Review | Berlin Wall Celebration Short Corona

25 years ago, on November 9, 1989 after several weeks of unrest the East German Government announced that all citizens of GDR could visit West Germany and West Berlin. People from East and West Germany crossed and climbed onto the wall in celebration. Contrary to popular belief the wall did not begin to be demolished until the Summer of 1990, and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for the reunification of Germany which was formally concluded on October 3rd, 1990.

This month Hammer + Sickle has releases the Celebration Short Corona of the Berlin Wall which has been aged for 5 years to commemorate this historic moment that helped change the world. According to their website, “With Berlin Wall, we selected a solid medium body offering, produced in the Habano method, while employing a modern construction and sense of style. In keeping with the entire Hammer + Sickle portfolio, only the best will do. Therefore, we enlisted the help of Christian Eroia in cultivating the perfect blend of Honduran tobaccos. This cigar is as remarkable as the event it celebrates.”

Cigar: Berlin Wall
Size: 4.75 x 46 (Celebration Short Corona)
Wrapper: Honduras Criollo
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras
Strength: Medium

The Look: The Criollo wrapper that adorns the Berlin Wall has a gorgeous reddish-brown hue to it and it is rolled to perfection with nearly a seam visible. The wrapper which has a slight brindle look to it has a couple of thin veins to it. The cigar is adorned by a metal band with bronze on bronze coloring, denoting the company name, Hammer + Sickle and the words Berliner Mauer `1961-1989. In the hand the cigar is firm, with a well packed foot and a nice weight to it, even without the band in place.

The Notes: The cold draw of the of the Berlin Wall Celebration Short Corona was pretty nondescript which is an oddity for a cigar, while the foot of the stick has hints of earth. However, once the set fire with the flame of my torch to the tobacco from Honduras the cigar comes alive much like Frankensteins Monster in the laboratory. The initial notes are cedar and nuts with warm spices.

As we progress into the first third of the Berlin Wall Celebration Short Corona it is obvious that this limited edition cigar is going to be epic. The notes are crisp and consist of cedar, nuts and warm spices. Through the nose the cigar is smooth, and the retrohale enhances the notes with an enjoyable aroma.

In the second third the nuts become defined as almond, almost bordering on almond extract to be precise. The cigar loses some of the cedar notes and instead embraces an earthy component with a touch of pepper. For a faint moment there was a hint of cinnamon but it disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.

In the last third of the Berlin Wall Celebration Short Corona a floral note develops with continuing notes of almond, and warm spices. The cigar remains cool until it is put down with less than an inch remaining

The Burn: The Berlin Wall Celebration Short Corona was a cigar that performed exceptionally well on the burn. In the first third, the cigar wasn’t razor-sharp but as it progressed the cigar was the definition of the perfect burn with an ultra thin line. The ash held on exceptionally well for the first half of the smoke and the draw served up the correct amount of resistance.

The Finish: A limited edition smoke isn’t eligible for Cigar of the Year here at The Cigar Authority, with that said and done this might be among the best smokes I have had all year. Extremely limited to 5,000 cigars which is a shame, because I could easily smoke all of them. The notes off the cigar are very Cubanesque and classic. The result is a cigar that is perfect for any time of day. The only negative to me is that the cigars come in a bundle instead of the great box that regular Berlin Wall cigars are packaged in.

Score: 96
Price: $5.19 single / $99.99 bundle