Pre-light Experience

Seth: The ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona is lovely in hand. It’s a large cigar but has a nice weight. It has a dark Natural colored wrapper that is silky in texture with a nice firmness. The coloring is that of cedar in a humidor. Lovely aromas on the foot and wrapper of tobacco, spices, earth and barnyard.
John: The ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona features a Colorado-colored wrapper and appears to be in a Super Toro format, measuring approximately seven inches in length. I weighed the cigar at 20.4 grams and measured the humidity at 63.3% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included mild barnyard, wood, bread and hay, while the foot offered a more concentrated combination of sweet wood and hay.
Jiunn: The ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona has a gorgeous oily, silky and uniform Colorado wrapper. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give roasted nuts and barnyard.

ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona

First Third

Seth: The cigar begins by delivering some classic cigar flavors of tobacco, earth and wood. There are some faint spices with herbal qualities as well. There are touches of leather on the finish but just touches. Medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with spicy wood leading the profile, followed by faint bread through the center before spicy wood returns on the finish. The retrohale delivers a combination of sweet tobacco, wood and mild bread. As the cigar progresses, the spices at the end of the draw build to medium-minus strength while dry wood settles into the post draw. As the first third continues to develop, the overall profile softens to just above light-plus strength. The spices that had previously approached medium strength gradually fade into the background, lingering gently on the palate between puffs.
Jiunn: I’m impressed by the first third’s balanced approach covering the major sectors of a good cigar: sweetness, spice and earth. Specifically, baking spices, sweet and creamy roasted mixed nuts, medium tannins and cedar wood. Retrohaling gives a nice nostril opening dried red pepper spice. The finish is the least interesting with lingering baking spices. Strength and body is medium.

ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona

Second Third

Seth: The second third is identical to that of the first except that mineral notes increase towards the end of the third. Like before, medium in strength and body.
John: By the beginning of the second third, the profile is led by sweet, mildly tannic wood that defines most of the smoking experience. Light-plus dry wood carries the post draw. As the cigar progresses toward the halfway point, mildly bitter hay joins the finish. Through the bottom half of the second third, earth develops in the post draw, combining with the existing dry, tannic wood and gradually shifting the profile toward a drier character.
Jiunn: After a great first third, the second third is a let down. The profile is far less complex with mainly baking spices and cedar wood. It’s especially missing the sweetness, tannins and spice off the first third. Strength and body remains medium.

ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona

Final Third

Seth: The third final delivers minerals, tobacco, earth, wood and faint spices. Leather as well.
John: By the final third, a noticeable amount of dryness and bitterness has accumulated on the palate, pushing aside much of the sweet tobacco that characterized the earlier portions of the cigar. As the cigar approaches the halfway point of the final third, earth builds to medium strength and takes over the post draw. Through the bottom half, bitterness joins the earth in the post draw, and together they become the defining characteristics of the profile, overwhelming the remaining sweetness and complexity.
Jiunn: The final third is unchanged from the second third. Still a less engaging and complex mixture of baking spices and cedar wood. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona

Burn

Seth: The burn is good throughout the entire cigar.
John: The burn was mildly wavy through both the first and second thirds before straightening out during the final third. Despite the waviness, no intervention was required throughout the review.
Jiunn: Cruise control burn performance featuring an even burn, tight ashes, ample smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona

Draw

Seth: The draw is very good from beginning to end.
John: The draw measured 80 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it sat between four and four-and-a-half notches into the resistant spectrum, making it quite tight. I could clearly feel a significant knot just past the halfway point toward the cap, which restricted airflow for the duration of the review.
Jiunn: The draw was also great as it hit the ideal balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona is a cigar that begins flat and then goes subsurface. The cigar looks great, and the first puff is decent, but once you get going you realize the cigar is going nowhere but down. Not a cigar I would recommend or smoke again.
John: Blind Cigar #1580 begins with a balanced profile built around sweet tobacco, spicy wood and subtle bread notes. The retrohale is particularly enjoyable during the opening third, where the sweet tobacco complements the wood and spices without allowing any one component to dominate. Although the overall intensity gradually softens as the first third progresses, the profile remains harmonious and easy to enjoy. The second third marks a gradual transition toward a drier, more wood-driven experience. Sweet tobacco begins to fade while tannic wood, bitter hay and earth become increasingly prominent. The progression feels intentional, but it also strips away much of the richness that made the opening third engaging. By the end of the second third, the cigar has clearly shifted toward a more rustic, earth-forward profile. The final third continues this trend. Earth and bitterness steadily take control of the profile, largely replacing the sweetness that initially anchored the experience. While the cigar never becomes harsh enough to make it unsmokable, the accumulating dryness and bitterness create a finish that lacks the balance and complexity established earlier. Construction presents a tale of two experiences. The burn performs admirably despite remaining mildly wavy for much of the review, requiring no intervention from start to finish. The draw, however, is a significant drawback. The pronounced resistance created by what appears to be a tight knot in the bunch makes each draw require considerably more effort than ideal and likely contributes to the exceptionally long smoking time. In the end, the ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona offers a promising opening with balanced sweetness and spice before gradually transitioning into a drier, earth-dominated profile. Excellent burn performance helps offset some of its shortcomings, but the overly tight draw and increasingly bitter finish ultimately limit the cigar to an average overall rating. Total smoking time was 3 hours and 9 minutes.
Jiunn: Whenever I see a big format cigar like this that takes a substantial time to smoke through, a couple thoughts come to mind to gauge if it’ll be a good cigar. 1) Will it have enough complexities and transitions/buildups to keep me engaged. 2) If it doesn’t, can a tasty profile last the entire time. From my experience, 1 is rarely done so 2 is more of a manageable target. For this ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona, the good thing is I got a good tasting profile off the first third, but the following two thirds tanked in enjoyment and complexities. Given this, it’s a pass for me.

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.68

Cost/Point

$3.42

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$2.91

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$2.62

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: ChiMolly Pangu Double Corona