Bolivar Royal Corona MSU OCT 18 (VVRW#1)*

[TobaccoRoad]

Well I'll lead off with the disappointing conclusion. This wasn't a great cigar. It was under filled and the resulting hot and uneven burn made it a less than enjoyable experience.

Went with a straight cut. I could feel the sponginess in the cigar so I knew it was under filled going in so I tried clipping it a little less than usual but still the draw was very open. The first draws were woody and hot. The hope that it would settle into a more enjoyable smoke proved over optimistic. I tried to smoke slow and easy but that just resulted in an uneven burn and struggles keeping it lit. That was pretty much the story of the whole cigar. Some folks would've bailed on this smoke but not me. My mindset is that a lot of labor went into growing, curing, processing and rolling this cigar. Not to mention my hard-earned money went to purchase it. Some would say that life is too short to smoke crappy cigars. I would counter that life is too short to worry about an occasional bad cigar. To paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson- you "buy the ticket, take the ride".

Strangely enough, this cigar served to remind me why I smoke habanos. I like the fact that my smoking experiences with them are somewhat serendipitous. You fire one up and never really know for sure what type of experience it's going to be. Sometimes it is a glorious smoke that seems to make time stand still as the smoke rolls waves of flavor across your palate. Sometimes it's just a good cigar that comes and goes but doesn't really standout. Sometimes you get an inch in and wonder why in the heck you go to all the trouble to smoke Cuban cigars. But there is a certain part of me that enjoys that roulette spin when you open up your humidor to pick out a smoke. 

Tonight I'm headed to a Bible Study and herf at a local cigar lounge. We aren't required to buy a cigar to smoke to attend, but I always do because I appreciate them allowing us to hang out there. So I'll buy and smoke a Fuente or Padron or some other reputable NC and it will be exactly what I expect it to be. No drama, no surprise, no chance that it's under filled and smokes like crap. But when I get back home and go to smoke I'll spin that roulette wheel again and see what the next CC has in store.

6 of 10

 

[Mickey D]

Thanks for the review, and sorry it wasn’t an enjoyable experience.