Rafael Gonzalez Coronas Extra & Punch Robusto (Swiss RE)
After a couple of weeks off the cigars I had two smokes I had not had before at the weekend. The first was a fairly recent release of Rafael Gonzalez
Coranas Extra which is a Corona Gorda in size (46x143). The look of the stick
was very much classic Rafael Gonzalez with a darkish wrapper that never look
too oily or rich. The condition and storage had been good and on first lighting
it was straight into a nice place, elegant balance is what I look for in RG's. They are never heavy and this got to medium towards
the backend but never any more than that and was a perfect mid-afternoon
smoke. The size is one that I love, in honesty I’m not a massive fan of going
over the 46 gauge. The stick was a fair bit box-pressed, squared-off by being tightly packed in the box, but not to a degree than
was irritating though I would always prefer cigars not to be. The dominant
flavours were of light milky coffee and tanned tobacco, little or no sweetness
and not a cigar that, despite being lighter in weight, I would give to newer
smoker. I think this stick was totally ready to smoke, no harshness, but at the
same time I think it will be more and more elegant in the medium term. I missed
out on buying some of these recently and am regretting it. This specific cigar
has been discontinued for some totally ridiculous reason.
The second smoke was both a different size and a different
age. It was a Punch Robusto from 2007 that was a designated Swiss Regional Release. Punch does not have a Robusto in its range ordinarily and is not a
brand I am that experienced with. This had a lovely white ash that you tend to
get more often with tobacco that has more age. The burn was good and
surprisingly slow. It was not a remarkable cigar but a good one nevertheless.
It reminded me a little of a good Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No2, it had
elements of hay, straw and dry tea. I love trying these new releases, I only
wish more and more of them were in the more elegant ring gauges 36-42 but this
is no new view. Buy the “thinnies” while you can as “wide is beautiful” seems
to be the Habanos SA mantra. It is good to be back smoking after what felt like a boring virus!
After a couple of weeks off the cigars I had two smokes I had not had before at the weekend. The first was a fairly recent release of Rafael Gonzalez
Coranas Extra which is a Corona Gorda in size (46x143). The look of the stick
was very much classic Rafael Gonzalez with a darkish wrapper that never look
too oily or rich. The condition and storage had been good and on first lighting
it was straight into a nice place, elegant balance is what I look for in RG's. They are never heavy and this got to medium towards
the backend but never any more than that and was a perfect mid-afternoon
smoke. The size is one that I love, in honesty I’m not a massive fan of going
over the 46 gauge. The stick was a fair bit box-pressed, squared-off by being tightly packed in the box, but not to a degree than
was irritating though I would always prefer cigars not to be. The dominant
flavours were of light milky coffee and tanned tobacco, little or no sweetness
and not a cigar that, despite being lighter in weight, I would give to newer
smoker. I think this stick was totally ready to smoke, no harshness, but at the
same time I think it will be more and more elegant in the medium term. I missed
out on buying some of these recently and am regretting it. This specific cigar
has been discontinued for some totally ridiculous reason.
The second smoke was both a different size and a different
age. It was a Punch Robusto from 2007 that was a designated Swiss Regional Release. Punch does not have a Robusto in its range ordinarily and is not a
brand I am that experienced with. This had a lovely white ash that you tend to
get more often with tobacco that has more age. The burn was good and
surprisingly slow. It was not a remarkable cigar but a good one nevertheless.
It reminded me a little of a good Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No2, it had
elements of hay, straw and dry tea. I love trying these new releases, I only
wish more and more of them were in the more elegant ring gauges 36-42 but this
is no new view. Buy the “thinnies” while you can as “wide is beautiful” seems
to be the Habanos SA mantra. It is good to be back smoking after what felt like a boring virus!
No comments:
Post a Comment