Yolanda Custom roll Canonazo 2010

[LiLo]

* Cigar Reviewed: Yolanda Custom Rolled Canonazo (2010)

* Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 1

* Country of Origin: Cuba

* Wrapper: Cuba

* Binder: Cuba

* Filler: Cuba

* Size: 5.9 Inches

* Ring Gauge: 52

* Vitola: Canonazo (Siglo VI size)

* Est. Price: Varies Wildly depending on where cigar is purchased

Right off the bat I am impressed with this cigar. The Canonazo has always been one of my favorite Cuban vitolas and this does not disappoint. It has a nice light chocolate wrapper with a few veins and a gorgeous triple cap. The cigar has a very light pack and is pretty soft in certain spots. It has a very spongy feel to it (which many have noticed isn't that rare with custom rolled cigars.) It is however a very nice looking cigar none the less...

The pre light aroma is typical Cuban esque. It has a heavy hay/barnyard scent to it with an almost honey like sweetness. The pre light draw is full of earth, hay and a touch of cocoa, very nice...

1/3

The First Third starts off with a nice oak flavor up front as well as some chocolate, Hay, and a very pleasant creaminess both in flavor and overall mouth feel. It's a very enjoyable start to say the least...

2/3

The Second Third Transitions nicely...The oak has turned into a more aged cedar flavor and the chocolate has mellowed to a more milky sweetness which fades to a sweet creaminess through the nose and on the finish. The finish is short but it's very crisp and clean. It leaves my mouth moist, not drying it out. The ash is very fragile. It tends to fall off every inch or so at the most but doesn't affect the overall smoking experience...

3/3

Coming into the Final Third the flavors are much the same as the last third with a few changes. The creaminess that has been present all along had completely disappeared. I am also getting a rich coffee note as well as a floral note on the finish. One thing I have to mention is the aroma this cigar puts off. It’s a very intoxicating smell. Very floral, barnyard and chocolate like. It adds a level of complexity that quite a few cigars can't match. This is a cigar I would love to smoke inside so I could take advantage of the aroma a little more...

Final Notes:

* I would like to give a huge thanks to Alan Baltes (Mr. goodfella on the forums) and Nino Munoz (www.flyingcigar.de) for letting me enjoy this wonderful cigar...

* The Burn and Draw were perfect, however the ash did not hold at all and was very flaky... I tend to believe this is because of the loose rolling style these custom rollers have adapted. It seems to be a common trait with a lot of them.

* A lot of custom rollers claim they use aged tobacco, and sometimes I have to wonder if they are bullshitting or not. With this cigar I truly feel they must have used some aged leaf. It had some spot on aged qualities that were tough to miss. I can't imagine revisiting this cigar in five years....

* The amount of smoke that this cigar gave off was perfection at work. Huge clouds of smoke with every effortless puff. It made it very easy to detect the flavors and enjoy the smoke as a whole...

* The Final Smoking Time was 1 hour 39 minutes.

The Bottom Line: I loved this cigar. In fact it is easily the BEST custom rolled cigar I have had. The size was perfect, the blend was perfect and it just doesn't get any better than this for me personally. I would love to try out some different vitolas of this blend as I am sure some would be even better. It is clear to me that Yolanda Gonzalez knows exactly what she is doing and is right at home on that cigar bench making these. It shows in every inch of the cigar.

Final Score: 94

Here are some photos....

[Kangaroo495]

Wow, it looks fantastic!! Such a light colour, just beautiful.

The flavour isn't anything I've experienced before. From your description, I really can't match it with anything I've ever smoked... Maybe something Upmann, though I always found Upmanns to be quite dry in the mouth...

Anyway, good review.

[laficion]

Great review Steve and photos

What more is there to add ?

Custom rolled are fantastic smokes. When in Cuba,

they are the only cigars to bring back

Well, maybe some peso cigars too, I mean geeees, for the price!!!!

Ciao l'ami

P.S. Haven't I seen this somewhere before ?

[strayvector]

Great review. Best customs I've had were Yolandas.