Undercrown Maduro Corona Viva

Purchased: 5-pack (5 5/8 X 46)
Price: $32.95
Store: CigarPlace.biz
Buy Again: Of course
Box Worthy: Oh yeah!
Experience Rating: 98

I’ve said in the past that my desert island cigar would be the Undercrown Maduro. And back then, I was talking about the Toro Especial, a cigar that I have had in my rotation for a long time. I’ve lost count of how many boxes of those I’ve gone through over the years. I will run out of many different cigar brands and never replace them. But I never go for too long without some Undercrown Maduros.

So, when I finally finished my last box, I thought I’d give the Corona Viva a shot because my experience with Coronas and Petite Coronas is that their flavors are much more intense than their bigger brethren. The UC Maduro Corona Viva is no exception to this. But it brings so much more to the table than the other vitolas that I now pronounce this my desert island cigar.

First of all, this is so much more complex than the other vitolas. It’s a shifting palate of flavors including black pepper, cocoa, cream, cayenne, cedar, red meat, a slight sweetness, salt, earth, and even bell pepper at times. There aren’t a lot of different flavors, but this is packed with flavor if you get my drift. The complexity comes from what I taste from puff to puff – no puff is the same.

Then there’s the smoke production. The other vitolas create a lot of smoke, but not at this level. Also, the smoke itself is thick and rich. Exhale a puff and a cloud of thick, white smoke blocks my view.

Construction as with all Undercrown Maduro vitolas is spot-on. The stick is solid and while the wrapper may appear to be rustic, it’s smooth with no visible seams. And not one of the cigars in my 5er had burn issues. No touch-ups were necessary. The draw was just how I like it with just a little resistance. Simply amazing!

While the Undercrown has been known to be the little brother of the Liga Privada, this vitola brings enough to the table to set it apart from its brethren in the line.

Update 3/10/2025: I’ve got a box of 25 in transit! I couldn’t resist. I was all set to buy more Curivari Sun Grown and Reserva Limitada Cafe Noir AND more Regius Small Batch Blue Label. But I was out of Undercrown Maduro. That took priority!