ADVentura The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona

ADVentura The Royal Return is a two-cigar line that was introduced by ADVentura Cigars in 2021. ADVentura Cigars was founded by Henderson Ventura and Marcel Knobel. It’s a brand of cigars that comes out of Tabacalera William Ventura in the Dominican Republic. This is a factory that has earned a reputation for making cigars for companies such as Caldwell Cigar Company, La Barba Cigars, and Room101 Cigars. The Royal Return is actually a two-cigar line consisting of Queen’s Pearls, a Connecticut Shade; and King’s Gold, a Connecticut Broadleaf. The common denominator with both of these cigars is that the Connecticut Shade and Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers had not been used on any ongoing ADventura offerings until the release of The Royal Return. Today we take a look at The Royal Return – Queen’s Pearls in the Corona size.

The lines in the ADVentura Cigars portfolio have had a theme of exploration. This has been seen in offerings such as ADVentura – The Explorer, ADVentura – The Navigator, and ADVentura – The Conquerer. With ADVentura – The Royal Return, the theme focuses on explorers bringing back gifts for the Queen and King from a sea voyage. As the name indicates, this includes pearls for the Queen and gold for the King. Both the Queen’s Pearl and King’s Gold are positioned as more ultra-premium offerings in the ADVentura portfolio.

Without further ado, let’s break down the ADVentura – The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to a Connecticut Shade wrapper, The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls features an Ecuadorian binder and fillers from Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. According to ADVentura Cigars, the tobaccos used have five years of age, and the rolled cigars have been aging for four months. ADVentura says the tobaccos go through a special fermentation process to give them a lighter profile.

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican, Ecuadorian, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura

Vitolas Offered

The Queen’s Pearls are offered in three sizes – each is presented in 20-count boxes.

Corona: 44 x 6
Robusto: 50 x 4 1/2
Toro: 54 x 6

Appearance

The Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Royal Return – Queen’s Pearls Corona had a golden brown color with a slightly weathered look. There was a light coating of oil on the wrapper. The wrapper had a slightly bumpy surface with some visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

The band of the Royal Return Queen’s Pearls uses a thick metallic foil band that has a white background. All of the designs are embossed on the band. The center of the band has a shield shape with the ADVentura “ADV” navigator logo in the center. The left side of the band has the text “ADVENTURA BY Henderson Ventura” embossed on it while the right side has the text “The Royal Return” embossed on it.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience of the ADVentura Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona. Once the cap was removed, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The flavor profile of the cold draw was classic Connecticut Shade delivering a mix of cream, cedar, and some generic wood. It wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw, but since the pre-light draw is not scored, there was no loss of points against the score or value rating. At this point, it was time to light up the Queen’s Pearls Corona and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The ADVentura Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona started out with a mix of vanilla, cream, citrus, toast, and natural tobacco notes. Early on the vanilla and cream notes moved to the forefront. The citrus, toast, and natural tobacco settled in the background. At the same time, there was a layer of black pepper that was prominent but not overpowering on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Queen’s Pearls Corona, the vanilla notes remained primary. The creaminess subsided into the background by the midway point and dissipated before the end of the second third. Concurrently there was both a cedar and black pepper note that surfaced on the tongue. Both the cedar and pepper gradually increased. Jeanwhile, the notes of citrus, toast, and natural tobacco rounded out the flavor profile.

The final third saw the cedar notes displace the vanilla. The vanilla joined the pepper, citrus, toast, and natural tobacco as secondary notes. This is the way the cigar experience of the Queen’s Pearls Corona came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The construction of the ADVentura Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona was fantastic and this was reflected on the burn and draw. The cigar maintained a straight burn path and had a relatively straight burn line. This was not a cigar that required frequent touch-ups. The resulting ash was mostly silvery gray and was on the firm side. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

One side note, like the King’s Gold counterpart the band to this cigar did have a lot of glue on where it is fastened together. The glue does not touch the wrapper, but this band still required some TLC when removing it from the cigar.

ADVentura The Royal Return Queen's Pearls Corona-Burn

Burn of the ADVentura The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls Corona

Draw

The draw of the Queen’s Pearls Corona also performed very well. This cigar had a slight amount of resistance, making it ideal in my book. This was also a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

As mentioned above, ADVentura said it uses a special fermentation process to give the Queen’s Pearls a lighter profile. This is a cigar designed to be a classic-styled Connecticut Shade offering in terms of being a milder cigar – and that’s exactly what the Queen’s Pearls Corona delivers. This is a cigar that is mild to medium in strength. The flavors started mild to medium-bodied and progress to medium-bodied by the second half.

In terms of strength versus body with the Queen’s Pearls Corona, the body held a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Much like its sibling, The Royal Return King’s Gold, The Royal Return Queen’s Pearls is a cigar that is geared for the connoisseur. The Queen’s Pearls Corona has subtle, refined, and balanced flavors. It delivers everything I would expect from an “old school” Connecticut Shade cigar. In fact, this is one of the best Connecticut Shade cigars I smoked over the past year. This is not an inexpensive cigar, but it’s one that pays dividends. It’s a cigar that I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar worthy of putting my money down for a full box purchase. At 92 points, the Queen’s Pearls Corona has no problem exceeding the Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence threshold.

Summary

Key Flavors: Vanilla, Cream, Citrus, Toast, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Black Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild to Medium
Body: Mild to Medium (1st Half), Medium (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good