Brun del Re Premium Corona

[PeeJay]

I had great hopes that this Costa Rican stick was going to be the third selection for my NC humidor especially when you read the manufacturer's blurb;

'The Premium Series (golden band) has been created for those who newly enjoy smoking, who just began their journey into the fascinating world of cigars, or for more experienced smokers who know how to cherish a milder cigar once in a while. These are elegant cigars with a mild flavour, perfect for any time of day. Finest tobaccos from Nicaragua and a very delicate Connecticut wrapper from Ecuador make a visually appealing cigar. Last but not least, their mild sweetness is longed for amongst its passionate aficionados.'

This is a really nice looking cigar measuring in at just under six inches with a ring gauge of 54. It looks identical to the Cohiba pictured on their match box if you have one, a lovely milk chocolate wrapper, smooth and nicely packed with no looseness. The wrapper has no definite scent, its just pleasant to the nose. I punched this one and I don't know if my cutter is blunt but it loosened off the whole cap leaving the wrapper lose at the end resulting eventually in a soggy bottom. The draw was very free and the pre-lit draw was a definite chocolate taste with a very slight hint of chilli, good things seemed imminent! It took two matches to light and the initial draw was slightly peppery but that soon settled down to a mild and slightly bland flavour with a lot of smoke. I was surprised to see the ash drop at half an inch when I put it down but it burning very evenly. As it went on the smoke became more aromatic and a taste of leather developed but it never seemed to have a lot of identity which was such a pity. This was a very slow burning cigar and after an hour it was still only a third of the way through but disaster was afoot. I noticed that the wrapper had become loose and before I know it I had the whole thing in my hand. I carried on smoking it naked but when it went out on me I just couldn't be bothered any more and left it. Such a disappointment as I was even thinking of getting a box of these if it had been as good as it was sold. The box does look nice does it not. I realise that the poor construction could have been a one off but the experience didn't make it worth repeating to find out.

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[CigarInspector]

Just to give you a little reassurance,that was not a one-off experience. I smoked a couple of these a fewmonths ago and both sticks were almost as bad. I did not lose theentire wrapper, but the construction was poor at best. I cut, notpunch, but it got a slightly tattered end on one of the cigars, thesecond one cut cleanly, but was the one I had the most trouble withthe wrapper from the other end of the cigar.


The flavor of the cigar was decent, notoutstanding. The entire experience was destroyed by the constantannoyances from the wrapper. I wondered if I was the only oneexperiencing the problems, but I have found several other reviewsexpressing similar issues. In my case, the cigars did not have anytime in my humidor, which I thought was the cause of the problem.After checking around, that does not seem to be the real issue, itsounds more as if these cigars are not mediocre in assembly.