The Serino Royale Connecticut is one of four blends launched by Serino Cigar Company. The company is run by Tony Serino who has 20 years experience in the cigar industry where he was involved in importing and selling bundle cigars. With the Serino Royale line, Serino and his company make the transition into super premium cigars. To produce his cigars, Serino has teamed up with Omar Gonzalez Aleman of La Corona Cigars S.A.. Gonzalez is the former head director of the La Corona Factory in Havana, maker of many well known Cuban brands such as Romeo y Julieta, Hoyo de Monterrey, Cuaba, Por Larranaga, Saint Luis Rey, San Cristobal de Habana and some Montecristos. To U.S. cigar enthusiasts, Gonzalez is best known for his involvement of brands HR, Soneros, and Cubanacan. Today we take another of the four blends Serino Royale line with the Serino Royale Connecticut Royale in the Torpedo format. In a year which promises to be a highly competitive year for Connecticut Shade wrapped cigars, the Serino Connecticut Royale is one that compete with some of the best of them.

There are four blends in the Serino Royale line. The four blends have the spectrum covering in terms of offerings. The list goes from mildest to fullest with the Serino Royale Connecticut being positioned as a mild to medium offering.

• Serino Royale Connecticut (Connecticut Shade)
• Serino Royale Medio (Ecuadorian Habano Claro)
• Serino Royale Maduro (Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro)
• Serino Royale Maduro XX (Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro)

Blend Profile

The Serino Royale Connecticut uses an Connecticut seed wrapper grown in Ecuador. It also incorporates tobaccos from the Jalapa and Esteli regions of Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Conenecticut
Binder: Jalapa, Nicaragua
Filler: Jalapa, Nicaragua; Esteli, Nicaragua
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (La Corona SA)

Vitolas Available

There are four sizes in the Serino Royale Connecticut. Each are packaged in 20 count boxes.

Churchill: 7 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
Gordo: 6 x 60
Torpedo: 6 1/8 x 52

Appearance

With the Serino Royale Connecticut Torpedo, I found this to be a wrapper that while still had a light brown color, was actually a shade or two darker than most Connecticut Shade wrappers. The wrapper’s surface has a coating of oil on it. There are some visible veins and any visible wrapper seams are on the thin side. The torpedo tip has a moderate, but not overly sharp taper.

There are two bands on the Serino Royale Connecticut. The primary band is mostly blue with gold font. At the center of the band is a “S” on a red circle sitting on a blue shield. Above the shield is the text “SERINO”. To the left and right is a small version of the “S” logo on a red circle sitting on an inverted blue shield. The lower part of the band has the text “20th Anniversary” in gold font. The remainder of the band has several gold adornments. The band itself is finished in gold trim.

The secondary band is also blue in color with gold trim. The text “ROYALE CONNECTICUT” is at the center of the band in gold font. A gold crown sits above that text. To the left and right is a small version of the “S” logo on a red circle sitting on an inverted blue shield.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

As I do for most torpedo and belicoso vitolas, I used my Credo Special T cutter with the 36 ring gauge hole to get an ideal cut for the Serino Connecticut Royale Torpedo. Once the tip was successful removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of  wood, cream, and a slight sour note. Overall I considered this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point I removed the footer band of my Serino Connecticut Royale Torpedo, lit up the cigar and moved on to the smoking phase.

Flavor Profile

The Serino Connecticut Royale Torpedo started out with a combination of wood, cream, and a unique combination of floral and citrus notes. There was a fusion between the floral and citrus notes resulting in a unique sweetness. At the same time, there was a “tobacco” undertone to this flavor profile. The wood and cream notes receded into the background. Meanwhile on the retro-hale, I detected notes of cedar with some citrus mixed in.

During the first third, the floral / citrus combination continued to be the primary flavor. The wood notes transitioned to a cedar sweet-spice. The cedar together with the cream notes began to increase. Toward the midway point, the cream and cedar combination displaced the floral and citrus tandem as the primary flavor.

The last third saw the cream and cedar notes continue to be primary. During this stage, the floral and citrus notes were now more separate and distinct. At times both the floral and citrus notes individually popped into the forefront. This is the way the flavor profile came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The burn to the Serino Royal Connecticut Torpedo scored very nicely. Overall the burn path remained straight from start to finish. There was a slight amount of jagged-ness on the actual burn line itself, but this didn’t warrant any additional touch-ups. Meanwhile the resulting ash was tight and firm. The ash itself had a near white color to it. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

The draw also scored nicely. There was just a touch of resistance on the draw – which is something I like. I also found the torpedo tip held up nice and did not get overly soft.

Strength and Body

When it came to both the strength and body of the Serino Royal Connecticut Torpedo, given the way this cigar was positioned, I had expected both attributes to be in the mild to medium range – and that is exactly what I got at the start. I did find both attributes did increase in intensity along the way and the second half of this cigar saw both the strength and body cross into the medium threshold. Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute having the edge over the other.

Final Thoughts

Many times a Connecticut Shade cigar will try to refine itself by pushing the boundaries of strength or body. With the Serino Royale Connecticut Torpedo, this is a cigar that changes this up on the floor profile. I found the combination of the cedar and citrus notes to be the “X” factor with this cigar. It was just enough to make the Serino Royal Connecticut Torpedo a different type of Connecticut Shade cigar. Finally, I also found the torpedo format worked very nicely for this particular blend. This is a cigar I could recommend to a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar that I would smoke again – and it’s worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium (1st 2/3), Medium (2nd Half)
Body: Mild to Medium(1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5-Box Split
Score: 91

References

News: Serino Cigar Company Announces Debut with Serino Royale
Price: $10.25
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufactuerr
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
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Brand Reference: Serino Cigar Company