The Death of the plain ol' Corona?

[ChanceSchmerr]

MontrealRon, I think I will give the JL Corona another shot if I should find one from a different source, if only because it was so titanically bad that it can't speak for the rest of Coronas.

In the meantime, today I tried #3 of my Coronas - the Hoyo Corona.

Plagued by burn issues, my reaction towards it was mixed. It was somewhat aged (I can't remember the cab date, but it was at least 5 years old if I remember right) and though I frequently got many hints of the characteristic (to me) Hoyo smoothness and creamy flavour, it just never burned right or evenly. I would rate it a solid 8.5/10, but not spectacular. Worth another shot from a different source, anyway.

I'm going to hold off for a bit on the other Coronas, that Punch Black Prince is my Duty Watch Cigar when I am Officer of the Day on my ship monday, and I can't wait to try it!

[Tampa1257]

The Punch Black Prince is a Corona Gorda, not a Corona.

The Black Prince was the first cigar where I tasted Black Cherries in a cigar. It has always been my favorite Punch.

I smoked a 06 Partagas Corona while at the range today, excellent cigar, great burn, outstanding flavors and I shot well too.

[samb]

I agree with you samb. The corona is missed by me as well. One of my top 5 vitolas. It is a great sized smoke on colder fall days/nights.

Its not gonna be easy to huddle up in a fetal position with a churchill, freezing to death, lol.

[ChanceSchmerr]

The Punch Black Prince is a Corona Gorda, not a Corona.

The Black Prince was the first cigar where I tasted Black Cherries in a cigar. It has always been my favorite Punch.

I smoked a 06 Partagas Corona while at the range today, excellent cigar, great burn, outstanding flavors and I shot well too.

Oh I know, I'm just saying I've got some non-Coronas in my lineup next week before I try some more - I have to try this Black Prince! I have never tasted Black Cherry in a cigar before, I hope I will see something of that in this one!

And I envy you, playing golf....Getting too cold to hit the range up here in Canada!

[Tampa1257]

And I envy you, playing golf....Getting too cold to hit the range up here in Canada!

The range I was at was for pistol shooting, not Golf and I try to make it to the range a couple of times a week.

As for tasting Black Cherries or Cherries, as I said the Punch Black Prince was the first, I also taste Cherries when I smoke SCDH Oficios and the La Fuerza along with a molasses essence.

[ChanceSchmerr]

Pistol Shooting? haha my bad, it sounded like golfing to me! I am due for a re-cert for Sigsauer training myself, I'll be down at the firing range myself in the next month or so. What type of pistol do you normally shoot? I've only had experience with service pistols like Browning HP and the Sig Sauer P225. I prefer the Sig myself.

I have a La Fuerza in my tasting list, I'll probably be getting to it in a few weeks - looking forward to that one too!

[Tampa1257]

I shoot several pistols, I have a couple of Glocks, a Model 21 .45 ACP and a Model 36 .45 ACP, I also have a Walther P38 9mm and a Walther P22 .22 with a suppressor, which is a very fun pistol to shoot. I will say that getting all the Federal Paperwork done for the suppressor was a pain, but well worth it.

I always get a cigar or 2 in while at the range.

[PigFish]

I shoot several pistols, I have a couple of Glocks, a Model 21 .45 ACP and a Model 36 .45 ACP, I also have a Walther P38 9mm and a Walther P22 .22 with a suppressor, which is a very fun pistol to shoot. I will say that getting all the Federal Paperwork done for the suppressor was a pain, but well worth it.

I always get a cigar or 2 in while at the range.

We have more in common than good cigars!

I am a Glock man myself. Remind me to post the a pic of my Walther PP. My father took it off a German officer during the occupation of Italy when we were counting wars with Roman numerals!

I should be shooting more myself, I miss the sport. -

[Colt45]

... okay! A man of your taste and influence compels me to negotiate it up to 44 ring. But, don't give those cigars to the fish... send 'em to me and I will trade them to my friends that don't know any better! -LOL

That brings back dalias and Bolivar CEs. Don't blame me when you give away the Mag 46s, Sir Winstons and Bolivar CGs, see your pals

in ecstasy, and realize they're all gone

[Smooth]

This thread makes me sad on many levels

- The corona is my favourite vitola.

- The guage is my idea of perfection.

- The smoking time of a corona is my nirvana.

- The party Corona is my all time favorite go-to smoke and I only have maybe half a dozen left. As made clear by it's multiple mentions in this thread alone... these are classics!

The problem is as the thread suggests they are disappearing from the market. Party, gone. Boli, gone. Upmann, gone? Punch, going?

