The cigar: K. A. Kendall 7-20-4 corona

Nutritional information
Serving size: 5 5/8 x 46
Origin: Hondurs
Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Colombia
Filler: Undisclosed (reportedly Nicaragua, Mexico and Honduras)

Marketing:
I always compare blending tobaccos to blending wine: There's all different types of growing climates that produce different tasting products. I'm going for a rich, full-bodied cigar, but I want it to be very smooth.

The United States' longstanding trade embargo with Cuba makes it impossible to use the original Havana filler, so we have partnered with manufacturers in Honduras and Nicaragua to blend his perfect product, aging and fermenting the tobacco, then rolling the cigars before aging them again in Spanish cedar boxes for 120 days. That process melds the flavors together to "mellow it out a bit".

We came out with this unique blend from 5 counties. The flavor is very nice with a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, Colombian binder and 3 different fillers. Upper medium bodied with amazing flavor and aroma. (courtesy Twins Smoke Shop http://www.twinssmokeshop.com/7204.html)

Prelight: Visually striking, with a vintage band on the dark mata fina leaf, this corona has an unusually long, thick "pigtail" that looks more like a stem or fuse. The brown-black wrapper is thick, leathery, veiny, and a bit bumpy. It's firm, almost hard to the touch, with tight bunching at the foot. I don't detect much aroma from the foot or wrapper. The cap clips cleanly, offering an easy draw with dark, espresso notes.

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(cont'd)
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Construction and burn: I give it strong marks in these categories. The lighting was effortless and the burn quite good. No significant wobble until the last inch, no touchups needed. The ash is good, pretty compact and firm, although I pushed it too far and it did drop in my lap. The ash drop doesn't leave much of a ligero cone. The burn rate was average to above average, lasting just shy of an hour.

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Flavors: There was a little bit of pepper at ignition, but that dissipated pretty quickly. The flavors settled into a dark, woody profile -- charred oak, leather, and espresso. The smoke is medium in body, with a dry, clean finish.

The flavors were good but not especially dynamic. There were subtle variations on the basic theme -- the dark bitter notes shifted between espresso and stout, the wood notes were hickory, oak, with some char. The flavors stayed on the dry, tannic side of the spectrum; I never got any sweet notes.

This is a good to very good smoke; I want to see if a larger vitola might be a little richer.


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Great review Eddie...thanks! I'm going to have to pick one up.
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Damn... that purple ember is trippy! :-)

Great review!
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Thanks for the review and great pictures Eddie. I smoked one of these and it did not really do much for me.
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Hey, nice review. These are one of my go-to smokes.
I live right in the same town as Twins Smoke Shop, so I have a ready supply! Kurt is a great guy too.

I reviewed this cigar a few months ago myself, and agree that it is a great smoke -- especially for the price.
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:-) I thought it was pretty mild.
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Another great review Eddie:-)
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Great Job Eddie, and I too loved the pic w/ the purple embers! :-)
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I still haven't tried one of these, keep wanting to. That is one good looking cigar! Thanks for the review...
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Thanks for the review; I have to pick one of these up myself! :-)
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this one is on my list to grab. great review
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