Rafael Gonzalez Marquez Coronas de Lonsdale (damn, what a long name!) is a GOOD cigar that manages to place itself exactly in that middle ground we were talking about at the beginning. Although the smoke it gives us is above its humble appearance, this cigar neither reaches nor pretends to be equal to its older brothers. It has found its place and is ready to defend it with sword and cape.

Box date May-23
Smoking time approx 1 hr

Not the most aromatic smelling cigar, some tobacco and tea on the nose.

Pre-draw
Tea with milk and some sweetness.
Open draw that transitioned into a fairly firm draw when smoking, likely due to humidity level in storage (69%).

1/3
Starts off very mild with notes of sweetness and wood. Continues throughout the first third without any changes.

2/3
Slight intensity increase, the wood is more predominant while sweetness falls back a little.
A Slight hint of spice and salt on the tip of the tongue. In addition, a hint of paprika appears towards the end.

3/3
Slightly more spice but not much, a faint hint of almond in the aftertaste.
Some paprika in the background.
More almond on the aftertaste.
The milky sweetness makes sudden comeback, if only for a few puffs towards the end.

Conclusions
A well constructed cigar that held a stable white ash throughout. Fair amount of white smoke.
A surprisingly exciting journey, with a variety of flavor notes appearing throughout, while mild in strength.

This little gem of a cigar doesn't get nearly enough praise. It is a great value stick even by Australian price standards and honest my only issue is they don't come in Cabinets of 50!

I find it to be an excellent morning cigar to pair with my strong sweet Cubita Cuban coffee. The subtle flavour and light creamy flavours just match up exquisitely in the mouth and the smooth retrohale makes for delightful smoking. 10/10 would happily smoke all day every day.

Westy.