Cohiba Corona Especial 2012 (COHRW)

[Notsocleaver]

A caveat before we start: I have a hard time reviewing Cohibas impartially. While I usually enjoy them, I almost never feel like they are worth the money, and I can never help but incorporate value as part of my review.

This CCE was knocking around my singles desktop. I'm pretty it was a 2012, but I'm not 100% sure. Wrapper is unremarkable, not oily or dry, just a nice thin claro. Draw was was perfect, which is vital on these skinnies. When they are rolled right, Laguito No.2s are a joy, but when plugged they are so skinny that I find a draw tool just nukes them. Real shame, so thankfully this one seems just fine since its my last.

Burn is just slightly uneven, but it never becomes a problem. This is one the nice things about skinny cigars. The flavor profile on this cigar was not terribly complex, but it did come through boldly and cleanly. It was predominately a honey graham sweetness with a note of lemongrass that danced in a out as it went. I love that lemongrass flavor in Cohibas, so every time it disappeared I was a little disappointed and pleased every time it came back.

The cigar stayed cool the whole time, only threatening to get hot at the very end. Its great when you can smoke a skinny without babysitting it. No relights, corrections or harshness. Smoke time was about an hour and a half, pretty much the same as I get for any 6 inch cigar. Long skinny cigars can be a value in terms of smoke time, even though you get less tobacco for your dollar. Overall, a great cigar, but for the premium, I really want to see some more complexity. I think I like these more than Cohiba Robustos for the price if you can guarantee the construction. I'll give it an 90 and try not to think about how many Mag 50s I could buy for the same price.