Brun del Re Colonial

The Brun del Re Colonial is a cigar in Costa Rica by a company called Brun del Re.  Back in August, we provided a feature story on this company.  Brun del Re has been around for over ten years. The company is operated by General Manager Carlos Corazza. They have successfully built a presence outside the United States. The company has now recently set its sights on now trying to build its U.S. presence.  For one I have been very impressed with Costa Rican cigars, and I have found Brun del Re to make some very good products. In the case of the Brun del Re Colonial I have found this to be one of the best offerings by this company – and one to definitely keep an eye out for.

According to company web-site, the Brun del Re Colonial is “is specially manufactured for seasoned smokers who love a strong taste and aroma.  It is definitively recommended for enjoyment with fine cognac after dinner.” 

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Brun del Re Colonial and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Brun del Re Colonial features tobaccos from three countries – including Costa Rican tobacco for the wrapper and filler.

Wrapper: Costa Rican Maduro
Binder: Indonesian
Filler: Nicaraguan, Costa Rican

Vitolas Available

The Brun del Re Colonial is available in five frontmarks.  The company packages its cigars in boxes of 5 or 25.

Churchill: 7 x 48
Torpedo 6 x 54
Corona: 6 x 44
Perfecto: 5 1/2 x 50
Robusto: 5 x 50

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I smoked the Churchill size. The Brun del Re Colonial features a medium brown wrapper with a rosado tint to it. There was a slight amount of oil on the surface of the wrapper. The surface of the wrapper was also slightly bumpy with minimal veins.  The surface also had well hidden wrapper seams.

The band features an red and gold color scheme. There is a gold shield on the front of the band that rests on an red field. The text “Brun del Re” sits below the shield in white cursive font. To the left and right of the field is the text “Hecho a Mano Costa Rica” in whit cursive font. At the bottom of the band is an red colored ribbon with the text “Colonial” in white cursive font. Gold trim surrounds band.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to lighting up the Brun del Re Colonial, I went with a straight cut to kick off the cigar experience.  Once the cap was removed I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The cold draw provided notes of wood and cream.  There was almost a Nicaraguan corojo sweetness on this pre-light draw – and this would play a role later on as well.  Overall I considered the pre-light draw experience to be outstanding.  At this point, I was ready to fire up the Brun del Re Colonial and see what the smoking phase would have in store.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Brun del Re Colonial provided more notes of wood, pepper, and a sweetness that was a cross of cherry and natural tobacco.  The sweetness continued to remind me of a Nicaraguan corojo sweetness.  By the middle of the first third, the sweetness eventually became the primary note.  The wood notes were a close secondary note.  The pepper notes were more distant in the background on the tongue, yet were more prominent on the retro hale.
The pepper gradually increased throughout the second third of the cigar experience.  By the end of the cigar third, the pepper was a prominent note.  The sweetness remained prominent in the second half with the wood notes still present in the background.  This is the way the flavor profile held until the end.  The resulting nub was soft to touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
The burn of the Brun del Re Colonial performed very well.  The burn remained relatively straight from start to finish.  There was a slight jaggedness on the burn line itself, but this was more cosmetic in nature and the burn never got off track.  The resulting ash was firm and was not prone to flaking or flowering.  The ash’s color started out more dark gray with black speckling, but by the second half the ash was much lighter in color.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
Burn of the Brun del Re Colonial
The draw was open, but not overly loose.  The Brun del Re Colonial was a very low maintenance cigar to puff on and derive flavors from – making it an enjoyable experience from start to finish.
Strength and Body
The Brun del Re Colonial is the third blend I have had from Brun del Re.  In terms of strength and body, I found the Brun del Re Colonial to have more in the way of strength and body compared to the other two blends I smoked (the Brun del Re Premium and the Brun del Re Gold).  The strength and body of the Brun del Re Colonial  started out in the medium range.  By the second half, the strength and body both progressed to medium to full.  On a side note, I also smoked a Robusto size and I found that size to offer even more in the area of strength and body than the Churchill I used for this assessment.
Both the burn and draw of the Brun del Re Colonial balanced each other very nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.
Final Thoughts
There were two things that amazed me about this cigar.  First up, I really surprised how that cigar delivered what I term a Nicaraguan corojo sweetness to it – despite the fact that this cigar has a Costa Rican wrapper.  In terms of the Costa Rican tobacco, this is not known for being the fullest in terms of strength and body, yet the Brun del Re Colonial offered more depth with these attributes than I expected.  In terms of pairing it with a cognac,  I probably am not the best qualified when it comes to pairings.  I can say, this is a nice after-dinner cigar.  Overall, this was a very pleasing cigar – and one that I very much enjoyed.  This is a cigar I could easily recommend to both a novice and experienced cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, the Brun del Re Colonial has become my favorite Brun del Re blend to date.  It’s definitely one I would smoke again – and it’s one that is worthy of a box split.
Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st half),  Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 91

References

Feature Story: Brun del Re Cigars
Price: ~8.25
Source: Samples provided by Manufacturer (*)
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a