Make no bones about it, ever since I smoked my first Undercrown Shade from Drew Estate about 4 years ago, I was impressed with what the Willy Herrera and the DE team did with a shade wrapper and a properly blended set of fillers and binder. I absolutely love this cigar in the morning, especially a weekend morning when work is not calling my name and I can just relax with the rising sun and my faithful dog Ziggy chasing the squirrels and birds in the yard.
Sometimes you just don’t have the time to smoke through a robusto or toro but you still want to enjoy the flavor of one of your favorite cigars, in this case the Undercrown Shade. Drew Estate came out with the Undercrown Shade in a tin, but that just was not the same, it was fast smoke but the flavors and nuances were not quite the same , and would still want another. So enter TPE 2020 where Drew Estate showcased another line extension to the Undercrown Maduro and Shade, this time a petite corona, or as Drew Estate calls it, Corona Pequena.
As Jonathan Drew, Founder and President of Drew Estate said about this;
“Corona Pequena’s are short, squat, flavor bombs that sit between the tin size and the robusto size in the Undercrown brand family. We could go on and on about the “functionality” of this short smoke during winter months – but there is something absolutely beautiful about the Corona Pequena that is more meaningful than just utilitarianism. This cigar is a stunner in both taste and trade dress. The whole DE team is really proud of this little gem. Wurd to Westchester.”
Today I offer a review of the Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Corona Pequena. It is a 4 x 44 vitola that is nicely packed and solid from head to foot.
The blend is the same as the rest of the line:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
- Binder – Sumatra
- Filler – Dominican and Nicaraguan
The Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Corona Pequena comes packaged in 32-count boxes with an MSRP of $176.00/box or $5.50/cigar. This is a fine price considering the corona sells for about $7.50
Pre-Light Examination
The Undercrown Shade Corona Pequena has a beautiful golden tan wrapper with a nice oily sheen and is finished with a well applied cap. The wrapper is silky smooth with practically no veins. A little pinch test exhibits no soft spots as it is solidly packed.
Just like the rest of the line, the cigar is adorned with two bands, both of which use a white and gold motif. The primary has the Undercrown logo in the center and the secondary footer band denotes it boldly as the “SHADE”.
Running it through the aroma sensors, I picked up a light sweet tobacco note off the foot but not much along the barrel. Once I sliced the cap, straight with a double blade cutter, the cold draw was spot on with restriction and delivered a touch of cinnamon and sweetness which had me cold puffing for a little longer.
I used the soft flame of a BIC lighter to warm the foot. I never use a torch on cigars with delicate leaf like Connecticut Shade, you risk seriously scorching the leaf and that flavor finds its way into the profile. The foot took well to the heat and warmed up nicely to an even orange glow as I took in the first puffs of sweetness and spice to start the journey. Follow along as I turn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Spice and natural sweetness start the journey
- Medium grey ash forms on an excellent burn line
- Full volume of smoke for a petite corona
- Fruit nuances join the mix
- Ash fell with nice burn cone
- Cream notes join the mix and blend so well with the sweetness
- A pleasant nut aroma has been wafting off the foot for most of the journey
- The profile pretty much stayed the same with notes of fruit, cream, spice, and sweetness.
- Ash fell only once in a big chunk through the journey
- Mild plus in strength
- Total Smoking Time was right around 45 minutes
Overall, the Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Corona Pequena was a perfect cigar to start the morning, especially if you are short on time, yet still want a pleasurable smoking experience. Perfect with a morning cup of Joe. This is not a complex cigar, but it does deliver on a consistent array of flavors and aromas much like its larger siblings. It had impeccable construction holding a long well defined ash and only dropped the ash once. I rate this a solid 95. If you are enjoy a well made flavorful Connecticut cigar and want to have some for a short smoking time, grab a box of these.
Point Deductions: (-1) Medium Grey Ash;
Bonus Points: (+1) Buy or Split a Box with a friend; (+1) Long Perfect Ash
