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Stogie Reviews: Por Larrañaga Cuban Grade Corona Gorda Maduro

18 Mar 2009

Por Larrañaga is a famous Cuban brand that holds the title of oldest continuously produced cigar in the world, having first been created in 1834. And as detailed in this review, there are no shortage of non-Cuban imitations to this famous frontmark, with at least three different lines being produced.

Por Larranaga Cuban GradeThe Cuban Grade is a recent addition to the Por Larrañaga universe. In early 2007, Cuban Imports began distributing the line, which is made in the Flor de Copán factory in Honduras.

The 5.5 inch by 44 ring gauge corona gorda is made with a deep brown maduro wrapper from the San Andres Valley of Mexico. Inside is a Mexican binder and a mixture of Dominican and Honduran long-fillers. The cigars I sampled tended to be a bit spongy, and a few had one particularly soft side that would go on to create burn problems.

With a dark toothy appearance, this maduro tasted a lot like it looked: rich and earthy but with a bit of dry bitterness. The flavor reminds me of dark bitersweet chocolate. It’s not a particularly complex smoke, but it has a nice medium-bodied profile that goes well with a cup of espresso.

The construction, however, wasn’t very impressive. The ash is flaky and tends to fall off unexpectedly, often after only a half inch. And while most of the samples I tried burned evenly, one in four sticks required a touch-up. Fortunately, the firm draw was not problematic.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Por Larrañaga Cuban Grade line is the price. The suggested retail price for abox of 20 is $120. On some websites, though, they can be found for the most reasonable price of $40 a box. At that price I suspect a smoker would be willing to deal with some of the construction issues that I found.

All in all, this relatively new Por Larrañaga won’t blow anyone away and the persistent construction issues were disappointing. But that doesn’t mean it won’t make a pleasant accompaniment to a cup of coffee or a round of golf—at least for 45 minutes of it. For that, the Por Larrañaga Cuban Grade Corona Gorda Maduro earns a rating of three stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

2 Responses to “Stogie Reviews: Por Larrañaga Cuban Grade Corona Gorda Maduro”

  1. cigarfan Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 5:55 am #

    I picked up a box of these for the beautiful clearance price of $25. Hard to pass up at that price — I've smoked a couple and haven't had any construction issues so far. Quite a decent smoke for the price. $120 is really pushing the envelope though.

  2. Padronnie Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 5:59 am #

    I got a box for $30 off CBid… great bargain at that price. The kind of cigar you don't mind giving away to newbies, but also enjoy yourself.