Balmoral is a Dutch cigar maker - I know this forum is entitled "Domestic Cigar Reviews" and unfortunately I can't find any other forum to post this to - and I got one of their Corona Tubos from a very good friend.
The Dominican Selection is a machine-made short-filler cigar, and my only other experiences with machine made short-fillers was the Phillies Blunt and Habanos Montecristo Minis. One experience was forgettable, the other was very good. I'll leave you to figure out which is which.
In any case this is only my second machine-made full-sized cigar, so I approached it with some trepidation, but as you will see, it's really not bad at all. This is especially since I have never been a fan of Dominicans, and I usually very much prefer a Cuban or Nicaraguan cigar.
This is a 5.7" x 42 cigar with a Dominican Olor binder and an Ecuador shade wrapper, filled with Dominican short-filler.
Construction:
The wrapper looked rather dry, with tight seams. At least it's made of real tobacco and not "tobacco paper". Not much other smells other than tobacco coming off the foot. The cap was pre-cut (another red flag!), and the wrapper had some prominent veins. The draw was perfect though, and tasted of tobacco and not much else. The cigar had some soft spots but was generally alright.
Lighting the cigar was easy, and the ash held on for over an inch or inch and a half. Construction-wise other than the dry-looking wrapper is very decent.
Opening and 1/3:
The opening was sweet, with chocalety notes and cedar notes. The sweet taste stayed on in the first few puffs and faded away. This is a natural smoke sweetness, and not the sugar that you find in a Phillies.
The burn stayed reasonably straight, and the first third is marked with slight spice and not much else. Retrohale produced absolutely no sting, and strong tobacco and wood dominated the smoke.
There is not much body to the smoke. No leather, no earth, no saltiness, just a slight spice and chocolate/latte on the finish. Extremely mild taste. The smoke volume was reasonable and very slightly oily.
2/3:
There is a slight increase in spiciness and tobacco notes, other than that the profile stayed very much the same throughout the second third. The finish is of milk chocolate and is very pleasant.
3/3:
The smoke got a little more earthy and much spicier, with a faint nuttiness mixing in with the chocolatey finish.
I smoked this down to the last 3/4", with a total smoke time of about 50 minutes (against Balmoral's claim of a 70 minute smoke). I would rank this as a very mild to slightly medium bodied smoke, and with mild strength.
The burn remained sharp throughout and there was no need for touch-up or re-lighting.
Online sources sell this cigar at EUR67.50 for a box of 25, or about US$3.30 per stick, so this is not exactly a cheap machine made cigar. Overall though I was surprised at the pleasant flavors of the smoke, and would certainly smoke another one again.
I rate this cigar about 72/100. Could've rated it a bit higher had it been say US$2 per stick. The same friend also gave me a small panetela tubo, I will smoke that tomorrow and share my thoughts on it.
The Dominican Selection is a machine-made short-filler cigar, and my only other experiences with machine made short-fillers was the Phillies Blunt and Habanos Montecristo Minis. One experience was forgettable, the other was very good. I'll leave you to figure out which is which.
In any case this is only my second machine-made full-sized cigar, so I approached it with some trepidation, but as you will see, it's really not bad at all. This is especially since I have never been a fan of Dominicans, and I usually very much prefer a Cuban or Nicaraguan cigar.
This is a 5.7" x 42 cigar with a Dominican Olor binder and an Ecuador shade wrapper, filled with Dominican short-filler.
Construction:
The wrapper looked rather dry, with tight seams. At least it's made of real tobacco and not "tobacco paper".
Not much other smells other than tobacco coming off the foot. The cap was pre-cut (another red flag!), and the wrapper had some prominent veins. The draw was perfect though, and tasted of tobacco and not much else. The cigar had some soft spots but was generally alright.Lighting the cigar was easy, and the ash held on for over an inch or inch and a half. Construction-wise other than the dry-looking wrapper is very decent.
Opening and 1/3:
The opening was sweet, with chocalety notes and cedar notes. The sweet taste stayed on in the first few puffs and faded away. This is a natural smoke sweetness, and not the sugar that you find in a Phillies.
The burn stayed reasonably straight, and the first third is marked with slight spice and not much else. Retrohale produced absolutely no sting, and strong tobacco and wood dominated the smoke.
There is not much body to the smoke. No leather, no earth, no saltiness, just a slight spice and chocolate/latte on the finish. Extremely mild taste. The smoke volume was reasonable and very slightly oily.
2/3:
There is a slight increase in spiciness and tobacco notes, other than that the profile stayed very much the same throughout the second third. The finish is of milk chocolate and is very pleasant.
3/3:
The smoke got a little more earthy and much spicier, with a faint nuttiness mixing in with the chocolatey finish.
I smoked this down to the last 3/4", with a total smoke time of about 50 minutes (against Balmoral's claim of a 70 minute smoke). I would rank this as a very mild to slightly medium bodied smoke, and with mild strength.
The burn remained sharp throughout and there was no need for touch-up or re-lighting.
Online sources sell this cigar at EUR67.50 for a box of 25, or about US$3.30 per stick, so this is not exactly a cheap machine made cigar. Overall though I was surprised at the pleasant flavors of the smoke, and would certainly smoke another one again.
I rate this cigar about 72/100. Could've rated it a bit higher had it been say US$2 per stick. The same friend also gave me a small panetela tubo, I will smoke that tomorrow and share my thoughts on it.
Last edited:
