This weekend I am reviewing:
- La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Guerrero
- Avo Domaine 50
- Bolivar Royal Corona
- CAO Sopranos Associate
Saturday, November 13, 2010
La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Guerrero (6 1/4x54)
Chocolate brown cigar that feels very dense. Test draw was good. The first few puffs were full of cinnamon, vanilla, sweet tangerine-like citrus, and a ton of black pepper. Great blend of flavors. After about 3/4 inch I detected almond notes. The finish is a creamy vanilla. At this point (about an inch in) I'd call this a medium bodied cigar. The burn is perfect.
At the midpoint the flavors are fairly consistent. After 2/3 the cigar moves toward being full bodied but it's not as powerful as some other LFD cigars. The flavor mix of cinnamon/vanilla/citrus blend to make a very tasty cigar. The pepper is about 80% of a typical LFD cigar. Not quite as much but still very nice. At this point there are a few almond notes on the finish. I have been told that the chisel version of this cigar is very good. I'll have to review it later. This cigar is very enjoyable. In terms of a typical LFD cigar this is a step down in strength but still very flavorful.
Score: 90
Avo Domaine 50 (6x50/54)
A perfecto shaped cigar that is medium brown in color and very well made. After a palate cleansing I decided to have this cigar. It is really a cool looking cigar.
It started off with a simply amazing combination of sweet orange citrus and vanilla with plenty of black pepper. There is a creaminess in the flavor mix. Very, very nice. The finish is a slightly sweet vanilla with some faint almond notes and a little lingering pepper. Medium bodied. At the midpoint the cigar is very consistent. This cigar is too expensive to be an everyday cigar but would make a great special occasion cigar. The cigar stayed consistent to the end. Very good cigar.
Score: 92
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bolivar Royal Corona [Feb, '08] (4 3/4x50)
This is a Cuban cigar from a box with the date code February, 2008. It starts with predominantly grapefruit spice and notes of vanilla and almonds. There is a nice amount of black pepper also. The spice has a subtle sweetness. Finish is long with notes of vanilla and raw almonds. The draw was good. The burn was very even. This is the first time I have reviewed this cigar but remember the picture I took on Accra Beach in Barbados a couple years ago? That's it in the background with today's cigar in the forefront.
In 2006 Cigar Aficionado named the Bolivar Royal Corona it's cigar of the year. While it's hard to name the best cigar of a particular year this cigar is quite worthy of the praise it receives. The flavors stay consistent throughout the smoke. Medium to full bodied. I really like this cigar.
Score: 93
CAO Sopranos Associate (5x52)
A dark maduro cigar with a Brazilian wrapper. These cigars were quite popular a couple years ago. The cigar started off with a sweet grapefruit spice with leather and coffee notes and some. Nice amount of pepper. The finish is very long with citrus and vanilla notes. Like some others, I thought this cigar would be a gimmick cigar but it's actually pretty good. There are a lot of dark notes in this cigar. You can really taste the coffee. I like the combination of sweet grapefruit and coffee in this cigar. That combination actually sounds a little strange but it works. I've had this cigar for quite awhile so I'm not sure what effect aging might have had but it's quite tasty. The finish is very, very pleasing. At the midpoint I noted some vanilla. This cigar surprised me. I did not expect it to be this good. I really enjoyed it.
Score: 92
No comments:
Post a Comment