Quai D'Orsay Coronas Claro MSU NOV 18 (PQDORW)

[daleighan]

This is my first QdO and I have to say, I was very excited about it, probably due to the hype. This one that I smoked is definitely young, but it looked very nice with a somewhat dark wrapper and a fairly oily sheen. I know that these are supposed to be better with age, but I definitely enjoyed it a lot! I paired it with a pour-over coffee made with lotus gesha beans roasted by Bar Nine in Los Angeles. This is a coffee that has prominent berry flavors (particularly strawberry) that I have found to pair well with just about every cigar I have tried it with. This is my first attempt at reviewing a cigar, so please bear with me.

This is the coffee that I drank:

My experience was as follows:

Pre-light draw: The flavors were mild, but all quite sweet. The most prominent flavor was cinnamon sugar and there was a hint of creaminess and further spice. The draw seemed to be medium loose.

First third: The most prominent flavor was definitely cinnamon sugar with a hint of almond nuttiness. The body was definitely pretty light at this point. The burn was very even and consistent and the ash looked flaky, though it was firm went I went to ash. The smoke production was ample and satisfying. There was somewhat of sharpness on the retrohale, probably due to the youth of the stick. Towards the second third, a bit of butteriness appeared and the cinnamon sugar flavor intensified.

Second third: Cinnamon sugar was still the primary flavor, but a number of other ones began to show themselves. There was a touch of hay flavor and light coffee and still a lot of sweetness. The body became a little bit heavier, probably moving to about medium-light. There were also some other spice notes (possibly nutmeg among others) that began to appear, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on what they all were. The burn continued to be extremely even.

Final third: Most of the same flavors continued to be present, but mostly intensified a bit. There was definitely more of the hay flavor and pepperiness and less of the coffee. A slight bit of citrus was also apparent. The body was definitely all the way to medium before the last third. The burn was consistent the whole way through, and the cigar required no touch-up at all, and I definitely nubbed the thing.

Overall, I enjoyed this cigar a lot. There was a kaleidoscope of different flavors to be found, but I can definitely imagine it benefitting from a good bit of age. It was definitely very mellow regardless, and I could definitely see it being a go-to cigar for me for when I can enjoy one early in the day with a coffee and I am excited that I have many more of these to smoke in the future when they are not so young! At this point, I think I would give it about an 85/100.

 

[RDB]

Nice review, and I like the sensible score. Give yourself some headroom!

[Kaptain Karl]

Great review! The flavor profile on these sounds amazing...I may need to pick up another box or 2 this year for long term aging. 

[TheMonk]

Good job!

[KavalanWhisky]

Nice review, I was going to try one tonight but wasn't sure if it had rested enough, been in the locker for about 4 months, I'll give it a shot and report back.

[Cubasam]

Great review! Need to stop by that coffee shop, located in LA so shouldn’t be to far of a drive!

[daleighan]

On 9/11/2019 at 4:55 AM, Cubasam said:

Great review! Need to stop by that coffee shop, located in LA so shouldn’t be to far of a drive!

It is a really good shop. It is in Culver City and they have a pretty significant roasting operation there! You must be forewarned that it is quite pricey though.

[KavalanWhisky]

Forgot to put up my review, good draw, nice sheen to the wrapper.

First third was spicy, quite peppery and a lot of flavour but no sweetness or nuttiness that I normally get with QD, would say it was medium to full

Second third was a little less spicy but had some burnt notes to it but not too many other distinct flavours for me, still feel it's a little young.

Final third, decent smoke, would say its medium to full, would say its an early evening smoke. 86/100