Christmas Cigar review 2010... Bolivar Royal Corona LRE SEP 09

[docbp87]

BOLIVAR ROYAL CORONA

4.9x50 Robusto

LRE SEP 09 box code

It has been a rainy day, spent hanging out with my dogs, drinking wine, and eating leftovers while watching bad movies. Just one of those wasted, relaxing, wasted Sundays in the rain. Well, the rain has finally let up, so I decided it was time to smoke one more cigar for the Christmas contest, and what better than a Bolivar RC, the cigar that CA named Cigar of the year just a few short years ago. As an impoverished youth, with hospital bills stacked to my eyeballs as the result of a ridiculous knee injury a couple of weeks ago, this contest has given me such a perfect excuse to say "what the hell!" and smoke some cigars I had been hoarding for a better day. Well, health insurance be damned, I've loved it. I have had fantastic experiences with the box that this example comes from (a box of 10 tubos), and they have developed, in my previous experiences, extremely well over the past year, but are still young. Currently sitting in my truck, bundled up to protect against the cold, with a bottle of water (as much as I like pairing beverages with cigars, I usually prefer water for its neutrality on the palette), and all of my cigar gear, ready to go.

This particular Bolivar is not exactly pretty. It has a light colored wrapper, though none in the box are particularly dark, with some ugly, stretchy veins, and even a pair of quite visible sunspots. Despite all of this, the cigar feels great in the hand, dense even, with a good pack, even from head to foot, and what appears, looking at the foot, to be a good overall fill. The seams and cap look good, despite the ugly wrapper, so it shouldn't give me any burn problems in that manner. The aroma from the body of the cigar is very slight, and mostly woody. The foot has an aroma of wood also, but it also has a nuttiness, like hazelnut, or boiled peanuts even. It almost has a sweetness to it. Very interesting. Upon cutting, the draw is looser than I am used to from these, but I am very pleased with it, as I am a fan of looser draws (not a wind tunnel as they say, however!) The flavor is well represented by the foot aroma, offering a bit of pepper, cedar, and nuts, on the cold draw. If this is anything like the Bolivar RC's I've had before, that will remain, with a few subtle additions. Looking forward to it, here we go...

Lit at 10:10pm.

Flavor right away is roasted nuts and dark roasty coffee bean, with a cedary flavor on the middle of the palette, moving into the peppery finish. Big body all around, and typical of Bolivar, it starts right away! Light was easy. Draw is perfect, and smoke production is fantastic.

The only potential complaint I could see on these at the moment is the sort of punch you in the jaw approach they take. Maybe a little on the harsh side. I would imagine that will some down-time (even a few years) they will soften nicely, into something more approachable. Still if you like big pepper kicks, then this, at this age, is the way to go. Within less than an inch, a great sweetness has developed, like chocolate, milky and sweet though. There is also what I think of as a wintery, dessert spice, heavy, through the nose, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. This one is certainly "smoking well" right now with regard to the flavors.

Ash fell for the first time, as usual, right as I was going to roll it in the ashtray, but this time all over my laptop screen. That's going to be great for it I'm sure. Just my luck. Heh. Anyway, for just a few draws here, I have gotten an anomalous floral note, which I like usually in cigars, but is not at all expected in a Bolivar, and does not really sit right with me, or the rest of the current, punchy, spice and nuts flavor profile. Fortunately, though, as I said, it has only lasted, and only did alst for a few draws. These kind of anomalies are one thing that can make cigars interesting. I can never once recall getting a taste like that from a Bolivar, and no doubt it is a result of one specific leaf in the cigar, and as these are completely hand made products, well, these little occurances... occur, and sort of shake things up.

Temperature outside has started to plummet. High today was almost 60 degrees (F), but by morning, the radio forecaster says, we will be in the low 20s. Typical of Richmond, Va, and most of the central eastern seaboard. We can be in the teens, with snow on the ground one day, and by the next, the temperature will be up 50 degrees. Like this punchy, but surprising Bolivar, the weather definitely knows how to throw some proverbial curve-balls.

Getting a little way into the second third, almost approaching the half mark, the performance continues to impress. This is just a powerful, flavorful package, in a short, fat format. I tend to like the robusto format, as in the Non-Cuban world it is sort of the "every blend is available in this size" size, so when I grab for a Cuban cigar, something in my subconsciously goes for the robustos regularly, and this Bolivar RC is a great example of why that is. Certainly one of the great robustos. A very pleasant note, at this point, everything has sort of smoothed out, the pepper is lighter, and smoother, the heat tamed a bit, making it a much more relaxed smoke. Flavor profile still contains chocolate sweetness, roasted dark nut flavors, and a cedar and pepper finish.

Bolivar as a rule seems to sit at the fuller end of the body spectrum among Cuban brands, and this one certainly does not disappoint. It is heavy, sitting down in your chest, with just a dark overall character. The heaviness, and spicy character also point to fantastic aging potential, and I kind of wish I had more of these left in the box! At the price, I think these are a fantastic cigar, that deserve a place in any humidor, for when you want a fuller bodied smoke that has some true consistency to the flavor profile.

Very pleased with this cigar, and find myself reaching for my little home-made nubbing tool in order to smoke it as far down as humanly possible. Just a powerful, flavorful, monster of a cigar, in a short, fat package. Love the robustos in general, and for my money, the Bolivar Royal Corona may well be the best of the bunch. Flavor is just so deep and heavy that I can't think of many others the come close when I want something that really toes the line of too strong, without ever losing balance and falling over. Highly recommended. I hope you have enjoyed reading this review, at least half as much as I have enjoyed smoking this cigar, and on that note, it is 11:30pm, and I'm freezing my balls off, so I think it's time to call it quits, and go inside...

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did...

[dicko]

Really good review, yes I enjoyed reading. I had a 10ct box last yr. tbh i didnt enjoy any, could have been dud box or just too young.

lol im big on dropping my ash on the laptop as well

[mazolaman]

Great review doc,

these are usually a great version of the robusto style,and not quite as strong as other Bolivar.

Great cigar.