Bolivar Coronas Extra - A Cigarhead review

[Kingantz]

First, let me apologize for taking so long to get this done. I came down with a really nassy cold/flu the past couple weeks or so, and am now getting back to my normal self again (normal...me? : ). All is good now.

I actually smoked the Boli yesterday and took almost two hours writing up the review last night. Upon finishing it up, I went to click preview and my 2 year old daughter distracted me at the last second, and I clicked reset instead. I was to say the least...not happy! :crying: Could someone move the reset button?

Yesterday was a perfect day; 70 F, beautiful blue sky, nice breeze. I decided it was time to get the Bolivar Coronas Extra out the humi that Austin (Cigarhead) so kindly gifted me.

The handmade cigar came in at 5 5/8 length x 44 ring. It had a little give when squeezing slightly along the length, yet still good and firm. I did have a little concern right at the band as I could feel a bit of a knot, telling me there could possibly be a draw problem from a plug. The wrapper had a nice, oily sheen with small crystals shining in the sun. Some tooth present along with some veins on one side.

The head had the typical three layer cap, and the foot revealed a good amount of tobacco wrapped underneath the golden-brown wrapper. There was a small crack in the foot most likely from too much moving around in the humi, nothing to cause any problem.

I did have a question I've been meaning to ask for some time. What exactly are the green spots/splotches I keep seeing on a lot of cigars? See the right side in picture below.

After inspection I gathered my tools: H-D Zippo converted to torch with the Z-Plus insert, Swiss Army punch, and a sliver of spanish cedar for lighting.

Punching the head (no...not myself in the head :-P ) came out perfectly, dead-on center with no cracking. Pre-light draw did prove to be somewhat tight, but not too bad. I got a sweet taste of delicious tobacco.

I grabbed the Zippo and toasted the foot...

...and then put fire to it with the sliver of cedar. Actually turned out a little more difficult with the breeze that was blowing, so had to step up on the porch to get'r done. Mandy, my Jack Russell, came out to see what was going on.

It took a couple of draws to get the embers fully going. Again, the draw was a bit tight and took some extra long, slow draws to get a good amount of smoke, however when I did, it was amazing! Of course the Cubanesque flavor of cedar/wood, earth, leather. But, the flavor of rich coffee with an exceptional cream and dab of sugar filled my mouth as well. Hints of toffee and dark cocoa were present. I also got a faint taste of fruit in there somewhere. Delicious! There was no spiciness to be found and a perfect medium strength. Now, I usually give a cigar a rest of about a minute or so between draws. I found that I just couldn't do it with this one. I was through 1/3 of this thing before I knew it!

Once the cigar warmed up, I could feel the knot under the band much better. It only took a few draws however, and the cigar really opened up to a perfect draw for me. Right after I shot the above picture, a small crack appeared right at the edge of where ember met cigar and the ash took on a slight turn.

Shortly after the above shot the ash tumbled to the ground, however the burn continued to be perfect. Right after the half-way point, the cigar took on a stronger profile, no longer medium but full. A slight spiciness also appeared while exhaling through the nose, which I rather enjoyed. All the flavors remained the same, just with lots more body to it. Tinker, my overly loving cat, came to keep me some company.

And of course Mandy was by my side as usual.

Towards the end the Boli stayed strong and draws got shorter and shorter to keep the smoke to a minimum. But, it kept the delicious flavors to the finger burning end.

Thanks to Austin for providing me such an excellent smoke on such an excellent day! I've definitely got to find some more of these to stash away in my humi.

Hope everyone's having an awesome weekend!

[MaltPointer]

Greg,

Great pictures, great words, great review . . . sounds like it was a great cigar as well.

And I love that Swiss Army punch you have. I'm gonna have to research that a little, and see if I can find a good source/price.

Nicely done . . .

[Kingantz]

» Greg,

»

» Great pictures, great words, great review . . . sounds like it was a great

» cigar as well.

»

» And I love that Swiss Army punch you have. I'm gonna have to research

» that a little, and see if I can find a good source/price.

»

» Nicely done . . .

Thanks a bundle! Check out Amazon for the punch, best prices I could find other than Ebay.

[Colt45]

Nice review of a great cigar

P.S. I am a bit surprised there was no mention of head in mouth / taste of nuts

that seems to be the hallmark of the CIGARHead series .............

[Kingantz]

Hey Austin,

Do you have the age/box code on this one?

