Are Double Coronas on their way out?

[PaulP]

I am always amazed that so many cannot make two hours for themselves somewhere in their week to smoke a larger cigar.

[Troels]

Love the format - make room for it once a month I guess, so not a go to vitola, but so relaxing once lit

Though not all dc's I'll mention slr's, rags, winnies and monarcas as stand outs

[BehikeLover2]

Love DC's, almost smoke them daily!

[ramon_cojones]

Rob what are the exceptional dcs in your opinion?

Really need some rags.

[sactochris]

The SLR DC is among the best cigars I have ever smoked.

[Laxman]

I love DC's though as most listed finding the time to smoke them is rare. I tend to smoke a bit faster then a lot of people and probably get through one in under 1:30 minutes so I tend to smoke at least one a month and when the weathers right at the beach I will smoke 4 or 5 a months.

Personally robustos and pyramids are my favorite sizes but have always loved the big cannon cigars.

[almudawi]

I for one love DCs.. I hang out with the lads on Friday nights and have found them to be the most cost effective way to smoke a cigar for 2+ hours. I have reached a point where I am searching for good cabs of 50s

[potpest]

I love DC's and Churchills, love the evolution you get with the larger formats. It's just a shame there aren't more to choose from

[anacostiakat]

I still enjoy DC's. They easily fit my ability to relax for a couple hours after a hard day at the office.

Used to smoke them a lot. But laid off them for a few years as I felt that they had kind of gone bland in most cases.

I have found that is not the case now so I am enjoying Punch DC's, etc. more often.

Hope they do not kill them.

[Bolismoker]

Take up golf.

Plenty of time to finish a DC.

Hoyo DC on the front. Lusi for the back.

Great day.

X2. This is the only opportunity I have to consistently enjoy DC sized cigars. I also agree with the comment that said it has a lot to do with smoking restrictions and having to stay in one spot for the whole experience.

[Guybrush]

Hoyo DCs and Vegas Robaina Don Alejandros are just boring to me.

Punch DCs used to be good but gone bland and Partagas Lusitanias are too woody for my taste.

I really like the Saint Luis Rey DCs and the Gigantes.

I also wish there were more great DCs as I really enjoy the vitola.

[El Presidente]

Rob what are the exceptional dcs in your opinion?

Really need some rags.

Crikey is there a bad one?

What each of them are is distinct.

SLRDC, VRDA, RAG, Lusi, Punch DC, HDM DC

The strongest lineup of any vitola in terms of consistent quality and Marque flavour definition.

Right now: Punch DC and HDM DC just pipping out VRDA and RAG. Still if it is a horse race then they are all swamping the line.

[Guybrush]

Rob, are you talking about construction quality or taste?

The last Punch DCs I tried looked great but tasted quite bland.

[El Presidente]

Rob, are you talking about construction quality or taste?

The last Punch DCs I tried looked great but tasted quite bland.

my "right now" was in relation to quality.

To smoke young, Lusi and VRDA perform well in front of the others (My opinion). The Punch DC require a significant period of time to really open up much like the SLR DC and Hoyo.

[Guybrush]

Someone once gifted me a 1998 Hoyo DC.

Amazing cigar and much fuller than the young ones now.

I can't say if it is only age or a change of blend.

[ramon_cojones]

Thanks Rob I've not had any recents but the slr, hoyo and punch did nothing for me. I love VR but I've not had a DA since I heard quality has been lacking for awhile. I'd love to get a box since I love the marca just don't want to invest in something that doesn't do it for me. Rags and imperiales (i know churchill) are on my big cigar list to cop.

[MontrealRon]

DCs are rolled only by the highest level torcedores.

As quantities produced are relatively small,

and given that they represent the summum of their marcas,

top quality tobaccos are used, and the blends of each are well respected.

AS MRN might say, complaints about their quality are invariably due to smoking them too young.

Every box of mine has eventually become excellent,

though some took as long as eight years to fully develop.

In those marcas where the Churchill is the largest regular production module,

e.g. Bolivar, Cohiba, Upmann, or in SCDH El Morro,

effectively a cross between a DC and a Churchill,

the same holds true.

