The Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press is a new offering from Regius Cigars. The cigar is an extension off of Regius’ Black Label line and features a different blend in a 5 5/8 x 46 Corona Gorda with a Cuban style box-press. Regius Cigars is a company based in the United Kingdom that was founded by Akhil Kapacee. A little over two years ago, the company expanded its distribution into the United States. The company entered into a U.S. distribution agreement with Quesada Cigars and been building momentum with its regular production offerings as well as limited edition cigars.  Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the new Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box-Press. Over the past couple of years, Regius Cigars has a had a great run. The new Limited Edition Corona Gorda continues the excellent trend set forward by Kapacee’s brand.

While Regius Cigars has established several regular production lines including the Regius Black Label, Regius White Label, Regius Exclusivo USA Red Label, and Regius Exclusivo USA Claro Especial, the company has also made its mark in the limited edition arena. Some of the company’s limited editions include the Regius Culebra, the annual limited edition Regius Seleccion Orchant (done in partnership with Mitchell Orchant of Alfie Turmeaus Tobacconist), and the Regius Damaris (done in partnership with Houston’s That Cigar Place). Now the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press joins this group.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press is a Nicaraguan puro. While the cigar shares the same banding as the the Regius Black Label line, Kapacee informed Cigar Coop the blend is slightly different. The cigar itself has been aged for two years.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Vitolas Available

The Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press is available in one size – a 5 5/8 x 46 Corona Gorda. The cigars are packaged in 25 count cabinet style boxes. A total of 200 boxes have been produced.

 

Appearance

The Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Box Press features a medium brown colored wrapper. There is some oil on the surface of the wrapper. There are some visible veins and some very thin visible wrapper seams. The “Cuban Box Press” is a softer box-press with a slightly rounded look to it. The box-press itself has a bit of a rugged look, but it also gives the cigar some charm.

As we noted, Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda uses the same band as what is used on the Regius Black Label line. The band itself has  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. The far left of the band has the following initials in gold font in landscape mode “RB IF JT AF ST NP IO ID SD AI AK MP”

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, I commenced with the pre-light draw. The cold draw provided notes of sweet natural tobacco, a dusty / earth note, and a slight floral spice. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of this cigar to be satisfactory. At this point, I was ready to light up the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda and see what the smoking phase would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda started out with a mix of earth, natural tobacco, and black pepper notes. These were soon followed by notes of coffee and citrus notes. The coffee notes quickly became the primary flavor while the earth, natural tobacco, black pepper, and citrus became secondary notes. The black pepper was also prominent on the retro-hale.

As the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda moved through the first third, I found the coffee to be the primary note. The earth notes were replaced by more grassy flavors. From time to time the grass and citrus notes crept into the forefront. Meanwhile the natural tobacco and black pepper were more grounded in the background.

During the second third, the citrus notes got a little sweeter and had almost an orange-like sweetness. This citrus also became more prominent and by the midway point, it joined the coffee in the forefront. The grass, natural tobacco, and pepper were now grounded as secondary notes.

By the last third, the citrus notes became primary. The pepper notes did increase in intensity, but never overpowered the blend. By this stage, the coffee notes were more or less in the background, but from time to time moved into the forefront.  While the grass also remained in the background, the natural tobacco notes dissipated. Toward the end of the cigar there was a slight harshness, and that signaled it was time to put this cigar down.  The resulting nub did remain firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Overall I found both the burn and draw to the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda to score nicely.  The burn path remained straight on this cigar from start to finish. The burn line itself remained relatively straight – requiring only some occasional touch-ups along the way. The resulting ash had a silver gray color with some dark streaks mixed it. While the ash remained firm, there was some minor flaking from time to time. The combustion was excellent as this cigar had an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature from start to finish.

The draw performed quite well on the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda. This was an open and not loose draw. Overall, this was low maintenance cigar to derive flavors from.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda to right in line with most of the other Regius Black Label offerings as it was medium from start to finish. The body also started out medium, but by the second half, I found this cigar to be a medium to full-bodied smoke.  In terms of strength versus body, I found both attributes balanced each other pretty close to even early on, but as the cigar experience progressed, the body took a slight edge.

Final Thoughts

Overall I found the Regius Limited Edition Corona Gorda to be another excellent offering from Kapacee’s brand. I found this cigar offered a lot of flavor nuances and complexity along the way. The box-pressed Corona Gorda format seemed ideal for this blend as well. This is one of those cigars that when you smoke it undistracted, you will see all that it has to offer. While I’d probably first recommend this cigar to an experienced cigar enthusiast, I certainly would not discourage a novice from trying.  As for myself, it’s one that I would smoke again and it’s worthy of investing in a box of them.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 91

References

News: Regius Cigars to Introduce Limited Edition Corona Gorda Cuban Press
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Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer
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