In Our Memory Of: El Rey del Mundo Petit Corona

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

El Rey del Mundo is a pre-revolution brand eshtablished in 1882. It’s cigars were considered of premium quality around the 80’s and 90’s, with Zino Davidoff claiming that every serious cigar afficionado should have them in his collection. However, from 2000 onwards, when the market starting favouring cigars of stronger flavours, the popularity of El Rey del Mundo faded. From eleven vitolas in regular production in 2002, the company’s portfolio only includes three in 2011, with the Petit Corona being in its last year of production.

The El Rey del Mundo cigars have built a reputation of being very well constructed, mild to medium, with sweet floral aromas. The marca has created some fantastic cigars like the Tainos and the Choix Supreme, but the rest of their vitolas never got a chance to shine. The Petit Corona has had a reputation for often being rolled to tight, and I hope this will not be the case with the one I will be smoking today.

Appearance 11 /15

The El Rey del Mundo Petit Corona shows its age from the first look. Altough I dont know the box code, I would think it is circa ‘98 to ‘00. It is squared, a sign that it has been aging in a full box, and the wrapper is dark and very veiny. Some bumps and wrinkles are also there, and the cap is sloppy. The bunch is soft and consistent throughout the length of the cigar, with the prelight draw being loose. The wrapper has a strong, cedary scent and the cold draw is peppery.

Flavour & Body 20/ 25

The cigar has a good “bang” from the first draw. Intense flavours of pepper, leather and cedar throughout the first third got me by surprise. The body is stronger than I would expect from an ERDM and the finish is long and salty. In the beginning of the second third, the cigar calms down. The pepper disappears and the flavours are smoother and more rounded. Caramel, leather, fruit and wood are all there in good balance. However, the free draw and rapid burn result in an unpleasant acidic aftertaste. In the last third, most of the flavours disappear. Wood is the most dominant flavour, with some leather and floral notes, in a somewhat flat and one dimensional finish.

Draw & Burn 20/25

The cigar draws very loosely all the way through, and burns quickly. This rushing makes the cigar feel a lot stronger than it actually is! The ash is solid, light grey in colour and almost reaches half an inch in length. The burn is even and consistent at start, with a good coal that produces clouds of smoke. In the last third though, the cigar keeps going out, and has to be relight several times until it is put to (early) rest.

Overall 28/35

This cigar was the opposite of what I had expected. Being too loose, it showed strong flavours from the beginning, drifting away from its traditional sweet and floral profile. While it started settling down in the second third, burn problems appeared, which affected its taste and its overall character. According to Min Ron Nee, the El Rey del Mundos reach their peak early, at about 4 to 5 years, and it is obvious that this cigar has gone passed its prime a long time ago. Will it be missed? Possibly not… If you have any, smoke them now, or if they are young let them rest until they get to the age that MRN suggests. If you don’t, I wouldn’t recommend that you go looking for some!

TOTAL 79 /100

Verdict:

Not a bad cigar overall and although this one was loose, I have often smoked some that were plugged. The flavour profile of the ERDM brand is carried in this cigar, however with quality being an issue consistently, I think I will wave goodbye to this one and give it a miss!