Paul 87 – Deep reddish brown mottled wrapper, minimal veins, some soft spots, rich tobacco aroma on the wrapper, cold draw draw and sweet tobacco. First 1/3: Medium amount of of thin smoke, some cocoa and pepper, good draw, light grey flaky ash, medium strength, body, and finish. Second 1/3: pepper disappears, some tartness and malt, dryness in mouth, short finish, little complexity. Last 1/3: A little dark fruit, medium strength and body, even burn throughout. Pleasant smoke, but no complexity.
Will 85 – This corona gorda had a very dark brindled wrapper with very prominent veins. The cold nose was earth and the cold draw was dirt. Upon ignition I get a long funky finish with earth and a light citrus tang. The draw is extremely tight so my original V cut gets modified to remove the entire cap. Still a difficult draw. Solid average smoke, very mild. The flavor is pretty solid throughout but uninteresting to me. Not bad but not good.
Rob 77 – The stick exhibited a very tightly rolled dull brown wrapper. Some small veins were visible, but had completely invisible seams. The pre light aroma from the foot was a slight sweet chocolate. The pre light draw yielded an earthy, vegetal flavor. It has a triple cap, however, the last cap was sloppily adhered and is starting to peel. First few puffs generated a charred cocoa taste with a very long finish. It has a razor sharp burn with a solid ash. This is where the good traits of the stick ended. The stick yielded a one dimensional flavor of charred cocoa. There was only a moderate amount of smoke output. This ended up being a completely dissatisfying smoke, and was ‘Artied’ at the 50% mark.
Artie 85 – This dark chocolate brown toro has a wonderfully rich “barnyard” cold nose. The foot shows no stems and the wrapper is thick and mottled. Some thick stems are visible at the cap end once it is cut. Lighting easily with an easy draw, this cigar starts off earthy and with strong, black pepper notes. With its easy draw, this cigar burns quickly, but doesn’t heat up. Mid way, a burnt charcoal flavor emerges, with a strong, somewhat unpleasant finish. At this point, rather than put the stick down, I resorted to a glass of nice Italian vino rosso to cleanse my palate. After a few sips, the cigar tasted better. The sweetness of the wine mitigated the somewhat foul aftertaste of the cigar. But in the end, this was not much of an enjoyable smoking experience.
Jim 90 – This maduro robusto has a nice deep brown wrapper. The cap wasn’t applied well and it is lifting. Right after lighting I am immediately getting some rich flavors of chocolate, coffee and a nutty finish. Draw is great, burn is a little wavy but relatively straight. I’m really enjoying this stick. Ash is firm and didn’t fall of until 1-1/2 inch. Strength is between medium and full. Just a very well balance of rich flavors and a nice after taste. The second half the flavors got more earthy and the cigars strength increased. I definitely liked the first half better but overall a really nice experience.
