Oscar Valladares Super Fly Connecticut Corona

Covered in a light, golden brown wrapper, the Oscar Valladares Super Fly Connecticut has quite a bit of tooth to it, but virtually no oil or prominent veins. When squeezed, the cigar is extremely firm which makes it fairly easy to find a large soft spot located under the band during a physical inspection. Aromas from the wrapper are reminiscent of a flavored cigar, with orange citrus, cinnamon, creamy woodiness, dark chocolate and coffee beans all in the mix, although none of them really top any of the others. Scents from the foot are more distinct but very similar to those I found on the wrapper, although there are new notes of honey, cloves and a touch of mint. Creamy lemon custard leads the flavors on the cold draw, followed by more cinnamon, burnt bread, dark chocolate, dried tea leaves, creamy cedar, baker’s spices and honeycomb.

A small amount of spice and plenty of anise start the cigar off, but there is almost no pepper that I can discern. The profile quickly shifts to include the main flavors of cinnamon and lemon peel, followed by the secondary notes of gingerbread, tea leaves, creamy peanuts, coffee beans, dry hay and aromatic cedar. The retrohale is full of a strong and distinct clove note, but interestingly, there is virtually no pepper or spice to be had so far. There is also an interesting floral sweetness on the finish, and while it is a minor note during the first third, it seems to be picking up steam as the halfway point approaches. Flavor ends the first half at full, while the strength hits a solid medium, and the body makes it to a point between mild and medium. Construction-wise, the burn needs a minor correction right before the halfway point, but the draw is excellent, and there is plenty of thick, off-white smoke coming from the foot.

During the second half, the profile is dominated by a combination of cocoa nibs and creamy peanuts. Additional flavors of anise, cinnamon, lemon zest, sourdough bread, leather tack and gritty earth flit in and out, while a distinct salted caramel candy flavor combined with a small amount of white pepper takes over retrohale. Around the time that the burn line passes into the final third, a light spice becomes noticeable on my tongue, and it remains at about the same level until I am finished with the cigar. Flavor ends at full, the body increases to land at a solid medium, and the strength pushes just a bit past solid medium. There are absolutely no issues when it comes to construction in the second half, and I put the nub down after one hour and 24 minutes of smoking time.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.