A corona or churchill was once THE epitome of cuban cigars and the go-to vitolas ( essentially long or short). Its sad to say I have the feeling that the once grand and alluring cigars that brought me into this wonderful world of Cubans will soon be gone altogether. The quintessential cuban corona or churchill I fear will soon be a thing of folklore. Breaks my heart to be honest...

[CigarLouie]

I also prefer the corona size. It's sad that there are fewer and fewer available. I also have a SigSauer 226.

[thechenman]

This thread makes me sad on many levels

- The corona is my favourite vitola.

- The guage is my idea of perfection.

- The smoking time of a corona is my nirvana.

- The party Corona is my all time favorite go-to smoke and I only have maybe half a dozen left. As made clear by it's multiple mentions in this thread alone... these are classics!

The problem is as the thread suggests they are disappearing from the market. Party, gone. Boli, gone. Upmann, gone? Punch, going?

A corona or churchill was once THE epitome of cuban cigars and the go-to vitolas ( essentially long or short). Its sad to say I have the feeling that the once grand and alluring cigars that brought me into this wonderful world of Cubans will soon be gone altogether. The quintessential cuban corona or churchill I fear will soon be a thing of folklore. Breaks my heart to be honest...

I hear you on this. What it means to me though is that it may be time to stock up on your favorites, before they cease production.

[PigFish]

That brings back dalias and Bolivar CEs. Don't blame me when you give away the Mag 46s, Sir Winstons and Bolivar CGs, see your pals

in ecstasy, and realize they're all gone

I knew that there was a reason other than my magnetic personality that everyone wants to smoke at my house!!! -LOL

The truth be told I no longer own a Mag 46, a Sir Winnie and have less than a handful of Bolivar CG ('98's) left. Not including belicosos and piramides, cigars I recently restocked, I am probably down to less than 200 cigars above 46 ring. I have indeed given most of them away and not replaced them. I have spent most of my money on coronas, lonsdales, petit coronsas. I do love the RG CE however and that at 46 ring would be missed. I keep thinking it is a franciscos however and that makes me feel better!!!

I did recently try one of the Mag 48's (sent to me by a friend to try) and while it was way too woody and not my cup of tea, it was far from insipid and tasteless as I had expected it to be. I think those show some true promise.

I tend to now buy the same cigars over and over again. I don't experiment too much any more. The way to get me to buy more cigars (other than being employed again!) would be to reintroduce the classic coronas, petit coronas and lonsdales that have been cancelled. I mean I liked the RA corona, the Bolivar corona and the Partagas PC... just to name a few. -

[ChanceSchmerr]

I shoot several pistols, I have a couple of Glocks, a Model 21 .45 ACP and a Model 36 .45 ACP, I also have a Walther P38 9mm and a Walther P22 .22 with a suppressor, which is a very fun pistol to shoot. I will say that getting all the Federal Paperwork done for the suppressor was a pain, but well worth it.

I'm impressed! I don't own any pistols myself, but I practise firing the Sig reasonably often to stay qualified for Navy duty. I've always wanted to fire something with a suppressor... Is it really just like a 'pop' noise, or is there more to it than that?

Smooth, sorry to make you sad, I wasn't trying to say that Coronas are dead, more that it occured to me as I researched vitolas and discontinued vitolas that - man, Habanos cancelled a heck of a lot of Coronas in the last decade or so! So far, I'd say that (aside from the JL Corona that I will give another shot to) we are definitly losing something grand by losing the corona size. thechenman is bang on - I will be stocking up on those coronas I really enjoy (hello, Diplomaticos #3!) before they are indeed extinct in the wild (but alive in the aged warehouses of Hong Kong and the UK)

A side note - I tried the Punch Black Prince today. To coin a phrase - holy living F!!!!! What a ridiculously fantastic smoke! I did indeed taste a black cherry note in the first third, complemented further with complex tastes that I can't (yet) identify....the middle third delivered the promised licorice hints, and the last third was a real tobacco punch...followed up by the finale in the final inch, where all the flavours returned with gusto, I literally burned by fingers and found myself relighting the last 1/2 inch to just get every last puff out of this cigar - Magnificent!

I'm going back to that store to buy up the stock. Punch Black Prince - the legends were true!

