The Joy of Half Coronas

[El Presidente]

Having a morning coffee and a Boli Corona Junior. Magnificent

Was just thinking to myself that the minuto/Half Corona line is perhaps the strongest lineup/vitola that Cuba has. I mean this in term or quality and flavour diversity.

From the sweet edge of the San Cristobal Principe to the full bodied BCJ it is fleshed out with other great cigars such as the Cohiba Siglo 1 and Secreto, Partagas Short, Ramon Allones Small Club, Punch, Monte 5, Trinidad Reyes. Each brings something unique to the table and shortly to be joined by the Upmann (which we will review uon their arrival next week).

There is scope to flesh this vitola out further and I stongly encourage HSA to focus here as opposed to the Short Robusto tendency.

There is no better morning coffee cigar...just perfect to read the daily paper

[tinknocker924]

AMEN to that prez RASCC has been my go to cigar for months i love the size..of all the half coronas which would you say has the most predominent stonefruit flavor?? i do find it in the RASCC with some spicyness to balance it out but i want more of that fruit note..thanks

[Rushman]

I let my quantity of free smoking time usually lead me to larger format sticks. Instead i need to build in smaller cigars with lots of flavor and smoke more of them. Thanks for the reminder of the value of these vitolas el prez

[riazp]

So True Rob, the Party short is always always in my humidor. Love the Rascc, Trinidad Reyes and siglo I also. PC/Half coronas are by far the most solid and consistent size habanos is producing at the moment.

[Ryan]

Big fan here of minutos/tres petit coronas. SCDLH El Principe, Monte 5, RASCC, all great. However, the new Upmann, tried a couple back in February, is just that bit too short. Just my opinion.

[Tarks]

Shhhhhh. If HSA finds out they will delete them.

[Lotusguy]

My favorite format after the long-and-skinnies!!

[bassman]

Love the BCJ. It will certainly wake you up. On the other hand, for a mellow morning a Diplo #5 works well. Glad I stocked up as soon as deletion was announced.

[fred170]

A Partagas Short makes an excellent addition to any morning cup of coffee, or tea (depending on what side of the Pond you live).

Cheers,

[jman]

The partagas shorts are fantastic, couple have had some burn issues. Altogether a nice little cigar, great format for the pubs were I live (you can still smoke cigars in pubs where I live, crazy.

[sam]

I too find great joy in this vitola. I smoke more minutos than any other other vitola, by far. Not because it's my favorite, but because the 20-30 minute length is often just right for that 2nd (or 3rd) cigar to wrap up the day, or because that's all the time I've got. They are relatively inexpensive and I find them to routinely be good in construction and flavor. ---Sam

[mbrody]

Great topic! I too love half coronas and am ready to go deep on the new upmans (Lisa, don't forget me!). When a 1/2 corona is disco'd, it troubles me the most. Happy the El Principe still made the cut, miss the Punch Petit and the Dip5. Love how they represent each marque so well...

[theholmesmob]

For me this size works well in terms of bang for your buck as well as allocated 'me time'. You can only dissapear into the backyard shed for so long before kids or wife need you for a very 'important' job!!

Love the party shorts, the principe and will need to get some more rascc.

[pinotguy]

Have become quite partial to this family of cigars. I hope HSA gives that proposed Rafael Gonzalez Perlas the "Go Ahead".

[cigcars]

Shhhhhh. If HSA finds out they will delete them.

good one, Tarks!

[mazolaman]

i've had a couple of monte 5 from a new box,a kind friend bought for me.

great,distilled monte flavour.

Always loved the shorts too.....

[jedipastor]

I've always been a fan of shorts, but now with cold weather coming I think I should start getting some more. I have BCJs, Party Shorts, Reyes, Monte #5s. I need some Siglo 1s and RASCC though. And I can't wait for the Upmann!

I've had a couple of the Principes, and I think they were just too young for my taste--got basically nothing from them. I have like 4-5 more resting.

[Pilgrims]

Party shorts and Trini Reyes are two "go to" smokes for me...love em

[Hohenthal]

Have become quite partial to this family of cigars. I hope HSA gives that proposed Rafael Gonzalez Perlas the "Go Ahead".

Me too, love minutos,

can't wait for the Upmann and Gonzalez!

[Phillycyclocross]

I have two children under 4 years of age. Coronas, petites, halfs, shorts, etc... Are all I have time for. Anything else is just a waste.

[Hohenthal]

I have two children under 4 years of age. Coronas, petites, halfs, shorts, etc... Are all I have time for. Anything else is just a waste.

Amen

[PigFish]

Ozzy talk! What the hell is a "half-coronas," 20 ring x 2-5/8? Or is this a new creation by the Butcher of Brisbane? -the Pig

[partifan]

The Upmann Epicure is a bit smaller than a minuto, but it is a fabulous smoke for the money. I agree that the trend should be more to minutos instead of short robustos. They are great 30 to 40 minute smokes, and the short, rascc, epicure, and reyes all show the strengths of the marca and don't make you wait two inches in for the real flavor.

[peanutpete]

This size is a god send for us poor souls who have to smoke in the garden now that the cold nights are coming

[Len]

AMENx2 on the impact of having kids on smoking time and opportunity. I use to smoke churchills/DC's/A's almost exclusively before my daughter was born. Now, Corona Gorda is a special occasion and I have more RASCC then any other cigar right now. A box of JLPC's just landed today...