More than meets the eye

[El Presidente]

More than meets the eye. by Punch Joe

Another beautiful summer day in Havana and I will seize the day trying a new pairing. It could be kind of a challenge.

Heavy drinkers always tell me that the real taste of Cuban rum is commonly found in the Havana Club 3 YO or any other white rum. What? I love white rum for cocktails not to drink it alone. I don´t know if I have the guts for that but vodka is close enough to that experience. By not having the chance in the past to drink any other vodkas but those made in the ancient Soviet Union (Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya), or in the recent past the Absolut from Sweden I was really excited to try this variety from Poland.

Of note: The vodka is chilled otherwise it won’t be drunk by me.

First Surprise: The Belvedere vodka is quite dense. It’s a blast but going nicer after the second shot.

Second Surprise: The Half Corona is loaded with flavors. Yeah!

Who’d have thought? This cigar came from a carton bag with 5 Upmann Half coronas given to the attendees to the Upmann dinner held last February during the Habanos festival. They said it resembles the Upmann mildness and refined aroma as read in a Festival daily magazine. I agree on the latter statement rather than the first. This cigar, from the very beginning is nothing but medium to full flavoured to me. Kudos to the rollers. I love short cigars; they come in handy in the morning rush, with little time to have a larger smoke and without sacrificing flavors. A cup of black coffee would make the best companion after a hangover. It tastes very good, solid notes of wood, incense, caramel and earth. This is a good example. The cigar has been blended in a way that the strength is easy to distinguish although balance is also remarkable. Nothing to do with smoothness and delicacy the magazine pointed out. Have they ever tried this?

Sipping on the vodka results in a hard exercise to my senses. Too much alcohol for my tasting buds let alone the throat. Kind of removing the flavours and leaving my palate a bit parched waiting for the smoke. But that won’t kill me.

Rolled by the H.Upmann rollers (temporarily based in Romeo and Julieta factory), so they deserve my true compliments as I enjoyed very much the Half Corona from Upmann. Hope they continue with this blend as I find it perfect for veterans rather than newbies. What I’ll do next time is pairing the half Corona up to aged Cuban rums in the search for higher compatibility and balance.

· Brand: H.Upmann

· Commercial Name: Half Corona

· Factory Name: Half Corona

· Dimensions: Girth 44 and 90 mm long

· Presentation: Semiplain box of 25’s and Aluminum pack of 5’s

· Smoking time: approximately 20 min

[riazp]

Great stuff, this is a cigar i'm really looking foward too, makes a great winter smoke for us canadians, nice RG, short, just nice...

[investandprosper]

Can't wait to get my hands on a box of these

[IcedCanuck]

Another H.Upmann I will have to try. I agree with riazp it does look like a good size to smoke on a cold winter day. I also have never had any luck in pairing a stogie with Vodka. I have tried Absolute and Grey Goose and neither one of them did it for me.

[Ginseng]

Beautiful!

Wilkey

[LeafLover]

Rob, I perused this thread rather quickly but what I gleaned from it was: morning cigar, vodka.

Wow! Breakfast of champions.

[peanutpete]

the cigar looks and sounds great,must say never really liked vodka with a cigar do not know if it is because of the cold (but i do like a cold beer with a cigar so maybe not the cold than) or just the flavor does nor pair well with the cigar, maybe a flavoured vodka would go better?

[Maron76]

Sounds like this cigar will be a great alternate to the Partagas Short. I look forward to getting my hands on a box!