Arganese CL3 robusto

Wow.

I've smoked a lot of corojo: Fire (by ITC), Camacho, Alec Bradley, Cusano, J. Fuego, and Padilla. The corojo and ligero-laden CL3 is one of the best-blended corojo smokes I've had.

The wrapper is mildly veined, medium-brown, and emits a tingle to the lips as you get acquainted. The draw is firm, but perfect considering the ligero in the cigar: It slows down the cigar to make sure all the tobacco burns well. It's a perfect rolling job that takes into account the tobaccos in the blend. That's the mark of a master.

The first half inch is a tasty introduction to the blend, woodsy cedar flavor with mild red pepper notes and a tingly spice in the background. The Dominican corojo is well represented in the blend without being ham-fisted with the heat. The flavors stay pretty much the same through most of the cigar, with occasional coffee notes. Getting to the nub, the corojo heat kicks up, as does the spice.

Eat a meal before this cigar, and while it's not a complete nicotine bomb, there's enough ligero in this to get the ol' midsection moving.

I think I've found my new favorite corojo. And at $5 each, the CL3 (and ML3) is definitely an economical competitor to the J. Fuego Gran Reserva Corojo no. 1 and Camacho 10th Anniversary Corojo.