rick12string
Caught in the Crossfire
Review of the Bolivar Corona Extra.
Total smoking time 1 hour 10 min. paired with water.
Out on my back porch, temp 56 degrees (WTF!).
Pre-light:
This is a solid very well constructed cigar with no soft spots to be found. Good wrapper with very small veins, nice sheen but with a rustic look. Triple cap was nicely applied. Pre-light draw is slightly firmer than I prefer but well within the acceptable range and caused no issues for me. The pre-light taste seemed to be a straight forward tobacco flavor.
First third:
The cigar opens in the medium body range. Right from the go it starts very smooth with a kinda nutty flavor (if I had to guess Id say walnut) mixed with a nice natural tobacco flavor and possibly a slight woody note. The retrohal is also very smooth picking up the nutty flavor with the slightest bit of spice. It is so smooth through the sinus at this point I feel I can retrohal on every puff for the entire cigar if I wanted. The burn is very good with only a slight waver at times, not needing any corrections and a firm medium grey ash holding on for about an inch or so.
Second third:
As I get into the 2nd third the spice picks up a little (still very easy retrohaling) and a great coffee flavor develops reminding me of a nice dark roast which surprised me because for some reason I did not expect it with this cigar. At this point Id say its moving into the upper medium maybe med-full range. The spice intensity varies through this third sometimes leaving a slight tingle on the lips never overpowering just adding to the experience.
Final third:
The last third moved solidly into the med-full range and the flavor stayed pretty much the same as the 2nd but the coffee backed off a bit and the nut and spice took the forefront with the wood note still in the background.
Conclusion:
This was a very enjoyable cigar. It coated the palate nicely with what I can describe as a creamy texture and medium finish leaving you ready for the next puff. Even though I paired the cigar with water to cleanse the palate, it never left my mouth feeling dry and probably could have smoked the entire cigar without drinking anything.
Thanks for reading and thanks again Justin (jolietilfire) for this tasty afternoon treat!
Total smoking time 1 hour 10 min. paired with water.
Out on my back porch, temp 56 degrees (WTF!).
Pre-light:
This is a solid very well constructed cigar with no soft spots to be found. Good wrapper with very small veins, nice sheen but with a rustic look. Triple cap was nicely applied. Pre-light draw is slightly firmer than I prefer but well within the acceptable range and caused no issues for me. The pre-light taste seemed to be a straight forward tobacco flavor.
First third:
The cigar opens in the medium body range. Right from the go it starts very smooth with a kinda nutty flavor (if I had to guess Id say walnut) mixed with a nice natural tobacco flavor and possibly a slight woody note. The retrohal is also very smooth picking up the nutty flavor with the slightest bit of spice. It is so smooth through the sinus at this point I feel I can retrohal on every puff for the entire cigar if I wanted. The burn is very good with only a slight waver at times, not needing any corrections and a firm medium grey ash holding on for about an inch or so.
Second third:
As I get into the 2nd third the spice picks up a little (still very easy retrohaling) and a great coffee flavor develops reminding me of a nice dark roast which surprised me because for some reason I did not expect it with this cigar. At this point Id say its moving into the upper medium maybe med-full range. The spice intensity varies through this third sometimes leaving a slight tingle on the lips never overpowering just adding to the experience.
Final third:
The last third moved solidly into the med-full range and the flavor stayed pretty much the same as the 2nd but the coffee backed off a bit and the nut and spice took the forefront with the wood note still in the background.
Conclusion:
This was a very enjoyable cigar. It coated the palate nicely with what I can describe as a creamy texture and medium finish leaving you ready for the next puff. Even though I paired the cigar with water to cleanse the palate, it never left my mouth feeling dry and probably could have smoked the entire cigar without drinking anything.
Thanks for reading and thanks again Justin (jolietilfire) for this tasty afternoon treat!
