Steve Saka first started talking about the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée on social media early this year but it made it’s official debut at IPCPR 2019. This is the first Connecticut shade wrapped cigar from Steve Saka and marks a change from his normally stronger blends. He said in an interview that this was meant to fill the void of customers that are interested in Dunbarton, but only smoke milder cigars. This is a line extension of the original Sobremesa line and shares many of the same internal components, most notably the Pennsylvania Seedleaf ligero has been removed and Condega Seco doubled. And of course the original habano wrapper has been replaced with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade G2BW leaf.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
At launch the Sobremesa Brûlée was offered in three sizes: Robusto –5.25 x 52, Toro – 6.00 x 52 and Gordo 6.25 x 60. Each come packed in 13 count boxes and price ranges from $12.45 to$13.95 per cigar. This cigar is said to be Steve Saka’s recreation of the mild shade cigars from when he was younger. He thinks that over the last 30 years, shade cigars have become much wispy and uninspiring, dull and flat. He wanted something to share that reminds him of the way they used to be. This is meant to go the opposite direction of “not your grandfather’s Connecticut cigar” where as those are trying to be more modernized and stronger. This is your grandfathers Connecticut cigar.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro Length: 6″ Ring Gauge: 52 Country of Origin: Nicaragua Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut Binder: Mexican Matacapan negro de Temporal Filler: Nicaragua Condega C-SG, Pueblo Nuevo Criollo, Estelí C-98 & Estelí Hybrid Ligero Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. Blender: Steve Saka Number of reviewers: 5 – Alan(Eulogy) Ryan H.(Ryan H.) John A.(Bostoneo) Mickey T.(irratebass) Isaac M.(The Nothing) Price: $13.45 Age: 2 Months Release Date: July 2019 Contributed by: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 96
“Hands down this was a gorgeous cigar. The cap was meticulously applied, seams barely visible, and the golden hue just demanded attention.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Aroma: 93
“An effortless cold draw reveals notes of red fruits, leather, cream and spice. On the nose, subtle scents of leather and cream display themselves enticing you to see what is next. ” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“Espresso flavor with a bit of salt on the cold draw. I kinda excited to smoke this one. Quite a bit of floral notes with with that cream and cedar flavor I mentioned earlier. Nice and fluffy smoke engulfs my palate. Beautiful white tiger striped ash is forming on this cigar. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Draw is phenomenal. Cigar starts with a heavy singular note of oak with white pepper spice. There is also some bitter earth that does complements the profile. After about an inch cream comes into match tue oak. Ash is very strong. Oak moves to the back of the profile, and cream sets in as the spice dials down. Cigar is light medium in strength.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“I’m surprised at how mild it is yet full flavored. There’s a slight increase in the level of pepper from the first third but it’s probably a mild-medium level. The profile reminds me of a cinnamon roll with nuts and a cup of coffee. The smoke output is phenomenal and the burn is razor sharp. ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“The second half continues with an amazing assortment of leather, cream and buttery richness, like a fresh croissant. This is defiantly a premium cigar. ” –John A. (Bostoneo)
Final Third
Flavor: 94 Strength: Medium Body/Complexity: Medium
“There is some marshmallow hiding in this cigar. Plenty of espresso flavors and white pepper. This cigar is just elegant…..that’s about the best word I can use to describe this. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“There’s a bit more of a tobacco note at the end. Cinnamon, grain, nuts, coffee, and a mild pepper still make up the bulk of the experience ” –Alan (Eulogy)
“I loved the draw on this cigar, wish all cigars drawed like this one.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
Burn: 94
“Great burn, I don’t believe I had one touch up on it. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Construction: 94
“This cigar performed great, and looked outstanding. I couldn’t peg much of anything against the construction of this cigar. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Strength: Medium Overall Body/Complexity: Medium Experience Overall: 94
“This is a fantastic cigar, but I don’t think I would have felt quite so highly of it if it wasn’t my first of the day. I could easily see myself smoking this with a cup of coffee or having it as my first cigar of the day if I was planning on having more than one. It’s not going to burn your palate out but if you’ve already had one or two you’re probably not going to pick up a lot of the more subtle flavors it offers. Go buy some.” –Alan (Eulogy)
“Everything was awesome with this cigar except the last third when things went a little south with the profile, but other than that was wonderful.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“I liked the size and weight of this cigar in my hand, it just felt right. With an effortless draw, tons of mild to medium flavors poured out and stimulated my mouth with a wonderful profile. This is what milder to medium cigar should offer, not a paper bag experience. This is definitely a benchmark cigar that was thoroughly enjoyable and a pleasure to smoke. Kudos!” –John A. (Bostoneo)
“This cigar was just elegant. From the presentation to the smoking experience. The cigar was velvety smooth, had a nice open draw and treated me with bread, espresso, peanut, cedar notes. The amounts of smoke I received were generous. The cigar burned slow, never heated up and allowed me to nub it with an inch to go. Highly recommended! ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“I’ll start off by saying that the flavors and body are not part of my normal repertoire. That said, this cigar was really outstanding if you prefer mellower sticks. The flavors were nice and transitions were smooth. I could easily recommend it for someone that likes mellower cigars, without spice, and just easy going.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
"I liked the size and weight of this cigar in my hand, it just felt right. With an effortless draw, tons of mild to medium flavors poured out and stimulated my mouth with a wonderful profile. This is what milder to medium cigar should offer, not a paper bag experience. This is definitely a benchmark cigar that was thoroughly enjoyable and a pleasure to smoke. Kudos!" -John A. (Bostoneo)
