Marco-Polo
Go Irish Go!
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2008
- Messages
- 724
Cigar: Esteban Carrera Corojo
Size: Churchill or Corona Grande, 6.5x47
Exec summary: Well constructed, excellent medium-full cigar, especially at its value price point. Sensitive to proper humidification. 8/10
Background: This is the Rocky Patel-blended Esteban Carrera. Made with a corojo wrapper, produced in Honduras of unknown tobaccos. Sold as a churchill, but CBid stated that it was 6.5x47, which is a little small for a churchill (more along the lines of a double corona) and a check at CI confirms that this is most likely the corona grande (6.5x48) rather than the churchill (7x48). I believe that they're only available on CI or CBid; this was bought at CBid in March for $5 for a 5-pack, and CI sells a box for $45. I smoked one of these upon receiving the 5-pack, and wasn't too impressed then, but Saxjazzman is reviewing the Vigilante so I might as well pull this one out for a review.
Prelight: Cigar is a reddish medium brown, very slightly mottled. Wrapper is smooth with small (but conspicuous) veins. Box press is tight and edges are well-defined. The broad red-white-black-gold band is distinctive, if a little busy and gaudy; it doesn't seem to have been designed well for a box press, since the script "C" logo runs over the edges. Cap is well applied, and cigar is very firm to the touch. Odd defect at the foot - it looks like there's a divot taken out of it. Cuts without incident and prelight draw is tight. Lights readily with my trusty ronson jetlite.
Burn/Construction: Lit slightly off-center and required a couple of adjustments to re-center. Burn through the 2nd and 3rd third was very straight and sharp. The ash is salt and pepper but mostly very light gray, and there are small flecks indicating the presence of magnesium in the soil. A considerable amount of smoke comes out of this cigar, both while drawing on it and while standing between draws. Draw was tight pre-light but is much easier when lit, displaying a little resistance and a putting out lot of smoke. Ash is solid, extending 1-1/4 inches (yes, I measured) before first dropping and another inch before the second drop.
Flavor/Aroma: The first puffs weren't so much peppery as woody and slightly acrid at the back of the throat. Taken together, the first third is dominated by cedary and earthy notes. Pepper is more on the nose than in the mouth - I can smell that it has spice in it, but I can't really taste a lot of pepper hitting my tongue. As the cigar moved into the 2nd third, I started to notice a pleasant roasted smell which I couldn't 100% identify, possibly chicory or cocoa. There is also a weak sweet licorice note, and the spiciness, subdued in the 1st third, increases and pushes out the earthiness. The flavor intensity doesn't exceed medium; the spiciness moves into medium-full in the second half. The final third is woody-earthy-peppery, and not subtle about it. Flavor intensity is still medium to medium-full. Nicotine hits before the band, but not hard; I can feel it a little bit, but it's not knocking me onto the couch. Stopped at the band but could have easily nubbed it, I just don't feel like another half hour at the rate that it's going.
Time Elapsed: 1 hr, 20 mins
Side note: I'm using Credo's guide to tasting as a rough outline for what to search for and expect, and I find having a reference definitely helps me analyze and enjoy (those two might be contradictory for some people
) a cigar. It's available at http://www.credo.fr/uk/monde_credo_world/degustation_uk.htm
Size: Churchill or Corona Grande, 6.5x47
Exec summary: Well constructed, excellent medium-full cigar, especially at its value price point. Sensitive to proper humidification. 8/10
Background: This is the Rocky Patel-blended Esteban Carrera. Made with a corojo wrapper, produced in Honduras of unknown tobaccos. Sold as a churchill, but CBid stated that it was 6.5x47, which is a little small for a churchill (more along the lines of a double corona) and a check at CI confirms that this is most likely the corona grande (6.5x48) rather than the churchill (7x48). I believe that they're only available on CI or CBid; this was bought at CBid in March for $5 for a 5-pack, and CI sells a box for $45. I smoked one of these upon receiving the 5-pack, and wasn't too impressed then, but Saxjazzman is reviewing the Vigilante so I might as well pull this one out for a review.
Prelight: Cigar is a reddish medium brown, very slightly mottled. Wrapper is smooth with small (but conspicuous) veins. Box press is tight and edges are well-defined. The broad red-white-black-gold band is distinctive, if a little busy and gaudy; it doesn't seem to have been designed well for a box press, since the script "C" logo runs over the edges. Cap is well applied, and cigar is very firm to the touch. Odd defect at the foot - it looks like there's a divot taken out of it. Cuts without incident and prelight draw is tight. Lights readily with my trusty ronson jetlite.
Burn/Construction: Lit slightly off-center and required a couple of adjustments to re-center. Burn through the 2nd and 3rd third was very straight and sharp. The ash is salt and pepper but mostly very light gray, and there are small flecks indicating the presence of magnesium in the soil. A considerable amount of smoke comes out of this cigar, both while drawing on it and while standing between draws. Draw was tight pre-light but is much easier when lit, displaying a little resistance and a putting out lot of smoke. Ash is solid, extending 1-1/4 inches (yes, I measured) before first dropping and another inch before the second drop.
Flavor/Aroma: The first puffs weren't so much peppery as woody and slightly acrid at the back of the throat. Taken together, the first third is dominated by cedary and earthy notes. Pepper is more on the nose than in the mouth - I can smell that it has spice in it, but I can't really taste a lot of pepper hitting my tongue. As the cigar moved into the 2nd third, I started to notice a pleasant roasted smell which I couldn't 100% identify, possibly chicory or cocoa. There is also a weak sweet licorice note, and the spiciness, subdued in the 1st third, increases and pushes out the earthiness. The flavor intensity doesn't exceed medium; the spiciness moves into medium-full in the second half. The final third is woody-earthy-peppery, and not subtle about it. Flavor intensity is still medium to medium-full. Nicotine hits before the band, but not hard; I can feel it a little bit, but it's not knocking me onto the couch. Stopped at the band but could have easily nubbed it, I just don't feel like another half hour at the rate that it's going.
Time Elapsed: 1 hr, 20 mins
Side note: I'm using Credo's guide to tasting as a rough outline for what to search for and expect, and I find having a reference definitely helps me analyze and enjoy (those two might be contradictory for some people
) a cigar. It's available at http://www.credo.fr/uk/monde_credo_world/degustation_uk.htm