Regius of London Corona

Regius Cigars is a company based in the United Kingdom.  A little over two years ago, the company expanded its distribution into the United States.  The Regius of London (sometimes referred to as the Regius Black Label) was among one of Regius’ first cigars to come stateside.   The company entered into a distribution agreement with S.A.G. Imports (now Quesada Cigars) and slowly began moving its product into select retailers.  Today I take a look at one of the sizes that is available in the U.S., the Regius of London Corona.  There is a lot of buzz about Regius Cigars – and with good reason.  There is some excellent product in the Regius of London line.  With the case of the Corona, this product is nothing short of a grand slam home run.

In terms of the origins of the name Regius, the company explains this on their web-site:

The Latin Regius denotes of a ‘King’. We present you a regal smoking experience: to enjoy a hand-made King of Cigars.

Gaius Petronius Arbiter (AD27) was a Roman writer and courtier for Emperor Nero who devoted himself to a life of pleasure. Yet far from being an ordinary, vulgar profligate, he became known as an accomplished voluptuary. Showing capacity for outrageous indulgence, he was looked upon by Nero to be the absolute authority on questions of taste (arbiter elegantiae), especially with the science of alchemy.

In his memory we bring you ‘Regius’. The alchemy of cultivating and blending the finest aged tobacco to achieve the best possible taste, an even burning quality and elegant aromas.

We invite you to be arbiter elegantiae, the judge of elegance, of our beautifully hand crafted and flavoursome creations.

Without further do, let’s break down the Regius of London Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

The Regius of London is a Nicaraguan puro.  It is made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

In addition to the Corona, this blend has been offered in several other sizes:

Corona: 5 1/8 x 42
Grandito: 7 x 47
Robusto: 4 7/8 x 50
Lord Madsen: 6 x 38
Short Robusto: 4 x 50
Aluminum Tins: 4 3/8 x 32

Appearance

The Regius of London Corona’s wrapper had a medium brown color  The wrapper itself is somewhat oily and has a smooth texture.  There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams that can be seen upon closer examination.

As name “Black Label” name indicates, the Regius has primarily a black background with some gold trim.  In the center of the band is the text “REGIUS” in red font with gold trim.  There is a gold crown above the text and several gold-colored adornments on the band.  Below the text is a gold ribbon with the text “ARBITER ELEGANTiE in an etched on it

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I normally do, I began with my usual choice of a cut – a straight cut.  Once the cap was clipped I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The dry draw notes provided subtle flairs of earth, caramel, and a baker’s spice.  Overall I was quite impressed with the pre-light experience of the Regius of London Corona.  At this point I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start of the Regius of London began with some notes of pepper.  This was not an overpowering spice and it might sound strange to say this, but the spice had some smoothness to it.  The pepper was unique – I describe it as “black pepper plus”.  Notes of earth and cocoa soon entered the equation joining the pepper.  Meanwhile, the finish produced a natural tobacco flavor that was also smooth.  As for the retro-hale, I also detected the pepper notes as well.

At the start of the second third, the primary flavors were a combination of cocoa and nut flavors. The unique pepper spice moved into the background while the natural tobacco remained prominent on the finish.

By the last third, the cocoa notes diminished and the pepper notes moved back toward the forefront. The flavor profile during this part of the smoke was more on the spicy and nutty side. This is the way the cigar experience came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The performance of the burn of this cigar was nothing short of stellar.  The burn line remained sharp from start to finish requiring minimal touch-ups. The resulting ash was white in color and remained tight and firm throughout the smoking experience.  The ash was not prone to any significant flaking or flowering.The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Regius of London Corona

The draw of the Regius of London was equally stellar.  It had a touch of resistance to it – which is something I like on a draw.  I found this cigar a low maintenance effort to puff on.

Stength and Body

I found the Regius of London Corona to be a great example of how strength and body balance each other – neither attribute overshadowed the other.  The Regius of London started out as a medium strength cigar – and pretty much remained that way.  In the last third, there was a slight increase in strength and it was just enough to put this cigar into medium to full territory.  Meanwhile the depth of the flavors followed a similar pattern – namely starting out medium-bodied and in the last third, the spice and nut flavors were in the medium to full-bodied range.

Final Thoughts

This was simply an outstanding cigar that hit on all cylinders.  It had great flavor, was very well balanced, delivered nice complexity, and was well constructed.  The one thing that really came to mind when reflecting back on this cigar is “smoothness”.  This was one of the smoothest cigars I have had in quite some time.  This is easily a cigar that I would recommend to either a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, this is not only a cigar I’d smoke again, but I’d seek out other vitolas of the line as I think this is a special blend.  It’s certainly a cigar worth fighting Chuck Norris for.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (last third)
Body: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (last third)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.5 – Fight Chuck Norris for Them
Score: 94

References

News: n/a
Price: ~$6.50
Source: Sample Provided by Manufacturer (*)
Stogie Geeks Episode: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a

* The cigars for this assessment was given to Cigar Coop by Regius Cigars.  Cigar Coop is appreciative for the samples, but this does not influence the review.