| ring: | 42 (medium) |
| length: | 132mm |
| beginners: | too expensive for a fairly uninteresting experiment |
| price: | $17.95 (AUD) |
| summary: | strong, high-quality tobacco base but not much else on offer |
This single was of decent construction: there were no blemishes, but it was a little bumpy and there were a couple of medium sized veins in the leaf. The wrapped is a medium-dark brown colour.
As with the Coronas minor, this cigar comes in an attractive, “old world” styled cream and orange coloured tubos.
Once alight, the the cigar burnt more-or-less evenly and possesses a nice draw that provided a decent amount of smoke. The flavour was of high-quality aromatic tobacco, with not much else readily detectable apart from a faint, and not unpleasant saltiness. I got a whiff of some chocolatey or cocoa undertones towards the last quarter of the smoke, but this cigar really is mostly about its solid Cuban tobacco taste.
To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with this smoke considering the price I paid for it. In the past I remember it being an excellent experience. I had one on Christmas night, and gave out another couple as gifts which were enjoyed immensely not only by myself, but also by their recipients. The truth is though, that you can never quite accurately judge true quality on nights like that, as the festive atmosphere has just as much to do with your experience as the cigar does (probably more).
There’s no mistaking that it’s good quality tobacco and a decently-crafted cigar, but it’s not an incredibly sophisticated stick, and there’s not much else on offer but a hefty hit of cigar tobacco tastes. The only other thing I detected was a very nice burnt toffee taste about two-thirds of the way through, but this only lasted for a few puffs and was gone as quickly as it came. I can only guess that I hit an unusually sweet bit of tobacco in the filler.
In the end, it was a decent enough experience, certainly not a cigar to avoid, but for the fairly hefty price of $17.95AUD, I would have hoped for something a lot more interesting.