La Aurora Corojo Short Cigar Review
Full Disclosure: Received this cigar from Miami Cigar Co. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo | Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra | Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan | Box of 25: $146.00; 5 Pack: $32.00 | Robusto | 5″ x 50
0/3: Good looking cigar. Very smooth to the touch and there is a good coating of oils as well. A couple of smaller, gnarled veins appear like scars. Evenly and tightly packed.
Here’s the blurb from Miami Cigar about this cigar:
La Aurora Corojo is handmade in Santiago, DR with a Corojo-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador. An Ecuadorian Sumatra binder frames a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers. A slow, even burn delivers a medium-strength, but full-flavored smoke that’s ideal any time of day. Woody, nutty flavors prevail, with toasty notes of savory spice in the mix.
1/3: It starts off with this nice sweet spice and then progresses into oak. Good mixture of flavors. Bright and airy.
2/3: This third is mostly sweet and woody. The spice has significantly dissipated to a point where it’s not much of a factor.
3/3: Spice makes a small comeback. It’s a tasty cigar but does have it’s limits. The flavors just aren’t that impressive, they’re good but not great.
4/3: Good draw and burn. It’s a medium bodied cigar. The flavors are good and they work well together. The flavors aren’t particularly great and there isn’t a perfect marriage of the flavors.
3.5 points
Padrón Serie 1926 80 Years Maduro Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Nicaragua | Binder: Nicaragua | Filler: Nicaragua | Box of 8: $250.00 | Single: $31.00 | Perfecto | 6 ¾″ x 54
0/3: That price for a stick is misleading. I paid about $40 for this one at a local B&M and I’d bet that there are places around the country that charge more than that for one of these special edition Padrons. But that’s the way it works, right? When you limit production and create scarcity the prices will necessarily rise; this only happens if the cigar is good, of course.
It is a beautiful cigar to look at. The perfecto shape is one that I particularly like in a cigar because they look special and I have had a lot of luck with this vitola. It has a box press and the wrapper is toothy. There are no raised veins and the wrapper has a chalky, dark brown color.
1/3: After lighting this cigar I am immediately hit by just how much is going on. Bold spice with a light complexion starts off but then fades some during the first third. Rich earthiness with some chocolate takes over. Sweet mint note as well.
2/3: Very complex flavor profile with an above average level of evolution. It has gone from strong yet balanced spice to deep earth and chocolate and now, during this middle third, leather and acute beef notes. A dash of sweetness is lurking in the background like a scared kid at a playground where a bunch of older kids are playing but even with that tertiary role the sweetness does provide some balance to this cigar.
3/3: The flavor profile becomes a bit drier during the last third. A little bit of spice coupled with a faint woody note. It’s an interesting ending that I’m not quite sure was as excellent as the first two thirds of this cigar. Still good, just not as excellent.
4/3: It is a great cigar and a worthy tribute to Jorge Padron. Medium-full bodied with nary a moment of rest for the flavors. The burn and draw were both perfect. This is a special cigar and I cannot imagine many cigars being better.
5 points
PS: For an alternative opinion check out this.
San Lotano Oval Cigar Review
Disclaimer: I received some of these as samples from the manufacturer many months ago. All reviews are my own.
I have smoked the maduro and the habano varieties of San Lotano and even though I do not have a review up for the habano wrapped variety I have to say that I do like it quite a bit. The maduro is a good cigar – just not something that really got me going. What about the Oval?
Due to its name the first thing you are going to think about is its unique shape. It’s oval and I do think that aides in the comfort level of this cigar. One of my favorite cigars of all time is the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro and while the shapes aren’t exactly the same they are similar. In both cases the top and the bottom of the cigar are flat and that helps create a better seal with your lips. Does this actually improve the cigar though?
The chocolate brown habano wrapper for the Oval is nearly flawless. There are some very thin veins but they are few in number. Oily to the touch, the cigar does give a little when squeezed on the flat sides but not so much when I squeezed the rounded sides. How do A.J. Fernandez’s torcedores roll this cigar?
Cigar Stats
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5 ½″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Habano 2000
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua, Honduras & Redacted
Price: $156.00/Box of 20
Chuck Torch!
By “redacted” I mean it’s a secret. Not my secret but Mr. Fernandez’s secret. And since it is a secret it can be from anywhere your imagination can take you. Maybe you are thinking that this unnamed filler tobacco could be from someplace where it is illegal for Americans to buy cigars from. Could it be?
The initial flavors are good. Nuts, buttery pound cake and some spice that lingers on the outskirts of the retrohale. It’s different and the flavors are more than capable of keeping your attention. There’s also this toasted flavor that permeates every last inch of the flavor profile; not a disagreeable flavor characteristic in this setting. While I’m at it, there’s also a sweet, creamy flavor going around as well. Anything else?
Slowly but surely the flavors migrate towards buttery toast, which is more a combining of the flavors than a transformation. Spice is mostly gone but the nutty flavors are sticking around. Is the shape making a difference?
