Bolivar Royal Corona TEB JUN 08: Aged Weekend Review

[Guest Nekhyludov]

This BRC was generously shared with me by @zeedubbya and has been resting in my humidor for the past 120 days. I've been eyeing it for a month now, but haven't had many opportunities lately to smoke when I can really pay attention to the cigar, but thank to El Prez's suggestion, I made an effort to set aside some time tonight to light this up and take a few notes. 

This cigar is beautiful; the wrapper is a cappuccino color, with just a slight orange tint and a fine texture. It has a sharp box press after a decade of rest. The construction feels perfect - spongy, but firm and consistent. The band is just slightly loose and slides freely. Perfect.

The aroma at cold is fairly nondescript, just mild tobacco. It lights quickly and evenly, producing a slightly open draw, lots of cool smoke, and a solid gray/white ash.

Right from the start, the BRC is full of flavor, with a mellow leather and earth profile. It's notably different from recent production Bolivar in the total absence of any mongrel - no char or pepper early on. About an inch in, there's a hint of salted nuts and a very precise new shoe leather note. And some mild white pepper appears in the retrohale and the aroma. 

In the second third, the earthy part of the flavor takes on a mushroomy/fungal, vegetal kind of character. And there's just a faint bit of straightforward table salt around the edges. Despite one minor touch-up, the performance has been impeccable. 

The final third brings a bit of warm, tarry sweetness to the aroma. The leather notes from the first third are all but gone, replaced with a muted pine wood flavor that harmonizes nicely with the earthy aspects. 

Just in the last inch and a half or so, a whole new set of flavors emerge. The wood flavor develops into a sharper pine needle note, and a warm candied citrus spice opens up that reminds me of the Hoyo Epi#2s from the late '90s that I loved. 

This cigars appears to have aged wonderfully. Thinking of this in the context of some other cigars from this era that I've smoked recently ('06 MdO#4, '07 SCdlH Mercaderes, '07 Upmann Monarch), I've found that most of them tend to converge toward a savory mushroom and earthy mineral kind of profile, which is great, but which can also become a little predictable. The BRC happily has more to offer than that. It's rare in my experience that the best part of a cigar is the final two inches, but that's the case here. 

While it doesn't have nearly the power that some late '90s cigars still offer after two decades plus, and the character of the tobacco is totally different, I wouldn't say that the '06 - '08 class isn't aging poorly at all - certainly not if the BRC is any indication.  

[NSXCIGAR]

Great review. Had the pleasure of trying a TEB 07 BBF a few months ago and they have aged very well. Very strong in the dried fruit/raisin flavors that are hard to find in Boli anymore outside of a good BCJ. 

[ayepatz]

Top review. ?

BRC is simply a smashing cigar. I’d be lost without them in the humidor.

[havanaclub]

Very nice review!!


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[zeedubbya]

Glad you enjoyed it—the few I’ve smoked from that box are very tasty. You nailed the flavors I get from them. Great review!


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[SCgarman]

I think it's safe to say almost all the code TEB from 08 were very very good cigars. Still have half a box of TEB FEB08 BRC and they are as refined as any Padron anniversary series. Burned through a couple of TEB 08 RASS and that is what made me fall in love with that cigar.

[Raskol]

Nice review.. Thank you!

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