Bolivar Petit Corona - MSU JUL 19 (OYMRW)

[saltbox]

Had this one later in the evening after smoking the H. Upmann Petit Corona in the afternoon. The lighter bodied HUPC had me wanting something more full flavored, so I went with this Bolivar.

In the afternoon it was 79F, but it's cooled down to a nice 66F, which is close to my ideal smoking environment: great weather for putting on a light jacket and hat to stay comfy and decrease the amount of smoke odor I bring back in the house afterwards.

The evening is when I do the vast majority of my smoking on the weekdays, and an hour long smoke is the perfect amount of time for a break in between dinner and wrapping up some extra work before going to sleep.

First third: started at 9:55pm, dark roast coffee and earthy notes over a nice sweet creaminess. A touch of dark chocolate appears along with that characteristic almost-licorice-but-not-quite note, as if the person next to you was thinking really hard about black licorice.

Middle third: 10:20pm, the chocolate notes have picked up in strength. A bit of spice in the background starts to ramp up alongside more black coffee and cedar.

Last third: 10:45am, mostly cedar and earthy sweetness at this point, with a touch of chocolate pudding on the finish. Nubbed at 11:02pm.

Overall: not bad, a bit more wood-forward than other examples I've had. Personally, wood comes across to me as an absence of better flavors so I'm never excited about cedar in my flavor profiles. Smoking time was 1 hr 7 min.