Trinidad Coloniales - 10-Jan-2012

Trinidad Coloniales – 10-Jan-2012

Origin:  Cuba

Format:  Corona
Size:  44 x 132

First Impression:  Nicely constructed.  Nice firm draw, aroma at cold smelled of tea leaves and some very slight floral notes.  This cigar is from a mid 2008 box.

Opening:  This is a strong cigar.  It shows its strength right away.  I had heard from my favorite (and only) cigar forum (friendsofhabanos.com) that I might expect a tea leaf character in this vitola – they were dead on.  Normally I associate that taste with lighter cigars, but it works well in this strong cigar.  I am not very experienced with Trinidads, only having smoked several Ingenios from a 2007 EL release.  This is a pretty big departure from that cigar.

First Third:  Tea leaves, but with a very peppery spice overtone.  Interesting combo.  Even burn, good draw, nice volume of smoke.

Second Third:  Strength balancing out a bit – still strong at medium full, but not so in your face as it was.  Tea leaves remain but the peppery character is gone leaving behind a creamy tea flavor.

Final Third:  Strength coming on a bit, now pretty much full as the cigar picks up steam and heads into the home stretch.  Still the tea leaf notes, but now with a smokey woody flavor which is pretty subtle.

Conclusions:  I like this cigar very much.  Taste, size, strength.  The feedback from my favorite cigar forum (friendsofhabanos.com) were pretty much 50-50.  Not that half hated the cigar, but that they felt it didn’t live up to others in this marca, such as Reyes and Robusto T.  Since my Trinidad experience is thin, this was very enjoyable and didn’t fall short of expectations.