Today, we review the Meerapfel Ernest in the Corona Gorda size. The Ernest is the third blend in the Master Blend series. This series pays homage to past generations of the Meerapfel family. In this case, the Ernest pays homage to Ernest Meerapfel, the great-grandfather of company owner Jeremiah Meerapfel.

The Meerapfel family has over 150 years of experience in various aspects of the tobacco business. Today, they are best known for being tobacco brokers and, in particular, are known for brokering tobacco out of Cameroon, Africa. In addition, the Meerapfels work with Arturo Fuente Cigar Company on its international distribution outside the U.S. In 2021, Jeremiah Meerapfel announced he was creating a new ultra-premium cigar called the Master Blend Series. Master Blend incorporates a concept that Jeremiah calls UberLuxury. UberLuxury involves using the highest quality of materials with the highest level of craftsmanship – much like Patek Philippe does when making watches. The Ernest line keeps to this and has a price range of USD 41.00 (Corona Gorda) up to $94.00 (Double Robusto).

The Meerapfel Master Blend consists of four blends. Each pays homage to different generations of the Meerapfel family, starting with Richard Meerapfel and going back to Jeremiah Meerapfel’s great-great-grandfather, Meir Meerapfel. With the exception of the Heller blend, the other three blends have been small-batch releases.

Richard (Father)
Heller (Grandfather)
Ernest (Great-Grandfather)
Meir (Great-Great-Grandfather)

Regarding the family history, Ernest is best known for leaving his home country, Germany, and bringing tobaccos from many parts of the world, including Indonesia.

Meerapfel Ernest Corona Gorda – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Meerapfels have disclosed that the four Master Blends utilize a Cameroon wrapper. However, the details of the blend, country of origin, and factory have not been revealed.

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Not Disclosed
Filler: Not Disclosed
Country of Origin: Not Disclosed
Factory: Not Disclosed

Vitolas Offered

Currently, the Ernest comes in four sizes:

Double Robusto: 5 3/4 x 52
Robusto: 4 7/8 x 50
Corona Gorda: 5 1/2 x 46
Lonsdale: 6 3/4 x 43

All sizes of the Meerapfel Ernest are presented in 25-count chests except the Double Robusto, which is presented in a ten-count chest with an ornamented casket. The cask with elaborate decoration contains a removable tray that doubles as an ashtray. For each size, 613 boxes are planned annually.

Appearance

The Cameroon wrapper of the Ernest Corona Gorda had a woody-brown appearance. There wasn’t much oil visible on the surface, and there were some thin, noticeable veins. Any wrapper seams were barely visible.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to clip the Ernest Corona Gorda cap. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered some natural tobacco sweetness and some wood notes. While there was a little more sweetness in the pre-light draw than I prefer, this was still a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the Ernest Corona Gorda and see what the smoking experience had in store.

Tasting Notes

The Ernest Corona Gorda opened up with notes of grapefruit sweetness and wood. Notes of natural tobacco and earth surfaced. In addition to the grapefruit sweetness, there was also a separate grapefruit rind note. The grapefruit sweetness and natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront, with the grapefruit rind, wood, and earth notes settling in the background. On the retro-hale, there was an additional layer of grapefruit sweetness and a light black pepper note.

As the Ernest Corona Gorda moved through the second third, the earth notes began to surface from time to time in the forefront. Just past the midway point, the earth notes became the primary note. The grapefruit sweetness and natural tobacco receded. Later, the grapefruit rind notes slowly increased in intensity in the second third. In addition, some black pepper notes emerged on the tongue.

By the final third, the grapefruit rind joined the earth notes in the forefront. While a combination of grapefruit and earth doesn’t sound enticing, these secondary flavors really helped round out the flavor profile. These secondary notes included grapefruit sweetness, wood, natural tobacco, and pepper. This is the way the Ernest Corona Gorda came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Ernest Corona Gorda’s burn performed excellently. This cigar maintained a straight burn path and burn line with few touch-ups. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm but wasn’t loose either. There was a slight amount of flaking on the ash, which had several shades of gray to it. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both attributes maintained an ideal level.

Draw

The Ernest Corona Gorda’s draw was also excellent. This cigar had a touch of resistance, which I have often said makes for an ideal draw.

Strength and Body

The Ernest Corona Gorda opened with mild to medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both attributes slightly increased in intensity, but in the end, the Ernest Corona Gorda stayed in the mild to medium strength and medium-bodied range of the spectrum. In terms of strength versus body, the edge went to the body.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The Meerapfel Master Series has impressive packaging. The Meerapfel Ernest Corona Gorda comes packaged in an elongated 25-count unit called a “chest.” The chest has a simple but elegant look. The Corona Gorda does not come with the casket (ashtray), which is reserved for the Double Robusto size in the Meir.

Meerapfel Ernest Corona Gorda Chest (Photo Credit: Meerapfel Cigars via video)

The Meerapfel Master Series has some of the most impressive-looking bands. The Meir has a lattice-like design with the Meerapfel logo in the center.

Band of the Meerapfel Ernest

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As I smoke my way through the Meerapfel Master Blends, I’ve noted that each of the blends has a unique and distinctive flavor profile. The Ernest Corona Gorda keeps up with this trend. The flavor profile was citrus-forward and had several zesty qualities. At the same time, the secondary flavors balanced the citrus nicely and prevented the flavors from becoming too citrus-forward. In the end, one will either like those flavors or not. Because this is a $41.00 cigar, I recommend seeing if you can try it first. As for myself, I’m inclined to check out some of the larger ring gauges and see how they perform.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Grapefruit Sweetness, Grapefruit Rind, Wood, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Mild to Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good