2007 Saint Luis Rey Double Corona Forum Group Review

[Ken Gargett]

This was always going to be a bit interesting, given the concept and the comments to date.

My belief, prior to smoking the tasting cigar, is that the SLR DC's, from almost every year they have been made, have huge potential. No secret that this has been one of my all time fave cigars and that I have struggled with the reviews and scores in this project. I note Colt has challenged me to be objective (which hurts deeply, when have I ever been otherwise??). I think that the SLR DC's would be among my most smoked cigars and I have more of them in the humidor than anything else. I think that they are among the great smokes on the planet.

I had the thing on Friday evening, in front of the footy. It was, for various reasons, the first cigar I had smoked in 2 ½ weeks so I was hanging out for a good one and excited about this. To celebrate, I opened the bottle of Edmund Dante's 25-year-old rum I got last trip to Cuba, supposedly the greatest ever produced in Cuba and rare as hen's teeth. (in case members are bored with this thread, I'll post re the rum separately as well, as I think it deserves it).

The rum first. Lovely old gold colour, reasonably pale. Aroma of beeswax and honey. If I had been served this blind, I would have been much more inclined to think of a really good aged cognac. Certainly, still had a kick and a reasonably spirity finish on both nose and palate, more than I would have expected. The aromas morphed into vanilla and spice. The texture was like cashmere and the flavours followed on to the palate, with perhaps a smidge of chocolate tossed in. Sweetness levels very low (way under say the Zacapa 23-year-old) or so it seemed. A really stunning rum, though I think that the special 20-year-old release (the first one, not the re-issue) by Santiago a few years ago was better. That said, this right up with the best I've ever tried, very different to but similar quality to the Appleton 21-year-old. It reminded me a little of some of the plantation rums which sit at the low end of the sweetness spectrum, though at the pointy end of the quality scale.

The cigar – I have had suspicions that the reviews suggest a lesser box, unfortunately. From comparisons with mine (and I know that I can't make a definitive judgment from a single cigar), I'd say a seriously lesser box. Hope that is objective enough for you, Colt?

The colour was a pallid and uninspiring grey brown. I went and checked my cab of 07s (AEP ENE 07) and the difference could not be more apparent. They were a rich deep brown and, rather than a dry flaky appearance, oily and exciting. When I collected the cigar, I mentioned a split in the wrapper to Rob but he fairly pointed out that this was a tasting exercise. It would come back to haunt. Closer examination revealed a crack that Paris Hilton would have been proud of.

The difference in the smell cold was just staggering. Mine are rich, glorious, complex and wonderfully enticing. This was almost bland, much more simple than usual, with a tiny hint of an old football and locker room odour.

I used the Swiss punch for the first time. Love it.

The split wrapper caused some initial lighting problems and indeed, this persisted right through the cigar. Every time I thought I had it resolved, it went dodgy again. The immediate impression is that if this were to be repeated with the others down the track then their potential is very limited indeed.

There were actually some attractive sweet spicy notes in the opening and a character, which if it were in a wine, we would call 'cigar box'. Probably no surprise there but it is far from apparent in all smokes. Initially, I thought it might have too loose a draw but that was not so; in fact quite the opposite. In the end, and I tossed it with an inch and a half to go (something I have never even considered with any other SLR DC), it took well over 2 hours (would have been a good thing if up to usual standard).

To begin with, I found myself spending more time trying to get the burn in order, with the dodgy wrapper, than I did concentrating on the cigar. Before long, the crack developed into the Marianas Trench.

The flavours were much more mild than I usually find with this smoke, I was trying to convince myself that meant subtle but I gave up on that eventually. It was a much more approachable cigar than I expected or that I have seen from these before. That said, the flavours were quite pleasant, though very straightforward and eventually became a little boring. At one stage, an exemplary cone emerged and I thought that we might have turned the corner but it didn't last. The burn remained crooked all through, despite my best efforts. At another stage, a few of the more expected flavours, spice, leather, a little meaty note, started to emerge but again, it didn't last.

Also, there was certainly not the intensity of flavour I would expect. Then, with about a third gone, it just clogged up and died. There was much relighting needed for the rest of the cigar and the wrapper remained ragged at best.

We slogged on but things got no better. The flavours became boring as there was no perceptible evolution, the burn was hopeless, the entire experience very disappointing.

As for a score, if I didn't know how good they can be, around 80. Knowing just what a glorious smoke they usually are, I feel that this should be reflected in the score and this individual punished. So 60. Cruel but fair. All of this reinforces the impression i had picked up from the earlier reviews - that this is a box well below the high standards this smoke normally offers. (rob, you'll have tried a few of these from 07 - what are your thoughts?).

As for potential, bugger all if this was repeated but I have no doubt that good examples, as they almost invariably are, have as much potential as almost any current cigar around.

The rum deserved better.

[BigSlick]

It's about 72 degrees out tonight, the window is open and there is a nice breeze coming in.

My initial thoughts are that this is a beautiful cigar. It has a nice oily sheen and is silky smooth to the touch. Construction and draw are spot on.

I clipped the cap and examined the bunching of the tobacco. Looks good!

1/3

Smooth creamy vanilla to green tea to leather. Very mild with sweet undertones.

2/3

Poured a sippin shot of HC7. Earth to coffee to wood to moss. Still sweet undertones but subsiding to core tobacco.

3/3

One dimensional core tobacco from this point forward. Hints of ammonia began showing up before the cigar went out on its own. It was not going to get any better if I relit it so I relinquished it to the ashtray.

Overall impression:

This is just what the doctor ordered. I enjoyed sitting back for the 2.5 hours it took to smoke this cigar. I will not judge this cigar at this point. My guts tell me it will be stellar in years to come. Sorry for the late review, next year I vow to be the more prompt in this "task" :-D

Thanks Rob for the great experiment!! TD

[BigSlick]

Are we making a run at this for 09?

I will gladly purchase a box of cigars and pay for the SLR DC to have it piggy backed for shipping to keep this rolling.

[anacostiakat]

Are we making a run at this for 09?

I will gladly purchase a box of cigars and pay for the SLR DC to have it piggy backed for shipping to keep this rolling.

I was thinking the same thing as far as ordering is concerned. Let us know Rob so we can get orders in at the same time.

[GTS21]

I got a stick in the mail, unbanded....is this the SLR DC for review? Thanks

[ksblazer]

I look forrward to seeing more SLR DC reviews. The funny thing is that I purchased a cab of them just before this thread started up. I enjoyed them when they were very young (under 1 year) then they needed some nap time. I have been smoking 2 to 3 a year waiting for them to come back around. It's been a while since I had smoked one and did so last night. The one I had last night was very smokable with that classic SLR profile. I know they are only going to get better with age and have a feeling that these cigars will be getting talked about a lot more in the near future.