Headley Grange Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46)
Pre-light: The wrapper is a beautiful, toothy, mottled-brown Sumatra. The construction is top notch, only being marred by a bit of excess glue around the wrapper (nothing like a Fuente though haha...). The foot and wrapper smell of sweet dried fruit and cedar. After clipping the triple-cap the draw is on the firm-side of perfect, but shouldn't be a problem. The pre-light draw tastes of earth, pepper and maybe a hint of cream. I decide to pair this cigar with a White Cuban (substitute rum for vodka in white Russian).
First Third: The first few puffs are very smooth on the palate and retrohale, and taste of toasted nuts and cream. About a half inch in some strong notes of earth and a slight pepper enter the mix. The draw is a bit more firm than I like, but smoke production isn't a problem. I start drinking my drink which brings out the sweetness and cream of the cigar, and counter the pepper very nicely. I think I should mention I had spicy food for dinner which can mute some flavors, but it doesn't seem to be effecting my experience. The burn-line is practically razor-sharp (cliche alert!). There is a very interesting fruity note in the retrohale that I can't quite place... maybe apricot? Though the flavors are coming through nicely, it remains very smooth. I would consider it mild-medium in body at this point.
Second Third: Appropriately, the second third brings some changes to the flavor profile. The draw has opened up and is pretty much perfect for me now, with the smoke having a thicker, almost chewy quality. The retrohale remains smooth but has a bit of peppery bite to it. The earthy flavors have developed into hazelnut and bitter cocoa. There is still a fruity taste that I can't quite place.. black cherry? The ash is holding on like a champ, perfectly straight and showing no signs of falling soon at almost 2 inches. Halfway through this cigar the flavors have melded together with the prominent notes being toasted nuts, earth, cream and mystery fruit. The ash is still hanging on and I think I can count the puffs I've taken in the ash... it's that solid. I haven't had to touch up the cigar once, and the burnline has never strayed from near-perfect.
Final-third: About an hour into this corona gorda (a vitola that has quickly become one of my favorites), we sadly enter the final-third. As though to mark the last stretch, the ash finally falls in one piece. This cigar is like a symphony, orchestrated to give the smoker a wonderful experience. The flavors are getting a bit tannic and bitter so I decide to purge. I have lost the sweet cream and fruity notes, the flavors now being dominate by toasted nuts and leather. I start to feel the Vitamin N at this point, and decide the medium-full strength advertised is about right. Maybe closer to medium. I was concerned about taking off the label due to the glue mentioned above... and the concern turns out to be valid. The glue is stronger than the label and it doens't come off. I use a pocket knife to remove it, and minimal damage is done. It's a shame that a cigar with practically perfect construction is marred by a post-construction issue. The cigar finishes with dominantly earthy and nutty flavors, with the slight fruity note detected occasionally in the retrohale. The smoke remains cool until the nub burns my fingers.
Final thoughts: I absolutely love this cigar. The combination of smoothness and complexity allows me to truly savor the flavor profile. This is also the first review I have written, so I was forced to ponder it significantly more than I usually do. I tried to leave the pre-conceived notion that I would love this cigar behind (based on my love of the slightly smaller 5.2x44 eminente earlier this week), but not loving this cigar would be hard. I highly recommend it to new smokers looking for complex cigars to build their palate, or as a relatively light smoke for experienced puffers.
Appearance: 8.5/10
Construction: 9.0/10 (If unbanded it would be a 10/10)
Flavor: 9.5/10
Value: 10/10 (If I can find this at $5 regularly, which is possible on cbid)
Overall experience: 9.5/10
Total: 46.5/50 DAMN GOOD
With a burn time of 1 hour 20 minutes+, this is what I would consider a perfect every day cigar. I would love to have a box in my humidor, and am glad I have a 5er of the dobles (6.1x50) on the way. I am interested to see how the larger vitola holds up to it's smaller cousins. The smoking experience was similar to the Eminente, with a longer burn-time and better construction. Having smoked only one of each vitola, it is hard to draw conclusions regarding the comparison, but they are both very good.
