CIGAR NEWS: DT&T Adding Muestra De Saka ‘The Bewitched’
MUESTRA DE SAKA THE BEWITCHED CIGAR ALSO REVEALS A MAGICAL HISTORY
Dunbarton, NH – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust® (DTT) has completed pre-orders for “The Bewitched,” the company’s newest addition to its much heralded Muestra de Saka line.
“Muestra is the humble, common word for ‘sample’ in Spanish. However, it takes on a much more important, sometimes reverential, meaning when used in a handmade cigar factory,” said DT&T founder and Master Ligador, Steve Saka. “A muestra is the vision of the ligador and torcedor realized. It promises a new experience and possibly the key to financial success for the fabrica. Muestras are hoarded and coveted not only by their makers, but by the cigar smokers who seek to catch a glimpse into the cigarmaker’s soul within their smoke.”
Presented in a 6 5/8” x 50 box-pressed vitola with a spiral, tail-like cap, Steve calls The Bewitched, “an intoxicating liga composed of choice Nicaraguan and U.S.-grown fillers with our exclusive Cultivo Tonto San Andrés Negro binder swaddled in a Grade 1 Ecuador Habano Seed capa.” Issuing notes of coffee, caramel, cedar, and tempered spice, “it is truly an entrancing medium-plus bodied smoke, so hard to describe, yet so perfect in balance and nuance, from the moment I finished it I was mesmerized by it,” adds Steve.
There are also two interesting stories behind this new cigar. First, the blend was originally made for the Owl Shop of Worcester, Massachusetts’s 75th anniversary. The shop’s owner, Zach, told Steve that the cigar was too good to not share with DT&T’s other accounts. So now, with Zach’s blessing, The Bewitched will be available to other cigar retailers.
“I was ecstatic that Zach blessed my crafting, more because from the moment I finished this liga I was spellbound by it; so much, I decided we would call the release “The Bewitched” because of how it so captivated my own palate,” said Steve. “Each one I smoked made me want to smoke another.”
To honor the Owl Shop and Zach’s family legacy where it all began, Steve had the image of an owl printed on the coffins. Now, about that second story…
“Totally unknown to me, I learned there is a superstition among Nicaraguans that owls are the physical manifestation of witches who cast their spells upon the people in the dark of the night, said Steve. “My understanding is that some consider black owls to be evil witches, while brown owls are regarded as good witches. So… I make a cigar I find mesmerizing for the Owl Shop; am encouraged by Zach to make more; decide to call it “The Bewitched” because of how it makes me feel; decide to keep the owl as the icon to pay honor; then ultimately learn that in Nicaragua owls are regarded as witches. Wow, that is just too much of a coincidence for even me to ignore. Fate is a fickle thing, but I am wise enough to not fight it. This was a project that simply was meant to be.
Like all Muestra de Saka ligas except the Unicorn they are packed in individual cedar coffins in a 7-ct box and will be $138.25 SRP per box. Select Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Purveyors should anticipate delivery by Summer.
“Whether it is the spell of a black owl or a brown owl, I don’t care, because I love this cigar’s magic!” concludes Steve.