Esteban Chupacabra Corona - Habano wrapper

[DrifterDave]

I had a shipment of the Esteban ChupaCabra Coronas arrive yesterday (6” x 44). I had bought a couple of the Maduro and a couple of the Habano wrapper to sample.
These are impressive cigars.
They have a wonderful appearance; nicely round, shining and smooth wrappers, a unique pigtail head, and uncut foot, a band that really compliments the shape and color. The Habano wrapper is gorgeous and dark, special looking. The Maduro is not as handsome, but still impressive. And if that isn’t good enough, they have an amazing tobacco aroma…like maybe one of the best I’ve ever smelled. They were also surprisingly heavy, and that alarmed me a little. I didn’t worry too much, just told myself that it was probably just a really dense cigar.
I knew that I was going to have trouble smoking through a complete cigar in one sitting last night, but that is nothing new to me. I know that is less than ideal for continuity, but I clipped one of the Habano wrapper models and started in.
The cigar lit well and had an amazing first inch. It was unmistakably Nicaraguan, and had a nice rich flavor with plenty of smoke. The strength was a little less than I would have expected. Draw was a little firm, but not overly so. Certainly contained earthy notes, with some nice dark cherry. Just as I started to really enjoy myself, the cigar faltered. There was a little uneven burn, and the smoke volume tapered off. I fault myself a little, thinking that maybe I should have let this one rest in my humidor a while, maybe it was a little damp, maybe I was puffing away a bit too zealously because I was enjoying it so much. I sat it down on the ashtray and let it go out while I went off to tend to the evenings obligations.
I came back to it about 30 minute later and sparked it back up. The issue I had earlier was cured, and the burn was great and plenty of smoke. Nice rich smoke. Maybe a little café au lait mixed with some semi-sweet chocolate….still has that hint of dark cherry on the exhale…absolutely no rough edges…like Davidoff smooth. It has made some gains in potency, but is not a heavy hitter in this department, but enough to be relaxing without making me queasy. The last half of this cigar was about as enjoyable as any in recent memory.
As it got down to its last 1-1/2”, the cigar was begging to be retired. It was hard to keep lit, getting a little hot, draw was getting tight. I hated to see it go.
I was well pleased with this one. I think most of the issues I had with it could be resolved with a little age and/or bringing it to proper conditions. It is handsome and full of magnificent flavors..overall I’d say it is at the high medium to full area in body. Honestly, I think this has the potential to be one of the superstars in my humidor.