2000 Punch Double Corona

I had no expectations for this cigar.  It's not just that it's been probably 5+ years since I smoked a double corona.  It's not just the age, pushing into it's second decade.  And dammit, MAYBE it's because it just self-ashed into my tea........ehh, a little character. 

It lit a bit slowly, but thoroughly, and burned straight as an arrow.  It's ate up with coffee grounds and sweet molasses flavor, but it's got a bad side...the wrapper is nicked as many large wrappers are.  Otherwise, this is a beautiful cigar.  Just perfectly rolled, and you couldn't SEE a seam or a vein.  And as many havana cigar-boxers do, they wrapped the band around it so the nick would be in back, lol. 

Well nicks are where air is sucked in, and it causes this cigar to be not just a DOUBLE-clutcher, but a TRIPLE-clutcher.  It takes some serious puffing to get smoke to flow.  So for the first half of the smoke, it's a chore.  Still, the flavor is great.  These old double coronas are either spent or savagely smooth.  This one was the latter, thank goodness.  Throughout it's length, it gave up fantastic, smooth flavor.  As it got shorter, it got stronger, but the same general profile of coffee and dark sugary sweetness pervaded.  I am not sure that is actually a word, but it is HERE.  It was pervasive, anyway. 

A good double corona will have bits of ligero surprises in it, maybe it's seco, who knows, but it's just a little flag of leaf thrown in for flavor accents.  This one has several spots where the flavor rounds out and gets creamier, so yeah, maybe it's seco.  A real masterpiece of a double corona.  And don't get me wrong, I am not really a fan of double coronas, I can barely finish a churchill.  I like smoking cigars, but I like to smoke petit coronas or coronas, robustos and minutos. 

I like to be done, or on to the next one after an hour.  A cigar has to be masterfully blended if it is going to hold my interest.  This one almost does it, but it is a little bit monotonous.  Great, but not enough flair.  It needs to have at least 16 pieces of flair.  If it was a little more interesting it could reach into the 90's.  Wrong cigar for the wrong person....86 points.