Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Bolivar Royal Corona Review

This is the second time I have had the pleasure of smoking this cigar. The first time I smoked it I was completely blown away. I remember waking up, making a cup of coffee, and just sitting outside with the nice morning Spring breeze. When I decided this passes weekend to review this cigar, I wanted to recreate the exact relaxation. Except this time, water instead of coffee because it was for review.

This particular cigar is from November 2010.

This cigar is stunningly beautiful. It is nicely box-pressed with perfectly rounded edges. The wrapper leaf is a light to medium shade of brown. The cap on this cigar is made up of three separate layers that all laid perfectly flush.

There were also no veins running through the wrapper that would have any affect on the burn. This cigar is perfectly uniform and solid throughout. There is also a sweet earthy smell coming from this cigar.


As soon as I lit up this cigar, I was blown away all over again. The start was very creamy and smooth with a nice earthy background. There was also a light pepper accent. As this cigar slowly progressed, the grassy barnyard flavor picked up a bit more. As the earthy tones picked up, the pepper notes did as well.

Once I got about an inch into this cigar the flavors slightly opened up. The flavor profile was still very creamy. There were some woody notes that came out and combined perfectly with the grassy tones. The pepper flavor had moved back to just being on the draw. I was amazed again at just how much flavor there was in the firs third.

The pepper began to pick up again around the start of the second third. Now the pepper was sitting in the back of my throat. The earthy tones and woody notes created a fantastic background base flavor. Just shy of the halfway point, there was a definite coffee flavor that came out.

The halfway point marked a complete twist to the flavor profile. I started to get some nice mild sweet notes. The coffee and wood flavors both picked up and became strong. Also, the combination of wood and pepper coated my palate. The second third finished out was the creaminess at its strongest.

The last third was very smooth and perfectly balanced. There were a ton of different earthy tones in each puff. The coffee and sweet notes both mellowed out to accents again. The finish was depressing because I didn't want this cigar to end at all. There was a ton of great flavors and a great creaminess.

The ash on this cigar was layered ad dark gray. The ash also held on until the halfway point. The burn was even for the most part. There were a couple times were it got a little bit wavy, but I never had to touch it up. The draw was very easy throughout the entire cigar and produced a very thick white smoke. The smoke also gave off a surprisingly spicy aroma.

This is without a doubt one of the best Cuban cigars I have smoked to date. Both times I was upset once it was finished. The flavors were exquisite throughout the entire cigar. If you have the opportunity to try this cigar, it is a must. I give this cigar a 9.5 out of 10 hands down.

Thanks for reading,

Zack the Stogie Man

5 comments:

  1. I have a box of these sitting in my humidor and I have to say, they are a fantastically well constructed cigar.

    I've paired it with scotch, beer, coffee ... the smooth creaminess of it just seems to go with everything.

    I did find that initially the box needed a resting period when I first got it, as I believe they were over humidified for shipping.

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  2. I have had a few Bolivar Cubans over the years and they have all been great! The last one I had was the petite corona. My only complaint was that it didn't last long enough. Great cigar and great review!

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  3. I've got a pre-09 BRC en-route to me now, and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. Its one stick I just haven't been able to enjoy yet. Your review makes my mouth water thinking about it.

    Additionally, I approve of the new updated ranking system! ;)

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  4. I prefer the picture layout you generally used (pics on alternating sides or in all 4 corners) It's more...balanced.

    Other than that, nice review.

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  5. Bolivar is a wonderful cigar. I was lucky enough to get a Royal Corona with tube and all for christmas one year. Just a fantastic size and smoke.

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