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Old 08-29-2022, 02:04 PM   #1
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2008 Bolivar Royal Corona

Pending further information

Last edited by smbauerllc; 08-30-2022 at 04:48 AM. Reason: Pending further information
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Old 08-29-2022, 02:30 PM   #2
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Nice review.
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Old 08-29-2022, 02:33 PM   #3
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Nice review.
Thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot

I friggin love cigars
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Old 08-29-2022, 03:11 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jefslat View Post
Nice review.
It is a great cigar *and* a nice review. I have a stockpile of them as the Bolivar and Partagas lines are my favorites. Cohiba can be great, but not even at the price point they used to be at, let alone what they cost now.

Not making any accusations, but the band on that cigar makes me suspicious that it's a genuine BRC. Back in the day, distributors tended to either ship the cigars and bands separately, or rebrand them under another name.

It's entirely possible that the person who imported it did so bandless and added his own hand written band. However, despite tastes vary, the way you reviewed it doesn't line up with the ones I have had of the same age and vitola.

There are endless reasons to explain it. Perhaps I should send you one I can vouch for being genuine and of similar age and see how it measures up to the cigar you reviewed.

Has the potential for a good article for the magazine.
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Old 08-30-2022, 03:27 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by BigO View Post
It is a great cigar *and* a nice review. I have a stockpile of them as the Bolivar and Partagas lines are my favorites. Cohiba can be great, but not even at the price point they used to be at, let alone what they cost now.



Not making any accusations, but the band on that cigar makes me suspicious that it's a genuine BRC. Back in the day, distributors tended to either ship the cigars and bands separately, or rebrand them under another name.



It's entirely possible that the person who imported it did so bandless and added his own hand written band. However, despite tastes vary, the way you reviewed it doesn't line up with the ones I have had of the same age and vitola.



There are endless reasons to explain it. Perhaps I should send you one I can vouch for being genuine and of similar age and see how it measures up to the cigar you reviewed.



Has the potential for a good article for the magazine.

@BigO
Interesting that you think it may not have actually been a BRC.

You've got me dying to know what things in my review make you think so.

If you could let me know even very briefly if you dont have the time or inclination to write much, either here or via PM, what makes you question it, it would make for a very good learning experience for me, and I'm always striving to learn as much as I can about my passion; cigars.

You also make me inclined to take the review down, even if only temporarily, if you're able to tell me what you think it really was and I can edit it, as I really dont want to be putting bad information out there.

I certainly can't vouch for it, as it was part of a gift from someone I no longer have contact with, so i can't ask for the reason for the handwritten band, and I can't even vouch for the person in general as I have had it a couple years probably, so no longer recall who I got it from, but regardless, I am confident in saying that I dont see the bomber knowingly giving me a mislabeled/fake cigar, but that in no way eliminates them having received it mislabeled themselves and unknowingly passing it on to me. It certainly may have changed hands multiple times as that particular forum was bomb crazy, plus secret Santa, contests, make a wish threads, etc, so cigars were flying everywhere and anyone could have put that label on it.

My addled memory wants to say that I asked the gifter about it and was told he added the handwritten band, but can't recall why.

Also, the BBF was my goto Bolivar so I have significantly les experience with the BRC, having only had a handful, and its been a while, so I can't really compare, especially with my memory problems.

And just to put it out there, I always have great difficulty in describing specifically what I taste in a cigar. Its definitely my weak point for sure. Don't know if its my palate no being able to discern different things well, possibly damaged from 30 years of cigarettes smoking or my brain not being able to pick apart the overall taste into specific, individual flavors.

Also, i do recall when I bought my first ever box of cc's (Partagas Coronas Senior), the vendor shipped them naked, in an nc box, and the bands and tubos arrived separately, and this would likely have been in the 2009 or 2010 timeframe probably.

If you decide you want to send a known legit one for me to review and for everyone to compare, and include in the magazine if you deem my reviews/comparison worthy, i would happily do it as your doubts have really peaked my interest, and I would be honored to be included in a magazine for only the second time in my life, with the first being a college essay on a particular short story that my instructor loved and got my permission to have it published in some obscure literary magazine.

ETA: review taken down pending authentication of the cigar. The original review has been saved for re-posting or for comparison purposes if BigO decides to send a known legit one for review and comparison.

I friggin love cigars

Last edited by smbauerllc; 08-30-2022 at 08:59 AM.
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Old 08-30-2022, 01:21 PM   #6
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Sean. I was intentionally vague to avoid being antagonistic in any way I could fathom. There are so many factors that go into the cigar (any cigar) that make any review fall on the American Bandstand scale of "It had a good beat, I could dance to it, I gave it a 92."

