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Review by Greg |
Appearance: 9 out of 10 |
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Box Code/Year: 2005 |
Construction: 9 out of 10 |
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Average rating: 9.60 |
Flavor: 10 out of 10 |
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Value: 10 out of 10 |
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Experience: 10 out of 10 |
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Review notes: Yesterday was a perfect day; 70 F, beautiful blue sky, nice breeze. I decided it was time to get the Bolivar Coronas Extra out the humi.
The handmade cigar came in at 5 5/8 length x 44 ring. It had a little give when squeezing slightly along the length, yet still good and firm. I did have a little concern right at the band as I could feel a bit of a knot, telling me there could possibly be a draw problem from a plug. The wrapper had a nice, oily sheen with small crystals shining in the sun. Some tooth present along with some veins on one side.
The head had the typical three layer cap, and the foot revealed a good amount of tobacco wrapped underneath the golden-brown wrapper. There was a small crack in the foot most likely from too much moving around in the humi, nothing to cause any problem.
After inspection I gathered my tools: H-D Zippo converted to torch with the Z-Plus insert, Swiss Army punch, and a sliver of spanish cedar for lighting. Punching the head (no...not myself in the head) came out perfectly, dead-on center with no cracking. Pre-light draw did prove to be somewhat tight, but not too bad. I got a sweet taste of delicious tobacco.
I grabbed the Zippo and toasted the foot and then put fire to it with the sliver of cedar. Actually turned out a little more difficult with the breeze that was blowing, so had to step up on the porch to get'r done. Mandy, my Jack Russell, came out to see what was going on.
It took a couple of draws to get the embers fully going. Again, the draw was a bit tight and took some extra long, slow draws to get a good amount of smoke, however when I did, it was amazing! Of course tastes of cedar/wood, earth, leather came forth. But, the flavor of rich coffee with an exceptional cream and dab of sugar filled my mouth as well. Hints of toffee and dark cocoa were present. I also got a faint taste of fruit in there somewhere. Delicious! There was no spiciness to be found and a perfect medium strength. Now, I usually give a cigar a rest of about a minute or so between draws. I found that I just couldn't do it with this one. I was through 1/3 of this thing before I knew it!
Once the cigar warmed up, I could feel the knot under the band much better. It only took a few draws however, and the cigar really opened up to a perfect draw for me. Right after I shot the above picture, a small crack appeared right at the edge of where ember met cigar and the ash took on a slight turn.
Shortly after the above shot the ash tumbled to the ground, however the burn continued to be perfect. Right after the half-way point, the cigar took on a stronger profile, no longer medium but full. A slight spiciness also appeared while exhaling through the nose, which I rather enjoyed. All the flavors remained the same, just with lots more body to it. Tinker, my overly loving cat, came to keep me some company and of course Mandy was by my side as usual.
Towards the end the Boli stayed strong and draws got shorter and shorter to keep the smoke to a minimum. But, it kept the delicious flavors to the finger burning end. What an excellent smoke on such an excellent day! I've definitely got to get more of these to stash away in my humi. |
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Bolivar
