Simon's Precis Reviews

[peanutpete]

another fine review simon, i am like you never really had a SLR rock my world

p.s keep meaning to ask, whats with the name change did i miss something?

[Simon-JG-hr]

Thanks Pete. Those ones we had at the SLR evening just didn't quite do it. Though I'm holding out great hope for the aged Regios which Robert gave us.

Just realised that it probably wasn't the greatest idea having my full name on the web (especially when I regularly mention when I'm out and about).

[monkey66]

Thanks Pete. Those ones we had at the SLR evening just didn't quite do it. Though I'm holding out great hope for the aged Regios which Robert gave us.

Just realised that it probably wasn't the greatest idea having my full name on the web (especially when I regularly mention when I'm out and about).

Then you probably need to change the title of this thread?

[Simon-JG-hr]

It's only my first name though (which I'm fine with).

Either that, or I could try and convince people that I'm called precis... Like those people that use fake mother's maiden names for security questions... The old double bluff.

[Simon-JG-hr]

La Aurora, Aurora Rothschild

The Rothschild, not a commonly referred to size any more (I suppose anything similar is often termed a petit robusto now). This is soon to hit the UK markets as an entry level hand-made cigar. Does that mean its no good? Not a bit of it. Wonderfully constructed, the draw was excellent and the burn as even as you could want (especially given my cock up of a light). The flavours were okay - going from honey to leather (through a slightly mineral phase), then onto latte before tailing off in a little bit of a disappointing finish. It was never harsh, hot or bitter though. Will be a great value cigar.

**Full Review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 89/100

[Simon-JG-hr]

Well, it's been a while (nearly four months to be exact ), but here it is: my latest review:

Por Larranaga Petit Corona

After seeing that so many members seemed to have been smoking PLPCs recently, I felt that it was time I pulled my one out of the humidor on Monday. The example reviewed was kindly gifted to me by Dave after one of our mini-herfs in Cardiff last year. I found it to be a fairly well made cigar, not particularly attractive though, and with a coherent flavour profile. Cream and nuts give way to caramel; then honey steps in, developing a herbaceous twang, before toast rounds off the cigar.

**Full Review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 89/100

[Simon-JG-hr]

It's taken a wee while to post a link to my latest review, what with a nice little trip to London (business and pleasure) and various other demands on my time since it was written on Monday. But here it is, six days after going up on the blog:

La Aurora, Aurora Bristol Especiales (Aged)

The cigar in the spot-light is a La Aurora Aurora Bristol Especiales which I picked up at Sautters last November. It was an absolute bargain at a fiver too (as they were clearing their NC stock) - right place, right time. They virtually had to blow the dust off the box this cigar was in, so long had it been in their humidor for! Anyway, it was a nice, mellow smoke, and didn't seem to miss a beat. I gave one to a friend who concurred with my general thoughts on the cigar, which must be a good sign for their consistency too.

**Full Review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 91/100

[Simon-JG-hr]

After a fairly comprehensive review of the LFdC Short Roubusto, a return to something a little bit more run-of-the mill... A pleasant little petit corona:

Romeo y Julieta Cedros de Luxe No.3

The latest cigar I've reviewed is the RyJ Cedros de Luxe No.3. It's a fairly short review (for a change)... I found the couple of these that I've had recently have generally started quite light, with floral flavours, then developed through a fairly plain middle section towards a more medium-bodied, pepper and cedar finish. Construction seems to be fairly good and consistent, meanwhile the wrappers are generally pretty ugly... Decent enough cigar, unremarkable in almost every respect, but with almost no real negatives.

**Full Review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 87/100

[Simon-JG-hr]

Rafael Gonzalez Coronas Extra

A couple of weeks ago, whilst I was in London to see a consultant about my knee, I stopped off at Boisdale CW for a spot of lunch. After some lovely Scotch quails eggs and a spicy burger I headed onto the cigar terrace for a cigar and a whisky. I chose an RG Coronas Extra with a glass of Highland Park 12yo - the first time I've tried this legendary malt (and what a whisky to go with a cigar!) The cigar was light-to-medium in body and medium in flavour. Some nice sweet notes to begin with, then some cedar, bit more sweet and floral, another quick blast of cedar, then some smokey barbeque flavours, finishing as it started. This was much better than anticipated, given my previous, bad experiences of the marque with a few petit coronas.

**Full review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 91/100

[Puff Scotty]

Tried the coronas extra a while back, didn't do much for me... but an 18 yr old Highland Park or two would make it more bearable!
Keep up with the monologues Simon,
Cheers,
Puff.

[Simon-JG-hr]

Well, it would be fair to say that I've not updated this thread in quite some time... A couple of nice little herfs, with Dan on Wednesday and then the 10MS meet on Thursday, have made me head back to the blog to get things looking a bit livelier again. Starting with a review of the Punch UK RE for this year...

Punch Medalla de Oro (2012 UK RE)

I 'sampled' the Punch Medalla de Oro at Turmeaus in Chester. It's a gorgeous looking cigar in its gold foil, and the wrapper is not half bad too - if a shade lighter than one would usually expect from a special release. The cigar smoked well, with a good even burn throughout and a very nice draw. The opening was strong, with pepper and roasted nuts, shortly joined by some creaminess. The middle third was traditional Punch - little bit fruity with woody notes. The finish saw a return of some pepper, alongside more wood and some pleasant, warming spices. All in all, a decent enough cigar, but didn't cash the cheques it offered up pre-light and during the first third. Potential to be better with a few years?

**Full review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 89/100

[Manning]

great review looking forward to trying this sometime soon

[Simon-JG-hr]

Thanks for the kind words Manning. I'd certainly recommend trying one, they're a good cigar, though a bit pricey to make buying a box of them a justifiable decision (for me, at least).

Bolivar Coronas Extra

I moved house a couple of months ago, and working my way through boxes of stuff from the move I found a notepad containing a few reviews which I never got around to typing up and posting last year. The Boli Coronas Extra was one of them. A delightful cigar, it looks nice, smells nice, and tastes like you'd want a Boli to taste. From the off there's creaminess, with coffee and nuts. Then a touch of grassiness, followed my more nuts, almonds, hints of wood. It really is baffling that Habanos deleted this line. (That is obviously very sad news, but I find that imagining Nigel Farage saying the word 'baffling' lightens the mood a tad...)

**Full review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 90/100

[Simon-JG-hr]

Finally... Quite some considerable time after Simon very kindly donated me a Monte No.2, having heard the tragic story that I'd never smoked one, I have smoked it! As requested, I've jotted down my thoughts and put them up on the blog. Here's the essence of it:

Montecristo No.2

I've been without cigars for too long. With the house to myself, I finally broke out the donated Monte No.2 and lit up. My trouble in keeping my humidity levels up through this long winter had clearly had an impact - the cigar was very firm, almost hard, and didn't burn terribly well, going out twice. The flavours though were good, and will certainly have me returning to try again. Up front there were woody and fruity notes, developing towards half way with hints of vanilla, coffee, and pepper at various stages. As the cigar moved on, grassiness developed alongside cider soaked oak before the cigar finished with deeper, meaty, and tannic qualities.

**Full review, with pictures!**

Overall score: 87/100

As I said on the blog, I think that two or three of the marks would probably not have been lost if the stick had spent the last few months up around the 65%RH mark. So a very good 87...

[Deano]

Nice one mate. I have had some younger milder Monte 2s, but in general they're a great cigar, 90+ for moi.