Saint Luis Rey Petit Corona REC ABR 02 (PCRW)

[saltbox]

Received several of these in a trade a while back and decided to finally try one. The oldest cigars I have by a margin of about 4-5 years, so very excited to try one of these. I've also been helping my wife try out cigars, starting with a tour of all the Cuban marcas. She's a very very slow smoker so I stick to the smallest vitolas I can, and tonight she's smoking a Trinidad Rey RAG FEB 20.

First third: opens immediately with a blast of complex flavor! Creamy sweet nuttiness, savory spices, and a touch of a round melon like note that I've only previously experienced with the H. Upmann Magnum 50. The smoke aroma smells like old leather, cream, and coffee. The notes start to blend together and become harder to pull apart, but it's surprisingly rich and flavorful given its age. I was still in middle school when this was first boxed...

Middle third: there's a surprising amount of peppery spice on the retrohale, though it finally slowly starts to fade. Creamy coffee, hay, and a touch of mustiness. Black tea and walnuts.

Last third: almond nuttiness, and still the faintest touch of stone fruit.

Overall: I was surprised by how rich this cigar was with two decades of age. Rich, smooth flavor quite unlike the much younger SLR Regios I've had. 90/100

[Islandboy]

Nice review! I also find that SLR’s age surprisingly well, considering they start out so mild-mannered. I just had an amazing ’07 DC Saturday evening that was a rich nutty & caramel flavor bomb. It’s absolutely mind boggling that the Marca is down to a single token regular production cigar.

[BlueRidgeFly]

Man, that sounds like a great cigar 👍

[El Presidente]

I have always loved them. 

UK Steve H  graciously gave  me two to bring back to Oz from London to review with Ken.  Looking forward to enjoying both 

[gustavehenne]

12 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I have always loved them. 

UK Steve H  graciously gave  me two to bring back to Oz from London to review with Ken.  Looking forward to enjoying both 

I had one a few days ago - it was terrific. Looking forward to the review