Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is a lighter golden brown with not much to speak of in the way of veins. The seams are pretty easily visible but smooth and the head is finished off with a very neat triple cap. There are two bands which is the typical presentation for this brand with the primary carrying the Cornelius & Anthony logo and the secondary band carrying the line name. The aroma from the wrapper brings some barnyard funkiness while the foot is a mix of hay and faint black tea. The pre-light draw brings a light leather note along with a slight spice to my lips and tongue.

Pre-light Experience

The Cornelius & Anthony Cornelius Corona Gorda has an attractive medium light wrapper showing good oil content. Veins are well pressed and seams are tight. The bunch and roll is well done as there are no hard spots or soft spots present. The head is finished off with a well applied triple cap. Nosing the wrapper gives cedar and barnyard. Nosing the foot tells rich roasted nuttiness, cedar and white pepper. Cold draw reveals a mixture of dry cedar and cardboard along with lip tingling white pepper.

First Third

Initial draws bring a mix of charred wood and creamy black pepper. At a quarter inch in, the wood loses the char as the cream increases and the pepper maintains its level. The retrohale is woody with a slight cream note. At three quarters of an inch in, the pepper fades almost completely away as a bready note becomes present with the wood and cream. At an inch and a half, the creamy wood and bread note are making for a very nice combination. The strength in this third is slightly above medium.

First Third

First third exhibits a unique note of meatiness/game. In addition to that note, cedar, black pepper and a slightly charred dry wood note. Retrohaling tells deeper black pepper and rich roasted nuttiness. The finish is medium in length with black pepper, dry wood and mixed nuts. Strength and body is medium for the entire first third.

Second Third

As the third begins, the creamy wood and bready note continue on. At a half inch in, the cream fades way back and the wood and bready note are up front. The retrohale continues with the creamy wood. At an inch in, the cream slightly increases, but is still in the background behind the wood and bread. This is how the third finishes. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Second Third

Second third is a continuation of the first third. Still mouth draw flavors of meatiness/game, followed by cedar, black pepper and slightly charred wood. Retrohaling still gives deeper notes of black pepper and a rich roasted nuttiness. The finish picks up a slight wood bitterness in addition to the pre-existing black pepper, dry wood and mixed nuts. Strength and body continues to be medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the bready note becomes toasty along with the wood and a slight minerality joins the profile. At a half inch in, the toast note leaves and the wood becomes charred while some cream comes back to the profile. At an inch in, bitterness pours into the profile as the cigar heats up and pushes the charred wood to the background. As the cigar comes to a close, the bitterness drops back some and allows the charred wood back up front. The strength in this final third was slightly above medium.

Final Third

The main difference between the second third and last third is the increase in spice. Both the black pepper and cedar note pops that much more. This allows especially the meatiness/game to take a back seat. Retrohaling is still increased black pepper and roasted nuttiness. The finish is a tad more wood bitterness dominant, followed by black pepper, dry wood and mixed nuts. The profile finishes medium in strength and body.

Burn

The burn line was just slightly wavy and always kept up with itself. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.

Burn

Burn was overall very good. Ashes were sturdy with self tapped ashes averaging 1.5 inch increments. The cigar burned cool and slow the entire smoking experience. The only downside was the burn not being razor sharp (but this is a very minor complaint).

Draw

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

Overall

Some pretty nice and nuanced flavors through the first third and then the cigar settled into a primarily woody note the rest of the way and was fairly linear. Construction was great, so no attention was necessary there. This is another nice addition to the Cornelius & Anthony portfolio and if you are a fan of the brand or enjoy medium strength and woody cigars, definitely one to pickup. I’m very interested in trying the Toro vitola in this to see if it can maintain the complexity of the first third longer.

Draw

The ideal draw giving just the right balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

A tasty and unique profile through and through. The combination of meatiness and rich roasted nuttiness to my surprise worked very well off each other. This paired with just the right amount of balanced spice created a tasting profile well enjoyed and very much worth seeking out more of.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$2.00

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.20

Cost/Point

$1.67

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Cornelius & Anthony Cornelius Corona Gorda