H. Upmann Half Corona GOS SEP 19 (FRCSW4)

[saltbox]

I spent most of Dec spoiling myself with CCs so I've been spending most of Jan/Feb so far continuing working through my NC stash, but these are easy enough to sneak into shorter breaks before a longer smoke later in the day. I'm nearing the end of this box and have another three resting. So far I haven't been amazed by these and have been hoping for some evolution with age to change my mind but no such luck yet.

First half: opens with the familiar creamy shortbread note, as per usual. This box has been in my tupperdor for well over a year at this point, so whether it's the age or the rest, whatever spice these cigars might've had earlier on has all but dissipated. It's just a pleasant smooth creaminess. This particular specimen seems to be a bit lighter bodied than the others from the box, though I've also been smoking a lot of NCs recently and it could just be relative.

Second half: not much evolution, though I also don't pay as much attention when I'm smoking one of these shorties. The flavor profile does become a bit more medium bodied than the first half, and a nice bit of milk coffee emerges as well.

Overall: this one wasn't the best showing for the box, unfortunately. It was still a pleasant smoke and a nice way to take a quick break during the day. I'm looking forward to cracking the next box open. I've not heard much about how HUHC has varied over the years, but my other boxes are all JUN 20 boxes across three different factories: EOL, LTO, SOR. 86/100