Cigar Info – Southern Draw Firethorn – Augusta
Southern Draw Announced a new cigar last November to honor Veterans decades-long military service in Augusta, Georgia. This cigar was called the Firethorn – Augusta. The new take on the Firethorn uses a new logo and a new blend. The logo was designed by Arizona-based JMG Graphic Works.
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.
Southern Draw Firethorn – Augusta comes in one size, a box-pressed 5.5 x 54 Belicoso Finos. It comes in soft packs of 10 cigars with only 1,000 being made. The blend is a tweaked version of the original Firethorn and changes the ratios and aging of the same tobaccos. The blend uses a Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper, Mexican San Andres Maduro binder, and filler from Nicaragua. Firethorn – Augusta is exclusive to Cigars International and it sells for $99.99 a bundle.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Belicoso
Length: 5 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Blender: Robert Holt
Number of reviewers: 4 – Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard) Quinn (quinnpins269) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Randy B. (randobush)
Price: $9.99
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: November 2020
Contributed by: Southern Draw Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 94
“This 5.5″x54 box-pressed Belicoso comes in a Nestle Quick light milk chocolate-colored wrapper. Triple cap, open foot, light-medium weight in the hand, no soft spots, super smooth wrapper, and tight nearly invisible seams, umm excited to cut & light up.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Aroma: 91
“Barn with a hint of milk chocolate.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
First Third
Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The first few puffs of the cigar after toasting brought a very heavy smoke with mineral and salty notes to it. The saltiness started to get slightly sweeter as I continued to smoke the cigar. It reminded me of salted caramel. The mineral flavors stepped back slightly which helped to keep the sweet and salty at the front.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“The floral notes off the foot are immediately noticeable from the first puff. A very sweet flavor mixes in reminding me a lot of hibiscus iced tea. The ash is also impressive. A perfect grey color holding tightly for a couple of inches and no burn wobble at all.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Second Third
Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The floral notes have begun to fade into the background in the second third. A nice baking spice is now mixing in with a bit of cedar. The retrohale is also upping the warmth and smoky flavor.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“Soft earth and leather settle in on the second third, still getting the chicory, dried raisin, sweet cayenne, and a bit of cocoa powder. The smoke and flavors rest softly on the palate, coming across very refined.” –Randy B. (randobush)
Final Third
Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Coming into the final third it was still bringing a fair amount of cedar notes. It started to become fuller in body with each draw. Black pepper became the predominate flavors towards the end.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“Hay, cedar, almonds, baking spices, black pepper are all things I am finding and it seems slightly different every puff. The complexity of the final third is incredibly interesting and really bringing this blend to another level.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Overall Impressions – Southern Draw Firethorn – Augusta
Draw: 97
“Great draw throughout.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Burn: 96
“The burn was very nice, it never needed a relight or touch-up at any point. The ash held nicely throughout.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
Construction: 95
“Beautiful cigar inside and out. Beauty and performance was a grade of “A.” –Randy B. (randobush)”
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 95
“Loved the flavors, construction, burn, strength, were all on point. Very enjoyable!” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
“I enjoyed the profile of the blend. It stayed a very solid medium until the end it picked up some in the strength department which was a nice finish to it. I would like to smoke it again.” –Quinn (quinnpins269)
“The flavors on the cigar were interesting and complex from the get-go. While the strength never passed a solid medium the taste was a journey starting with a sweet floral beginning into the more spicy cedar middle followed by a super complex end with nuts and pepper. The ash and burn were pretty much perfect. My only real complaint was how fast it smoked timing in at just over an hour. I will be grabbing some more of whatever this is for a nice morning cigar.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“Really, really enjoyed this cigar. I would buy it, as it has some unusual notes I don’t get in many/most cigars. Zero strikes on this one & nothing but praise!” –Randy B. (randobush)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 65
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Joseph S. | 93 | 90 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Quinn | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 93 |
| Lauren S. | 97 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 100 | 95 |
| Randy B. | 95 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.