Cohiba Coronas Especiales
Size: 152 x 38 ? Laguito No 2
Smoke time: 1hour 33mins
Box date: 2008
Appearance: Unashamed elegance. Toothy, deep rich Colorado wrapper with hardly any veining spiraling almost invisibly into a perfectly rounded triple cap finished pig-tail. To say the CCE?s appearance was flawless however would be a fib, my Torcedor glue had repaired a wrapper split at the foot and was the reason for my choosing this particular cigar to smoke. Standard band ?D?.
Construction: The cigar felt firm even hard in some places but applying more pressure than I usually do I could get the cigar to ?pinch? without any disturbing cracking noises. The cold draw was resistive to slightly tight. The smoking draw was a little tight, but manageable in the sip sized puffs which I consider correct for Laguito and narrower gauge cigars. The burn wasn?t always the straightest and attempted at times to follow vertical veins, however whilst not perfect it was good enough and required no correction.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was light but distinctly barnyard. My first sip was into salty, sour citrus. Then as the woods arrived the citrus twang became clean, sharp and tart and deliciously refreshing. The flavours depth was medium and the smoke creamy and velvet smooth carrying an opulent cedarlike aroma. As the third progressed the sweetness in the cigar became honeyed and the citrus and wood tastes began to work together in some sort of perfectly balanced routine, where sometimes the citrus would be to the fore and the overall taste would remind me of mellow dessert wine, and when the woods came to the front the sensation became something similar to smoking a dry martini. During the first third other tastes like carrot cake and something akin to softened caramel would also make fleeting appearances and then be absorbed into the melting-pot of the base. Into the second third, and for a short while the wood tastes became first leathery and then softly earthy. The citric tastes began to recede and then almost suddenly all the flavours combined into something which I can only describe as being like honey sweetened Expresso with a light lemon edge. It sounds totally ?wrong? I know, but the taste was superb. Retro-hale throughout the smoke was wood tinged with hints of spice, except for one instance in the second third when the retro hit was almost pure Cuban ?twang? and nearly enough to make my eyes water. The final third was an exploration of darker, earthier more chocolate like tastes. Occasionally the flavour would be bitter like pure Cocao or would be milder and sweeter like praline, and sometimes just the lightest of citrus would reappear to retain refreshment in the smoke. Pure delight!
Overall: Top Draw. I can?t really praise this cigar enough, as of today it?s up there in my list of best ever smokes. It?s smooth, refined, complex, sophisticated and carries a wealth of flavour in every passage. Some would argue that for a narrow guage it?s too expensive, but if you look at the smoke time you?ll see that it?s a (very) slow burner and ? as long as you don?t attempt to hurry it ? packs bags of value and enjoyment in every (minute regulated) sip/puff. Beware the strength of the CCE which comes into play in the final third, it won?t knock you over, but there?s certainly enough to keep you on your toes!
Size: 152 x 38 ? Laguito No 2
Smoke time: 1hour 33mins
Box date: 2008
Appearance: Unashamed elegance. Toothy, deep rich Colorado wrapper with hardly any veining spiraling almost invisibly into a perfectly rounded triple cap finished pig-tail. To say the CCE?s appearance was flawless however would be a fib, my Torcedor glue had repaired a wrapper split at the foot and was the reason for my choosing this particular cigar to smoke. Standard band ?D?.
Construction: The cigar felt firm even hard in some places but applying more pressure than I usually do I could get the cigar to ?pinch? without any disturbing cracking noises. The cold draw was resistive to slightly tight. The smoking draw was a little tight, but manageable in the sip sized puffs which I consider correct for Laguito and narrower gauge cigars. The burn wasn?t always the straightest and attempted at times to follow vertical veins, however whilst not perfect it was good enough and required no correction.
Flavour: The pre-light aroma was light but distinctly barnyard. My first sip was into salty, sour citrus. Then as the woods arrived the citrus twang became clean, sharp and tart and deliciously refreshing. The flavours depth was medium and the smoke creamy and velvet smooth carrying an opulent cedarlike aroma. As the third progressed the sweetness in the cigar became honeyed and the citrus and wood tastes began to work together in some sort of perfectly balanced routine, where sometimes the citrus would be to the fore and the overall taste would remind me of mellow dessert wine, and when the woods came to the front the sensation became something similar to smoking a dry martini. During the first third other tastes like carrot cake and something akin to softened caramel would also make fleeting appearances and then be absorbed into the melting-pot of the base. Into the second third, and for a short while the wood tastes became first leathery and then softly earthy. The citric tastes began to recede and then almost suddenly all the flavours combined into something which I can only describe as being like honey sweetened Expresso with a light lemon edge. It sounds totally ?wrong? I know, but the taste was superb. Retro-hale throughout the smoke was wood tinged with hints of spice, except for one instance in the second third when the retro hit was almost pure Cuban ?twang? and nearly enough to make my eyes water. The final third was an exploration of darker, earthier more chocolate like tastes. Occasionally the flavour would be bitter like pure Cocao or would be milder and sweeter like praline, and sometimes just the lightest of citrus would reappear to retain refreshment in the smoke. Pure delight!
Overall: Top Draw. I can?t really praise this cigar enough, as of today it?s up there in my list of best ever smokes. It?s smooth, refined, complex, sophisticated and carries a wealth of flavour in every passage. Some would argue that for a narrow guage it?s too expensive, but if you look at the smoke time you?ll see that it?s a (very) slow burner and ? as long as you don?t attempt to hurry it ? packs bags of value and enjoyment in every (minute regulated) sip/puff. Beware the strength of the CCE which comes into play in the final third, it won?t knock you over, but there?s certainly enough to keep you on your toes!
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