Cohiba Coronas Especiales AMP DIC 20- OYMRW2

[Thirdcoastwatch]

Up for review is Cohiba Coronas Especiales from December 2020.   I paired it with an Orange Mango sparking water.  Out of the 6er i purchased to sample, this one had a Peyronie-esque curvature, so ROTT it is!   Surely didn’t want to have to call the doctor for it lasting longer than 6 hours.   
 

-Appearance:  Medium brown shade wrapper, faint rosado.  Tight seams.    A few small veins but nothing to write home about.  (1) 
-Burn: Flawless, no touch ups needed.   Razor sharp burn line.  Thick voluminous smoke.   (1)

-Construction: Other than the aforementioned curvature, nothing else to detract.   Band easily slid off without needing to be ripped to shreds (0.75)

Draw:  Perfect amount of resistance.   I figured it was a crapshoot given the thin RG but was pleasantly surprised  (1)

Flavor- predraw     Faint earth, leather    (1)

Flavor-overall.    First third was all leather, twang, hay.   Second third had bits of honey and alternating cream.    Splendid for such a young stick!   Final third strength increased somewhat, body to med/med-full,  a bit of youth shined through.   Increased pepper on the lips.   I look forward to a couple more years down (if they last that long).   (1.5/2)

Aroma: excellent, I found myself wafting like an old-timey chemist.   Even my wife noted it smelled good from afar.  (1+/1)

Balance:  well-balanced, enough in transition to keep me captivated.  (1/1)

Complexity:  all I could have wanted, although I’m merely a novice in a forum full of black-belts.  (1/1)
 

overall: 9.25/10 (92-93 points).    Very happy!

Total smoke time: 71 minutes

Happy weekend all!

TCW
 

 

 

 

[smbauerllc]

Great review

I have recently fallen in love with them, but the only vendor I could find with singles has been out of stock since right after I bought my 5, and that was several months ago.
Hoping they get back in stock soon as i only have 1 left

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

[Chibearsv]

I had a similar vintage Sig III last night that your review describes pretty perfectly as well.  

[Thirdcoastwatch]

36 minutes ago, smbauerllc said:

Great review

I have recently fallen in love with them, but the only vendor I could find with singles has been out of stock since right after I bought my 5, and that was several months ago.
Hoping they get back in stock soon as i only have 1 left

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

Hard to not smoke them when they are so good young. 

[smbauerllc]

Hard to not smoke them when they are so good young. 

Yeah, not sure on the box date as the vendor didn't send it as requested and they said they would do, but after only a month in my humidor to rest and acclimate they were outstanding.

Would really love to find some more (at a reasonable price, unlike the UK vendors that have them charge)

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Bri Fi]

Interesting rating system. Similar to Dr. Joe’s if I recall 

[Thirdcoastwatch]

This is his rating system which I have adopted to my use.  Best one I’ve found so far.  I loved his reviews and really wish he was still making content.   The thing I like most is the way you can objectively focus on one aspect at a time to obtain a final score.    

ABCD, FF,ABC

This, to me, is much more apples-to-apples when comparing other cigars than a simple 89, 92, 94 etc.    

[teamrandr]

Love these but they are a bit pricey.

[Chucko8]

Great review. I do love these ones, was fortunate enough last evening to have one from 2014. They are glorious with that additional age. Agreed with @teamrandr though on them being a bit pricey 

[Thirdcoastwatch]

8 hours ago, Chucko8 said:

Great review. I do love these ones, was fortunate enough last evening to have one from 2014. They are glorious with that additional age. Agreed with @teamrandr though on them being a bit pricey 

Glad to hear and agree.    More of an occasional smoke if you can find them.   That seems to be the limiting factor lately.   

[StogieSteve23]

Great review and I too like your rating system! That Spindrift looks very refreshing as well.  Orange mango flavored?! Take my money, NOW! 

[Thirdcoastwatch]

3 minutes ago, StogieSteve23 said:

Great review and I too like your rating system! That Spindrift looks very refreshing as well.  Orange mango flavored?! Take my money, NOW! 

Thank you.   The carbonated orange mango paired surprisingly well with the CCE.   I remember reading somewhere that orange juice won high marks on a FOH pairing competition so I decided to give this a try.  

[smbauerllc]

21 hours ago, teamrandr said:

Love these but they are a bit pricey.

True, like all Cohibas, but they are one of the few I consider worth the price

 

8 hours ago, Thirdcoastwatch said:

Glad to hear and agree.    More of an occasional smoke if you can find them.   That seems to be the limiting factor lately.   

Yeah, everywhere I have looked has been out of stock for several months now

 

8 hours ago, Thirdcoastwatch said:

Thank you.   The carbonated orange mango paired surprisingly well with the CCE.   I remember reading somewhere that orange juice won high marks on a FOH pairing competition so I decided to give this a try.  

Always interesting to me the beverages people pair with their smokes.

Personally, I intentionally don't drink anything when I'm smoking as i don't want anything to alter the taste of the Cigar, but several people have suggested that it actually can improve the flavor and experience, so I will have to try it someday.

Don't drink alcohol anymore which seems to be the most common pairing, so I will have to figure out something else

[StogieSteve23]

20 minutes ago, Thirdcoastwatch said:

Thank you.   The carbonated orange mango paired surprisingly well with the CCE.   I remember reading somewhere that orange juice won high marks on a FOH pairing competition so I decided to give this a try.  

Orange juice is supposed to reset your palate when smoking one cigar after another with a short amount of time in between.  From experience, I call total BS on that, but if it works for some people, then that's great. 

15 minutes ago, smbauerllc said:

Don't drink alcohol anymore which seems to be the most common pairing, so I will have to figure out something else
 

If you don't mind carbonation, try club soda or sparkling water. Pellegrino is great and I think activates your taste senses in the mouth a little more than not having anything at all to drink.

[smbauerllc]

If you don't mind carbonation, try club soda or sparkling water. Pellegrino is great and I think activates your taste senses in the mouth a little more than not having anything at all to drink.

I have considered just plain water before as many cigars have a mouth drying finish to them.
Will try some club soda or sparkling water though.
Thanks for the ideas

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[Thirdcoastwatch]

4 hours ago, StogieSteve23 said:

Orange juice is supposed to reset your palate when smoking one cigar after another with a short amount of time in between.  From experience, I call total BS on that, but if it works for some people, then that's great. 

If you don't mind carbonation, try club soda or sparkling water. Pellegrino is great and I think activates your taste senses in the mouth a little more than not having anything at all to drink.

I’ll try San Pellegrino next time!   Thanks for the tip.   

[Thirdcoastwatch]

On 7/23/2021 at 11:05 AM, Chibearsv said:

I had a similar vintage Sig III last night that your review describes pretty perfectly as well.  

Do you prefer one over the other?   Also, any comparison to Sig V?  Wonder if the extra length changes much flavor wise 

[Chibearsv]

11 minutes ago, Thirdcoastwatch said:

Do you prefer one over the other?   Also, any comparison to Sig V?  Wonder if the extra length changes much flavor wise 

I prefer the Sig III to the CCE in my limited experience with both.  I prefer the slightly bigger ring gauge of the III.  The Sig V is an outstanding cigar when aged but it's priced at the same level as Esplendidos which I prefer over all Cohibas.  If my Cohiba boxed inventory was only Sig IIIs and Esplendidos, I'd be perfectly happy.  I'd want just a few singles of the others to sample once in a while.