This box-pressed corona (5½"x42) from General Cigars Dominican operation comes loaded with enough oily Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro to make your humidor weep. At $470 for 25 sticks, that's roughly $18.80 per smoke - not your grandpas yard-gar price. The triple-layered Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper/binder combo gives it that Gotham City skyline look, perfect for showing off cigar ring tattoos at weddings.
The cold draw serves up damp earth and baker's chocolate. Initial puffs deliver black pepper retrohales that make your nose hairs tingle - like sniffing a Havana club bottle. Smoke production's modest but creamy. Watch that burn line; these Maduros need regular heat to avoid canoeing.
Piloto Cubano terroir kicks in at the midpoint - think fermented tobacco sweetness with hickory-smoked espresso. The wrapper starts leaking molasses, leaving sticky residue on your fingers. Ash holds strong inch-plus if you're steady. Retrohale now brings cinnamon heat instead of pepper.
Last third turns into licorice and charred steak territory. Tar buildup creeps in by the nub - keep your cutter handy for purge snips. Not quite Padron Maduro stamina, but pushes 75 minutes with slow smoking. Leave the band on if you want Instagram cred; peel it off to avoid wrapper tears.
This stick demands dark denim and whiskey stones. Pair with barrel-proof bourbon to cut through the sweetness. Novices beware - that Maduro oil stains shirts like fountain pens. Keep a spare for when the golf buddy "forgets" his cigars. Just don't confuse it with the Cuban namesake - this Black Corona's all Dominican swagger.
