May Blind Tasting: The unveiling

[Trevor2118]

» All our recipients of the May Blind tasting cigar please post your reviews on this thread by Midnight Sunday the 1st of June.

»

» Enjoy!

Rob, many thanks for the opportunity to show my ignorance about cigars in public...

Well it is a Coronas Gordas 46 x 143 box pressed cigar.

The size narrows the cigar down to 8 possibilities (from current cigars) and the box press further narrows it to 4 cigars:

Punch Punch

Rafael Gonzalez Coronas Extra

R & J Exhibition No.3

SLR Serie A

From the aroma when cold, my opinion was that it was the R & J Exhibition No.3.

Smoking the cigar did not change my mind.

The cigar was a good quality, burnt evenly, plenty of smoke, no relighting required, and had the sweet? taste of R&J. Definitely not a Punch and probably not a Rafael Gonzalez. Don't know about the SLR as I am not too familiar with them.

So I am keeping my money on the R & J Exhibition No.3.

Out of interest, this was the first cigar I have tried using a punch rather than cutting the end. Quite enjoyed this as my "heads" tend to get rather wet (no jokes please) and often the cap does unravel. The punch was a quality Xikar from our friends at Cigarmony.

Many thanks for the inclusion in the Blind Tasting. I will now go & read the thread and see how I went.:-D

[ATGroom]

» » and I understand I do... I dunno, Bolivar Coronas Extra?

» I guess there's not such a vitola in bolivar.

I beg to differ, Yossie.

[link]http://www.cigar-czar.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=3404&category_id=695[/link]

Yes, the matches are Cigar Club. I also have the larger size ones.

[Trevor2118]

» Many thanks for the inclusion in the Blind Tasting. I will now go & read the thread and see how I went.:-D

After reading the thread, I realised I did not mention the strength of the cigar: Medium IMHO.

Also it appears we were all smoking different cigars...:-D

...and if I'm wrong, I'm not the only one, but I always knew I was in good company here.....

[yossie]

» » » and I understand I do... I dunno, Bolivar Coronas Extra?

» » I guess there's not such a vitola in bolivar.

»

» I beg to differ, Yossie.

»

» [link]http://www.cigar-czar.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=3404&category_id=695[/link]

»

» Yes, the matches are Cigar Club. I also have the larger size ones.

I forgot it (I love the cigar..). but It's not a corona gorda.

RG CE is a corona gorda though.

[ATGroom]

» I forgot it (I love the cigar..). but It's not a corona gorda.

» RG CE is a corona gorda though.

Yeah, the consensus here seems to be that the cigar is a 46 x 143. Well, I don't know how you guys measure ring, but my method was to look at it next to a Siglo IV, and if you ask me, the unbanded was at least 2 gagues thinner.

Just my 2c. No doubt I'll be proven wrong tomorrow.

[yossie]

» Just my 2c. No doubt I'll be proven wrong tomorrow.

mine too..

There're many different opinions on the cigar, Rob will clearfy who is noob:-P

[Guest rob]

» Well, I don't know how you guys measure ring....

Measure the diameter of the cigar.

If you measured in millimeters - divide your measurement by 0.40

If you measured in inches - multiply your decimal number by 64

These reviews are great... I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I hope that in the future I may be lucky enough to have the opportunity to write one as well - it seems like a very educational process to smoke one blind and allow your palate and best judgment form opinions without the effect of placebo assisting.

[anacostiakat]

Sorry I was late on this but just could not get the time.

May Cigar?

Well constructed cigar. Firm to touch with no discernable soft spots.

Slight box press. Smell at cold is of tobacco and vegetal.

Clipped it and took two short draws. Draw is nicely firm with a

lot of fruit and some floral qualities. Very interesting. . .

I am pairing this cigar this evening with a Jim Berry Cover Drive

Cabernet I picked up today for a doublesaw at my local beverage store.

Light her up and get a smooth floral taste. I nose the second pull.

Very nice! Take a sip of the Cab to go with it. Nice tannins and berries.

After just a few sips I can say that the get-go shows nice body for a milder cigar.

just have to see where this baby will take me.

The ash is a pretty solid dark gray. Burn is even. Ash falls at an inch.

More vegital flavors. As I look at this cigar it is a piece of work.

Toasted nuts showing up a little.

The mouthfeel on this cigar is very much to my likeing.

At the one third mark. This cigar is not mild. I would characterize it as more medium than mild.

Reaching half way and some bad signs are showing.

All of the goodness is gone. I feel like a blues singer.

But! I hate a quiter so I sailor on. . .

Into the last third and none of the good stuff from the first third

is present.

Really straight forward tobacco now. After the first third I am not

happy. But it is not bad. Just a disappointment.

