Bolivar Royal Corona - REM MAR 20 (BCCRW)

[saltbox]

Smoked one out of this box after 3 months of rest back in March and the flavors felt really muted and weak compared to all of the other Bolivar vitolas I've tried (PC, CJ, Belicoso). It's been almost 5 months since, so I decided to try another stick from the box and see how it went with nearly 8 months of rest, 1 year 4 months box age.

First third: opens with cedar and earthy twang. Not a great sign, as I associate that cedar note with muted flavors. That typical Bolivar anise-like herbal earthiness appears. A bit of Guinness, a bit of that aromatic wood that you get off freshly sharpened pencils.

Middle third: the cedar has faded a bit and has allowed that creamy Guinness and aromatic wood to come through more, but the flavor is still definitely weaker than all the other vitolas. Airy isn't quite the right word, but it does remind me of the RyJ Wide Churchill in that the flavor is just weak compared to other vitolas from the marca.

Last third: Not much change, though a bit of chocolate starts to appear on the finish.

Overall: not bad, the cigar has definitely improved with an additional 5 months of rest but the flavors definitely come across less concentrated than I've had from other Bolivar vitolas with similar amounts or even less rest. 85/100

[saltbox]

6 hours ago, Lrabold89 said:

I would give these a few years


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good to know. That's been my general approach so far. Anything I don't like now will sit and age and get revisited occasionally to see.

[SCgarman]

I have a 13 year old box (2008) and they are smoother and more rounded, but not more flavorful. If the cigar is too mild for your taste preference young, age will not improve it. I have a 2011 box of Bolivar PC's that were definitely better young than they now are. Perhaps my taste buds have built up a tolerance over the decades. Or some Cuban blends tend to mellow too much with a decade or more of age. Who knows?