Cigars.ie

Christmas Corona Gordas, Day 3: Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No.3

The Christmas indulgence over the last couple of days has left me with a bad dose of man-flu. Not great for a day that not only I have to review one of the Corona Gordas, but also a cigar for the 3rd Transnational Tasting that we are participatig in tonight. Lemsip for breakfast and a few hot whiskeys will sort that out! Since tonight we will all be smoking some Romeo y Julieta Cazadores, I might keep it in the theme and smoke the only Romeo y Julieta in this series of reviews, the Exhibicion No.3. The Exhibicion no.3 has been around since the middle 80’s and has always been presented in dress boxes of 25.

I have to admin that apart from two or three vitolas, I am not the biggest fan of Romeo y Julieta. The Exhibicion no.3 is one of the cigars of the brand that I haven’t smoked before, so I dont really know what to expect from it. So lets get started, hoping I am in for a big surprise.

The Exhibicion No.3 has a reddish wrapper, which is  bumpy, veiny and not the most attractive compared to the rest of the corona gordas I got my hands on. The bunch is good, but firmer around the foot, and the triple cap is flat but well applied. Strong barnyard aromas are present on the foot of the cigar and the prelight draw is very good.

The Exhibicion No.3 starts with a puch of earth and pepper, a lot of pepper. However it is not long before it settles down and mellows, changing flavours completely. I find its taste unusual and hard to describe. A perfectly balanced trio of sweet, tangy and bitter flavours, the only think I could compare it to is pink grapefruit! The body is just about medium and the finish is short and shallow. The draw is good and the cigar burns well, delivering plenty of smoke.

On the second third the cigar changes very little. The main flavours are still those of a pink grapefruit, with some added notes of earth and wood.The cigar has a medium body still and the finish is now longer, with flavours of cocoa. The burn is good and even, helping the cigar to deliver plenty of thick smoke,  and the ash is dark grey and flaky.

A few burn problems appear in the last third, but nothing that would affect its flavours; the Exhibicion no.3 does not get hot or harsh at any stage. Its flavours, however, do not change  either. It smokes almost exactly as it did on the second third, with sweet and tangy flavours and a woody finish.

Unfortunately, the Exhibicion No.3 is not helping me here… This is probably the shortest review I have ever done, and this is due to my cigar being so one-dimensional! There is no change in the flavours at all throughout its length. It is not unpleasant, its flavours may suit some smokers, but I feel it is boring. Someone suggested that I smoke an aged one and not to touch a young one, but in order to keep inline with the rest of the cigars, the one I smoked was young. Now I know why they suggested that!

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