Score: 9.0
A really beautiful-looking cigar. I liked the stoutness of its 52 ring and the firmness of the packing which gives the cigar a nice heft. Feels like you’ve really got something solid in your hands. The color of the Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper was even in tone throughout; non-veiny, nice and silky with a sweet aroma. The cigar is well-packed with a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican long-filler tobaccos bound in a dark, San Andrean Negro Oscuro leaf. The cap popped-off in a perfect circle, exposing almost the entire head of the cigar. Once lit, the cigar drew and lit well expelling a thick cloud of mild, sweet, and creamy smoke.
The first ash dropped-off off at the 1-inch mark leaving behind a perfectly-formed cone. The flavor at this point was a mix of toasty-woody-nutty flavors with a little more earthiness, sweetness and a nuance of hazelnut. (This cigar was also a little more complex than I suspected.)
By the end of the first third, I was really enjoying this cigar. The ash was semi-firm, the burn even-Steven, and by the midpoint the flavor had broadened into a rich-tasting and exquisitely smooth, mild smoke with an appealingly sweet woodiness on a short, clean finish. I smoked it in the morning with coffee, and the combination of flavors and aromas was perfect.
Speaking as a mostly “medium-bodied” smoker, if the intent by the Drew crew was to create a “mild” cigar, I found it right in the pocket; maybe even closer to medium-bodied as the cigar neared the end. All in all, I think this series shows great potential for the mainstream cigar smoker market.
Appearance: 9
Construction: 9
Burn: 9
Draw: 9
Aroma: 9
Flavor: 9
Final Score: 9.0
Executive Editor
Gary Korb has been writing and editing content for CigarAdvisor.com since its debut in 2008. An avid cigar smoker for over 30 years, he has worked on the marketing side of the premium cigar business as a Sr. Copywriter, blogger, and Executive Editor of Cigar Advisor. A graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, prior to his career in the cigar business, Gary worked in the music and video industry as a marketer and a publicist.
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