Blind Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust | Sobremesa Short Churchill

Cigar Info

The Sobremesa was originally launched in 2015 in in five vitolas: Corona Grande, which measures 5 1/4 inches by 44 ring gauge; Cervantes Fino, 6 1/4 by 46; Robusto Largo, 5 1/4 by 52; El Americano, 6 by 52; and Gran Imperiales, 7 by 54. Each vitola is packaged in boxes of 25. We reviewed the Corona Grande last December scoring a 91 and the Cervantes Fino in June scoring a 92. The Sobremesa ended up taking our #2 Cigar of the year spot for 2015. This year at IPCPR, Steve Saka introduced two new sizes to the Sobremesa, both including a slightly stronger tweaked blend, the Short Churchill, and the Elegante en Cedros. Steve blended the Sobremesa Short Churchill to be a little stronger than the regular Sobremesa to replace his Dirty Rat with morning espresso.

The wrapper for Sobremesa is a rosado Ecuador Habano leaf, while the binder is Matacapan from Mexico. The fillers include four tobaccos that were cultivated from Nicaragua: C-SG seco, which is a Criollo hybrid from Condega, Criollo viso from Pueblo Nuevo, and Criollo ’98 viso along with a hybrid ligero from Estelí. Additionally, the final blend includes broadleaf ligero grown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 4.75″
Ring Gauge: 48
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian habano grade 1 dark rosado
Binder: Mexican Matacapan negro de temporal
Filler: Nicaraguan GK Condega C-SG seco, Nicaraguan Pueblo Nuevo criollo viso, Nicaraguan La Joya Estelí C-98 viso, Nicaraguan ASP Estelí hybrid ligero and broadleaf ligero from Lancaster County, Pa.
Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
Blender: Steve Saka
Number of reviewers: 5 – Kent (Throck) Mickey T. (irratebass) Adam B. (Bushboy) John I. (John I.) Zane G. (Zane)
Price: $9.95
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: July 2016

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 94

“Triple cap, invisible seams and nearly no veins. Gorgeous wrapper.” –Zane G. (Zane)

Aroma: 93

“Wrapper smells of sweet tobacco with barnyard on the foot.” –Zane G. (Zane)

First Third

Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Pre-light flavors are mild earthy, with a touch of barnyard funkiness, in a good way. Lit at 12:58 pm. Initial impressions upon lighting are of soft leather and earth with a hint of pepper. Very good smoke production that’s fairly chewy yet with a silky, buttery quality. Exuding oil along the burn line really heavily. Draw is fairly easy and light despite feeling like a really heavy and densely packed cigar. First third is becoming hot really rapidly. After slowing a bit and retrohaling there are some cedary wood notes, and a yeasty breadiness through the nose.

Ash is holding nicely, tight and compact. Burn is slightly crooked which is helping to encourage me to rest it between puffs, to both keep it from overheating, and allow time to correct the burn. Pepper flavor has become more prominent toward the end of the first third while earth and leather remain as well. There is a faint sweetness, but it’s too mild to distinguish a specific flavor comparison. This cigar provides a fairly long finish on the palate and a mild pleasant burn in the throat.” –John I. (John I.)

“Pepper on the lips right off the bat. Slight sweetness with some cedar. No spice through the retro but a nice herbal note. Very well balanced.” –Zane G. (Zane)

Second Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Second third began with the same toasty notes of the first third, however the transition of flavors began quickly. The bread flavor quickly evolved to a roasted nut and a sweet molasses flavor developed. Burn is still spot on and no complaints thus far.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)

“Ash dropped off naturally at the beginning of the second third. It had held for well over two inches, and dropped on the floor rather than in my lap, which is a plus. Flavor wise there is less pepper, but much more pronounced soft leather. Still gushing oil along the burn line which has corrected somewhat and is certainly well within the category of what I would consider a really well constructed cigar. Slower smoking is maintaining relative coolness, there is no bitterness or acridity, but I suspect the openness of the draw and resulting heat may be muting some of the inherent sweetness.

There is still a hint of a sweet flavor, but it remains indistinct. Past the halfway point, I’m noting a really slick oiliness on the palate, and the sweetness has increased and developed into nicely rounded caramel notes. The burn has also fully corrected. It’s not “razor sharp,” but it is definitely burning evenly. This is nitpicky, the burn issues were never even close to needing a lighter to correct. Ash is slightly flakier than the first third, but it has held since the initial drop off. Thin dry wood and some bready flavors continue on the retrohale, but are not apparent otherwise.” –John I. (John I.)

Final Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Lot of hazelnut flavors, wood, and some chocolate has shown up now.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“Sweet molasses and nutty. No dramatic changes in the flavor profile moving into the final third, although very enjoyable. Burn never faltered and pull was easy throughout.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 91

“Zero complaints. Easy draw. Plenty of smoke.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)

Burn: 93

“Excellent and even burn with extremely dense plumes of smoke especially during the first third. The smoke production declined throughout my smoke.” –Kent (Throck)

Construction: 95

“Great burn, no flaws. Construction was a thing of beauty.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 92

“The cigar was beautiful and had great construction with a excellent smoke in the first third; however, this was pretty much all of the highlights. The flavor was monotone and did not change at all throughout my experience.” –Kent (Throck)

“This was a great smoke & right in my wheelhouse. It had plenty of pepper, salt, cream, nuts and some chocolate notes. This is a strong cigar, and probably not something you want as your 1st cigar of the day.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“Although maduros are not my go to wrapper, this cigar was extremely enjoyable. I was impressed how cool this cigar burned. This was smoked on a cooler night were I tend to puff an little faster than usual. Got down to about an inch nub and it was still smokable. Flavor transition was slow and pleasant. Changing of flavors from start to finish was noticeable though which is rare in a cigar of this petite size.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)

“This didn’t blow my doors off with a lot of complexity, but the flavors that were there are up my alley. The quality of the construction, and consistent burn and smoke production added to the enjoyment of this cigar.” –John I. (John I.)

“What a beautiful cigar. Great flavor throughout with enough changes to keep me interested. Nice medium bodied maduro that I could smoke anytime of the day.” –Zane G. (Zane)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 64

 

Reviewer	Appearance	Aroma	1/3	2/3	3/3	Draw	Burn	Constr.	Overall Experience
Kent	95	95	90	90	90	95	92	95	90
Mickey T.	88	93	95	92	92	88	92	90	92
Adam B.	93	90	88	90	90	95	97	95	92
John I.	93	88	95	95	90	88	92	95	92
Zane G.	95	95	90	92	90	100	92	95	90

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust | Sobremesa Short Churchill