Aaron’s Thoughts:

As expected, the pre-light experience was pretty spot on between these two vitolas. Getting into the smoking experience, they were pretty similar in terms of flavor with cream, wood and pepper being the core flavors. Where the two cigars differed in the first third was the strength level. The Toro was lower in strength, probably due to the larger ring gauge.

In the second third, the two cigars matched up with the strength level at a solid medium. The Corona carried a better flavor in this third while the Toro fell off a little bit. In the final third, the flavor in the Corona drops off a bit and falls back in line with the level of the Toro. The Toro strength increased again, while the Corona seemed to drop off a little more which was interesting as the cigars headed in opposite directions in strength for me.

Both cigars burned equally well. The Toro had a bit firmer draw than the Corona did, so the Corona gained a little more ground there. Overall, I found the Corona to be the more compelling of the two. The flavor kept me engaged longer and the slight decrease in strength as the cigar smoked along was a welcome trait. Regardless of size, this line is not the typical Connecticut wrapped cigar. My enjoyment level between the vitolas wasn’t that wide of a gap, so it’s pretty safe to say that you’d get a good idea of the blend regardless of which vitola you try.

Jiunn’s Thoughts:

First, looking at the overall score, both the Toro and Corona received a rating of subpar. The Toro edged out the Corona by a negligible 0.13 points. This was entirely attributed to the burn and draw. The Toro had a perfect draw, offset by a touch-up re-light within the last third giving the burn a subpar rating. This is contrasted by the Corona having a good rating on both burn and draw. This was surprising, as typically the My Father factory has no issues on construction.

Second, and most important, is the flavor experience. These two vitolas cannot be more different from each other. The Toro was more of the typical Connecticut flavor profile giving mild strength and body notes of sweet cream, bread, charred wood and minerality. The Corona, on the other hand, was the angry brother, giving substantially fuller strength and body notes of heavy palate sticking white pepper spice, hay, cedar and bread. The cigar was so different that I can’t even call it a Connecticut cigar. The hybrid Connecticut wrapper leaf really shines given the smaller platform (assuming binder and filler leaves are the same for both vitolas).

All in all, I preferred the Corona over the Toro because it is such a unique and drastic deviation from the standard mild Connecticut. This is definitely one to further develop one’s palate. But, if you want more of the vanilla mild Connecticut offering, the Toro is the way to go.

To view the full review for the Toro, click here.

To view the full review for the Corona, click here.