Vital Stats:
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Vitola: Corona
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 42
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Brazilian Arapiraca
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Aromas de Jalapa
Blender: Gary Griffith
Number of reviewers: 5—–Sandeep (Djangos) Craig (WyldKnyght) Dave (mdwest) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Robert (NavyPiper)
Price: $10.00
Age: 5 Months
Release Date: 2013
Contributed by: House of Emilio
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 90
“This cigar is a little rough looking. Not rough as in poorly constructed, but rough and tough. It has its lumps and bumps, and veins…even has some marbling in the dark chocolate colored wrapper. The seams show up upon inspection, mainly due to coloration changes in the leaf…they are all tight and the cap is nice and even.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Aroma: 90
“The major aroma is one of leather and tobacco. The foot has a faint hay like smell amidst the leather. The dry puff definitely has pepper and spicy cinnamon.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“Dark bitter chocolate is present on the front of every draw, with lots of leather in the middle and a bit of black pepper on the finish. A nice blend of flavor and spice.” –Dave (mdwest)
“After lighting and a couple of minutes of a pretty good pepper blast, the pepper eased up some, but remained the dominant flavor, backed up by a nice smoky wood, coffee and a slight Maduro sweetness. Since I like peppery stogies, I’m really enjoying this third.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Second Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The pepper dies down from the first third, and I started to get a nice wood like flavor. It had a nice solid dark grey ash. The burn started to even itself out. The draw was still a little tight.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“The second third of this cigar has shown a transition away from the sweet and tangy, and a merge into the leathery earth. Not a bad transition, but there just isn’t any strength to go along with it. There is no pepper at all, and I’m a little afraid that the smoke will lose all flavor entirely.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Final Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The major flavors in the final third are still leather and tobacco. There is some hay and cedar like flavors but are very faint. As we get to the very final inch, the pepper cranks up again and is very strong. Not much complexity to speak of and very one dimensional. The burn in the final third is very straight and the draw is very good. Mostly a pleasant cigar but lacks complexity.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“The stick was surprisingly a little one dimensional for me with no real changes in flavors from beginning to end. The final third profiled almost identical to the first. While a little bit on the boring side, this isn’t as bad as it sounds since the flavors were balanced and pleasant.” –Dave (mdwest)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 84
“Sad to say, but the draw was bloody awful. Had to ream it out several times just to be able to get a draw out of it. This was the only downside about this stogie.” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Burn: 89
“It started out uneven, but fix itself by the halfway mark.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
Construction: 90
“The draw resulted in a serious hit for this cigar. Otherwise, the burn and appearance were very acceptable…I was really impressed with the wrapper application and the cap construction. With the extra puffing, I dealt with no unraveling and no cap degradation.” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 90
“Overall. this cigar was pleasant and smokable but lacked the complexity that I seek in a cigar. I will try it again to see if it gets better with age, however may not go seeking for one.” –Sandeep (Djangos)
“Although it wouldn’t rank in my favorites, I would definitely give this cigar another try. It started out with some great flavor and had some subtle changes right until the end. After the first half it was a much mellower and enjoyable cigar.” –Craig (WyldKnyght)
“Not a bad stick, but probably not something I would purposely seek out again. This one, I’m thinking, could have used another few months of rest. The smoke was on the edgy side, and while the flavors were nice, and fairly bold, there wasn’t a whole lot going on transition wise to keep me interested past the first third. Maybe a decent choice for a “yard gar”?” –Dave (mdwest)
“If it weren’t for the draw, this would have been an enjoyable cigar. As it was, I didn’t smoke it nearly as far down as I would prefer for a premium cigar, particularly for a review…it was just too much work, unfortunately. Maybe the next one will be better!” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“This was a very enjoyable review for me. The flavors were some of my favorites, so I will need to hear what it is so I can add some to the humidor! Hope it comes in Robusto or a Toro!” –Robert (NavyPiper)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 55
Total Score: 89 (Good)
| Reviewer | Appea-rance | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandeep | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 90 | 92 | 90 |
| Craig | 88 | 90 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 90 |
| Dave | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 88 |
| Jason H. | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 88 | 83 | 92 | 88 | 88 |
| Robert | 90 | 88 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 75 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Overall | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 84 | 89 | 90 | 90 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.