H. Upmann ? Half Coronas
Size: 90mm x 44 ? (Petit Coronas)
Smoke time: 42 mins
Box date: 2011 Source: www.cgarsltd.co.uk
Appearance: Shorter (see picture with 50p coin), but with a bigger gauge and approximately the same weight as a Perla. Mid brown, slightly rustic wrapper with a neatly applied cap.
Construction: Sturdy, with the cigar feeling nicely compact to the touch. The pre-draw I felt was a bit loose as was the smoking draw. The burn was straight and the mid-grey ash stayed compact and firm throughout the entire smoke needling little in the way of tap-offs (see photos). One re-lights, no corrections.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was ?light? earthy tobacco. Light up and ... burned tobacco accompanied by something which put me in mind of wet wallpaper. Any Cuban citric ?twang? was totally absent or so light as to be undetectable. The taste in the smoke was dull and offensive, not vegetal, not woody, not earthy and certainly not Upmann. Halfway, and what was and which can only be described as ?tobaccopaste? became even worse! Something vaguely bitter crept into the smoke, something oily with a taste somewhere between WD40 and cheap cooking fat. Into the last third and the cigar went out, the most likely cause being that by this time I was so disillusioned and disgusted with the thing I?d allowed my usual one minute between puffs to stretch even more. The taste on re-light was awful, I carried on for a bit longer, and then review or no review, said bollocks to this and gave up. Absolute Shite!
Overall: On this smoking, a disgrace to the H. Upmann brand and no credit whatsoever to Cuba. On the plus side the cigar burns well, lasts for 40+ minutes and packs a mild to medium nicotine kick, but to be ruthlessly honest, a Guantanamera Compay ? even though it might fall to pieces in your mouth ? has more character and flavour.
I have another of these and will give it a go next year. However, at this point I don?t hold out much hope of exciting or interesting flavours suddenly appearing where there obviously aren?t any.
Size: 90mm x 44 ? (Petit Coronas)
Smoke time: 42 mins
Box date: 2011 Source: www.cgarsltd.co.uk
Appearance: Shorter (see picture with 50p coin), but with a bigger gauge and approximately the same weight as a Perla. Mid brown, slightly rustic wrapper with a neatly applied cap.
Construction: Sturdy, with the cigar feeling nicely compact to the touch. The pre-draw I felt was a bit loose as was the smoking draw. The burn was straight and the mid-grey ash stayed compact and firm throughout the entire smoke needling little in the way of tap-offs (see photos). One re-lights, no corrections.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was ?light? earthy tobacco. Light up and ... burned tobacco accompanied by something which put me in mind of wet wallpaper. Any Cuban citric ?twang? was totally absent or so light as to be undetectable. The taste in the smoke was dull and offensive, not vegetal, not woody, not earthy and certainly not Upmann. Halfway, and what was and which can only be described as ?tobaccopaste? became even worse! Something vaguely bitter crept into the smoke, something oily with a taste somewhere between WD40 and cheap cooking fat. Into the last third and the cigar went out, the most likely cause being that by this time I was so disillusioned and disgusted with the thing I?d allowed my usual one minute between puffs to stretch even more. The taste on re-light was awful, I carried on for a bit longer, and then review or no review, said bollocks to this and gave up. Absolute Shite!
Overall: On this smoking, a disgrace to the H. Upmann brand and no credit whatsoever to Cuba. On the plus side the cigar burns well, lasts for 40+ minutes and packs a mild to medium nicotine kick, but to be ruthlessly honest, a Guantanamera Compay ? even though it might fall to pieces in your mouth ? has more character and flavour.
I have another of these and will give it a go next year. However, at this point I don?t hold out much hope of exciting or interesting flavours suddenly appearing where there obviously aren?t any.
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