Quai d'Orsay Gran Coronas

[El Presidente]

Quai d'Orsay has always been a little bit of a nemisis for me. It has only been the last few years that I have begun to appreciate its quality and that has been through the insistence of members here to "try again". I am glad that I took their advice.

We all have those cigars that we pigeonhole into "not to my taste". It comes as a challenge to ones own beliefs when a cigar on the "Blah" list back hands you across the head as if you were an ignoramas. I have been backhanded by enough cigars over the years to know better.

So what didn't I like about Quai d'Orsay previously? My perceptions were of a cigar which was delicate without the counterbalance of complexity. I found the to be a little too grassy for my taste, that wet grass taste. Too often I found them to have an hint of metal. Still, Chuck, Van, Eric and others told me to persist. I am glad I did.

This Quai d'Orsay Gran Corona is very attractive. The wrapper is pure Quai d'Orsay Colorado with just a hint of oils through the wrapper and a slight dusting of plume.

There is a silkiness to the wrapper which suggests quality. Aroma at cold is subtle, a touch of wood, touch of baled hay.

Construction is impeccable which was confirmed upon serrating the foot with my nail. The draw was perfect accompanied by simple tastes of good tobacco and dry grass stalks.

The foot of the cigar came to light willingly. There is plenty of white/blue smoke and an aroma of toasted tobacco and campfire wood.

In many cigars, the flavours will jump out at you. How many times have I said "Now this is a Partagas 898! or "Winnie" or "Lancero!"

The Quai d'Orsay is a different animal altogether and I never really began to appreciate the line until I changed my own mindset.

This is a cigar which needs to be smoked slowly. It is a cigar that has its own rhythm and it is up to you to synch with it.

Medium bodied, maybe slightly under. There is a velvet mouthfeel to the smoke which produces a delicate interplay of wood, sour cream, slight citrus peel, toasted tobacco. Completely unique, delightful.

The ash is dark gray and well structured. The smoke almost sensual. It is a cigar which needs ones full attention for without it much of the nuances will be missed and that would be tragedy. This is where I have gone wrong in years past. Lighter bodied cigars, subtle complex cigars...need to be treated differently to others in order to extract their delights upon the palate.

There are always friends who are a joy due to their love of life and often bombastic nature. They thrive in a group. There are others who are quieter, deeper thinkers and absolutely charming one on one. This Gran Corona is the latter.

The only real change from first to the end of the last third is a slow and gradual building in the body of the cigar. The core flavours remain the same and they are flavours I am enjoying immensely.

To think that I once believed Quai D'Orsay was an overhyped cigar. The problem has been me all along. I smoked them with the wrong state of mind and more often than not, way too young. This is a cigar which needs 5 years to begin to show its many assets. 10 years to master them.

In my opinion, great examples are the closest I can think of to the Cuban Davidoffs of the past. It might be just me but I can taste a similar DNA.

94

[ramon_cojones]

Very poetic and a joy to read.

I had the pleasure of puffing on an 01 corona of some sort (or maybe it was a 97?) and it was magnificent. I should have stole that stick and ran with it. Really unbelievable, have had a younger one that was a dowel from a few years ago so sadly did not get to experience the same.

[bc8436]

Thanks for the review. There seems to be a surge of interest in Quai d'Orsay lately, I'm very intrigued.

[CaptainQuintero]

That sounded fantastic.

What worries me is that the business model that HSA seem to be taking doesn't include cigars that need laying down for that length of time. It might just be that it's because I am reletively new to CCs but it seems that all they want to do is push the robusto family, to hell with long time cigars smokers if they don't want big RG cigars, and to hell with new cigar smokers if they want to try everything that Cuba has/should have to offer; it's big RG that you can smoke with minimal aging, anything else has numbered days.

Don't get me wrong I love the fact that cigars are smoking better younger and younger (look at the recent production from Upmann) but it seems like some marka are simply not able to achieve that (Por Larranaga/QDOetc) I don't know if that is simply down to construction/materials available to certain factories or that the blends simply need time to become great.

I do see their logic though, as a new CC smoker I want to try everything there is out there right now. Buying a box with the intention of saying goodbye to it for 8-10 years realistically isn't something that is on my agenda; there is still just so much to taste and enjoy that will smoke great right now. If there is the option between two 2011 boxes and I want to try both but one needs 8-10 years while the other will smoke great right now, then I know which one I will buy. So...maybe I am the problem But it still seems strange to go down one single track and to hell with everyone else.

