In attendance were Fernand, Pat, Joe, and Tom. As usual, we had gathered to enjoy a good cigar and give our opinion on it by holding a 'group tasting' following dinner. This was a scaled-down herf, a little more informal than usual, after we decided to postpone our Snoqualmie Casino visit due to several of the members having travel conflicts. So we opted to settle for the low-key alternative of sitting under Fernand’s patio heater.We ordered a big meat-zza from Pagliacci and washed it down with some of Joe’s excellent home brew, an IPA. Next we were off to Fernand's back patio where Pat provided hot buttered rums for us to sip. This was the perfect compliment to the patio heater for keeping us comfortable on a cool December evening in Seattle (and went well with the cigar too, of course).
Our selection for this Herf was the San Cristobal “Francisco”. This corona (distributed by Ashton) measures 5 1/2 inches long with a ring guage of44. It was Cigar of the Week back on October 20th, 2008 which received a 90 from Cigar Aficionado's expert tasting panel. They list for $7.25, but we got ours for about $6.50.
Following CA's 4-part rating system (Appearance & Construction, Flavor, Smoking Characteristics, and Overall Impression) we began the tasting.
The corona size seemed the perfect choice for a winter herf. Right off, we noticed how tightly packed it appeared to be for a relatively small cigar. The exterior attributes appeared very-well crafted. The dark Corojo wrapper was beautiful! Once cut, all agreed that each cigar’s draw was rather firm (tight).
The first puffs packed a punch, then calmed down. Flavors were leathery and woody. A very dark-roasted, often bitter coffee bean flavor was dominant with smoked wood backing it up. Unfortunately, this was about all it amounted to.
The cigars did burn wonderfully, but the smoke was a bit thin – no doubt a product of the tight draw. The ash wasn’t exactly the most stable we’ve seen either, falling repeatedly and catching us unawares.
The Francisco, as we experienced it, seems a little young. It’s fairly bitter, a little sour, almost metallic at times, and not really any sweetness to speak of. Perhaps, if the cigars were aged for some time, and these flavors mellowed and refined a bit, the richness would be able to shine through untainted.
After averaging our scores, The Cohiba Club's official rating for the San Cristobal ‘Francisco’ corona is 87. A good cigar… with potential.
Here's the points breakdown:
I. Appearance & Construction: 15 pts (100% of the points possible)
II. Flavor: 22 pts (88% of the points possible)
III. Smoking Characteristics: 20 pts (80% of the points possible)
IV. Overall Impression: 30 pts (86% of the points possible)
Incidentally, I had another Francisco, alone, a few days following this herf and experienced a very nice draw. The same flavors were present, however, thus reinforcing our group’s observations above. I’ll stand by my recommendation for additional aging.
--FR
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