Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Desflorada
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 38
Strength: Full
Price: $8.95

RELEASE DATE: December 15 on the Isabela Cigar Co. website.

I assume this will be a limited-edition cigar, but it could be a regular production cigar. I’ve had to tase Johnny at times to get him to deal out the entire story in one sitting.

BACKGROUND:
I can’t print everything Mr. Piette sent me. He often seems to be in the land of Oz when he writes about a new blend. I will summarize some of it…but quote him on the good stuff.

Johnny, like all good blenders, designs a cigar to fit his tastes. And as I’ve known him a long time, I know he doesn’t have the patience to age his cigars in a humidor. He enjoys whipping the cigar out of its cello and lighting up.

In order to get what he enjoys, he super ages all his blends…for years. They are virtually ready to go upon receipt.

Johnny is like the Tasmanian Devil. Never stops moving and can’t stand still. If you have the opportunity to converse with him, you better be at the top of your game. Entertain him with sizzling conversation or watch his eyes glaze over a minute later. He will use the opportunity to steal your wallet. If you don’t entertain him, he takes your dough. That is the rule.

His varied cultural background is so diverse that the one constant is his love of “…my addiction to multiple flavors of hot peppery spices…hot flavorful spices…Verde, Chile, any and all degrees of pepper and the flavors that burn a hole in my mouth…but not my soul.”

He is also a funny guy. And he doesn’t suffer fools. But he tolerates me.

He said that his slightly diminutive size is the reason for the Super Corona ring gauge. A little bitty mouth. Uh-huh. (He is still taller than Tom Cruise).

“SUPER CORONA to the Rescue!
That’s right…a cigar made just for me.
-My favorite size…all meat…no filler (6 x 38)
-Spice addiction? No problem. I took our popular True Cuban Corona and added some shivery, spicy slivers of Ligero to it…Unripe Ligero.

“I dialed up the entire bevy of flavor profiles from the True Cuban Corona.
I dialed them ALL UP TO 11! (Insert your favorite “Spinal Tap” quote here).

“Do you find that you are bored by too many similar cigars? The Super Corona has plenty of powerful transitions. This cigar will cure your boredom.

“I used fresh Ecuadorian Connecticut Desflorada, I used ALL High priming Nica Binder and Fillers. They are aged at different lengths of time…to enhance the transitions. The cigars have a post-production aging of 5 months…this keeps the blend nice and HOT!
Hope you like it…Sit down…Because if you’re standing, it may knock you on your keeester!”

APPEARANCE:
Bambi is in the building. Oily and smooth as Johnny’s tush.
The triple cap is a marvel of modern engineering.
The wrapper has a natural leaf appearance. Seams are invisible. A fair number of veins but not intrusive to the artistic eye. For a Corona, it feels heavy in the hand. But then so does Johnny.
And the Isabela cigar band that is significant in alerting everyone that John is in the room, in spirit. And no skulls.

SMELL THE GLOVE:
It’s very fruity like Johnny. Plus, vanilla, caramel, lemon custard, red pepper plus a variety of hot spices, pink bubblegum, café au lait, cedar, and some very faint aromas I cannot identify.

Johnny always uses a slightly sweetened tip. It is not like an ACID cigar where the sweetness is cloying and treacly. It is so mild, that you barely notice it. I like it…always have.

I taste every tidbit that I smelled with my huge nose.

The draw is exactly how I like it. Just perfect. I don’t need my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool. I put the tool back in my wall safe hidden by a photo of Pablo Escobar.

FIRST HALF:
The first time I smoked the Super Corona was in 2020. I worked for Johnny at his upscale cigar lounge in the snooty suburbia city of Brookfield…just outside Milwaukee.
I couldn’t get through half of it due to its strength. I put it away for 6 months and the beast had been tamed.

I smoked one last night and I didn’t lose my keester in the melee. Much tamer than the 2020 stick.

Here we go…
Right away, serious complexity on just the first puff.
It has an immediate balance of sweet v. savory.

A whole lotta love from various spicy peppers. Not too hot. Just right. The spiciness does not cover up the flavors that are going crazy on my palate.

I gotta start somewhere…creaminess, espresso, caramel, carne asada, a lemon twist, vanilla, a nice maltiness, cedar, and hot cinnamon.
That was just from ¼” burned.

The burn is slow. Like Johnny.

Strength is a medium+. The only time of the day I get the true intent of a cigar is first thing in the morning without a day’s supply of food and drink in me. I didn’t get the nuances last night. This morning, the boat is being swamped by huge waves of transitions.

I take a sip of water and get a vodka martini with a twist. The blend reminds me of a fine meal of Mexican food. The flavors are subtle but layered like a wedding cake.

