The cigar: Cusano Corojo 97 torpedo

Nutritional information:
Size: 6x52
Vitola: torpedo
Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Ecuador Corojo
Binder: Mexican Sumatra
Filler: Dominican Republic

The Marketing (courtesy of Famous): These dark, medium-to-full-bodied Corojo cigars have a smooth, silky texture, a perfect cap, and burn with a marvelous toasty aroma. The Cusano Corojo '97 presents a solid and rich-tasting smoke from the first puff, leading to a smooth finish with notes of cedar, sweet spice and other earthy flavors. A spicy Mexican Sumatra binder compliments the 1997-vintage Corojo wrapper's sharp taste, resulting in an incredibly flavorful and perfectly-balanced cigar. A MUST-SMOKE with impressive rating scores, too.

Prelight: The Ecuadorian Sungrown Corojo wrapper leaf is lighter than I associate with corojo. The wrapper is matte, not showing much oil (although, in fairness, this cigar has been in my humidor for several years) and is fairly veiny. It feels a touch soft but I don't find any gaps or unusual soft spots. The head is sturdy and clips well. I find the prelight draw to be a bit tight, but not problematic.

Construction and combustion: The light was easy and the burn even during the first inch or so. The wrapper seemed a bit delicate, though, and it started to crack and unravel at about 2 inches in. I smoked through that problem, but the burn remained a bit wobbly. The cigar produced a good volume of smoke, and the white ash was fairly firm. Smoke time a little more than 1 hr.

Flavors: At first, the flavor profile was woody, dry, clean, and lighter than I expected from a corojo. There were tangy notes, like rye, and a good bit of cedar. The body and flavor were no more than medium.

In the middle third, the profile grew just a bit rounder, with a little mellow spice (cinnamon, but dry, not sweet) and a hint of cream on a couple of puffs. The finish remained short and clean.

The last third was woody again, but with a couple of inches left I started to taste a little dirty ash. I pitched it at that point.

Overall, it was just ok. I don't have any more and won't be seeking them out.
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