Smoked: Crux Epicure Original Corona Gorda

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Crux Epicure Original Corona Gorda is made with a Nicaraguan binder and filler and covered in smooth tan Ecuador Connecticut wrapper with a few raised veins. The band is red, white and gold with the Crux dot logo front and dot on the back.

It begins with the typical Connecticut Shade flavors – cedar, cashews, cream, pepper and assorted kitchen cabinet spices. Then it gets a bit more interesting adding oak, walnuts, bread, nutmeg, hay, leather and sweet tobacco. The cedar prevails over the oak and the walnuts and cashews kind of blend together for the nuttiness in the profile.

The tobacco takes on more earthiness vs. the earlier sweetness by the second third. The earthy notes become forest floor mossy, the bread notes dissipate, and the wood tastes charred by the final third. So, there are transitions and some complexity. It kept my interest. The retrohale: wood, nuts and heavy pepper.

The draw was spot on perfect, smoke output adequate, a reasonably even burn line, and the ash was flaky falling off on occasion. A tiny crack in the foot disappeared after combustion and was never an issue.

The finish was a bit too peppery for my taste but overall, the Crux Epicure Original Corona Gorda was an enjoyable smoke. I still rank the Epicure Maduro at the top of the Crux list.