Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is dark brown with a reddish hue. There are a few medium sized raised veins and the seams are easily visible just due to the color variation on the wrapper. The head is finished with a well applied triple cap. There are two bands, the first is the standard Herrera Esteli design but with the red background, white lettering and gold borders. The second band carries the Miami designation. The aroma from the wrapper is a mild manure while I get a light tobacco sweetness from the foot. The pre-light draw is very interesting as it’s almost like fresh cut lumber.

Pre-light Experience

The Herrera Esteli Miami Corona Extra has a slightly gritty Colorado wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed and seams tight and visible. Bunch and roll feels well executed having a firm give throughout. The head is finished off with a thick double cap. Nosing the wrapper tells barnyard, metal and sweet cedar. Nosing the foot gives sharp cedar and mixed dry nuts. Cold draw reveals hay and dry nuts.

First Third

Initial draws bring cedar, cream and a spice that is not quite cinnamon. At a quarter inch in, the spice goes away and the cedar transitions to just the lightest of a general wood note, but the cream maintains its level. The retrohale has a slightly fuller general wood note along with a matching level of cream. At three quarters if an inch in, the wood gains a slight bit of toastiness to go along with the creaminess. At an inch in, the toast goes away and some nuttiness joins in to mix with the creamy wood. At an inch and a quarter, the nuttiness goes away and the profile returns to just creamy wood. As the third comes to a close, the profile gains a bit of sweetness which is a nice enhancement to the creamy wood. The strength in this third was mild-medium.

First Third

First third’s flavors consist of mixed dry nuts, dry red pepper namely on the tip of the tongue, floral notes and aged oak. The retrohale provides deeper notes of dry red pepper followed by creamed nuttiness and sharp oak. The finish is soft and lingering with notes of dry red pepper on the tongue and rear palate and stale oak. Both body and strength is at the medium mark.

Second Third

As the third begins, the sweetness lessens a bit and the creamy wood is still up front. At a quarter inch in, the sweetness goes away and some nuttiness returns while the creaminess increases and the wood holds its level. At three quarters of an inch in, the nuttiness goes away and the cream drops back to its previous level while some wood bitterness joins the wood. At an inch and a half, the retrohale is primarily wood with a slight creaminess in the background. As the third comes to a close, the cream has decreased some more and the wood, along with some bitterness, is up front. The strength in this third was just below medium.

Second Third

Second third’s profile is more oak and mixed nuts focused. The nuttiness is nicely paired with a creamed body. The spice of the dry red pepper is now a secondary note and the floral notes are no longer tasted. The retrohale remains unchanged, still providing deeper dry red pepper, creamed nuttiness and sharp oak. The finish’s complexities die down, now giving stale oak and dried nuts. Body remains at the medium mark while strength increases to somewhere in between medium and medium-full.

Final Third

As this third begins, the wood and bitterness remain up front with some creaminess in the background. At a half inch in, the cream increases to become even with the wood with some bitterness in the background. At an inch in, the bitterness increases which pushes the cream back and leaves the wood note up front. As the cigar comes to a close, the bitter wood remains up front with the cream in the background. The retrohale is primarily wood with slight cream. The strength in this third was right at medium.

Final Third

Last third is dominantly oak focused with a touch of creamed nuts and intermittent creamed coffee. Halfway through, an off-putting stale bitterness forms. The retrohale maintains it’s intense dry red pepper and sharp oak, but loses out on the creamed nuts. The finish is mainly comprised of stale oak. Body remains unchanged at medium and strength in between medium and medium-full.

Burn

The burn was slightly wavy at times and razor sharp at others. The first ash dropped at the two inch mark and then lasted in three quarter inch increments the rest of the way.

Burn

Nothing but the highest remarks for burn performance. Total smoking time clocked in at an impressive 2 hours and 42 minutes. Burn line was sharp throughout with solid 1.5 inch ash marks. Never did I need to resort to my lighter.

Draw

The draw was perfect with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.

Overall

The cigar started out well with some nuanced flavors and then after the first ash dropped, the flavors became much fuller. I probably attribute that to maintaining the ash for so long at the beginning. I really liked the small transitions that the cigar started with. At the midway point, the flavors became more linear. This is another nice addition to the Herrera Esteli line and one I would gladly revisit in the future. The strength level was below medium and up to medium, so most smokers should have no problem with the strength level.

Draw

Perfect draw. Just the right amount of resistance to draw (no pun intended) in all the flavors.

Overall

Even though I enjoyed the interplay of spice, earth and cream, I am still a bit disappointed by the latest rendition of Willy’s limited edition blend. Benchmarking against his Norteno and Herrera Esteli limited editions, this one falls short and doesn’t taste all that special and noteworthy. The stale bitterness within the last third especially was off-putting and not something I’d expect out of Willy’s overall balanced delivery of flavors. I’ll be interested in revisiting this cigar given another half a year or so to see if this gets remedied.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.87

Cost/Point

$1.89

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.00

Cost/Point

$1.86

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Herrera Esteli Miami Corona Extra