1 review for Bolivar Colosale (Regional Edition Germany)
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Bolivar Colosale (Regional Edition Germany)
Overall Score
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Matthew B
Origin : Cuba
Format : Dobles (Robusto Extra)
Size : 155 x 20 mm (6 1/8 x 50)
Box Date : POS – August ’06
Intruduced in : 1,200 cabinets of 50 produced in 2006 exclusively for the Habanos distributor in Germany, Fifth Avenue Products Trading.
Hand-Made
Price : 700 € / 50 (original price fixed by distributor); roughly $17/cigar in 2006
Today we’re publishing a cigar review submitted by one of our readers, Matthew B. Enjoy!
Why review a special release cigar which is no longer available for purchase, and yet not old enough to be considered vintage? Because it’s there. I typically smoke two cigars a day and have been for nearly twenty years. While I enjoy each and every cigar, the process of reviewing them provides me unique focus and delivers conclusions beyond simply “good” or “bad”.
Appearance : [rating:4/5]
Natural (Colorado Claro), flat sheen, numerous prominent veins. Surprisingly “rough” looking for the prominence of the Edición Regional program. Dark, grainy ash.
Construction : [rating:5/5]
Slightly firm draw, which is my preference. Well-packed and consistent throughout. Copious volume of smoke. Burn was slightly uneven, as would be expected with so many significant veins, but never required any form of touch-up. Left unattended, the cigar remained lit much long than the typical Cuban cigar. Dense enough to last a full two hours.
Flavor : [rating:4/5]
Opens mild, with leather as the dominant flavor. Woody, not cedar or oak, but a bit reminiscent of chewing on a pencil. A little salty and would likely pair well with a softer Islay scotch. Combined, the leather and wood flavors bring out the hallmark Bolivar “earthiness”. Despite the size, the cigar tastes of the smaller Bolivar vitolas, the Coronas and Petit Coronas. There is a long lasting black pepper finish to each puff. Towards mid-smoke, the flavors have melded together well into a very pleasant, albeit simple, profile. The black pepper finish has given way to the dominance of the leather, which coats the tongue. There are no traces of floral, fruit or nut flavors – just leather, wood, salt and black pepper. This cigar has a remarkably long finish.
Overall Rating : [rating:4/5]
When these were first released, most enthusiasts were disappointed at the mild, nearly dull flavor, especially considering the very high price point at the time. I had purchased two cabinets and smoked through the first cabinet quickly as a result of incorrectly presuming that they would not develop further and had been an acquisition mistake on my part. I cracked into the second cabinet a few months ago and was shocked at how much of a positive difference the additional six years had made. Because of the mild nature of the Bolivar Colosales, the choice of pairing beverage is critical. I began with coffee (coffee brought out the dominance of leather) and moved to water and then to a Bruichladdich scotch (scotch and gin highlight the saltiness and bring out the best in this cigar).
The cigar is a delight, but the price point was simply too high. In my opinion, Habanos gave us better special release alternatives in 2006 with the Ramon Allones Estupendos Edición Regional, the Cohiba Piramides Edición Limitadas and the Partagas Serie D Especial Edición Limitadas. On a point scoring basis, the Bolivar Colosales has aged into a 4 of 5.
Inspector
Very good review, thank you. It’s interesting to see that cigars that initially showed very little ageing potential (many of the regional releases I tasted had a similar flavors profile when they were released) turn out to be really interesting 6+ years later. Nice pairing suggestions.