The La Gloria Cubana Serie R Natural is a full-bodied cigar with a medium-strength profile, delivering a woody, earthy, and spicy character with a sweet finish. The cigar utilizes an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed wrapper that cloaks a Nicaraguan binder and a blend of Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The Serie R has been honored with a 92-rating, noted for being "Rich in color with an oily wrapper and superbly crafted cap, this short robusto draws and burns evenly. Sweet woods and floral notes are balanced by spices, earth and hints of dried orange peel." Introduced in 1999 by cigar master Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr., the Serie R was created for smokers with a passion for full-bodied taste, offering unusually large ring gauges for that era and helping to create today's tremendous demand for fuller, richer-flavored smoke. Made with skilled hands in the Dominican Republic, the Serie R consists of a heavy mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos containing a considerable amount of power-packing ligero tobacco, finished with a veiny, heavily-aged Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf grown especially for this cigar. Using thicker ring gauges, the Serie R helped pave the way for today's thicker, bolder cigars. The smoking experience delivers intense pepper with sweet hints of honey and black cherry, while roasted coffee notes round out the earthy profile with a finish that, while quite intense, is very short. The cigar pairs wonderfully with port wine or heavy beer and makes for a wonderful, relaxing smoke before bed. For many cigar hobbyists, this is often the cigar they'll credit with jumpstarting their journey into the premium cigar lifestyle.