No regular production DC has been discontinued in recent memory,

and while there are times when one or another is not readily available,

IMHO, none will be discontinued in the forseeable future.

[ToroRph]

DCs are rolled only by the highest level torcedores.

As quantities produced are relatively small,

and given that they represent the summum of their marcas,

top quality tobaccos are used, and the blends of each are well respected.

AS MRN might say, complaints about their quality are invariably due to smoking them too young.

Every box of mine has eventually become excellent,

though some took as long as eight years to fully develop.

In those marcas where the Churchill is the largest regular production module,

e.g. Bolivar, Cohiba, Upmann, or in SCDH El Morro,

effectively a cross between a DC and a Churchill,

the same holds true.

No regular production DC has been discontinued in recent memory,

and while there are times when one or another is not readily available,

IMHO, none will be discontinued in the forseeable future.

Great post, thanks !

[ramon_cojones]

welp just trashed another lusitania, two bad 10ct boxes i couldn't wait to get rid of

one left, god knows when i'll light up or maybe use as a fire starter, infuriatingly terrible roll/construction

[bigharpoon]

I love a DC and when I have the time to enjoy one it is a real pleasure. I do nearly all my smoking at home so going from place to place mid-smoke isn't an issue for me, at least not very often.

It's kind of discouraging that people make their world spin so fast that they can't find the time to do something they enjoy for a couple of hours. If you really want to enjoy a cigar for a couple of hours it shouldn't be impossible to make that happen every once in a while.

[Smallclub]

DCs are rolled only by the highest level torcedores.

top quality tobaccos are used, and the blends of each are well respected.

Are you sure of that? How do you explain the very mild, almost bland, Lusitanias from the early 2000's? And the completely plugged Don Alejandro in petacas from the mid 2000's? And I could go on long…

[Upnorth3]

I love DCs, my preference is length to girth (that's what she said), so I'd prefer to opt for DCs, Churchills and Lonsdales in that order. If I could, I'd smoke Lusis only. Currently thinking about a 50 cab, but I'm also very curious about the Sir Winstons. I usually watch a movie on my laptop while I'm smoking so time often disappears.

[MontrealRon]

Are you sure of that? How do you explain the very mild, almost bland, Lusitanias from the early 2000's? And the completely plugged Don Alejandro in petacas from the mid 2000's? And I could go on long…

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, especially when it comes to Habanos!

There are harvest variations,

and it is well known that there was a severe shortage of ligero around the turn of the millenium.

The changeover to new tobacco strains also had an effect.

We also know that many cigars from the early 2000s were below par, both in blend and construction.

For whatever reason, it is also known that many post-1995 cigars were switched to a milder blend,

of which the Lusitanias were a prime example.

My earliest box of Lusis is from '04, and they seem to be getting richer as time goes on.

I know nothing of the DAs in petacas. Were they perhaps sourced from the grey market?

Even if not, there are occasional spectacular failures in all vitolas,

though, I believe, this happens rarely with DCs, compared to e.g. Robustos or Corona Gordas.

My point was not that DCs are always perfect, but that as HSA's most prestigious productions,

more care is normally given to them than to the smaller vitolas,

and that, because of that prestige factor, they are most unlikely to be discontinued.

[Guybrush]

AS MRN might say, complaints about their quality are invariably due to smoking them too young.

Every box of mine has eventually become excellent,

though some took as long as eight years to fully develop.

Unfortunately my Cab of 50 2005 Punch DCs stayed boring. (very mild)

No regular production DC has been discontinued in recent memory,

and while there are times when one or another is not readily available,

IMHO, none will be discontinued in the forseeable future.

Saint Luis Rey DC has been discontinued last year.

[rcarlson]

Hoya DC is unlike any other. It's a good reason to make the time!

And just to be something of a contrarian, I often find the robusto and shorter sticks too damn short. I hate when a stick ends just when it hits it's stride.

I had an unbelievable Monte PE that did that last weekend. If I could've had that going for a 1-2 hour smoke I might have slid into another dimension.