I just don't think cigars that need serious aging is something that HSA has on it's future business plans :/

[El Presidente]

I don't think time is something that HSA has on it's future business plans.

Would it be fair to say it is society in general?

Instant gratification

I think it would be fair enough for HSA to produce lines such as QD Gran Coronas every five years, 50,000-100,000 cigars. Same for much of what else they have deleted.

If they did that then I doubt any of us would have an issue.

[CaptainQuintero]

Would it be fair to say it is society in general?

Instant gratification

I think it would be fair enough for HSA to produce lines such as QD Gran Coronas every five years, 50,000-100,000 cigars. Same for much of what else they have deleted.

If they did that then I doubt any of us would have an issue.

Yep I know and realistically I don't think anyone can blame them. I mean they will have their sales figures of the Monte Opens in front of them and the sound those figure make must be a very loud noise, then they turn the page over and look at Sancho Panza/QDO. If marka were horses they would be being led to the glue factory as fast as they could drag them.

If they are serious about not upsetting a fair portion of their customer base/letting new CC smokers try the best that Cuba can offer, why not pre-age some tobacco and release QDO with some time already down on them such as the Maduro 5 series. Whiskey distillers seem to have no problems with creating stock to sell 7+ years down the line.

[Colt45]

Thanks for the review - nice to see you go back to a written.

I expect to see the photo on someone else's youtube slideshow soon

[j0z3r]

Fantastic review Rob, thanks for sharing. QdO is a line I hope to sample one of these days, perhaps send a box to the online humidor for a number of years.

[Dbone]

Lol you crack me up Ross

Thanks for sharing your time spent with this cigar, Pres.

[laficion]

The Quai d'Orsay is a different animal altogether and I never really began to appreciate the line until I changed my own mindset.

This is a cigar which needs to be smoked slowly. It is a cigar that has its own rhythm and it is up to you to synch with it.

Well said and well done Rob

Thank you Sir for the few of us who have always believed in this wonderfully delicate brand.

[DougB]

Thank you for the review. Very much an eye-opener for me. I appreciate the open-minded/student approach that you have. Thanks again.

p.s. What year was this one? Did I miss that? Sorry if I did- just kinda getting up.

[j0z3r]

Thank you for the review. Very much an eye-opener for me. I appreciate the open-minded/student approach that you have. Thanks again.

p.s. What year was this one? Did I miss that? Sorry if I did- just kinda getting up.

Quai d'Orsay Gran Coronas, POS AGO 06. There ya go DougB, from the thread title.

Joe

[riazp]

Thank you for this review Rob, allowing the many of us that have never sampled this brand to find out what it is about.

[BonVivant]

Well said and well done Rob

Thank you Sir for the few of us who have always believed in this wonderfully delicate brand.

Brilliant! Plus one on this one. Thank you, Sir!!

[DougB]

Quai d'Orsay Gran Coronas, POS AGO 06. There ya go DougB, from the thread title.

Joe

Cool. Thanks bro....Thinking I need some now

[Professor Twain]

Beautiful review, Rob.

I was fortunate to pick up two boxes of 01 QdO Coronas Claros a while ago. I wish I had picked up more. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the second box. They have been wonderful cigars. I've never had a young one so I don't have a good way to compare how they have changed.. I've actually got a box of 07s in my online cigar locker... in a year or two, based on your review, they may be good to go.

[dicko]

Nice review Rob. Good follow up to Guy's post a while back too..

[PigFish]

Damn thief...

Those are my fingers!

[PigFish]

Beautiful review, Rob.

I was fortunate to pick up two boxes of 01 QdO Coronas Claros a while ago. I wish I had picked up more. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the second box. They have been wonderful cigars. I've never had a young one so I don't have a good way to compare how they have changed.. I've actually got a box of 07s in my online cigar locker... in a year or two, based on your review, they may be good to go.

The '07's are TNT mate, as good as the '01's. -Piggy

[Van55]

I told you so, mate! Beautiful review!

[pedromendes]

Huge thanks to our fearless leader for this inspiring post, especially for inspiring me to try this marca. Last night I smoked a corona from 06 and it was exactly as Rob described - subtle and sophisticated, requiring time and concentration for full enjoyment. It was a completely new Cuban cigar experience for me.

These, and the panatelas are now on my wishlist!