Going back to my early cigar smoking days -- way back in time when Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States and I was a college student (boy, does that sound like such a long time ago) -- I used to really enjoy Jamaican cigars. I particularly enjoyed the nutty and oily Macanudo cigars (then made by Montego Y Cia) and the fantastic Royal Jamaica cigars -- particularly the Park Lane series.

Some may remember Hurricane Gilbert which, in 1988, destroyed tobacco crops and tobacco factories in Kingston, Jamaica. Due to this hurricane, the production of Royal Jamaican cigars moved to the Dominican Republic. This is all a small bit of trivia to set up my review, and to explain why I have not smoked a Royal Jamaica cigar until today... nearly 13 years since the original factory was wiped out due to a natural disaster.


Royal Jamaica Corona Grande
--------------------------------------------------
The Royal Jamaica Corona Grande cigar measures 6½-inches in length and has a ring gauge of 42 (42/64th's of an inch in diameter). For quite a few years after Hurricane Gilbert, this cigar was made in the Dominican Republic. Since 1996, production of this cigar was moved back to Maypen, Jamaica, and the Royal Jamaica brand is now owned by Altadis USA (formerly known as Consolidated Cigar).

Royal Jamaica cigars are outstanding in every respect: construction, flavor and finish. A special fermentation additive is added to create a unique flavor profile that is slightly sweet. (Don't know what the additive is; it is a factory secret, but if you told me it was rum or some kind of distilled sugar-cane spirit, I would not be surprised.) This cigar is made using a medium-brown colored Javanese wrapper (Indonesia), along with a Cameroon wrapper (which adds a slightly sweet flavor to the smoke), and an exotic blend of filler tobaccos from Jamaica (the main filler tobacco), Brazil and Mexico.

In flavor, this cigar starts with an faintly sweet, cedar wood flavors and ends with a lightly spicy brazil nut & leather finish. This is a mild-to-medium bodied cigar with complex, but not obtrusively rich, tobacco flavors. The cigar was well packed and firm, but the draw was easy and unrestricted. The white-ash cylinder was dense, sturdy, and grew evenly.



Price and Availability
--------------------------------------------------
I purchased this cigar at The Wine Exchange (www.winex.com), a wine, beer, caviar and cigar specialty shop in Orange, California. I paid $7 for a single cigar.

This cigar is available in wide distribution from a number of large cigar retailers. At J.R. Cigars (www.jrcigars.com), Royal Jamaican Corona Grande cigars are priced at $6 per box of 3 (suggested retail = $13.50 for 3 cigars). If you are interested in purchasing online, J.R. Cigars lists this cigar as a Lonsdale (with a size of 6½" x 42).

In California, substantial taxes are added on all tobacco products, which accounts for the significant price differential between what I paid and what others throughout the rest of the country would pay. I am expecting a new shipment of cigars from J.R. Cigars later this week. J.R. Cigars (of North Carolina) is a highly reputable online dealer and one that I very confidently recommend to others. Lew Rothman, the owner of J.R. Cigars, is also a very patriotic fellow, and if you order cigars online from his company's catalog, J.R. will make a contribution to the relief effort to those affected by the recent terrorist attacks against America.


Recommendations
--------------------------------------------------
I smoked this Royal Jamaica cigar this afternoon with an Erdinger Weissbräu Hefeweizen -- a refreshing beer brewed for Oktoberfest. It was a nice treat that I enjoyed on this day, my birthday.

If you like Royal Jamaica cigars, I would also recommend the Director No. 1 - a slightly shorter (6-inch) and fatter (45 ring gauge) cigar that is made with the same blend of wrapper, binder and filler tobaccos. Another cigar in this size and prize range that I would recommend would be the Hoyo De Monterrey Governor -- a Corona Gorda cigar measuring 6-1/8" x 50 ring gauge.


Recommended: Yes

Cigar Name: Royal Jamaica Corona Grande
Cigar Rating: Better than most
Price per cigar ($US): $3 - $7