Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Cohiba Serie M Corona Gorda by General Cigar Company. This is a cigar blend previously assessed back in August 2021 in the Toro size.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Nicaraguan (Double)
Filler: Nicaragua (Jalapa, Estelí) and Dominican Piloto Cubano
Country of Origin: United States
Factory: El Titan de Bronze
Corona Gorda: 6 1/2 x 48

In 2021, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) launched a limited edition project at El Titan de Bronze known as the Cohiba Serie M. This would mark the first Cohiba-branded cigar made on U.S. soil. The “M” stands for Miami, and that’s where the El Titan de Bronze factory is located. For Cohiba brand ambassador Sean Williams, this is a project that was a “sort of homecoming.” During the years while Williams had his own company, El Primer Mundo, he worked on many projects out of the El Titan de Bronze factory, so this is a place he was very familiar with. Since then the Cohiba Serie M has become an annual event with a Corona Gorda size that followed in 2022, and a Prominente size due to hit the shelves in 2023. STG has also launched projects for other brands out of El Titan de Bronze including La Gloria Cubana and Partagas. Today, we keep our attention on the Cohiba Serie M line as we look at the Corona Gorda release.

The Cohiba Serie M is a Nicaraguan-forward blend. Nicaraguan tobacco makes up the wrapper, binder, and filler. The wrapper is a Nicaraguan Corojo, which marks the first time that leaf has been used on a Cohiba cigar. There is a double binder with both leaves from Nicaragua. The fillers contain leaves from two regions of Nicaragua (Jalapa and Estelí) and also contain some Dominican Piloto Cubano tobacco. A total of 5,000 ten-count boxes have been produced.

The Cohiba Serie M Corona Gorda opened up with a wide assortment of notes of natural tobacco, coffee, black pepper, earth, cedar, fruit, and nut. The natural tobacco notes moved to the forefront. The fruit notes were the most prominent of the secondary notes, and the black pepper was present on the retro-hale. The fruit diminished during the second third and there was an increase of pepper and earth, along with the emergence of some baker’s spice. As the cigar experience entered the final third, the earth notes displaced the natural tobacco in the forefront. The pepper and baker’s spice were more prominent, but didn’t overtake the earth notes. The Cohiba Serie M Corona Gorda closed out with a soft, cool nub.

Overall the flavors were on the upper end of medium-bodied countered by medium strength. There was a slight increase in the strength and body, but the cigar remained in the medium range for both attributes.

As for the burn, each of the samples was low maintenance requiring minimal touch-ups. There were five samples smoked for this assessment, and three of them did have a tight draw.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

If you read my assessment of the first Cohiba Serie M, the Toro, you will note this was a cigar plagued with construction problems. The good news is with the Corona Gorda, this wasn’t a problem. While three of the draws were tighter, this didn’t result in any re-lights. Instead, I just had to work this cigar harder than I prefer. In the end, this cigar exhibited more in the way of complexity, and the flavors kept me interested from start to finish. At $29.99, this is still not an inexpensive investment, so if you can I’d recommend trying a sample and seeing what you think. The good news is the Corona Gorda renewed my faith in this blend, and I look forward to the soon-to-be-released Prominente size.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Fruit, Earth, Coffee, Cedar, Baker’s Spice, Nut, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium to High
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good