MARCH 27, 2022 - PHIL KURUT, COMEDY - CIGARS - MUSIC
UNDERCROWN 10 CORONA VIVA (5 x 43)
WRAPPER: MEXICAN SAN ANDRÉS
BINDER: U.S.A. CONNECTICUT BROADLEAF
FILLER: NICARAGUA
Well-appointed bands, a beautiful dark wrapper, and a ribbon to top it off, 10’s presentation rocks.
Cream, earth, milk chocolate, and wood, all very well-balanced, provide an excellent first impression. 10’s draw is effortless, and plumes of thick, heavy smoke wander in the air, filling up the room with wood and spice.
Spice and dark earth begin to roll in slowly.
The nose gathers some cherry, rich tobacco, earth, and spice in 10’s smooth retrohale.
Lingering on the finish, cherry, dark chocolate, earth, and spice converse at the perfect volume, awaiting the next pull.
As I continue, I get a few puffs of nothing much, then chocolate, wood, and cherry begin to greet me again. I'm reminded of those old friends who don’t talk to you for a while, and then you get a question from them about restaurants in your area. You give them some ideas, and they later let you know that, “Dude, that restaurant was SO good. We totally should have looked you up while we were in town!” Next time, right?
Leather begins to slide around through to the finish.
Baking spices, cherry, and dark chocolate take the lead. The finish has a generic, waxy chocolate note. Probably sounds worse than it is. It’s fine. Leather joins in too, but not harsh or overdone.
10 moves back and forth between greatness and nearly absolute quiet. Kind of like the movies where the prince just isn’t sure he wants to be king. I mean dad has done such a great job with everything, and there are oversized statues of dad, and people kind of like dad, and dad has a cool scar on his face, and the list goes on. The prince always looks anemic and has a tough time growing in facial hair. A lot of pressure, I suppose.
Cherry, dark chocolate, and wood drift out the nose.
The burn and ash have been as solid as a James Brown beat. Hats off to Clyde Stubblefield and John “Jabo” Starks. Talk about some slick drumming.
10 takes on a bit more leather, which begins wavering between harsh and not so harsh. Dark chocolate follows with cherry anchoring.
The nose is treated with dark chocolate and dark cherry. Subtle spice, leather, and dark chocolate hang on the finish.
As 10 nears the final turn, I can’t help but think there could have been a bit more here. For all the greatness here, it just struggled to consistently perform. When it was on, it was great, but there were frequent bouts of nothing but smoke. As drummers sometimes say, “You gotta play it like you mean it.”
SMOKE TIME: 1 hr. 12 mins.
RATING: 2.5 / 4 - You gotta play it like you mean it.
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