The Dunhill brand goes all the way back to 1907 with the opening Alfred Dunhill‘s tobacco shop in London, England. Many years later came the first cigars to bear his name. Up until that point, there were several Cuban cigars under the Dunhill Selección Suprema name, but those were made by various factories for Dunhill and also had that traditional brands name on it.
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.
In 1989, the name first appeared on a Dominican-made cigar for British American Tobacco, which still has rights to the Dunhill brand today. This is the first Dunhill to sport a maduro wrapper. The Dunhill Aged Range was re-branded when General Cigar Co. took over the company’s distribution in the U.S. They also added the Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial in 2003, which was blended around Dominican filler tobaccos from 2003. The Dunhill Aged Maduro is produced in three sizes, Marevas (5 1/8 x 42, $9.45), Short Robusto (4 x 54, $10.45) and Short Churchill (5 1/2 x 54, $11.95). Each comes in 10-count boxes and are a regular production release.
“This cigar started with an array of spices being carried by primary flavors of cedar and earth. There was a sweet cream-like texture that wafts in and out on varying puffs. There was a scattering of rich tobacco tastes that also made appearances on the palate. With a white pepper laden retrohale, this cigar was off to a great start.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“Flavors are earthy and sweet. Exactly what I expected from a wrapper this dark. Very mellow flavors so far that have a bit of a kick. Pleasant aromas, and fantastic start to this after dinner smoke.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
Second Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Unfortunately the sweet licorice did not remain for very long. The flavors all mellowed out and left me with just a slightly bitter tobacco taste.” –Eric (smalls29)
“This is going to be a short smoke, I’m already 15 mins in and at the 2/3. Same flavors are there, no transition to report…..one dimensional? Is that possible though with all the flavors I mentioned earlier” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Closing out the second and moving into the the final portion of the cigar, the flavors took a major turn. Slowly the drown of cedar faded out and made room for some charcoal, which I found quite interesting. Along with a tinge of dark coffee, I found the charcoal causing me to reminisce about waking by a campfire with just a wisp of smoke gliding silkily towards the sky. This, in my experience, isn’t a flavor one comes across frequently in a cigar, so I found it to be more than agreeable with the tongue.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“20 mins in, and the cigar is almost over. Ahhh transition!!! I’m getting bread with nuts on the retro, and bit of chocolate with nuts followed by a sweet tobacco flavor on the finish.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 93
“With a very light cut, the draw on this cigar was splendid. Just a hair into the firm side.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Burn: 91
“Had a great burn, no relights or even touch-ups to mention” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“This is a fairly short-lived cigar, easy smoking in under an hour, and probably just over a half hour smoke for most people. Each third had a distinct change of flavors that could easily be detected without looking. I found myself enjoying this one, a lot. But, it could use some glue. The tendency for the wrapper to unravel kept me distracted and, ultimately forced me to score the cigar lower than I would have liked based on flavor alone. That said, I’d give it another go in hopes that it’d stay together.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
“This cigar was extremely enjoyable. The flavors did not transition so much as develop. They started sweet and leathery, and built in strength and flavors intensified. Very interesting and delicious little cigar. I would recommend this to friends and will definitely pick up a few more in the future.” –Adam B. (Bushboy)
“I was excited by the sweet aroma and the immediate flavor of sweet licorice. Unfortunately that only lasted through the fist third. The flavors detioriated as time passed. The peppers were a nice addition in the beginning but went away during the second third but reappeared in the final third in a bitter way. Had the sweetness remained throughout it would have been a very nice cigar.” –Eric (smalls29)
“This was a very quick smoke considering the size, only 35 mins. Would be a perfect winter smoke. There were some nice flavors going on with the cigar, but it really didn’t know where it wanted to go, maybe that was it’s intention,m but it really confused me. Started out with this nice sweet syrupy element and then some chocolate, but it wasn’t very consistent with these flavors. I can’t really say it was one dimensional, but it really didn’t hold my atrtention.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Blind Cigar Review: Dunhill | Aged Maduro Short Robusto
Summary
"This is a fairly short-lived cigar, easy smoking in under an hour, and probably just over a half hour smoke for most people. Each third had a distinct change of flavors that could easily be detected without looking. I found myself enjoying this one, a lot. But, it could use some glue. The tendency for the wrapper to unravel kept me distracted and, ultimately forced me to score the cigar lower than I would have liked based on flavor alone. That said, I'd give it another go in hopes that it'd stay together." -Isaac M. (The Nothing)