Flavors whiz by. I’m finding it difficult to keep up with the transitions. I would rather be avoiding this review and just enjoying the cigar.

Strength is now a potent medium/full. It has its foot on the pedal.
Very smooth while flavors dart, smack me in the palate, and move on.

I can taste the aging in a huge way. But I always taste the time in Johnny’s blends. I am glad that John is so impatient. But not with the aging.

There is an avalanche of flavors…but most are in transition as the cigar burns and moves to the next quarter inch. Sometimes, it drives me crazy keeping up with Isabela blends because John prides himself in designing a cigar that plays hopscotch with every puff.
Man, absolutely delicious.

The sweet cap dissipated within the first minute or two.

The spiciness is strong but not obtrusive. It refuses to get in the way of the intent of the blend. This may be the first time I’ve tasted so much spice but find it compartmentalized. How does he do that?

I loved this cigar last year after it had rested. But this is better.

I’m not going to repeat flavors over and over because the transitions are furiously quick.

The key to the brilliance of this blend is the level of subtleties. Such a smooth cigar. I can’t remember a cigar this strong that maintained an even keel that did not make me swoon.

The complex nature is through the roof. Holy shit.

Every puff brings something new to the table in terms of nuances and tight constraints. What I mean by that is there is strict control of what I taste due to the blending. It is not a flavor bomb, but it has an incredible intensity that my palate sucks up like a thick chocolate milkshake.

The strength is completely controlled so it is a great cigar for newbies wanting to tread in deep water.

The constant transitions are more about the depth of the tobacco than a laundry list of flavors. This is because the design is so beautifully thought out that the balance lunges and perry’s. And then retreats as it prepares for its next attack.

Damn. I love this blend. I didn’t know Johnny was this smart.

As I near the halfway point, I find it incredulous that the potent spices never step on the toes of the flavor profile. Of course, the second half may put me in a coma…we shall see.

Not a lick of nicotine. John is my hero.

Construction is immaculate. A perfect char line that never wavers.

I am trying to dissect the cigar, but you know what…the myriad of flavors work like an expensive Italian racing car at a Gran Prix event. It speeds up, it slows down, it takes the curves in stride.

SECOND HALF:
It’s taken a good 20 minutes to get here. The cigar is packed perfectly.

I know I am just starting the last portion of the cigar but my keester is just fine, thank you. The experienced and sophisticated smoker will love this blend.

It is so completely balanced that you don’t need to have a bullet proof palate. No need to dissect flavors. The complexity does all the work.

Again, the char line is razor sharp.

Strength is full tilt, but I feel no fear. With every puff, the cigar continues on climbing a stairway to heaven…the live version.

A sip of water and the lines in my face disappear.

I cannot think of a single criticism. It is a palate pleaser extraordinaire.

I want some great Mexican food. Chile Rellenos with rice would be a delight.

I love that the blend is in no hurry. It takes its time so your brain can really appreciate what is going on.

Each year, Johnny earns his place at the table of the finest blenders in the world. He has become a master blender with no competition.

I’ve always thought that is an honor to be his friend. Johnny is a crazy guy until it’s time to go to work. He stands in a rare position of only producing masterful blends. Not a single cigar in his catalog is just OK. Each one is artfully designed.

The blend is now so complex that I am experiencing shock and awe.

The flavor profile and the transitions take a back seat to the utter brilliance of the experience. I used to have an utter but a plastic surgeon fixed it.

There is some nicotine at play, but it is subdued and more than tolerable for such a strong cigar.

Once again, Johnny has produced a perfect blend for my palate. He does this over and over. He should get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I keep changing my rating as I smoke. It moves up point by point.

There is no question that I am an Isabela fanboy. With every release, John smacks me in the face with a dead mackerel.

It is a cigar to be quietly savored. Don’t rush it. I want it to grow back as it begins to disappear.

I look at the clock and realize this will be a 45-minute smoke. Every minute producing gobs of delight and surprise.

I rarely get to smoke a cigar that is this sophisticated. It is a magical gem.

Remember, they go on the Isabela website tomorrow. Tell John the Wizard that katman sent you. Use the promo code: Katman Katpack. And let Johnny do the rest.
Not a hint of harshness or heat. As strong as its presentation, it insists on being smooth and relentless.

I’m going to give into this experience that tells me it is a perfect cigar. Again.

I have some cigars readying for review that are in the $15+ range. None of them can match the quality or price of the Super Corona.

If you don’t buy a bunch of these cigars, you are a moon calf.

I’m going to shut up now and just sit back and enjoy the fading glory of this blend.

RATING: 100

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS