Cigar Weekly

Garster 44 · 10-23-2006, 06:08 AM

I have long been a fan of the Corona Gorda size cigar, and partly because I have never had this brand before I especially wanted to try one of these. I have had three now, and feel able to give it some write up. The box says smoke it within one month, or wait a year. These were from September 05, so I took the one year option.

The cigars in the box were uniform and beautiful. All had an almost identical light brown wrapper. A color I might compare to cafe au lait, or a not too milky milk chocolate. The wrappers were smooth, with very little marks or veining on them. A smooth to the touch texture, with slight bumps. The triple cap came off nicely, and the prelight draw had some resistance, but not enough to cause me to struggle to draw. The pre-light draw tasted of spice and wood, an "authentic" cuban taste. The cigar took the light easily, and burnt well from the start. I am happy to report that the burn was excellant throughout, and not one of the three I've had needed a correction.

The mild spice taste with wood and some leather was present throughout the smoke. Pleasant, but not very complex. Unfortunately, about half way down the smoke became harsher and hotter. This harshness never let up through the end of the smoke, and it bacame even hotter as it smoked down. Near the last inch it tasted a little bitter, and was not very pleasant.

In all the first half was pretty good, but not great, and the second half was disappointing, ending not good. I hope it is the young age (13 months) on these that added to the harshness, and that they will mellow out with age.

My advice, if you're going to venture into the Rafeal Gonzalez CE, do not listen to the advice on the box, double it. Let it rest for at least two years, but longer if you can. For less than $10 more you can get the Mag 46, which is a much better choice. When these are ready to be tried again, unless they have changed dramatically, I'm going to use these as "fillers", when I don't have time or the circumstances to really relax and enjoy a better Corona Gorda. In the mean time, I'd suggest Upmans, Hoyos or Ex 3, which are all better cigars IMHO.

I hope this helped.

10-23-2006, 06:08 AM	#1
Garster 44 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Withheld Posts: 1,389	Rafeal Gonzalez Corona Extra I have long been a fan of the Corona Gorda size cigar, and partly because I have never had this brand before I especially wanted to try one of these. I have had three now, and feel able to give it some write up. The box says smoke it within one month, or wait a year. These were from September 05, so I took the one year option. The cigars in the box were uniform and beautiful. All had an almost identical light brown wrapper. A color I might compare to cafe au lait, or a not too milky milk chocolate. The wrappers were smooth, with very little marks or veining on them. A smooth to the touch texture, with slight bumps. The triple cap came off nicely, and the prelight draw had some resistance, but not enough to cause me to struggle to draw. The pre-light draw tasted of spice and wood, an "authentic" cuban taste. The cigar took the light easily, and burnt well from the start. I am happy to report that the burn was excellant throughout, and not one of the three I've had needed a correction. The mild spice taste with wood and some leather was present throughout the smoke. Pleasant, but not very complex. Unfortunately, about half way down the smoke became harsher and hotter. This harshness never let up through the end of the smoke, and it bacame even hotter as it smoked down. Near the last inch it tasted a little bitter, and was not very pleasant. In all the first half was pretty good, but not great, and the second half was disappointing, ending not good. I hope it is the young age (13 months) on these that added to the harshness, and that they will mellow out with age. My advice, if you're going to venture into the Rafeal Gonzalez CE, do not listen to the advice on the box, double it. Let it rest for at least two years, but longer if you can. For less than $10 more you can get the Mag 46, which is a much better choice. When these are ready to be tried again, unless they have changed dramatically, I'm going to use these as "fillers", when I don't have time or the circumstances to really relax and enjoy a better Corona Gorda. In the mean time, I'd suggest Upmans, Hoyos or Ex 3, which are all better cigars IMHO. I hope this helped. __________________ Life is just a matter of when!