light aromas bring dark cocoa, earth, oak, and a touch of sweetness. The cold draw offers good resistance and immediately suggests this will be a rich, full-flavoured smoke.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Opens with dark chocolate and oak accompanied by earthy tobacco and warm cinnamon spice. There's plenty of richness from the beginning, with thick smoke and a pleasant underlying sweetness.

• Second Third – Molasses becomes more noticeable and works beautifully against the darker cocoa and oak. The cigar develops a dense, satisfying character with enough sweetness to balance the heavier Nicaraguan tobacco. Unfortunately, the cigar goes out and requires a relight, interrupting what had been a very enjoyable section.

• Final Third – The profile becomes deeper and earthier, with dark chocolate, oak, spice, and molasses continuing to dominate. A few additional relights are needed, however, and each one disrupts the rhythm of the smoke. The flavours remain enjoyable, but the combustion problems become increasingly frustrating.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Balvenie 17 Year DoubleWood Single Malt Scotch - Honey, dried fruit, vanilla, and mature oak complement the Alma Fuerte's dark chocolate and molasses while providing contrast to its heavier Nicaraguan character.

• Tea – Wuyi Shui Xian Oolong - Deep roasted notes, mineral character, and subtle sweetness work particularly well with the cigar's oak, cocoa, and spice.

Music Pairing

“Just Got Paid” – ZZ Top
Heavy, gritty, and full of swagger, matching the Alma Fuerte's muscular character.

Final Thoughts

Plasencia Alma Fuerte Néstor IV has all the ingredients of an excellent cigar. Dark chocolate, oak, molasses, earth, and warm spice create a rich and satisfying profile, and there's plenty of depth when everything is working properly. Plasencia itself describes dark chocolate, plum, cinnamon, oak, and molasses as characteristic of the Alma Fuerte profile.

Unfortunately, this particular cigar simply wouldn't stay burning consistently. The few relights required throughout the smoke repeatedly broke the flow of the experience and prevented an otherwise impressive cigar from reaching the level I expected.

Final Score: 7/10

Why not a 10?
The flavours were rich and enjoyable, but needing a few relights throughout the cigar repeatedly interrupted the smoking experience and pulled down an otherwise very good performance.

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