I in no way wanted to disparage your experience, nor your benefactor. That was my intention in being so vague. It's so far away from my personal experience with that Marque and vitola that I offered to send you one of similar vintage out of the ones I put away years ago to age and can vouch for their storage. That offer still stands.

One thing you can be sure of is that when the weather permits (we have been getting PM thunderstorms for the last week or so...normal for Atlanta this time of year), I will break one out and compare your notes in mind with my own smoke.

I am in no way disparaging your cigar or your review. It was so completely different from one of my favorite cigars that it sent up my suspicions. Hey, you know, tastes are different between people, and what I like best can completely be the opposite of another's. At the same time, I wouldn't have put away as many boxes as I have if they tasted as you described them.

I mean no disrespect. I begged to differ and (hopefully honorably) offered a stick or two from my own collection to offer a different view or perspective as to what I consider to be a cigar worth stockpiling. I have a fondness for petit coronas and I have put away enough of them across brands to last me far beyond my expiration date. The Bolivar PC is in the top 5 of my favorite cigars across all Marques and vitolas. It almost never disappoints me beyond a cigar or two on construction issues that are possible in any handmade product. As a cook, I drop a deuce or two that just didn't hit the level of success I was aiming for.
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Old 08-30-2022, 01:29 PM   #7
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Sean, I'm pretty sure I have your address on file, but as a precaution, please PM me your address so that I can make sure I get them to you promptly.

The last thing I want to do here is to stir the pot of controversy. Peace = good in my book.
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Old 08-30-2022, 01:56 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigO View Post
Sean. I was intentionally vague to avoid being antagonistic in any way I could fathom. There are so many factors that go into the cigar (any cigar) that make any review fall on the American Bandstand scale of "It had a good beat, I could dance to it, I gave it a 92."

I in no way wanted to disparage your experience, nor your benefactor. That was my intention in being so vague. It's so far away from my personal experience with that Marque and vitola that I offered to send you one of similar vintage out of the ones I put away years ago to age and can vouch for their storage. That offer still stands.

One thing you can be sure of is that when the weather permits (we have been getting PM thunderstorms for the last week or so...normal for Atlanta this time of year), I will break one out and compare your notes in mind with my own smoke.

I am in no way disparaging your cigar or your review. It was so completely different from one of my favorite cigars that it sent up my suspicions. Hey, you know, tastes are different between people, and what I like best can completely be the opposite of another's. At the same time, I wouldn't have put away as many boxes as I have if they tasted as you described them.

I mean no disrespect. I begged to differ and (hopefully honorably) offered a stick or two from my own collection to offer a different view or perspective as to what I consider to be a cigar worth stockpiling. I have a fondness for petit coronas and I have put away enough of them across brands to last me far beyond my expiration date. The Bolivar PC is in the top 5 of my favorite cigars across all Marques and vitolas. It almost never disappoints me beyond a cigar or two on construction issues that are possible in any handmade product. As a cook, I drop a deuce or two that just didn't hit the level of success I was aiming for.
I certainly don't feel you said or did anything disparaging to me or the gifter at all.

You had suspicions and politely stated such, which I actually appreciate as i don't want to put out bad information and part of why I do these reviews is to learn as much as possible, so I take it as being helpful, not disparaging.

If you want to send one of yours for me to review and compare I would gladly welcome it. If you prefer to smoke one yourself and compare instead, thats cool too. My only goal here is to put out accurate information at this point since someone I'm sure I can trust had suspicions about it having actually been what I thought it was.

I just felt it best to take the review down until the accuracy of the information was guaranteed.

I have it, including the picture, saved for comparison or putting back up if you change your mind about your suspicions for some reason or need a copy to compare to one you smoke.

I certainly don't feel the least bit slighted about anything. Definitely no hard feelings and i welcome anyone who has questions about one of my reviews to feel free to speak up. Thats one way for me to continue learning.

I friggin love cigars
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Old 09-09-2022, 06:03 AM   #9
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@BigO

I will have to look. Never noticed any errors on the homepage.

I have browsed and read a bit multiple times, and plan to do more, so at least you have 1 reader,lol


Planning to test the BRC's with my Humidimeter today and if the rh looks good, will probably review one tomorrow and repost the original review just before it for easy comparison.

I friggin love cigars

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Old 09-09-2022, 07:38 AM   #10
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With no irony or sarcasm, I'm eager to hear your thoughts.
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