Bolivar Corona Gigante PUR SEP 16: Ode to the 47 to 52 gauge review week

[Guest Nekhyludov]

Dimensions: 47 x 7"

Box Code: PUR SEP 16

Cigar has a light Colorado wrapper with a bit of an orange hue. The wrapper is dry in appearance with some crystalline oils and a fine tooth. Very attractive, with just a few prominent veins. Initially, the draw is a bit firm and the smoke somewhat thin, but the combustion is cool and even.

The early flavor is earthy and nutty in a straightforward way, while the aroma has a fresh pine and marzipan character. The ash is flaky and has an earthen color.

In the second third, the earthy character becomes deeper and velvety and almond paste and marzipan come to predominate, with the fresh wood aspect receding. A hint of black pepper emerges in the aroma and the draw opens up at the midpoint.

An H Upmann-like floral quality emerges in the final third. Pairs perfectly with Cuban-style Cubita.

Score: 91

[FatPete]

Nice review- on my list as the next Churchill to try

[JohnS]

10 hours ago, FatPete said:

Nice review- on my list as the next Churchill to try

I'm sure you are aware of this, but if not, the Bolivar Coronas Gigantes has been recently deleted and therefore I hope you can source it to sample. I know @NSXCIGAR has been praising recent examples of this cigar.

Thanks again for your review, @Nekhyludov.

[FatPete]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

I'm sure you are aware of this, but if not, the Bolivar Coronas Gigantes has been recently deleted and therefore I hope you can source it to sample. I know @NSXCIGAR has been praising recent examples of this cigar.

Thanks agai  for your review, @Nekhyludov.

Oh no I wasn't aware of this. Why was it discontinued if it is a good smoke ?

[Guest Nekhyludov]

37 minutes ago, FatPete said:

Oh no I wasn't aware of this. Why was it discontinued if it is a good smoke ?

That's the million dollar question. I doubt we'll ever hear a good reason. If you find a box, snag it - they're disappearing quickly. 

[TheMonk]

Good job! My favorite regular production Boli... I simply don't understand why they discontinued it.

[NSXCIGAR]

11 hours ago, FatPete said:

Oh no I wasn't aware of this. Why was it discontinued if it is a good smoke ?

 

HSA doesn't take quality into account when cutting cigars. Sales figures only, and that's even questionable over the last 10 years. There are some cigars that have been cut over the years that I just can't believe were poor sellers like the Trini Robusto T, Punch Black Prince. And I also doubt that the Partagas SdC line was really that poor of a seller. I suppose relative to the PSD4, perhaps but there were plenty of sales for these cigars to justify continued production. 

As for the BCG (and BCE, HUPC, etc.) I never recalled seeing vendors' stock piling up for these cigars. A year or two, but that's it--same as everything else. Even Cohiba, which is in the midst of an apparent "shortage" can be easily found with 2015 and some 2014 and even some 2013 stock still around. In fact,  I'm aware of a vendor that has a ton of Cohiba Piramides Tubos 3 x 5s from 12 and 13 piling up. This is a format that is a slow seller and obviously needs to be cut. 3 x 5s are a notoriously poor seller. They really only sell well as 3s in Duty Frees. 

Fonseca Cosacos is another painfully slow seller with 11 and 12 stock around and may be justifiably cut soon. LFDC PC is another poor seller. Believe it or not the PSE2 in 5 boxes is a terrible seller. I don't know what HSA is thinking not offering these in 10s. I don't believe any other cigar is offered in a 5-box, and for good reason. It's a disaster of a format. And the 25-box is fairly expensive--they cannot be found for less than $300. 10s would do this cigar good.

I also think the BCG (and BCE and many other slow sellers) could have benefited greatly from packaging format options, particularly the 10-box. Every Churchills and Double Coronas should be offered in 10s like the Lusi. This would have been great for the QdO Imperiales, the BCG, the SCEM and the VRDA. All of them really. They are large, expensive cigars and people understandably don't want to drop $275-325 on a 25-box but would feel much more comfortable with $100-125 for a 10-box. The 10-box has proven very successful with the LCDH and special releases, although not so popular with regular production like Monte 3/4 and PSD4. Special production or large cigars is where the 10-box seems to be effective.

[Dimmers]

.....or marketing ploy...creating demand by cutting and then bringing back with another band down the track ??

[PigFish]

17 hours ago, FatPete said:

Oh no I wasn't aware of this. Why was it discontinued if it is a good smoke ?

At Tabacuba, a government operation, now follows that the path that smoking is bad. They are therefore set out to proving it, one cigar at a time, as the remove the best ones from the catalog...

Nice review mate.

-the Pig

[NSXCIGAR]

5 hours ago, Dimmers said:

.....or marketing ploy...creating demand by cutting and then bringing back with another band down the track ??

I don't believe any cigar discontinued after the 1980s has been resurrected as special production. The only ones that have been resurrected are the BGM, BE2 and HUN. And of course only the HUN are currently produced and the price is a bit prohibitive for me, although I'm thrilled that HU even offers a Coronas at all.

And since I think special production is generally no better and frequently worse than regular production and often have an unusual profile, I'd prefer they just limit production as has been discussed in other threads. Thinking about it just makes me angry...

[luvdunhill]

Looks like I have a box of PUR JUN 16. I think I will wait a bit longer to try them, but will enjoy vicariously

[ChampagneInHand]

The BCG is a great cigar. I am fortunate to have bought a box a few years back. I liken it to the Lusitania in many respects. Just a sensational cigar that should have been offered like the Libertador in boxes of 10, then they might have flown off the shelves. I grabbed 2 boxes of RA Gigantes but while hood these need many years of rest. Hopefully tabacuba won't axe them as well.

While I smoke many Shorts, Juniors and PC cigars, I feel that warm weather without too much humidity makes smoking these longer offering so enjoyable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[poolmar]

probably stock piling them.. will re package them with a second band ..re name them, put them in a coffin,.. and double the price