Pre-light Experience

There is so much going on with the looks of this cigar from its length, the soft box press to the quarter inch of small cigar sticking out of the foot. The wrapper is a nice medium brown with some slight marbling. There are a few veins present but are well pressed. The seams and caps are easily visible as they are all slightly raised. There are two bands with the primary being burgundy and gold and having the Berger & Argenti logo on the front and the line name on the back. The foot band is a cream color and has the line name on it in gold as well as instructions for how to light the foot. The aroma from the wrapper is a nice floral note. I don’t get much from the foot other than a faint tobacco note. The pre-light draw reminds me of iced tea with no sweetener.

Pre-light Experience

The Berger & Argenti Entubar Double Corona has a toothy maduro colored wrapper shade. The soft pressed cigar, like its predecessor, has a hanging nipple on the foot. Veins are well pressed, seams tight and head finished off with a thick triple cap. Nosing the wrapper gives rich cedar. Nosing the nip gives some dry wood and white pepper spice. Cold draw tells rich white pepper and cedar.

First Third

Initial draws bring a mix of creamy baking spices and woodiness. At a half inch in, the creamy baking spices mellow a bit which evens it out with the woodiness and creates a nice mixture level. At an inch in, the cream increases a bit while the baking spice decreases a bit and the wood note stays the same. The retrohale brings a creamy wood note. At two inches in, the retrohale gains a nice toasted note to the wood while the cream remains. As the third comes to a close, the cream and baking spices even back out and are in line with the wood note. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

First Third

The first third centers around flavors of chocolate, slightly spicy/raw cedar, baking spices and creamy bread. Retrohaling gives deeper notes of spicy raw cedar and creamed bread. The finish is dominantly earthy with a dry wood backbone. Strength and body is medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, the baking spice has moved to the background while the cream and wood are up front. At a quarter inch in, some earthiness joins the profile. At an inch in, a slight wood bitterness joins the slightly creamy wood and earthiness. At two inches in, the wood gains some char to go along with the bitterness and the cream is still playing a good role in the profile. As the third comes to a close, the cream remains up front while the wood loses some its char but maintains the bitterness and is now a bit drying. The strength in this third has moved up to medium-full.

Second Third

The second third shifts towards a more earth forward flavor profile providing dry wood and baking spices. Unfortunately, the chocolate and creamed bread that I loved so much within he first third is now non-existent. Retrohaling further accentuates baking spices and dry wood. Finish stays the same with an earthy dry wood. Strength and body stays medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, some coffee joins the profile which ties in well with the cream. At a half inch in, the bitterness begins to increase while the creamy coffee and wood notes remain the same. At an inch in, the coffee is now hard to detect while the profile is mainly creamy wood with some bitterness. The retrohale is also creamy wood with a slight bit of char. This is how the cigar finishes. The strength in this third remained medium-full.

Final Third

Last third mimics the second third in every way. Mouth draw flavors of dry wood and baking spices. Retrohaling giving greater notes of baking spices and dry wood. Finish tells the same earthy dry wood. Strength and body finishes medium.

Burn

The burn line was slightly wavy but never needed any attention. The ash held on in one inch increments.

Burn

Burn performance was overall very good. Only downside was an uneven burn which at times led to unburnt wrapper pieces. Aside from that, cool and slow burn, zero touch ups or relights and a sturdy tight ash sums up the great performance.

Draw

The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar started with some nice flavors and in the second third moved to an average woody profile along with some cream and that’s how things remained. The construction was very good. Strength was medium plus most of the way, so those that like a little fuller strength would be right at home. I was interested to see how this re-release would perform and it did OK. This vitola was a bit of a commitment and with the long smoking time, it was hard for the cigar to keep my attention. With that said, I’d like to try this in a smaller vitola. It’s a cigar worth a try to see if its a good fit for you. I would be up for giving another one a go.

Draw

Perfect draw striking the ideal balance between resistance and air flow.

Overall

While I remember enjoying the original Entubar, I don’t recall the flavor profile as it’s been more than 3 plus years. In the instance of the new Berger & Argenti Entubar Double Corona, the profile’s first third was great, but led to a mundane average profile within the remaining two thirds. I think this cigar will do better with a thinner ring gauge and shorter length, which I will track down in the hopes of remembering the good old times.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.79

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$1.75

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Berger & Argenti Entubar Double Corona