As with the Cañones, Churchills and Rothschilds cigars, the Arturo Fuente Corona Imperial partly comprises the brand’s flagship Gran Reserva line that represents the apotheosis of four generations of cigar craftsmanship, knowledge and attention to detail that are integral to creating the world’s greatest cigars.
The cigar makers of Arturo Fuente take no shortcuts; they perform every step of the cigar manufacturing process by hand, resulting in a finished product with no parallel. After they’re rolled, every cigar in the Gran Reserva line is aged in Spanish cedar vaults to ensure an ideal marriage of the tobacco blends inside. Like the cigars’ binders, these blends are cultivated on the private reserves of the Fuente family’s Chateau de la Fuente estate in the Dominican Republic’s Bonao Valley.
At six-and-a-half inches long with a 46 ring gauge, the AF Corona Imperial offers a one-hour-plus burn time. In the Natural variety, it comes in a toothy Cameroonian wrapper that grants the stick a rustic appearance and a sweet taste.
With immaculate construction, an excellent draw and a dead-even burn, the mild-to-medium-bodied, medium-strength Corona Imperial Natural produces earthy flavors of woods, nuts, coconut, coffee and vanilla, topped by a modicum of spices and a pleasant finish.
Given a full inch-and-a-quarter or even an inch-and-a-half more length than the Corona and Petit Corona vitolas in the Gran Reserva line (not to mention additional width as well), the Corona Imperial provides a longer burn time and a milder taste than its more diminutive cousins. Whether this qualifies as the Imperial “striking back” may depend on your perspective, but either way, the force of a better smoke may be with you if you order a box of the Naturals today.