While at IPCPR 2013 I visited a booth with an interesting characteristic from the others. Costa Rican tobacco. That’s not a common thing to see in my world, so I had to procure some for sampling and review. Well, it has taken me some time to get to them, so at the time of smoking they had 265 days of rest. 😉 It is definitely worth noting that this is the "Special Edition", which although, it is manufactured in Costa Rica, it does not have CR tobacco. The core line Gold has Costa Rican tobacco in place, where the SE has Nicaraguan in the filler.
- Vitola: 4×60
- Filler: Dominican Rep. / Nicaragua.
- Binder: Indonesia.
- Wrapper: Dominican Rep.
This Brun del Re Gold Special Edition did not have any banding on it, but the wrapper is just about too pretty to cover up anyway. It is a nice, medium-light brown with very small veins and nearly invisible seams. Construction appears to be spot on. The wrapper gives off a light, clean hay/dry grass note and the cold draw is a pleasingly sweet cherry note
The first third of the Brun del Re Gold Special Edition starts off nicely. There is a slightly sweet cocoa flavor, that is making my mouth salivate a bit. So, that as I try to "taste" the smoke I get a mouth feel similar to how your mouth feels and tastes, after you drink chocolate milk. There are also some floral hints, that start popping in and out, as well as, a little black pepper spice that lays on my tongue. Thick, white smoke is always good. Somehow though, the cigar fell off my ashtray and I lost my ash, but it was starting off nice and straight.
The second third sees the sweet cherry note fall back, and the spice picks up. I also am picking up more of a dry hay note in this portion and the mouth feel is becoming much more dry than the first. The smoke is still pouring out so thick and white that I can’t see in front of my face as I exhale. The retrohale has been a floral/herbal note with a small pepper tingle. Now that I have fixed the ash from my initial accident, it is a very nice, almost solid white ash. But it is pretty soft and flaky.
The final third of the Brun del Re Special Edition was similar to the second, except the pepper really took over. I kept getting a slight bitterness, that had an almost sour taste, but it wasn’t the bad kind. At least, not for the first half. It was actually tasty and just made me keep it slow and easy. As I neared the end it started to get a harsh bitterness, but by this time I was just about out of tobacco to smoke.
Very interesting flavor profile, with a medium body and medium flavor. Definitely worth a try. It will give you something new and different to add to your humidor and rotation.
Conclusion:
86 – Couple I think this is honestly more of an 88-89 5pk, but for me I’d just pick up a couple here and there.
Source: Cigarfederation.com