Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda

While the majority of distribution agreement stories that appear on this site tend to talk about cigars that are familiar to U.S. consumers going to other markets, one agreement announced this past summer was about cigars from a German company coming to the United States.

That company is Dalay Zigarren, which, in addition to having a portfolio of cigars, is an official Habanos S.A. retailer with a La Casa del Habano location in Saarbrücken, Germany. The company is also the distributor of Luciano Cigars in Germany, and as announced in June, Luciano Cigars is now the distributor of Dalay Zigarren in the United States.

As part of the new distribution agreement, a pair of new Dalay-branded cigars were launched at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show in July. The first was the Dalay Istanbul, a limited edition line that pays homage to Salih Dalay’s Turkish heritage both in its artwork and its blend.

That blend features Turkish tobacco in the filler, along with Dominican and Kentucky air-cured tobaccos. The binder comes from Pennsylvania, while the wrapper is an Ecuadorian corojo 98 hybrid leaf. The line was produced by Tabacalera Zauberberg in the Dominican Republic.

The Dalay Istanbul’s packaging features an original work of art by Turkish artist Hasan Kale, who is known as the “Turkish Microangelo” for his work in miniature art. Salih’s daughter also worked on the design of the ring and box, with original calligraphy art incorporated in the design.

The second new release is this cigar, the Dalay Nicaragua, which is a regular production line made by Luciano Cigars and features an Ecuadorian corojo 98 wrapper, a double binder of Brazilian arapiraca and Ecuadorian corojo 98 leaves, and a filler that is all Nicaraguan, with leaves coming from Pueblo Nuevo, Jalapa, Estelí, and Massatepe.

“What Luciano did with this blend is off the charts,” said Michael Grossklos, ceo and blender for Dalay Zigarren, via a press release. “This cigar is a stand-out in our portfolio. Luciano has always been contributing with his knowledge and vast expertise in tobacco and I consider him a mentor and a friend. Working here at Dalay has provided me many opportunities to meet people like Luciano and work with only the best.”

The Dalay Nicaragua is offered in four sizes:

• Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda (5 1/2 x 46) — $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Dalay Nicaragua Robusto (5 x 50) — $11.50 (Box of 20, $230)
• Dalay Nicaragua Toro (6 x 52) — $12.50 (Box of 20, $250)
• Dalay Nicaragua Gran Toro (6 1/2 x 56) — $13.30 (Box of 20, $266)

The Dalay Nicaragua began shipping to stores in late August 2023.

• Cigar Reviewed: Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Luciano Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Corojo 98)
• Binder: Brazil (Arapiraca) & Ecuador (Corojo 98)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí, Jalapa, Massatepe & Pueblo Nuevo)
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Coorna Gorda
• MSRP: $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Release Date: Aug. 31, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

One of the first things I notice about the Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda is the color of the wrapper, which is both pretty evenly colored and which works very well with the colors in the band. I don’t find much in the way of oils on the leaf, which means it has a more matte finish to my eyes and a dry finish to my fingers. A couple of small veins provide some visual interest as well. Each of the three cigars being smoked for this review are rolled to a firm density, but there is some slight give to it. The foot has a very soft, easy aroma of brown breads, a bit of light nuttiness, and most surprisingly a bit of apricot skin, though it’s not always consistent. The cold draw ranges from smooth and ideal to just a touch on the firm side in terms of airflow. Like the aroma, the flavor is also fairly soft with some creaminess, more of the breads, and just a touch of apricot. I can’t say I find any appreciable amount of pepper either through the nose or on the palate.

The first puffs of the Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda are on the milder side of medium and very in line with what I experienced from the cigar before lighting it. The breads have turned a bit toasty, the mixed nuts are contributing a bit, and there’s some creaminess and the first taste of a light black pepper that the cigar has offered. It’s a steady progression, with the pepper really stepping up and driving the change in two of the three cigars, leading with a touch more sharpness and char. While the pepper can get to be a bit too dominant in the profile, it eventually dials back to get in balance with the other flavors, which are now led by creaminess and accented by toast and a bit of raw almond. Retrohales shuffle those flavors, putting the toast and creaminess on par and pushing the pepper into the third spot. The first third’s flavor sits in medium-plus territory, while body is medium and strength is mild. Construction is very good, with my only note stemming from some ash dropping off unexpectedly.

Retrohales at the start of the second third are quite good and signal another rebalancing of the components. There’s still bread, but it’s less toasty and the creaminess has a bit less body, which seems to clear the way for a bit more black pepper and the nuttiness to get more involved. On the palate, the body of the smoke increases a bit, a change that comes as the flavor picks up a bit more earth, a bit thicker bread flavor, and some more black pepper, with its change most noticeable on the lingering finish of each puff. The burn rate seems to pick up as it feels like this section is over as soon as I’m done writing down the changes I’m picking up during it. The flavor pushes into medium-full territory thanks to the pepper’s evolution, while the body is medium-full as well with the changes to the earth and bread. The changes don’t seem to have affected the strength of the cigar, though, as it still sits shy of medium. Construction remains very good, with excellent combustion, a smooth draw, even burn line and good smoke production.

Right around the start of the final third, the Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda makes a shift to become toastier and a bit earthier, a change that dries out the smoke and gives it a different mouthfeel than what was offered earlier. The profile is now calling out for a beverage both to balance out the profile and because it seems like someone skilled in beverage pairing would find a lot to work with in this profile. It’s a change that also starts to pull the profile in two different directions at times, as opposed to maintaining the balance that the cigar has shown thus far. None of the components get too far out of balance, however, and each of the three cigars end well, with the pepper dialing back just a bit but still hanging around on the finish, and the rest of the flavor dialing back just a touch after peaking in vibrance. That puts the flavor at medium-plus, body at medium-full and strength just barely at medium.

Final Notes

• In addition to the new cigars, Dalay Zigarren is also bringing its existing lines to the U.S. The company’s portfolio includes the Dalay Dominican Republic Hell & Dunkel as well as the Dalay Honduras Hell & Dunkel, both manufactured at the Zaubergberg Factory in the Dominican Republic.
• In 2018, Dalay Zigarren created a cigar called Affentanz as an exclusive for the German market, a cigar with a name that was described as meaning “armed with monkeyness.”
• Dalay Zigarren was at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show as part of the Luciano Cigars booth.
• In 2016, RoMa Craft Tobac released Wander|Lust, its first international-only release, and in 2019, it created a Gran Corona vitola as an exclusive for Dalay Zigarren.
• In May 2019, I reviewed the Dalay Limitada 2019 Robusto Extra.
• I didn’t get much in the way of strength from the Dalay Nicaragua Corona Gorda, as it barely reached medium by my scale.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 40 minutes on average.
• Update: After this review was published a representative from Luciano Cigars informed halfwheel that it provided incorrect information as to one of the binders; what had been listed as an Ecuadorian habano 2000 leaf is actually an Ecuadorian corojo 98 leaf. The company also corrected the binder of the Dalay Istanbul, originally saying it was an Ecuadorian habano corojo 99 hybrid, when in fact it is a Ecuadorian corojo 98.