Por Larranaga Petit Corona - EML FEB 14 Review Weekend Passed Over Cigars Review Competition

[bluepeak21]

I'm relatively new to Cuban cigars and can count the number of different Cubans I've smoked on one hand. I still have and smoke mostly non-Cuban's, but my "passed over" cigar for this review is the first Cuban I bought from Rob and I got it back in September: the Por Larranaga Petit Corona. It will be my first one.

I've been letting it rest at 64-65 per cent humidity, but for the last month I've been battling high humidity here in Florida with my home humidity in the low to mid 70's much of the time and my stored cigars going as high as 68% this last month. So I wanted to wait til it came down, as well as listening to the wisdom of more experienced smokers who recommend longer aging on these to bring out their reknowned caramel sweetness. Humidity is still high which is one of the reasons I keep passing over them.

Rob has suggested trying some early to see how they progress, and like him I don't mind a little "mongrel" in my cigars, so I lit one up today and hoped the somewhat higher moisture content wouldn't affect the taste or burn.

I used a V-cut and draw was fine with just the right amount of resistance. It lit well and burned evenly almost all the way down except for a bit of unevenness after about an inch that self-corrected.

The first photo was about 12 minutes after I lit it and as you can see, it had burned down less than half an inch. I was trying to smoke it slowly. There was an underlying sweetness right from the beginning. The body was a medium and the strength to me was the lighter side of medium to a solid medium by the end.

It was a windy day and I was outside for much of the time (when I wasn't driving). In the second photo, when I was near the water, the wind was pretty strong and caused the ash to fall prematurely and I had to relight it twice. You might also notice that the wrapper started to develop a small split, but it didn't turn out to be a problem and I smoked right through it.

Besides the sweetness, I tasted a little toast here and there, but the flavors weren't that well defined. It did have a rich taste, and though I know some reviewers have said it can be a bit bland when young, I didn't find it bland at all.

Early on I wafted some of the smoke towards me and was surprised to detect some ammonia smell present, but I didn't taste it at all when I was smoking it. It was smooth and there was no harshness.

Hopefully, the flavors will come out more as these age, and I intend to have several a year to compare until I feel they've hit their sweet spot.

[cottierm]

Nice review. Thanks for it.

[Slyclient]

Nice review. Thanks for it.

Have you had another one recently? I'm curious how they have developed if at all? I have the same box but haven't touched it yet.

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[CigarSeeker]

I have a 50 cab EML/Feb/14.. I don't get any carmel out of mine.

I get toasted tobacco, barnyard and a bit of earth. However, personally I never can taste the carmel or chocolate that I hear about from any cigar so possibly it's just me. I tried those from my Wineador at 67RH and I have also tried to leave a couple in my dry box for a week. From the dry box the toasted tobacco comes appears a lot stronger and a better even burn. Here in California outside humidity is about 20-30% tops.

[Slyclient]

I have a 50 cab EML/Feb/14.. I don't get any carmel out of mine.

I get toasted tobacco, barnyard and a bit of earth. However, personally I never can taste the carmel or chocolate that I hear about from any cigar so possibly it's just me. I tried those from my Wineador at 67RH and I have also tried to leave a couple in my dry box for a week. From the dry box the toasted tobacco comes appears a lot stronger and a better even burn. Here in California outside humidity is about 20-30% tops.

Hmm...this is starting to sound not too good. I do hear that these take forever to get right. I have a couple of weeks before I can try out one from my 50 cab

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[CigarSeeker]

Hmm...this is starting to sound not too good. I do hear that these take forever to get right. I have a couple of weeks before I can try out one from my 50 cab

It's a preference really... To some they are a no no and need a minimum of 5 years on them, to me they smoke decent at the moment. My plan is to go through half the cab and forget about the other half for few years and revisit.

[Corylax18]

I've got dress box of Monte Carlos, EML ABR 14. I tried one about a month after I got it. I rushed the dry boxing a bit, so the draw was very tight, but I was already getting loads of that caramel taste. Creamy caramel, like a werthers original. It will be a stretch for any of these to reach 5 years.

The tight draw caused me to suck a bit harder than optimal, which lead to the cigar getting hot sooner than I like, despite that I still got good flavors for most of the stick.

I've been hoping to pick up a cab of the PC's, but there's been some talk that the recent batches haven't been as outstanding as those from earlier years. Still good, just not as good. For my money I will be looking to pick up some more of the Monte Carlos, different sized smoke entirely, but very similar blend/flavors to my taste.

[GavLew79]

I have a 50 cab EML/Feb/14.. I don't get any carmel out of mine.

I get toasted tobacco, barnyard and a bit of earth. However, personally I never can taste the carmel or chocolate that I hear about from any cigar so possibly it's just me. I tried those from my Wineador at 67RH and I have also tried to leave a couple in my dry box for a week. From the dry box the toasted tobacco comes appears a lot stronger and a better even burn. Here in California outside humidity is about 20-30% tops.

I have a 50-cab of EML from 14. Tried 3. No flavour at all bar ammonia and harshness, no sweetness or caramel. I've put them away for a few years in the hope that they will improve and that the 3 I had were "outliers".

[TheMonk]

Nice review, thanks for sharing!

[CigarSeeker]

I have a 50-cab of EML from 14. Tried 3. No flavour at all bar ammonia and harshness, no sweetness or caramel. I've put them away for a few years in the hope that they will improve and that the 3 I had were "outliers".

Very odd mine did not have the harshness or ammonia .. Hmm

[GavLew79]

Very odd mine did not have the harshness or ammonia .. Hmm

Luck of the draw.

[Bennettjohnl]

Have a cab stamped EML May 14. Received the box around Nov 2015 and rested before trying first stick. Mostly had young barnyard and "mongrel" flavors early on. Now that the box is closing in on 2 years box age(5 months in humi) I'm getting much more camel flavors. Going to take our hosts advice and smoke a half cab young, tuck them away for later and then start another young cab.

[GavLew79]

I'm getting much more camel flavors.

Mmm. Sandy. Nice. ?

[shrink]

These really need a few years. Tonight, I enjoyed a firecracker 2006 Por Larranaga Petit Corona. This one was strong and spicy, with lots of caramel and lemon curd. Nice peppery finish, too.

[Slyclient]

I'm finally smoking one out of this box. Nothing so far to write home about. Time is definitly needed. The flavors are pleasant, not harsh but are definitly a bit muddled. I'd rate it one step up from a yard gar at this point.

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