This morning, I wanted to have a nice smoke to start out my day; nothing too sophisticated nor so big it would take forever to smoke. After all, I still must drive to the office. So, I figured something small like a corona would work. The only coronas I have right now are the Undercrown Maduro Corona Viva and Martinez NYC Blend Queens, which is a petite corona. I chose the Martinez.
This cigar is a mainstay in my humidor. I buy them by the box since they’re only $120 for a box of twenty-five. But I don’t get them because they’re inexpensive compared to other sticks. They just taste damn good! And I’m not normally a fan of Cameroon wrappers, but this is an exception. Its mixture of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, plus a Sumatran binder, then topped with that gorgeous Cameroon wrapper makes for truly rich and complex smoke.
Out of the several boxes that I’ve purchased, I can’t recall any cigar that had issues other than a little plug that was easily rectified or a slightly wonky burn line. But this particular stick that I’m smoking right now has been a little more than problematic. First, the draw was tight and even using my PerfecDraw only relieved the pressure a little. And I had to poke it a couple of times to get it to decently draw. And it also kept going out! I had to re-light it at least five times!
Normally, I’d just chuck a cigar that gave me this much trouble. But I didn’t in this case. Despite the issues, the burn line was absolutely straight. Even with the tight draw, the cigar still produced a bunch of smoke. Relighting so much was a bit annoying but not enough where I reached a point of frustration.
Or maybe, I was just in the right mood where it didn’t matter to me. But honestly, I think there was more to it than just my mood. The taste was still so rich that I didn’t mind the problems. I just wanted more of that creamy goodness.
Normally, when I encounter a cigar that has draw and burn issues, it usually alters the flavor where it’s just not that enjoyable. This often happened with Every Day Is Cigar Day sticks. If you’re not familiar with the story, the original manufacturer they used really screwed them with some poor rolls that got mixed into good stock. The poorly rolled ones tunneled and burned unevenly and they tasted horribly bland or bitter. I ended up chucking at least a third of the sticks I got from them (but I haven’t abandoned them. They have a new line coming out and I’m looking forward to trying those out).
Not so with this stick. As I mentioned above, the burn line was, as Katman puts it, dead nuts the entire smoke. So, when it went out, I just relit it, purged it a bit, and continued to enjoy it. A minor annoyance that didn’t force me to chuck the cigar.
Unco B's Stogie Diary 