Pre-light: The wrapper is a beautiful, toothy, mottled-brown Sumatra. The construction is top notch, only being marred by a bit of excess glue around the wrapper (nothing like a Fuente though haha...). The foot and wrapper smell of sweet dried fruit and cedar. After clipping the triple-cap the draw is on the firm-side of perfect, but shouldn't be a problem. The pre-light draw tastes of earth, pepper and maybe a hint of cream. I decide to pair this cigar with a White Cuban (substitute rum for vodka in white Russian).
First Third: The first few puffs are very smooth on the palate and retrohale, and taste of toasted nuts and cream. About a half inch in some strong notes of earth and a slight pepper enter the mix. The draw is a bit more firm than I like, but smoke production isn't a problem. I start drinking my drink which brings out the sweetness and cream of the cigar, and counter the pepper very nicely. I think I should mention I had spicy food for dinner which can mute some flavors, but it doesn't seem to be effecting my experience. The burn-line is practically razor-sharp (cliche alert!). There is a very interesting fruity note in the retrohale that I can't quite place... maybe apricot? Though the flavors are coming through nicely, it remains very smooth. I would consider it mild-medium in body at this point.
Second Third: Appropriately, the second third brings some changes to the flavor profile. The draw has opened up and is pretty much perfect for me now, with the smoke having a thicker, almost chewy quality. The retrohale remains smooth but has a bit of peppery bite to it. The earthy flavors have developed into hazelnut and bitter cocoa. There is still a fruity taste that I can't quite place.. black cherry? The ash is holding on like a champ, perfectly straight and showing no signs of falling soon at almost 2 inches. Halfway through this cigar the flavors have melded together with the prominent notes being toasted nuts, earth, cream and mystery fruit. The ash is still hanging on and I think I can count the puffs I've taken in the ash... it's that solid. I haven't had to touch up the cigar once, and the burnline has never strayed from near-perfect.
Final-third: About an hour into this corona gorda (a vitola that has quickly become one of my favorites), we sadly enter the final-third. As though to mark the last stretch, the ash finally falls in one piece. This cigar is like a symphony, orchestrated to give the smoker a wonderful experience. The flavors are getting a bit tannic and bitter so I decide to purge. I have lost the sweet cream and fruity notes, the flavors now being dominate by toasted nuts and leather. I start to feel the Vitamin N at this point, and decide the medium-full strength advertised is about right. Maybe closer to medium. I was concerned about taking off the label due to the glue mentioned above... and the concern turns out to be valid. The glue is stronger than the label and it doens't come off. I use a pocket knife to remove it, and minimal damage is done. It's a shame that a cigar with practically perfect construction is marred by a post-construction issue. The cigar finishes with dominantly earthy and nutty flavors, with the slight fruity note detected occasionally in the retrohale. The smoke remains cool until the nub burns my fingers.
Final thoughts: I absolutely love this cigar. The combination of smoothness and complexity allows me to truly savor the flavor profile. This is also the first review I have written, so I was forced to ponder it significantly more than I usually do. I tried to leave the pre-conceived notion that I would love this cigar behind (based on my love of the slightly smaller 5.2x44 eminente earlier this week), but not loving this cigar would be hard. I highly recommend it to new smokers looking for complex cigars to build their palate, or as a relatively light smoke for experienced puffers.
Appearance: 8.5/10
Construction: 9.0/10 (If unbanded it would be a 10/10)
Flavor: 9.5/10
Value: 10/10 (If I can find this at $5 regularly, which is possible on cbid)
Overall experience: 9.5/10
Total: 46.5/50 DAMN GOOD
With a burn time of 1 hour 20 minutes+, this is what I would consider a perfect every day cigar. I would love to have a box in my humidor, and am glad I have a 5er of the dobles (6.1x50) on the way. I am interested to see how the larger vitola holds up to it's smaller cousins. The smoking experience was similar to the Eminente, with a longer burn-time and better construction. Having smoked only one of each vitola, it is hard to draw conclusions regarding the comparison, but they are both very good.