I don’t know. It feels better, that’s a plus. And the cigar is very enjoyable. Plus, the final third does evolve somewhat. Singed wheat and oatmeal make a pretty good mix. How good?
It’s a medium bodied cigar with a good draw and burn. The flavors do have some evolution, especially at the end. While it isn’t exactly the type of cigar I normally go for I thought it was still a very good cigar. So, how good?
90 points
Perdomo Lot 23 Cigar Review
I received this cigar from Cigars Direct. My opinions are my own.
Even though I am sure that there are a lot of people who love Perdomos I cannot say that I particularly like them. It’s not that they are horrible cigars; they aren’t. They are usually constructed and burn well. For me, they tend to not have flavors that I love. But maybe this one is different.
It looks like a really nice cigar. No raised veins, just a couple minor discolored spots, oily and packed perfectly. Let me just say that the torpedo vitola is one of my favorites and I’m happy to be smoking another one for this review.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 5 ¾″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $100.00/Box of 13
The Wall Sizzle!
The prelight draw is wide open and gives off hints of wet wood. After being lit there are flavors ranging from sweet wood to burnt wood. Those flavors quickly transition into a meandering deep sweetness. It’s not a bad flavor; it’s actually kind of nice.
And then, like a rabid mongoose after a snake, the sweetness blossoms into this earthy bitterness with a hint of chocolate. Bitterness is a great addition when it is offsetting sweetness.
Both the draw and the burn are great. This is a medium bodied cigar but the flavors are in full force.
Sweetness all but departs after the first half. The earthy, bitter and chocolate flavors take over. It is a good grouping of flavors. I really like this cigar.
I just looked over my previous short cigar review of this cigar and everything is adding up. It is a good cigar and is a credit to the Perdomo line of cigars. But is it a great cigar? Yes, but just barely.
90 points
It looks like a really nice cigar. No raised veins, just a couple minor discolored spots, oily and packed perfectly. Let me just say that the torpedo vitola is one of my favorites and I’m happy to be smoking another one for this review.
Lizard Torch!
The prelight draw is wide open and gives off hints of wet wood. After being lit there are flavors ranging from sweet wood to burnt wood. Those flavors quickly transition into a meandering deep sweetness. It’s not a bad flavor; it’s actually kind of nice.
And then, like a rabid mongoose after a snake, the sweetness blossoms into this earthy bitterness with a hint of chocolate. Bitterness is a great addition when it is offsetting sweetness.
Both the draw and the burn are great. This is a medium bodied cigar but the flavors are in full force.
Sweetness all but departs after the first half. The earthy, bitter and chocolate flavors take over. It is a good grouping of flavors. I really liked this cigar.
I just looked over my previous short cigar review of this cigar and everything is adding up. It is a good cigar and is a credit to the Perdomo line of cigars. But is it a great cigar? Yes, but just barely.
90 points
Monte Pascoal Cigar Review
About half a year ago I was contacted by a cigar maker of Brazilian puros. They ended up sending me three samples of their Monte Pascoal Double Coronas and this is my review of that cigar.
Honestly, when I first received these cigars I wasn’t expecting much because I can’t think of any good Brazilian puros. But they looked like they were well made. The parejo shape was pretty uniform but there are these bumps that dot the entirety of the cigar’s structure. It’s oily but it’s also a little veiny too, which could cause problems with the cigar’s burn. Here is what the makers of this cigar have to say about the tobaccos used:
The Mata Fina tobacco is characterized by complex aromas and an elegant bouquet, while the Mata Norte provides the full-bodied flavour most experienced cigar smokers enjoy.
Here is what they have to say about the blend:
All of the cigars in the Monte Pascoal line are blended with these two tobaccos, in different proportions, allowing each smoking experience to be completely unique from one vitola (size) to another.
That is basically true for every cigar: different vitolas deliver different flavors whether that is in intensity, nuance or proportionality. Alright, enough with this egregiously long preamble, lets get down to business.
Cigar Stats
Length: 7 5/8″
Ring Gauge: 49
Wrapper: Brazil Mata Fina
Binder: Brazil Mata Fina
Filler: Brazil Mata Fina & Mata Norte
Price: $34.00/5 Pack | $166.00/Box of 25
Hitchens and the Bible Fire!
Before anything else this must be said: it’s unique. The two major flavor profiles that I am picking up are sweetness and herbal and they are paired with this molasses after taste that isn’t altogether bad. Additionally, the flavors are not all that strong in the beginning (can flavors get lost over 7″ of cigar?).
During the second third, which takes a while to reach since this cigar is fairly long, sees an increase in the intensity of the flavors. Another change is that the flavors are now sweet and floral. While this isn’t exactly my idea of what constitutes great flavors for some it might be more appealing.
As the final third commences there is an oakiness that starts to come through but the main flavor is still that sweet floral flavor. This cigar has a slightly tight draw and the burn is good. I would peg it in the medium bodied range.
I have heard that some other people really like this cigar, which is something I can understand. It’s unique because it is a Brazilian puro and should be tried so that you can expand your cigar smoking horizons. Personally, I thought it was a decent cigar.
87 points
