Along with the Rothschilds, Churchills and Cañones cigars, the Corona Imperial is a member of Arturo Fuente’s Gran Reserva line, which represents the summation of four generations of the company’s cigar artisanship, knowledge and attention to detail in crafting the world’s greatest smokes.
Absolutely no shortcuts are taken by the cigar makers of Arturo Fuente in the manufacturing process; every step is performed by hand, resulting in an end product that’s unequaled in the industry.
After being rolled, every cigar in the Gran Reserva line is aged in Spanish cedar vaults to help create a perfect marriage of the tobacco blends inside. Just like the binders of these cigars, the filler tobaccos are grown on the private reserves of the Fuente family’s Chateau de la Fuente estate deep in the heart of the Bonao Valley in the Dominican Republic.
The Corona Imperial measures 6.5 inches and has a 46 ring gauge, producing a burn time of more than an hour. The Seleccion D’Oro variety of the Corona Imperial features a shade-grown Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed wrapper, which endows these sticks with a tan, golden appearance and a mellow taste.
With flawless construction, a smooth draw and an even burn, the mild-to-medium-bodied, mild-to-medium-strength Seleccion D’Oro generates pleasant, creamy, consistent and well-balanced flavors of cedar, citrus, vanilla beans and toasted almonds, infused by a smidgen of spices.
The Corona Imperial is a full inch-and-a-quarter to an inch-and-a-half longer and marginally thicker than the Corona and Petit Corona vitolas of the Gran Reserva line, affording a longer burn time and a slightly milder taste. While some smokers might choose the shorter cigars, others may see the Imperials as a way to strike back at this preference; in this case, the force of a better smoke may be with you if you order a box of the Seleccion D’Oros today.