I think this cigar has potential in the 3 - 5 year period. I would like

to try another in another year, etc.

Right now about an 85. Thanks Rob for allowing me to try this one.

[Ginseng]

» After reading Wilkey's review, it is hard to believe that we smoked the

» same cigar, i.e. two cigars from the same box. Simply incredible.

I agree. While I admit to having an average palate at best, this alone could not account for how different our two impressions turned out to be.

Wilkey

[GTS21]

Received this cigar over a week ago, and has been stored at 60% since then. Nestled up against a 1492 in the humi, begging to be smoked.

A corona gorda with a bit of a box press and a slightly pinched foot. Colorado wrapper with a nice sheen, still a bit oily. Medium amount of veins. I was concerned about draw from the feel of the cigar, quite hard and definately filled to the brim with tobacco. No soft spots detected, and a bit of a harder feel to the head. Beautiful triple cap! Very pretty cigar to look at, and a nice cocoa smell pre-light. Paired the cigar with a Nestle flavored water.

Was surprised by the pleasant draw when clipped, almost a perfect draw. This cigar started off strong and spicey, medium to full bodied. Decent volume of smoke, but tended to need some relights along the way. It was pretty humid outside on the deck this evening, so possibly this contributed to the re-light issue. Pretty even burn, medium colored ash, not too flaky, and pretty predictable (no unwanted ash on the pants!!). I think this is a relatively newer cigar, 2006 to present. Just didn't seem "settled down" enough to be older than that.

The cigar remained medium-full bodied for the first half of the cigar, then entered a strange phase. The intensity lessened, and an odd flavor I can't pinpoint began to dominate. Possibly some sort of dried fruit? Cofee maybe? Not necessarily a pleasant flavor.

Remained sort of odd to the end, never getting quite as strong as when it first began. Put the cigar down with about an inch to spare, as it started to become a bit sour, even with frequent power purges.

Blind tests are tough as hell. I'm confident that this is a corona gorda, and the (apparent) box press allows me to narrow it down a bit. Didn't look like an EL wrapper, so I guess the re-release of the PSD3 EL is out. RyJ No. 3 is a possibility, but the cigar seemed stronger than the typical RyJ to me. SLR A is another possibility, but I've never been a fan of those, and this cigar held my attention more than a typical SLR A would. Haven't smoked a recent production Rafael Gonzalez in some time either to compare this one to.

My guess, either a strong Punch Punch or a RyJ Ex No. 3.

[Fuzz]

Smoked the mystery stick last night.

Construction: Nicely box pressed, though the foot got squished in transit. The wrapper was veiny, a light oily shine, and had a nice weight with no hard spots.

Pre-Light Aroma: Floral aroma with a hint of spice.

Pre-Light Draw: Clipped the cap and found the draw on the loose side of firm. Floral notes are slightly stronger and there is some spice on the lips. Also picking up some cedar.

1/3: Lit the foot and the first couple of draws bring only the floral and spice, though muted. Lots of smoke. Nice grey ash with an even burn. Flavours stay muted through the first inch. Medium bodied. Hints of cedar coming through and a salty aftertaste. Leaves the mouth feeling a bit dry after each puff.

2/3: Medium bodied going to full. Floral notes and spice still muted? Every third or fourth puff I get a light milk coffee flavour. Leather beginning to appear in the middle and the saltiness is increasing. Burn is going awry and needs the occasional touch up. Moving into the last third it has become full bodied, a slight bitterness has added to the salty taste. Tobacco flavours are starting to take over.

3/3: Burn is now all over the place. Flicked off the ash and noticed a slight tunnelling going on. Nothing like smokum's problem though. Gave it a chance to correct itself and it did. The muted floral notes are long gone and replaced by pure tobacco. The full bodiness is starting to get to me. The salty aftertaste is putting me off and so to is the bitterness. With just a little over an inch and a half to go I put it down.

Conclusion: What can I say? Started out weak in flavour for the first 2/3 then kicked me in the head with pure tobacco. I feel this is a young cigar, may develop with a few years age. Not bad, just an unimpressive 82. Maybe a SLR A 2007?

Thanks Rob including me in the blind review.

[smokum]

Lots of burn issues with these. I wonder if they were rolled by an apprentice or someone pissed of at the boss.

[El Presidente]

From Jimmy 2

Cap:Perfect

Wrapper:Golden brown with streaks of very dark brown

Smell cold:lite scented sweet tea

Cigar overall:Feels hard in some spot maybe overfilled might be from 2000 to 2001 vintage .Bunch at foot nice outer bunch but towards middle looks to be very tight.

