Bolivar Coronas Junior - Short Review

[Walt69]

Ok, so I'm not very experienced with CCs yet, as most of my rotation involves stuff I could easily get my hands on here in the states "Padron, Fuente, Oliva, AJ Fernandez blends, etc..." So take this short experience with a grain of salt.

I was sitting in the garage just getting done with some wood-working. Decided to take some more time out there and clip this little Bolivar, lite up, and start going to town for a short bit. It had a fairly snug draw, but nothing that worried me.

-Construction was good enough in regards to burn, but the ash seemed like it would have held on for the length of the stick had I not been worried about "ashing" myself and tapping off every inch.

-The flavor department is where I was most impressed, and also slightly confused lol. It started out with an almost overwhelming floral/citrus note for the majority of the first 3rd. Sure there was a bit of creaminess and toasty tobacco, but the "in your face-ness" of the floral/citrus seemed to drown the rest out especially on the retro. A flavor shift occurred into the 2nd third from the floral/citrus taking a back seat "but still there" to the woody, creamy, toasty, zingy tobacco I expected from the get-go. This was probably my favorite part of the stick. It seemed more balanced, complete, and awesome. Towards the end the floral/citrus flirted with the other flavors every other draw, and the strength picked up so I got a bit of a nic-kick.

-Overall, this is a great little stick. My favorite? ...eh, again I don't have enough experience with CCs yet to say. However, I can say that it's probably in my top 5 as far as shorter smokes go now.

-The confusing part about the whole thing was that I never really got any pepper/spice. I heard this was supposed to be one of the strongest/most full bodied brands produced in the CC world, so I guess I was expecting it to show up more at some point. I maybe got just a hint on the retrohale towards the middle, but it was fleeting and never stuck around for more than a second or two. Is it just this vitola that lacks in the pepper/spice department, or is it the whole line? I know there's a difference between a cigars Body and Strength, but for some reason I was expecting more spice out of this little guy for the amount of nic-kick I got towards the end.

Anywho, thats my experience with the Boli CJ. Thanks for reading.

[Colt45]

The confusing part about the whole thing was that I never really got any pepper/spice. I heard this was supposed to be one of the strongest/most full bodied brands produced in the CC world, so I guess I was expecting it to show up more at some point.

For what it's worth, in my opinion far too many NC producers forgoe balance and flavor for the sake of power / strength. Obviously, this is painting with a broad brush - not every producer wants to beat us over the head with over the top pepper bombs.

As you come to smoke more properly produced Cuban cigars, I think you might come to realize that body, richness, depth of flavor does not have to equate with being battered by heavy handed pepper / spice. NC producers have the capability - I've tasted it for myself. I look forward to the time when it becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Thank you for the review and enjoy the trip

[earthson]

Haven't had too much in the way of pepper and spice with Bolivar CJs. More coffee and earth.

[ksblazer]

Enjoyed reading your review of your first time experience with this cigar. Boli CJ has been my favorite short cigar over the years. Pretty consistant as I don't recall ever getting a bad box of them.

[samuelsmithbeer]

This is a great cigar to me. One thing I've found with CC's is that some "stick" to you aroma wise after being smoked. This is one of the best for it. Hours after smoking my hands, clothes still have that smell on them. I absolutely love it.

[nick2021]

For what it's worth, in my opinion far too many NC producers forgoe balance and flavor for the sake of power / strength. Obviously, this is painting with a broad brush - not every producer wants to beat us over the head with over the top pepper bombs.

As you come to smoke more properly produced Cuban cigars, I think you might come to realize that body, richness, depth of flavor does not have to equate with being battered by heavy handed pepper / spice. NC producers have the capability - I've tasted it for myself. I look forward to the time when it becomes the norm rather than the exception.

Thank you for the review and enjoy the trip

Agree with you on this Colt---some friends that I've met here in Afghanistan enjoy NCs for that reason. They prefer the power/strength over balance.....although they will light up a CC every now and again.