Vega Talanga Corojo Blanco Series

[Saxjazzman]

This thread will review:

Name: Vega Talanga, Double Corona
Size: 7.50 x 50
Wrapper:Shade grown Talanga Cuban-seed
Binder: ??
Filler: Corojo and Havana '92 from HON along with NIC Long Leaf
MSRP: Bundle of 20 for $120
Price Paid: $34.00 at Auction
Stated Strength: Medium
Comments: This cigar was rolled in Honduras by General Cigar's Danli factory with tobaccos grown in the Talanga Valley. The tobacco was aged 'en tercio' encased in bark from the Royal Palm tree called Yagua. Cigar Aficionado named this brand as one of the top 50 cigars for 2004. This is a closeout sale. This cigar was purchased in July 2007.



For original thread discussion see Start Up Thread

 

[Saxjazzman]

To keep it standard, we would rate the cigars in three categories.

A) Appearance--How the cigar looks, how the pre-light smell is, the wrapper, etc.

B) Taste---How is the taste? Spicy, strong, bland, airball, etc. How did the taste progress, etc.

C) Construction---How did the cigar perform in terms of draw, burn, ash, etc.


To rate the cigars we would use a number from 5 to 10, 5 being one you would not even give Fidel to smoke and ten being a damm good cigar. The final rating number would be determined by the following:
A + B + (1.5)C divided by 3.5. This is similar to how Cigar Magazine does it but it is a little different. I realize that this is not perfect and there may be better ways but this would work also. Thanks for the reviews!!

 

[mr.mac]

Vega Talanga Corojo Blanco Series

Who the hell has time to smoke a Double Corona? I do! :thumbs: And that is just what I’m going to do this afternoon. It is a bit chilly here in Tejas today… but not too chilly to sit out on the front porch and reminisce about how much I take the summer evenings for granted…

Today I’m smoking the Vega Talanga Corojo as part of SJM’s bundle review series. Again, thank you SJM for letting me get in on this. This particular cigar, like the Vibe, caught my eye from the get go. I have just struggled like hell to commit 2 hours of smoking time to it. Today is the day, so let’s get this thing started.

Appearance – This cigar looks great. It has a beautiful wrapper that is smooth and a bit oily to the touch. The cap isn’t perfect, but certainly is well put together… as is the rest of this cigar. I’m definitely impressed with the appearance of this cigar. Pre-light aroma on this cigar is nice as well. It has a deep aroma that I would describe as woodsy, earthy and nutty. Hell, it smells like good tobacco! I’m gonna light this thing up and check back in here in a bit…

Well… in my haste I might have took a little too deep a cut and accidentally cracked the hell out of the head of the cigar. I find when I moisten the cap before cutting I can usually avoid this from happening. Today I didn’t and so now I’ll be dealing with a shitty cut on this LONG cigar. None the less… it seems to be drawing well right off the bat with loads of thick smoke. Nice!

Score - 8.4

Taste – So the initial taste of this cigar is not bad. It’s not really super great either, but so far what I’m getting is cedery, woody flavors with accompanying spice. I’m afraid that the crappy cut is already interfering with the performance of the cigar, inhibiting its true flavor profile from coming through. Cedar and a flavor that I would call “mossy” are about all I’m getting with this one so far. It is reminiscent of other Honduran blends (particularly Don Tomas Clasico – Natural) that I’m not too crazy about. This particular flavor tends to leave a nasty bitter aftertaste in my mouth following each draw. :whistling: I’ll stay with it a bit and see what happens…

There really isn’t anything special to note about the aroma of this cigar. It seems to be pretty basic, maybe even a bit stinky at times. By now the flavor is just pounding away at my palate. My taste buds seem a bit dazed and confused. Okay, so it’s not that bad… but it is bad none the less… Only half way done… I’m starting to doubt whether or not I have the patience to finish this thing…

Score - 8.0

Construction – The construction on this cigar is good. The ash looks to be quite fluffy and holding nicely. The burn is pretty damn straight up to this point and the wrapper, despite the initial crack, is holding its own.

By about the half way point, this cigar is still holding up pretty good. The construction of this cigar is probably the best part. The first ash held nicely and fell to reveal a very nice cone shaped amber. I’ve kind of already given up on the crack in the head and so I’m holding on to the cigar tightly in between my teeth. There is no turning back from this point.

The second ash fell off with ease after about an inch. I’m finding the construction is going down hill as well…

Score - 8.6

Overall – Well, considering I really didn’t have many expectations with this cigar, I wasn’t really that disappointed. It was overall quite mild and not much in the sense of classy flavor. The cedar and “moss” aftertaste just really wore my ass out. I put this cigar down with a good third left. The other two will be revisited at another time. Hopefully things will get better... :whistling:

Final Score - 8.37

Again, thanks SJM for putting this thing together! :thumbs:

mac

 

[Seth]

I had one of these ( thanks Saxjazzman ) and here is my review:





A) Appearance -- 9 -- Great looking cigar. With a slightly smoother wrapper it would remind of a Dividoff. Nice pre-light smell


B) Taste – 6 --I was disappointed with the taste. Not that it was bad, there was just not much of it. It being the Corojo Series I expected a stronger stick. If someone enjoys mild cigars, this would be a good one for you.


C) Construction –8-- Draw was good and it held a nice white / grey ash




Overall I would have to say for a mild cigar smoker this would be a great bundle cigar.



Seth

 

[mr.mac]

Aparently Talanga use to make good cigars. Wonder what happened???

mac

 

[TastesLikeDirt]

I used to smoke the Vega Talanga Blanco when it was a boxed cigar. There were other colors, too -- the Azul, the Rojo, and the Black band, IIRC. I liked the Blanco best (good burn, draw, and typical medium corojo profile), but I have sampled the bundled iteration of Blancos available at Cbid -- not like the boxed, and not for me.

 

[H311oLHD]

Ah crap!!! I'm so sorry SJM, I totally forgot about these reviews I owe you!!!! I'll try ot get back on the horse ASAP! I'm sorry :blush:

 

[Saxjazzman]

Ah crap!!! I'm so sorry SJM, I totally forgot about these reviews I owe you!!!! I'll try ot get back on the horse ASAP! I'm sorry :blush:

Don't worry about it. Life happens. Thanks for doing it. :thumbs:

 

[davidr2340]

Hey all,
Yes, I am still alive, and I'm smoking this as I type... I'll try to get a review up when I finish!

Sorry for the delay on this... I AM A SLACKER!!! :blush:

 

[Black Plague]

Man, Vega Talanga has fallen pretty far into the crapper

When the original line came out, they were awesome! They came in one size, pigtail cap, uncelloed, in palm fabric bundles.

My buddy Chris loved them so much he won't smoke anything else but them.

Then whatever moron was in charge of that line decided it needed a reblend and a facelift. :angry: Started coming in boxes, cellophaned, no pigtail, and a totally different, decidedly sh*ttier, blend. After that, they sucked. The additional of the other lines didn't help them much either.

Maybe they ran out of the particular leaf to make the original blend with...that's the only rational explanation I can think of for ruining what was a great cigar with a good price.