Sancho Panza Coronas Gigantes

[Colt45]

DTF May 03

Construction: Looked and felt very good.

Wrapper: medium colorado, relatively smooth with a pronounced sheen. Lightly

veined. One rather large white spot.

Draw: slightly on the tight side, but acceptable. Lots of smoke, with a very good

burn.

Taste: first few puffs were of rich earthy tobacco. It settled into a mix of toasty

tobacco, cocoa, and very light sweetness, Not much spice to speak of.

The flavors were not full on, in-your-face, but very smooth, extremely well

balanced, and perfectly integrated. So far, so good!

About a third in, it started to become somewhat herbal, with slight bitterness.

At halfway, it was very herbal, though not harshly bitter, and I considered

putting it down, but I smoked on.

With a third to go, it started to come back around, showing deep earthy

tobacco, but still somewhat herbal.

This one is difficult to score - the first quarter was a winner, but the rest

left me somewhat disappointed. If pressed, I'd say 85.

I intend to try another soon.

Side tidbit: This one and it's siblings show no box press whatsoever, while another

box with the same codes show a definate press.

Side #2: The aromatics of this one were quite strong - it would clear out a room

of non-smokers very quickly!

[bassman]

I have some 98s. A good but not great cigar. Personally, I'd rather smoke a BCG for a churchill. Perhaps the 03s just need more time.

[Colt45]

» Personally, I'd rather smoke a BCG for a churchill.

Right now, the Bolivar CG is my favorite cigar. I've been gravitating toward

churchills lately, and have been trying others to be complimentary, so I'm not

always going for a BCG.

I think the SPs will come around, but we'll see.

[El Presidente]

I have a low tolerance for "herbal" flavours. I can appreciate the grassiness quality of a Cohiba Esplendido as long as it is integrated with cream/coffee and honey. Straight Herbal?....Blech!

[Colt45]

I tried another with the same codes, but from a different box. In a nutshell, it

was a very straight forward cigar - earthy tobacco, with a salty spiciness that turned

to black pepper. Not bad, not great. I'm going to forget I have these for a while, and

try another in the spring....

[stever]

Great review. I appreciate the honesty. Haven't tried much from this marque. Any vitolas and years you'd recommend over others?

[Colt45]

» Any vitolas and years you'd recommend over others?

Sterver, these were my first shots with this line - I have to admit that normally, I

like to try a few singles of a cigar brfore commtting to a box. But given the DQd

status of these, I thought I'd give them a shot (boxes are ten count)

I'm not disappointed, but i had hoped for a little more from these. I hold out hope,

and will revisit a few months from now.

[Well Armed]

The few of these I have smoked have all been intense and powerful, with a stunningly complex and full bodied finish. Very unique. Get them while you still can.

[El Presidente]

Colt...I will try a review of these later today. It has been a while since I have picked one up.