ERDM Corona de Luxe SXF MAR05

[stever]

I have grown quite fond of the ERDM line and took a chance on purchasing a box of the Coronas de Luxe, despite never having smoked one before. I was not disappointed. This is a very well constructed cigar sporting a rich dark chocolate wrapper with a light oily sheen. A rich pungent barnyard and leather odor emanated from the cigar, and I detected a dark cherry nose at the foot. Prelight draw with a notch cut revealed a very easy draw with fruit and leather notes. Upon lighting, I was greeted with a good volume of clean toasted tobacco and sweet spice. The burn was a little ragged at first, but became fairly even after the first inch. The ash was dark grey, and, while initially splotchy and clumpy, was evenly serrated after the first inch.

With a few puffs, the signature ERDM flavors of honeyed wood tones, spicy floral notes and clean toasted tobacco came through in abundance. Unlike the ERDM Tainos or the Lonsdales that I have smoked, the draw with the De Luxe was easy from the onset and the EDRM flavors were very pronounced from the get-go. This may perhaps be attributed to what I perceive to be a somewhat looser construction in the De Luxe. Smoke volume was excellent and always cool throughout this 1 hour smoke.

For the first inch and a half, flavors of light pepper, honeyed spiciness, clean toasted tobacco and light leather were fresh and lip-smacking good. The aroma was sweet, fragrant, and had an ethereal floral-like quality. The smoke produced a pleasant soft round feel in the mouth, and I even managed a few nose exhalations, something I typically don’t bother to attempt. At the 2” mark, a sweet nut flavor rounded out the fresh tobacco and leather tones. Halfway through, the pepper flavor became more pronounced and some cedar notes started to come through. I was soon surprised by a lovely aftertaste of rich sweet toasted tobacco that left a slight tingling sensation on my lips.

With about two inches left, some citrus notes and more hearty woodnotes came through. While the finish developed stronger tobacco and chewy leather flavors, it was always sweet and lip smacking. Very tasty! The smoke became less flavorful and slightly bittersweet with about an inch and a quarter left, but I imagine a bit more aging would change that. Even so, the finish was rich, clean and sweet.

I definitely give this easy smoking pleasant cigar high marks, and would recommend it to both beginners and seasoned smokers alike. I only wish I had started smoking earlier in the evening, as I would have smoked two back-to-back:-P .

[El Presidente]

Another great review

Nice to see flavour definition and complexity in a young cigar.

[cigardawg]

Stever game me one of these and I smoked it last night. I typically don't care for the ERDM line until they have 4+ years of age on them. This was an exception. Very nice tastes throughout. The only note was the "edge of youth" surrounding all the flavors. This will turn into an outstanding cigar in a few years.

[Bartolomeo]

Anybody have these or try some lately?

Thanks,

Bart

[PigFish]

I have not had one of these in a long while Ryan but I have to agree that they are, like the ERdM lonsdale, an excellent cigar. I was really hoping to scrape some money together and get a few boxes of them and the lonsdales before they are gone forever.