San Cristobal Quintessence is one of five versions of the San Cristobal brand, a line of cigars made in Nicaragua by the Garcia family for Ashton Distributors Inc. What makes this different from the rest is the wrapper—a high-priming leaf of Ecuadoran Habano. It’s lighter than the oscuro wrappers found on the core line. The rest of the tobaccos were grown on the Garcia’s farms in Nicaragua. The Corona Gorda is the newest size in the line, and it has an impressive combination of balance and character. It’s a leathery and spicy cigar but well layered with sweet notes of chocolate. The construction is remarkably good, and while the trend for cigars seems to be going thicker, Ashton took the corona gorda in the opposite direction.
