the Tabernacle Corona - Late 2018 (XNYRC)

[The Squiggler]

Xmas and New Year Review #3:  the Tabernacle Corona.

I had no real intention of leaving all of these reviews 'til the last minute.  I took the pictures, but never got around to writing them up, so here we are.

Let me just start by saying that this is a fantastic cigar that has impressed me in every way.  It is by far one of my favorite NCs and will always have a place in my humidor. 

First off, the cigar is presented beautifully.  The Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper is oily, toothy, and just reeks of flavor.  Dry draw produces notes of molasses, sweet tobacco, raisins, and beef jerky

From first light this cigar produces plumes of bluish smoke, mingling sweet and savory flavors.  There is a healthy dose of black pepper added to the molasses and sweet tobacco flavors, which is even more prominent on the retrohale.  This subsides to a large degree after the first inch or so.  Throughout the remainder of the first third, notes of brown sugar, baking spices, leather, and salted & peppered steak emerge, reminiscing to me of barbeque (and while this is definitely a full flavored cigar, the profile is more subtle than it sounds).  Strength is on the low side of Medium.

These flavors continue into the second third, becoming a bit less individually pronounced and more seamlessly melded.  The black pepper seems to give way to something more like mild jalapeño, and the sweet baking spices and leather seem to shift toward the front.  An interesting brinyness remains prominent--and I think this is part of what makes this cigar so delicious: Sweet, spicy, salty.  Strength remains around Medium.

There isn't much of a shift moving into the final third of the cigar, but a bit of the black pepper seems to return toward the end, accompanied by a hickory-like smokiness, which is nice until it becomes a bit bitter as the cigar begins to heat up at the nub.

The Tabernacle is not something I want to smoke every day, but it sure is delicious.  Overall, I give it a solid 95 (I love these).