CLE Corojo 2012 Corona Gorda

17 Feb 2013 • Posted by Jack • CLE • 3917 views

I used to be a Camacho guy. Their corojo line was so good I smoked it until it was coming out of my ears. I have had the Liberty and the Select within the past 12 months. I was actually sad to hear the brand was sold to Davidoff in 08 and since then their blends just lost the pop they used to have - with the exception of the Liberty, of course. In the last few weeks of 2012, I discovered Christian Eiroa had started doing his own thing and the brand sparked my interest. Nobody in the area was carrying his new CLE line - his initials, which is a very simple and classy way to name a cigar in my opinion. On a short trek to The Market to speak with them about revamping their website, I saw the CLE Corojo sitting rather auspiciously off to the side when I walked in. Before taking one step further into the humidor, I grabbed one. How is this new offering from Christian? Let's see.

Construction: This is an absolutely gorgeous cigar. Milk chocolate brown Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper with smooth veins and nary a blemish in sight, the CLE Corojo is quite a sight.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: There is a nice sweet tobacco and spice aroma out of the cello with this cigar. The triple cap is flawless and after clipping the draw is spot on. Can't wait to light it up.

Light and Burn: The light actually took me two matches off the start and one to touch it up. Nothing against the construction or draw here - I think I was just over anxious to fire it up. The burn is magnificent. I had nearly half of the cigar ashed before it dropped. Said ash is charcoal gray from a perfectly crisp burn line.

Tasting: Off the start this cigar is terrific. A warm blast of spice and wood with a creamy core of nuts fires this cigar off. The smoke is aromatic and copious. In fact I had a store patron ask me what it was after two puffs stating that it smelled amazing. As the first third develops, I pick up loads of that warm heady wood with some mild pepper on the finish which is creamy smooth and miles long. Into the middle third there is a dry graham cracker flavor added to the mix. This, my interesting cigar smoking friends, is an astounding smoke. Into the final third and I get another couple of flavors - light roast coffee beans and a very slight citrus note. As I smoke this cigar down to nothingness the strength increases slightly towards full and there is a slight peppery flavor coming through. I wish this cigar had a reset button so I could smoke it all over again.

Value: Okay, I paid a whopping $5.99 for this cigar...and for that price I am already plotting where to put them in my humidor.

Final Thoughts: I am harping to the owners and managers of The Wharf to carry this cigar as I write this review. Camacho sells like wildfire around here, so the CLE is a no-brainer for me. To my way of thinking, it's a superior cigar to the Camacho roots from whence it came. I showed it to Dillon and he immediately walked into the back and produced a robusto sample which he fired up instantly followed by the word " astounding" . Yes, they are really that good. I highly recommend this terrific offering from the family that put corojo on the map!

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras

Strength: Medium to full

Size: 5.7 x 46