bHi and welcome to the May edition of Puff Reviews, which shine the spotlight on the venerable favorite, Corona Gordas. We took a peek at some of these last month, picking out a crop with some solid upper 80’s and 90’s, and we’ll continue that trend this month as we take a look at these cigars: the Alec Bradley Tempus Inceptio, Hoyo De Tradicion Toro, and the Cienfuegos Engine No. 6 Maduro

I think this month I got a really good batch. Everything scores in the low 90’s; not a single 80 in site! With that in mind, let’s get the ball rolling and take a look at one of the best on our list: the Alec Bradley Tempus Inceptio.

Alec Bradley Tempus Inceptio

I looked at an Alec Bradley in my Churchill reviews a while back, and it spurred me to try out the Tempus Inceptio. Tempus means time in Latin, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting name for this cigar, which clearly enjoys the benefits of aging.

As the man himself will admit, Alan Rubin has had a long and bumpy road to cigar success. Starting off in the nuts and bolts biz, he decided to pursue his love of cigars after selling his business and making a nice profit. His first two business models – selling to golf courses and selling flavored cigars – almost made him bankrupt, but fortunately he ran into Hendrik Kelner (the guy who makes the Davidoff), who agreed to make him a brand of his own.

The rest is history. Kelner currently makes four cigars for Alec Bradley, which by the way, owes its name to Alan Rubin’s two sons. But enough about the company; let’s dig into the cigar!

The Tempus Inceptio is a pretty cigar to look at, dark brown in color with red highlights. The wrapper comes from Honduras, with a binder out of Indonesia and filler from Nicaragua and Honduras.

This cigar is full-bodied and powerful, an intriguing blend of spice, wood, and peppers, topped off with some unexpected sweetness. In the words of the immortal bard: I like it, I love it, I want some more of it.

Size: 5 5/8 x 46

Rating: 92.4