After a month, we had some sunshine with good temperatures again so I could have a relaxing moment outside. Since I don’t smoke in the house, I just will have to wait for those beautiful moments. When I opened my humidor this gold banded cigar just shouted at me; “pick me, me, me” and so I did. Boy was I in for a (floral) surprise…

Cuban Por Larrañaga Petit Corona (42 x 129mm, Mareva, Box Code Unknown). Comes only in a SLB50.

Por Larrañaga started out a long time ago, around 1834 in fact. After that the brand made it big and was a major producer. It was this brand also, which churned out the first machine-made cuban cigar. This marked the downwards spiral the brand got into, and now there are only three current cigars (Montecarlos, Panatela and the Petit Corona).  Besides this, since 2006 (a lot of) ‘Edition Regionales’ are released.

Color and Looks: Colorado (Maduro). Good build with good draw. No frays. Ultrathin wrapper with small veins.

A cru: Creamy, dusty, paper fire, mocha, caramel, nicotine, flowery.

Taste: Good smoke from the first whiff. Creamy, chocolaty, old books in an old bookcase, petroleum. Smoke gets thicker and is definitively flowery! After just one centimetre, the flowery element becomes grandma’s powdery soap. It’s Lavender! Ash alternates between gray and white streaks. Core is brown ash. Although it doesn’t seen heavy, my strong espresso tastes mild now. Almost even burn that continues throughout. No need for correction with a torch. Strangely the smoke on the outside of the cigar (wrapper) doesn’t have the lavender part. Somebody sitting next to you will not detect the lavender, but you, the smoker, most definitively will! It’s just there, lavender, soap, grandma’s clothes. Luckily this old smell is not overpowering, but just. After 3 cm the first ash falls off by itself. So maybe not so packed as I thought. The cigar by itself is not heavy, there isn’t a heavy taste that stays in your mouth for a day or so. It’s great with espresso but not with water. The cigar is quite basic (from the soapy taste), so it makes sparkling water taste more acidic than it already is.

Almost halfway through a woody part comes in, which for a moment does overpower the lavender part. After the halfway point the lavender, wood and spice balance out, which makes the cigar evolve and a bit stronger, but not much. Since it works well with espresso, but not with water, I feel it needs a counterpart from Scotland, something salty and sweet from Islay. I poured myself a Laphroaig 2001/2009 (57%, The Ultimate, Hogshead #2927, 324 bottles). Well I was right, this type of whisky goes very well with garandma’s lavender scented knickers. It pulls out more deep spices into the equation to balance the lavender even more. Wow even this cask strength Laphroaig tastes mild with this Por Larrañaga. near the end, the thin wrapper let go, so it was time to let it rest.

It’s a good after dinner cigar, lots of nicotine, yet not heavy. Some evolution halfway through but this happened only once, so I guess it’s safe to call it a linear cigar. This Petit Corona probably has a lot of fans, and it should. Well built, looks great and has a lot going for it. For me obviously the lavender was…the lavender, and that’s not quite my taste, but it could be perfect for you!

72 points