Por Larranaga Petit Corona

When this cigar was chosen as the Cuban CotM, I breathed a sigh of relief; I already had one! This one has been sitting in my humidor for about six months. It has a box date of about a year and a half ago, so it might still be a little bit “green”. I had a previous one from this same box though that was quite nice. The petit corona is probably the best known of the Por Larranaga line, and it was once described to me as having a “marshmallow” flavor. Let’s light up!

Statistics

CotM: April 2014



April 2014





Shape: Parejo

Parejo





Chosen by: barzupopsz







Size: 5 1/8″ x 42







Country of Origin: Cuba

Cuba





Wrapper: Cuban







Binder: Cuban







Filler: Cuban







Color: Colorado-claro

Colorado-claro





Strength: Mild-medium







Price Paid: Trade

Trade





Smoke Date: April 2, 2014

April 2, 2014





Box Date: August 2012

Accessories Used

Xikar VX V-Cut X Mesh cutter, Silver & Chrome Vector Stratos single-flame torch lighter, Handmade English walnut ashtray made by wedgewoodrings.

Pairing

Dark Roasted Tie Guan Yin Chinese loose leaf oolong tea served in a Contigo Autoseal West Loop Stainless Steel Travel Mug and glazed ceramic and cracked celadon “rust and green” tea cup. The tea was roasty and nutty, as one would expect, but it had a surprising depth and a caramel-herbal finish that was quite nice. There was definitely a nutty overload between the tea and the cigar, but I loved it!

Appearance/Nose

This is not the prettiest cigar on the block. There are a couple of large wrinkly veins, the wrapper is blotchy, and there is quite a bit of band-glue that has transferred to the back of the cigar. I would say it looks rustic, aside from the solid gold band that is clearly trying to show quality and refinement. It’s a strange contrast. The band itself is understated, a bit like the gold foil on a chocolate. The white text is difficult to read if there is light shining on the band, as the gold reflects glare quite readily. The nose is reminiscent of graham cracker and fresh cut grass.

Construction

Rustic wrapper aside, there did not appear to be any major construction issues with this stick. I’ve seen worse triple-caps, to be certain. The stick seemed slightly softer at the foot, and slightly harder around the band. The burn got a bit crooked a few times, but always straightened itself out. The ash held for about an inch at a time, falling off in flaky black and white chunks.

Cold Draw

The initial cold draw was rather tight the flavors of graham cracker and light spice were present.

Smoking

First third

The first puff was loaded with tangy flavor. There was a strong, grassy, salty tang that dominated the retrohale, and a thick, nutty finish. The draw opened up to a nice medium.

The grassy tang quickly tapered away, leaving a graham cracker sweetness, nutty finish, and black pepper on the retrohale. This cigar, in the span of about two three puffs, went from full-bodied straight to mild-medium.

The nutty flavor dominated, tasting quite a bit like nougat. The burn got a bit crooked in the first inch, but evened itself out after a while.

A light, creamy, whipped nuttiness pervaded the first third.

Second third

The body inched up to medium at the start of the second third, adding in a tangy, salted caramel note.

Again, the burn line grew crooked, and again it straightened itself out quickly. Peanuts, nougat, and caramel were…(wait a second…is this a cigar or a candy bar? At least I’m not getting any chocolate notes!)…combined in each draw.

There was no longer any pepper or spice on the retrohale, just rich, tangy caramel and cream. The smoke volume began to pick up a bit as the middle third wound down.

Final third

I was still getting nuts, caramel, and nougat at this point, but the salty, tangy grass note from the first puff began to reemerge, though only faintly. The band came off with a slight struggle.

After that, the draw tightened up a bit and I decided to do a perpendicular v-cut to try to open it up a bit more. This helped slightly. The flavor began to grow bitter as I struggled with the draw. This let me know it was time to stop.

Notes

Draw: Medium-tight

Medium-tight





Body: Mild-medium

Mild-medium





Primary Flavors: Peanut, nougat

Peanut, nougat





Smoke Output: Medium

Medium





Smoke Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Overall

I didn’t really get any marshmallow, though I did taste a whole lot of other candy type flavors. The first two thirds were absolutely delicious, and the burn was fairly slow for such a small stick. The final third grew tight and bitter, but I had already had an hour and a half so smoking pleasure, so I won’t complain. This was a light, deliciously nutty and sweet cigar that performed well. I would definitely grab more of these.

Rating