[Kingantz]

» Nice review of a great cigar

»

»

» P.S. I am a bit surprised there was no mention of head in mouth / taste

» of nuts

» that seems to be the hallmark of the CIGARHead series

» .............

I'll stay away from that one.

[BigSlick]

Great review!

[Mel39]

Nice reading (your additional work on this is appreciated) and great pictures.

mel39

[MaltPointer]

» Thanks a bundle! Check out Amazon for the punch, best prices I could find

» other than Ebay.

and done . . . should have it by the end of the week.

oh, and to Colt45--further, deponent sayeth not. ;-)

[n2advnture]

Great review bro

» I did have a question I've been meaning to ask for some time. What

» exactly are the green spots/splotches I keep seeing on a lot of cigars?

» See the right side in picture below.

The green spots are typically from a water drop resting on the leaf close to maturation (I also read that some strains of tobacco naturally produce these spots).

I hope this helps

~Mark

[stever]

Nice review and great photos!

Do you know the box code?

[CIGARHead]

Very nice Greg! I love this cigar, it's one of those that I could smoke everyday and be totally satisfied. I am glad you liked it man.

By the way, it was from 2005.

[CIGARHead]

» P.S. I am a bit surprised there was no mention of head in mouth / taste

» of nuts

» that seems to be the hallmark of the CIGARHead series

» .............

That's nut funny.

[MaltPointer]

» » P.S. I am a bit surprised there was no mention of head in mouth / taste

» » of nuts

» » that seems to be the hallmark of the CIGARHead series

»

» » .............

»

» That's nut funny.

and I will NUT be dragged into this conversation. NUT GONNA DO IT!!!! :no:

[Colt45]

» » » P.S. I am a bit surprised there was no mention of head in mouth /

» taste

» » » of nuts

» » » that seems to be the hallmark of the CIGARHead series

» »

» » » .............

» »

» » That's nut funny.

»

»

» and I will NUT be dragged into this conversation. NUT GONNA DO IT!!!!

» :no:

nuttin' doing, eh guys? well, keep your chins up boys.....

[Mel]

Nice looking little Jack Russell is it a dog or a *****? I have a female and love her to death.

[Kingantz]

» Nice looking little Jack Russell is it a dog or a *****? I have a female

» and love her to death.

She would be a female. My first daughter. ;-) Most JRT's are hyper hyper hyper. Mandy's the most laid back dog I've ever seen. We have a bed for her in every room and she gets up long enough to go from one bed to the other. Oh, and eat, drink, and go outside. :-D

[jkorp]

Another excellent review. Your pictures are incredible, I really like the pics you get of the toasted foot. This one is my new wallpaper.

[sandholm]

Hi

If you cant find the swiss army punch, send me a message, I am living in switzerland and can easily pick on up for you.

» And I love that Swiss Army punch you have. I'm gonna have to research that a little, and see if I can find a good source/price.

and for the review, great, thanks.

// cheers

[Caesar]

Great review, especially the photos. I am new and was referred to this cigar. It looks magnificent.

[Lanthor]

» Great review, especially the photos. I am new and was referred to this

» cigar. It looks magnificent.

Thanks for the great review and thanks for bumping this thread. I love these cigars, kinda a sleeper imo.

[MaltPointer]

» Hi

»

» If you cant find the swiss army punch, send me a message, I am living in

» switzerland and can easily pick on up for you.

»

I found mine on Amazon.com, just as Greg recommended. I love it, though I'm finding it's harder than I thought to put the punch right in the center.

either that or I'm a hopeless klutz.

Thanks, though!

[El Presidente]

The quality of some of these reviews put me to shame

Well done mate

[Ken Gargett]

» Greg,

»

» Great pictures, great words, great review . . . sounds like it was a great

» cigar as well.

»

» And I love that Swiss Army punch you have. I'm gonna have to research

» that a little, and see if I can find a good source/price.

the only good thing at the distributor's evening in havana this year, aside from the waitresses and the table being set on fire, was that they gave us each one of those swiss army punches. that said, i'm yet to try mine.

and that was unfair to the distributor's evening. it was a hoot. if you like xylophones, cowhorns, yodeling and old men in leiderhousen wacking their knees.

[crasmith]

Nice review! :-) I have a box from 06 and they are starting to get really tasty. If I can keep my mits off of them long enough to get some more age on them! Oh well. Thanks again for the review!