Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda is between light and medium brown and has a few decently raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps are well applied. The band is blue, white and a dull gold and carries the company and line name. The aroma from the wrapper is musty cedar and light earth while the foot brings breadiness and cedar. The pre-light draw brings musty cedar.
Seth: It’s very odd to see the Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda band with a lot going on. But, the blue band pops against the Colorado wrapper. Nice coloring throughout. Lovely bits of red and browns. Few veins present, and those are small in size. Slightly firm throughout, the cigar had an aroma of damp wood, barnyard and mineral spices. Tobacco as well.
John: The Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda comes in cellophane, and has a UPC sticker with a tear space to remain intact when opened. The new Singulare band is present and the font is clear and easy to read. Aromas from the wrapper were a combination of wood, vegetation, tobacco and some sourdough underneath. Raisin, chocolate, tobacco and hay were aromas present in the foot.
Jiunn: The Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda has a gorgeous shiny and oily natural brown wrapper that’s reminiscent of a well shined pair or leather shoes. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Aromas from the wrapper tell of rich cedar and english tea. Aromas from the foot give abundant sweet roasted nuttiness and cedar. Cold draw tells hay and rich nuttiness.

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, cinnamon forward baking spice and light mustiness. At a third of an inch in, the baking spice transitions to black pepper and the mustiness increases. At a half inch in, the black pepper mellows. The retrohale is toasted cedar and mustiness. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper is now very mild. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with mustiness right behind and light black pepper in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with some manure and barnyard qualities. Bits of wood and earth. Coffee as well. There are some mineral spices on the finish, and I would say the cigar is medium in strength and body.
John: The first third gets going with creamy bread and medium-plus strength baking spices that linger well into the post draw. A vegetal and tannic cedar combination develops at the end of the draw as the first third settles in. Those intense spices back off to medium strength as the first third continues.
Jiunn: The first third is inherently mineral driven. Along with the minerals come semi-full tannins, cedar and leather. Retrohaling provides a blast of dried red pepper and baking spices. The finish is a bit unrefined with a dirt and mineral combination. Strength is medium-full and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, some light earthiness becomes present. At a half inch in, the black pepper is barely hanging on. The retrohale is toasted cedar, mustiness and earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the mustiness, with earth in the middle and a light black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with that of the first. I am picking up some manure and barnyard notes, and it has that finish of wood, earth, coffee and mineral spices. Still smoking around the medium level for strength and body.
John: The second third greets me with spices and sweet bread as a combination of wood, spices and creaminess finish the draw. A mildly tannic wood comes into the center of the retrohale after a few retrohales. The wood moves up to medium strength as the cigar continues towards the halfway point. Some medium strength earthiness comes into the end of the draw, but diminishes to light as a vegetal component joins it.
Jiunn: The second third continues to give a relatively unrefined and raw experience. Still highly mineral, semi-full tannins and leather focused. Strength and body is unchanged at medium-full and medium, respectively.

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the cedar takes on a bit of a young profile. At a half inch in, the toast level increases and the black pepper is no longer present. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, mustiness and earth. As the cigar wraps up, the profile is toasted, slightly young cedar, with mustiness right behind and earth a bit further behind. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third is identical to the second. Very little complexity and depth. Some additional mineral and spice notes. Medium in strength and body.
John: For the last third, the initial combination of flavors is bread, vegetal and tannic wood. Bread and sweet tobacco make up the retrohale with a wood finish. Some earthiness and mild bitterness come into the profile by the halfway point. I found the cigar earth forward in the bottom half for the remainder of the review.
Jiunn: The final third shows even more rawness. The minerals become sharper, giving an unpleasant mouth feel. The finish is long in this manner but in every wrong way.

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the cigar went out once, requiring a re-light. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Had to light up the cigar a couple times. No enjoyable flavor qualities to counter the construction.
John: The burn started out straight with some flakiness to the ash. The cigar went out in the bottom of the first third, requiring a re-light. The burn became uneven in the second third, eventually going out, requiring a second re-light. The cigar went out again in the last third, requiring a third re-light.
Jiunn: Some minor issues with uneven burn, requiring a couple quick touch-ups.

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda

Draw

Aaron: The draw was a bit tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: Draw was inconsistent throughout.
John: The draw was well into the resistant spectrum, roughly 3-1/2 to 4 notches.
Jiunn: The draw was perfect, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, cinnamon forward baking spice and light mustiness. The baking spice quickly transitioned to black pepper. The second third saw some earthiness join in. The final third saw the cedar take on a young note and the black pepper departed. The Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. By the second third, the enjoyment waned as the components were less vibrant and maintained that level the rest of the way. Overall, not a cigar I’d really see myself coming back to all that often.
Seth: What can I say that I have not said before? AGANORSA appears to be in a tough place right now and it is impacting blends. This Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda wasn’t bad, but it was average. Old Illusiones were better, and while this probably smokes better than some recent Illusione releases by AGANORSA, there are still issues. We will see what happens when we smoke the new Illusione Habano out of AJ’s factory.
John: The Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda provided some interesting, engaging and pleasant flavor combinations for the majority of the cigar review. Construction suffered with a resistant draw, and a burn that required three re-lights during the review. I enjoyed the Singularé Origen Corona Gorda and I found myself wondering how the cigar would perform for flavor if it didn’t have any re-lights. I’d happily return to this, as I would to almost the entire Illusione portfolio. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Jiunn: The same issues with Aganorsa tobacco ensues (just like the last few years) with this Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda. Unrefined, raw and unbalanced. The highly mineral and associated tannins approach is overbearing, creating none of the soft notes that I love in what used to be found in Aganorsa tobacco. It’s come to the day in which a Singulare is not worth buying.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.32

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.00

Cost/Point

$2.67

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.87

Cost/Point

$2.28

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.30

Cost/Point

$2.52

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Illusione Singularé Origen Corona Gorda