It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to put together a guest post for my good friends here at The Cigar Nut so I decided to pick a special cigar to make up for lost time. Today’s Cuban cigar review will be on the Bolivar Royal Corona. I purchased a 10 box of these a few months ago that had about 2 years of age on them. I’ve gone through about half the box and will be giving my final thoughts on this cigar here.

I’ve always known the Bolivar line to be one of quality and variety with vitolas ranging from the small Purito size all the way up to the Coronas Giagantes (Churchhill). The Royal Corona is their Robusto offering and comes both in a flashy red tube and an untubed version. It regularly makes the top 10 list of best selling Cuban cigars in Canada. I’m sure it’s competitive price point plays a factor in that, making itself one of the lower priced robusto vitolas in the Cuban market. Let’s see if it’s price is it’s only attraction or if this is actually a quality cigar…

Cigar: Bolivar Royal Corona
Drink: Unibroque Brewery – Maudite
Vitola: Box-Pressed Robusto (4.875 x 50)
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Price: About $8-10 in Cuba
Burn Time: 10:30-

Construction:
· A nice clean box pressed shape
· Very clean triple cap
· A nice dark brown colored wrapper
· Just a tiny bit of spring and a nice even firmness through the length of the stick
· Foot appears very well packed
· No major veins to be seen, even the lines of the leaf are hard to detect
· In terms of most Cuban’s, this is probably one of the cleaner ones in terms on construction
· Cut was very clean and even
· Draw is a bit more open then I’d like but nothing that would ruin the experience

Burn:
· Toasting was fairly quick but perfectly even
· The burn line started off nice and straight but is getting a bit wavy about a half inch into the cigar
· The cigar is correcting itself before any major burn issues occur but it still remains a bit wavy
· The burn kept itself lit fairly well without the need for me to pay much attention to it, jsut needed a little extra help near the nub
· The wrapper stopped burning near the end despite my efforts to fix it but there wasn’t much left, I decided to set it down rather than fight with it

Smoke & Ash:
· A moderate amount of smoke, just enough
· A small amount of resting smoke as the cigar sits in the ashtray, gives off a very nice cedar aroma
· Ash is fairly strong and tight with just a bit of flaking
· The color of the ash is a nice light gray with some darker accents
· Held on for close to 2 inches before gently tapping it into the ashtray
· Approaching the half-way mark, the smoke became much fuller

Tasting Notes:
· Wrapper has a nice woodsy and earthy aroma to it with a hint of vanilla-like sweetness
· The foot brings out more of the earthiness and adds a touch of spice to the nose
· Pre-light draw was very earthy, almost dirt-like with a good helping of peppery spice
· Initial draws are a burst of woodsy with a touch of spice, the earthiness is pretty much gone
· Retrohale has no bite but brings a touch of spice with a smooth cedar finish
· Just past an inch, the initial vanilla aroma I caught is slowly making it’s way into the woodsy mix as the spice slowly tapers off, a very nice transition
· Body has mostly been mild, coming close to medium but not quite there
· As I pass the half-way mark, the retrohale has picked up a nice little bite and the flavors are melding together nicely, adding in a toasted bread type of flavor now
· The body began to pick up a bit in the last 2 inches, making itself a hefty medium
· Some burnt wood type of flavor started creeping in here too, the vanilla has tapered off as well
· A bit of harshness crept in near the last inch, a small purge seemed to help a bit

Final Thoughts:
This is a great cigar, especially for the price paid. It’s complexity and range of flavors is often compared to the Cohiba Robusto but for a significantly more attractive price point. I wouldn’t go that far but you can read Tony’s thoughts on the Cohiba Robusto on CasasFumando.com(http://www.casasfumando.com/?p=1062) and judge for yourself. It’s burn was a bit wavy throughout but always corrected any major concerns before they became problems. From the group of them I’ve smoked through, all the draws have been quite good, not suffering from the usual tightness associated with a lot of Cubans. The flavors offered a few dimensions and great transitions between them. The mild-medium body makes it a great choice for any smoker and its consistent quality makes it a smart purchase.

Pairings:
The Maudite is a hard beer to describe. It is a strong beer, clocking in at 8% alc./vol. But it goes down so smoothly you’d think that number was a lot smaller. This ale comes in a compressed and corked bottle and the froth you get upon pouring it is nothing short of legendary. The Unibroque brewery is based out of Quebec, Canada and also has the popular La Fin du Monde as part of it’s inventory. It is an unfiltered beer and has a smoky amber appearance in my glass. The flavors are fantastic ranging from a slight hoppy bitterness, fruity, spicy and damn smooth. If you haven’t had the Maudite or any of Unibroque’s other offerings they are definitely worth checking out. Some other good pairings to go with this cigar would include a scotch, cognac, coffee or soda.

It appears that we have been lucky enough to have Cheap Humidors sponsor a contest for us! Jacob has been in touch with the company and they have graciously agreed to send a cigar caddy to the lucky winner! I’m sure you have all heard of the company, but if not please take some time to check out their site, look through some of their great humidors but be sure to come back and sign up for the contest!

I heard about cheaphumidors.com when I was looking at upgrading from a 20 count ‘starter’ humidor to something a bit more my pace. After going through google I actually found their site because I wanted to find a cheaper price on something a bit larger. I ended up getting their 150 ct Art Deco humidor which was actually in their imperfects category. Guess what, there is a small scratch about an inch long and a 1/16th of an inch wide – on the bottom. Yes, a scratch I can not even see and I picked it up for a little over 80 bucks after shipping and handling. In my opinion – deal.

So the important part – how do you win? Enter your e-mail below, cheaphumidors.com will pick a winner at random and send them this caddy. Depending on how well this contest goes there may be more in the future so please, enter in and good luck!

