Bolivar Corona Extra (NISU VC-3)

[cigardawg]

This is another joint review from Stever and me. We smoked these a couple of months ago, but are just now getting around to posting the review. Here are out thoughts:

Bolivar Corona Extra NISUVC3 (98)

Smoked on 9/6/06

Stever

This is a well-constructed cigar with a reddish brown wrapper. I don’t detect any discernable pre-light nose. Pre-light draw is medium and produces a sweet dried fruit flavor and clean tobacco undertones. The initial lighting produces sweet white pepper and light toasty tobacco. The flavor is mouth-watering from the onset. Body initially is on the light/medium side, but by about 2" in, it becomes much richer and fuller. The ash is white grey, with very noticeable deep striations, and peppered with resin specks.

This cigar starts off with light mushroom and soft rounded woodnotes. The finish is of a sweet toasted nuttiness followed by clean tobacco and leather. At the 2" mark, the smoke becomes richer, slightly woodier, and sweet peppery notes begin to mix with a citrus-like flavor. At the halfway mark the smoke is lusher, more velvety. The mushroom and woodnotes are sweeter, and there is a light mint and cedar note mixing with the very clean and hearty tobacco and leather finish.

With about 2 1/2 inches left, the cigar develops more fragrant floral and toasty notes, and I pick up a delicious flavor of sweet tea mixed with gingerbread. In fact, the cigar goes very well with the ginger ale I’m drinking (serendipitous). The tea and ginger flavors really complement the toasty tobacco and leather finish. With each draw there’s an initial nasal-clearing flavor burst that cascades, with each component flavor rolling into the other, into a long lasting delicious finish.

With about an inch left, I detect a hint of bitterness, but a quick purge fixes things. There is a more noticeable sweet ginger flavor, and a stronger tobacco and leather finish. This is a very tasty smoke, and lasts an hour with about a half-inch left. Thank you Cigardawg for sharing this gem.

Cigardawg

Smooth, reddish-brown wrapper on this slightly box-pressed cigar. There were some veins, but nothing that truly marred the appearance. The seams were a bit loose and the triple-cap sloppy. The nose was very mild…almost non-existent. What was present was of earth and straight-forward tobacco. The taste cold was of earth, tobacco, and white pepper. The pre-light draw was firm, but promising.

The draw opened up almost immediately and the smoke production was more than adequate…bordering on billowing. The cigar presented a very even burn and a good resin-line just above the burn-line. The ash was firm, light-gray with very defined striations. The smoke was cool throughout, right down to the nub. Excellent construction.

The initial taste was earthy with a bit of pepper. This quickly settled into an earthy/sweet-spice mixture with powerful coffee notes. As the smoke progressed, it presented some toasted tobacco notes that developed an almost “buttery” feel. The sweet-spice came back to mix with the toasted notes, creating a very pleasant balance. With about 2 inches remaining, there was a nice burst of cardamom, and the cigar settled into a cardamom/coffee/earth mixture for the remainder of the smoke. This final combination reminded me very much of the “gingerbread” quality of the Montecristo Especial No. 1 and Especial No. 2. An outstanding cigar.

These cigars have aged beautifully. The flavors are at the same time powerful and elegant. The cardamom flavors near the backend are consistent with many cigars that I have sampled with 7+ years of age on them. I find this a bit interesting…is it simply a function of the aging process? Is it just my palate? Is there some similarity in the blend? Lots of questions. No question on this cigar, though. I rate it a very solid A (92-94).

[shrink]

Outstanding work, gentlemen! I've got some '97's somewhere in the basement I've gotta dig out and fire up. Sounds enticing!

[anacostiakat]

Hot Damn! I just got this exact same box code last month! ;-)

They will be acclimated by Thanksgiving! Thanks, Brothers!!!

[Fatshotbud]

» Hot Damn! I just got this exact same box code last month! ;-)

»

» They will be acclimated by Thanksgiving! Thanks, Brothers!!!

Sound yummy - I have yet to try the CE - thanks for the review.

[FreeStream]

I bought a '98 box recently and after a short rest smoked a couple. They tasted pretty flat like they haven't been stored properly. I returned them to the vendor for a full refund, which i received promptly.

Will try another box from another vendor. Life is too short to wait for them to come around.

[Moglman]

Thanks for the reviews. I like this vintage pretty well. These are resting but had to compare one to some '01s, which I really like and have never had a constuction issue. Close call, but the '98 wins by a 'nose'. I'll try a few more over the next few months to get a better feel.

[wp2]

Great reviews!! Thanks guys.

[Colt45]

Thanks for another great review. This is a Bolivar I've yet to try. I think I've been

put off a bit by most things I've read about this one - most descrbing it as

"powerful", without saying much about flavor. On the must try list it goes.

Does anyone have any experience with more recent production?