Initial Smoke

Salty and nutty, but swiftly growing corojo-heavy on retrohale, lift-off is intense and very tasty. As a tangy, tea-like finish descends upon the tongue, spicy retrohales and that peppery finish flow in to keep the corojo theme going. This mix remains intact for the entirety of initial impressions, as the aroma and taste of spiced Christmas fruits form deeper down, teasing the taste buds with a glimpse of the future courtesy of an excellent draw.

1st Half

Significantly sweeter and backed by British Earl Grey milk tea, the first third stows the spiciness for a sec, and shifts into lounge mode. Undeniably floral on both the tongue and nose, and allowing ginger and cinnamon to take over spice and tongue tingling duty, the first third is about as good as it gets when it comes to corojo cigar flavor profiles.

With a lengthy finish and a light-to-medium body feel to the smoke, the second third opens with more traditional dry tea tastes, which are a bit bitter, but appropriately placed and balanced by those creamier milk tea notes still lounging about. Deeper in, you may notice that the cigar flavor profile has evolved into more of a nutty, roasty richness, and pulls out a bit of pithy citrus for contrasting with any peppercorn spiciness. Smooth, rich, and flowing like nobody's business, smoke swirls about, as medium-strength retrohales return one amazing aromatic after another.

2nd Half

All of these creamy, roasted flavors continue on their predetermined trajectory across the senses for much of the mid-section of the cigar, and for the most part, maintain an equilibrium. Corojo flavors are more tea, citrus, and tree nuts than spicy pepper strength, and while spices can be detected, it is more of a mixed dessert herb medley than a specific spice off the rack. 

It isn't until the final third that things grow truly strong, but more in a nicotine sense than one built around bitterness or spiciness. Yes, black and white pepper builds in a big way, but the blend is still so sweet and tangy that any spiciness gets rolled up in the rest of the action. This leads to a tingling sensation on the lips, tongue, and nose more than a specific cigar flavor profile, which reminds me of the potent effects of Japanese sansho peppercorns.

Parting Puffs

Oilier than at any other moment, and still nutty and roasty, the darker sides of this blend bring balance to what would surely have been a total pepper-bomb of a parting puffs assessment. Tea tastes, and the tannins contained therein, continue to temper the corojo leaf's stronger attributes, and cigar flavor profiles and spice levels lean into cinnamon instead of red pepper as you near the end. It's all quite intense, but very well done, and encourages you to keep going, even though your fingers may be on fire from that slender ring gauge. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

  After experiencing one burn issue after another with my pre-review sample stick, I was relieved to discover that this blend behaved really well on camera. Let's start with the draw, which was pure perfection and brought forth an impressive amount of smoke each time. Burn lines also remained right on the money, and the ash, while flaky in places, was a nice white color, and stood tall despite the cigar's slimmer size. 

But because this stick is so slender, you have to routinely roll that ash off to keep tunneling and uneven burn issues from forming. This corona gorda also required frequent puffs to remain lit, which did cause some overheating concerns to form as the blend burned, even though the cigar didn't require any attention from my torch lighter. Unlike the abysmal burn experienced in my sample stick, neither of these combustion concerns were deal breakers in my cigar book, and I walked away feeling very pleased with my time spent with this stick.

Final Thoughts

If there is one caveat to this entire review, it is that the cigar seen here burned a hell of a lot better than the sample stick I smoked a week or so prior to it. While I tend to base the majority of the star ratings at the end of each review on the performance of the stick smoked on camera, I cannot overlook the issues I encountered with the first cigar. But these negative assessments were lessened by the review cigar's stellar smoking manners, with only the constant need for an ash removal being the most consistent. 

Which leaves us with the real meat and potatoes of the matter, which are the intoxicatingly tasty flavors and smells emanating from this smoke. Perhaps the nicotine-heavy finish was a bit much even for me at times, but holy shit in a handbag did this blend deliver! 

A phenomenal first third served some of the purest corojo profiles I have detected since joining Klaro Cigars back in the spring of 2022. This was followed by enticing, spiced aromatics and a refined roasted midsection, which took a step back from corojo profiles, and allowed the mellower, richer innards of the cigar to prove their worth. And then there was that sweet and tangy final third, which was a return to the tastes of the first third, but was even more aromatic than before. Parting puffs were also pure perfection, with an oily nuttiness and a touch of darkness causing me to keep going, even though my fingers were on fire.

Bold, exquisitely built, and near-perfectly balanced, I feel that this limited blend from Partagas and El Titan de Bronze is as close to corojo excellence as it comes, and is a box-worthy buy for those on the hunt for a rarity that has only improved with age.