P.s. This is not adding you into a newsgroup or newsletter list, this is simply for our contest here.

Jacob is at it again, thanks to his efforts it looks like I might be able to attend my very first cigar festival ever – this one being in Kansas City and rightfully named the KC Cigar Fest 2010. The date is September 18th, 2010 and I highly recommend if you are able to make it to purchase your tickets online ($45 online, $55 at door if they have tickets) but there are only 1000 so move quick! Might be asking, why so much money? Each person will receive 4 premium hand rolled cigars, 2 drink tickets and a 1 raffle ticket. Raffle prizes will include cigars, t-shirts, ashtray trays and a signed box of cigars.

Jennifer will be having one of her wedding showers that day so I figure if I can leave St. Louis early (3 1/2 hour one way drive, so no excuses for the others with a drive) I will grab some lunch with Jacob and whoever else is already out and about and then head over to the festival around 2pm when it starts.

Please check out the site http://kccigarfest.com/ for more information. As a teaser – They will be giving out over $40,000 worth of cigars and raffle prizes which include (but are not limited to) a box of God Of Fire Cigars, Prometheus and Xikar Cutters and lighters as well as a limited edition humidor filled with cigars! If that wasn’t enough, each person will receive a Graycliff cigars as one of the 4 at the door – AND – Abel Laura, son of Avelino Laura, the master cigar roller who was Fidel Castro’s personal cigar roller, helped create (my personal favorite) the original Cohiba line from Cuba will be on site rolling cigars throughout the event. If that wasn’t enough, Paolo Garrazoli – owener of The Graycliff cigar company will be there in person! Hope I can see you out there!

As I have been getting more and more into my random rants and tangents, I have tried taking a step back from reviewing a cigar for content and really think about the ‘life’ of a cigar, from conception to destruction. On a car ride home from work one night, I quickly became absorbed with a Cuban cigar and my own thoughts – what places make the cigar, who rolls them, who distributes the cigars and lastly who sells them. Well, during this first half my cigar mind tunnel, my thoughts started swirling more and more across the ‘who sells them’ question, this being the main fodder for this post.

Yes, we all know that tobacconists sell cigars, I’m not that naive, but in all reality it is the manufacturers who are selling the cigars and the tobacconists who ‘resell’ the packaged product to the consumer. So then naturally my next series of questions and thoughts goes to what drives the production companies to make a specific type of cigar? Again, I’m trying to take a step back and imagine all this in a perfect scenario (I know there never is but today, we get to dream) where the company is sitting down at the drawing board trying to decide where their first or their next blend will go.

I have heard more than once that a certain cigar has been ‘blended specifically for a veteran smoker’ or ‘perfect for the beginning smoker’ and yes, I can see where body and how potent the cigar can be a determining factor for a new or seasoned smoker, but this still does not answer my question. Sometimes they base it around a specific wrapper but I feel that approach, although becoming more common, is not the normal procedure. Anniversary or special occasion cigars, sure they are to celebrate something but isn’t every cigar that is produced made for the same reason? (sure seems like it) – I once came across a review site that had spoken of a cigar to be released on the market and that it was specially blended to ‘appeal to the European pallet’ – ah hah! Now we are getting somewhere – demographics.

Without beating around the bush much longer, I wonder (purely speculation) if manufacturers consider region and demographics when it comes to producing cigars. We already know that Cuban cigars have had region specific released cigars for years, and usually, the blend is tweaked a little to appeal to a more niche group. Sticking with the Cuban cigars thought, I also wonder if they tailor to a more mild to medium body and strength opposed to what many of us Americans in the cigar world consider the ass kicker, a super dark and full body cigar to be the mecca of all. This got me started on the large amount of hype and publicity revolving around the newer full body, higher dose of nicotine that manufacturers seem to be producing, again only my opinion, for the American market specifically.

Could it be based on the age of the smoker as well? Perhaps the majority of American smokers (not all so don’t jump my ass) are middle aged or older, their taste buds and experiences much different from that of their younger counterparts who seem to be increasing in number, not only in America but across the world. I have a friend of mine who is in the Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan and he has told me that most the cigars he finds are Cuban and that are ‘real light in color’, so I assume they are the mild to medium smokes I described earlier. I have another friend in Australia who said mostly the same, that they usually have cigars that are of Cuban or ‘heavy cigars that are popular in the states’ – now that throws me for a spin. We have tried for how many years to get the ‘good shit’ from Cuba and those who have them on a regular basis are smoking cigars from the Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduras because we like them! Guess the grass is always greener . . .

If all that is true, then the majority of cigars being produced from non-Cuban locations are directing their efforts towards America rather than the rest of the world, where as Habanos SA is targeting every country and region except Americans (that whole embargo thing kinda gets in the way). This does not only rest on the blends but the sizes of the cigars as well – think about most of the great Cuban cigars, I’d say usually 50 ring or smaller (length is all over the board) while most cigars that I hear fellow Americans talking about are on the opposite side of the spectrum, 50 ring gauge or larger to be deemed a ‘real smoke’.

I’m sure I may have had one two many drinks or maybe too much free time, but to me this is a very valid question that, to be honest, I do not have an answer for. I have had the privilege to have some of the finer details of the business described to me by someone who experiences it on a daily basis. He taught me to the point where I almost thought I was understanding everything but he reinforced to me that I know nothing. ‘David, if we were going to have this conversation we’d be talking for days’ – So that is where I will leave it, what are your thoughts, what do you think drives the manufacturers to produce what they do and mainly, are there efforts causing you to unload a few extra pieces of paper from your wallet?