Bolivar Royal Corona TUA July 2023 (FEBW2)

[Pmo13]

Went into this stick with split hopes. I love pretty much anything Bolivar as it’s always been my favorite marca (lots of CCs can be too light for my palate, but Bolis seem to have just enough layers to always be interesting without going overboard) and I’ve yet to have a bad or even underwhelming one. But at the same time, this box (TUA July 2023) is YOUNG, so I was expecting some sharp edges.

Gotta say though, all things considered this stick was an absolute home run. Opened up with some creamy cedar dominating the palate, with a smidgen of sharpness that I always associate with young stocks. However after the first quarter inch or so, that sharpness completely fell away. The rest of the first third was all sweet tobacco, baking spices and almonds with that strong creamy cedar undertone.

Opening into the second third the cedar was joined by a semi-sweet baking chocolate that coated the palate. As the third progressed, that baking chocolate turned into more of a tootsie roll sweetness which surprised me as I usually tend to only get that with broadleaf sticks.

Coming into the home stretch, that tootsie roll note faded a bit and was joined by creamy coffee, cedar and a sweetness that edged towards something like cinnamon toast. 

The draw was absolutely flawless which was a relief since the stick looked and felt a bit overpacked. Burn was phenomenal (see 2nd pic) which after yesterday was a nice change. Only touched it up a few times and I will 100% chalk that up to my OCD as it probably would’ve self corrected and it was never really an issue. Smoke output was great which is always a plus for me, and final smoke time was about 55 minutes plus or minus a couple.

 

Overall an A- stick which I expect to easily reach to an A+ with some age to smooth out some rough edges.

[MagicalBikeRide]

Nice review. Thanks for writing up.

[PuffDaddie]

Great review.😀

[Li Bai]

What a cigar... Imho it is a great replacement for the D4 (so inconsistent for years that I don't even consider buying one when we cross paths) along with the RASS...

I prefer them with some years but my experience with fresh ones recently matches yours 👍