1 st: Draw is firm but I am getting abundant smoke with lots of flavor from the very first lite . Tangy sweet fruit, Salty rich flavor,medium strength and flavor but very smooth.

half:Flavor the same as above noted but much much more intense .Long after taste the flavor is so SWEET I don't want it to stop its that enjoyable.You would think this is a RA898 by the flavor I am getting but we know its not .Has to be a a R& J cigar a Ex#3

Nub;Flavor still the same as noted above and strength but still gaining more body as the end nears.New flavor being noted licorice and spices are now in the mix and not to forget very creamy smoke.This cigar is a fruit stand and a candy store in one .LOL

Noted a little to much tongue bite at the end so we put it out to pasture.

This cigar is what a Cuban cigar should be memorable !!! and that's what it was just that.Very complex smooth for the most part and very creamy after taste oh that sweet flavor wonderful.It will be a surprise to me if this is not a R&J aged cigar if not than at least a post 05 one were they are using aged tobacco.Just wonderful

93/100 or 4/5 smoke rings..

[El Presidente]

Thank you to all the reviewers

These blind reviews are not intended to confuse. I select a standard box of cigars from the humidor and send out the good, the bad and the ugly from that box.

The reviews to this Corona Gorda where all over the place in terms of enjoyment. From crap to magnificent.

What the reviews do showcase is

1. Variability does occur even within a single box. This is variability in construction and flavour. The level of variability in terms of flavour was high within the sample cigars which would be the first hint that the cigars were young.

Even within a given box of young cigars you will find different levels of development. Frustrating I know....but true.

In the main the cigar sampled struggled with burn and to maintain a constant flavour profile. Often it was confused....battling the forces of good and evil.

In this case the cigar was March 06

2. Even taking the above into consideration.....isn't it a marvel how subjective taste can be ;-)

My medium body will be someone else's full. Someone's full will be anothers mild. Some adore the pepper/coal characters...others see them as a fault.

Another point is how much draw influences the flavour. Those which had good or firm but doable draws, in the main, had a more complex cigar than those that had a too loose or a too firm cigar.

Most of you picked this cigar or had it as one of two options.

Welcome to the Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No 3

My tasting of the cigar was similar to Erics. It shows promise and confused complexity. It has enough body for mid term to long term ageing. There were too many difficult draws to label this box as private client standard. Yet, if a well constructed box of cigars could be found it would be one to comfortably and confidently put down for three to five 5 years. It has some classic R&J flavours combined with Exhibicion No 3 spice and body.

Thanks again

[Colt45]

» Yet, if a well constructed box of cigars could be found it would

» be one to comfortably and confidently put down for three to five 5 years.

Absolutely! Thanks again - looking forward to reading next month's reviews.

[Ginseng]

Wowsers!

Who'd a thunk it? I made my guesses based on the fact that I didn't really care for the flavor and the cigars of this vitola that I've tried that I don't care for. I've had some RyJ Ex4 from 2005 (I know, a different vitola) and they blew me away. Very surprising.

Thank you for this experiment Rob. This makes me wonder, if one were to smoke a cigar from a given box every day for 25 days, what would the experience be like? Would the variation be as great? Would it be more consistent? In what ways?

My mind is reeling. :-D

Wilkey

[Ginseng]

Kudos to Bob! Your review turned out to be very insightful indeed.

Wilkey

[yossie]

I have to agree with I'm a noob. Fortunately for me there're bunch of the other noobs:-D

[smokum]

I am going to try one of these from UAS/ABR06 to see how it smokes. The cold draw on my review cigar showed hints of cocoa which gave be a thought that it could be an x3 but I just couldn't get enough of anything else for more clues. I just looked back at the pics of that burn and notice the damn hole looked square !! Or is that my eyes ?? Never thought I would be reviewing or blind tasting cigars . This was a cool excersize.

[SmokinAl]

Thanks very much for the opportunity Rob, it was a lot of fun. Nice job guys!

[El Presidente]

» To me, this corona gorda has the signature profile of a young Romeo y

» Julieta Exhibicion No. 3, which along with the Cazadores, is the strongest

» vitola in the RyJ lineup. Unlike the Caz, the X3 has greater inherent depth

» and complexity in the blend, which progressively reveals itself through

» age. This particular example would probably have become a truly

» interesting and ejoyable smoke with seven to ten years under its belt. But

» for now, it was simply an exercise in endurance.

Yes Wilkey....well done Bob

[Ken Gargett]

al, how the hell did you get him to open a katnook? you must have brought it. i'm expecting a vast improvement in the standard of grog served on the czar balcony next visit.

[SmokinAl]

Collllllt! Mummy and Daddy are fighting again. Wahhhhhhh!

[El Presidente]

He started it :-D

[zuma]

It was not only a pleasure to review an unknown stick, but it was also fun and interesting read the reviews...

Again, thanx Prez for the concept, and the pleasure and opportunity to participate in it... Cheers!