[Smooth]

Smooth, sorry to make you sad, I wasn't trying to say that Coronas are dead, more that it occured to me as I researched vitolas and discontinued vitolas that - man, Habanos cancelled a heck of a lot of Coronas in the last decade or so! So far, I'd say that (aside from the JL Corona that I will give another shot to) we are definitly losing something grand by losing the corona size. thechenman is bang on - I will be stocking up on those coronas I really enjoy (hello, Diplomaticos #3!) before they are indeed extinct in the wild (but alive in the aged warehouses of Hong Kong and the UK)

No need to apologise mate! I agree with everything you have said. Its always sad to see old favourites go... Especially when they are much loved staples. Id add a few lonsdales to the sad losses too!

The positives in recent cubans has been the shinning light of current production, given that the quality of any given cuban cigar has been pretty much sensational since 2006.

[ChanceSchmerr]

I agree, the loss of anything worthwhile sucks! I am enjoying the discontinued Lonsdales I have found so far too - the SLR Lonsdales I have smoked are quite nice (with 9 years on them to age!) and tonight I tried the RG Lonsdale I picked up in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago - an excellent smoke! Smooth taste with some burnt chocolate, a hint of citrus and lots of nuttiness in the first half, it was a fine way to enjoy a night on ship. Another small-ring gauge winner in my book!

Next Corona to try - the Hoyo du Roi!

[ChanceSchmerr]

I suppose I could just edit the previous post....

Tonight as I studied for my all-impotant Navy Engineering Board Exam, I decided to take advantage of some fleeting sunshine outside and try out another Corona. I had planned to make the Hoyo Du Roi my next choice, but today I felt like it was Upmann's time, so I picked up the H Upmann Corona and headed outside.

Pleasant aroma and solid tobacco flavours awaited me. The first 1/3 was nuts and tobacco, mixed with perhaps a hint of spice. The second third really dropped - I got nothing out of it, and almost tossed away the cigar. Just lifeless! However, in the final third, the corona came right back to life, exhibiting a powerful array of creamy tastiness, gently becoming spicier as the cigar neared the end. Glad I didn't toss it away.

Final verdict - Good enough to buy again, at the very least. A solid, if unspectacular corona.

It seems the Dip 3 still holds the lead!

[ChanceSchmerr]

I think we have a new Champion!

Today I tried the Hoyo de Monterrey De Roi, one of the discontinued Coronas I havn't yet tried...

Appearance - Smooth, Colorado wrapper, no band, near-perfect cap, pronounced but thin veins on the wrapper.

Pre-light draw - Easy draw, hints of fruit.

First Couple of Puffs - WOW! A sweet taste of honey permeates the smoke, fantastic smoothness, and a fruit flavour like strawberry! Tons of smoke from each puff, perfect! I hate when a cigar only yields a few little wisps of smoke with each draw.

First 1/3 - Honeyed Sweetness throughout, and the Fruit Flavours continue, as I taste various sweet berries with each puff. This is really a smooth smoke!

Middle 1/3 - Honey taste continues to dominate, and the fruit gives way to a candied Almond taste that is quite charming. Still loads of smoke.

Final 1/3 - Still has a honeyed sweetness! The Candied Almond taste has evolved to a more toasted Almond now, and right before I reach the nub, I start to get a tingling feeling on my tongue - a little kick to finish off a fantastic cigar!

Burn/Draw - In a word - perfect. The burn is uniform throughout (the first I've had like this in a while!), and the draw is effortless, yielding big clouds of smoke with every draw, a true joy to smoke

Overall - This was a great Corona - the finest I have ever smoked ! Move over Diplomaticos #3 - we have a new Champion! I am now completely sold on the Corona Vitola, and sad even more that these sticks have been discontinued. All that is left is the Punch Corona and Petit Corona. Even if those are awful - Coronas, you have a new vitola fan!

9.5/10

[ChanceSchmerr]

I tried the Punch Corona late this week on ship. It had some very nice tobacco flavours and a good burn, but never really engaged me. A solid 8.7/10. Probably wouldn't buy it again.

So to sum up

Diplomaticos #3 A real fine smoke - looking for a box!

Hoyo de Roi Best Corona I had - marvelous sweetness

Hoyo Corona Decent smoke

Punch Corona Average Smoke

Punch Petit Corona Not a corona

H Upmann Corona Decent Smoke

Juan Lopez Corona Terrible example - will try again

I am officially a fan of Coronas! I will shortly attempt to acquire the coronas I havn't yet tried - so that I can say I gave the vitola a complete shot!

Boli Corona

ERDM Coronas de luxe

Monte #3

Party Corona

Quay D'Orsai Corona Claro

RA Corona

RYJ Corona

RYJ Cedros deluxe #2

Saint Luis Rey Corona

Sancho Panza Corona

Vegas Robaina Familiar

Viva Coronas!