Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jan 01, 2013

Score: 92

The shortest cigar on our Top 25 list, the La Palina El Diario K B, has an intriguing back story. The first sample of the cigar proved a bit much for La Palina brand owner William Paley. He jokingly dubbed it “Kill Bill,” because smoking it nearly did just that. The final name was truncated to K B. Because cigars mellow after rolling, the final samples of K B aren’t lethal weapons, but they are still full bodied andmeaty, with concentrated notes of pepper, cedar and earth. The size is the most diminutive in the La Palina El Diario line, Paley’s follow up to his inagural La Palina Family Series of cigars. El Diarios are not only considerably less expensive than the earlier La Palinas, but they have delivered higher ratings to the boutique brand, and this is the first time a La Palina has taken a spot in our Top 25.