Southern Draw | Firethorn, the second offering from Southern Draw, has been specially blended to pair with medium weight styles of craft brews, boutique wines and spirits. The aged Habano Rosado, double-fermented wrapper is flawless with a taste that will quite simply – draw you in. The wrapper is complemented by perfectly aged binders and fillers from Cuban seed tobacco grown in Nicaragua and Mexic0. From the first draw, the sweet and natural aromas will tantalize the palate. After the first third of the cigar, some spicy notes will blend and then gently trail off, leaving you with a flutter of cinnamon, cocoa and caramel, eventually fading into a subtle pecan-like finish. This handmade beauty has a closed foot for a smooth and toasty burn that results in a firm ash.
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.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano Rosado
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez
Blender: Robert Holt
Number of reviewers: 4 – Matt C. (Big Matt) Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd) Gregg (McGreggor57) Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Price: $10.00
Age: 11 Months
Release Date: April 2015
Contributed by: Southern Draw Cigars
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 95
“The look and feel of this cigar is so nice. The wrapper is an even milk chocolate color with no streaks or spots. The foot is covered and the cap is perfectly applied. A few veins are visible but not prominent, and while I know there must be seams on the wrapper, I have to work to find them because the wrapper is applied so well.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Aroma: 88
“Mmm right away picking up on the sweet smell of cocoa with a hint of coffee. Ahh this has my mouthwatering already!!” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Blind Cigar Review: Southern Draw | Firethorn
First Third
Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“With a covered foot, I like to draw on the cigar as soon as the fire hits it, instead of toasting. It tends to give me an extra hit of wrapper leaf on the first few puffs. This starts out very bold and rich with plentiful smoke. The smoke has a creamy texture with flavors of cocoa and black pepper. The retrohale has some baking spice and an interesting fruit sweetness.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“The first third didn’t disappoint! Right away with the first few puffs was this sweet and chocolaty flavor along with smooth velvety smoke! There was a bit of a spicy kick on the retrohale towards the end of the third.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
“The flavor profile in the second third takes a major turn. The sweetness and creamy texture of the first third are gone, replaced by a whole new range of flavors. This second third is dominated by dry mineral flavors, mixed with hints of leather and coffee. The finish brings in some floral notes and a muddy vegetal flavor on the retrohale.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
“The cedar is picking up a little char. The addition of leather adds a nice depth to the profile along with the remnants of coffee. The pepper from the first third has pretty much faded. This cigar still has a great balance of flavors.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“The exhale is cedar, cream, and cinnamon. The profile remains much the same as the second which is very enjoyable.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“Going into the final third flavors begin to mellow back out. Slight bit of a peppery spice on the retro and a nice nutty chewy finish to this smoke!” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 93
Blind Cigar Review: Southern Draw | Firethorn
“The draw was pretty prefect throughout the smoke.” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Burn: 95
“A covered or shaggy foot can sometimes lead to a crooked burn line, but this cigar was good almost all the way. The burn may not have been a perfect 90 degree angle, but it stayed consistent and required no touch-ups.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Construction: 96
“This cigar felt and looked perfect! Held a nice ash throughout the smoke!” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
“I really enjoyed this cigar and would recommend it to friends. It had a classic profile which will make me come back to it time and again.” –Matt C. (Big Matt)
“I wanted to love it. It started out with such promise that I wanted to love it. A cigar that is complex should transition to different flavors and take me on a journey. It forces me to pay attention even more to the smoking experience. The fact is, this cigar did tell a story, but it didn’t make sense. There was complexity, but it wasn’t cohesive. It was like three chapters from different books. The flavor profiles in each third were polar opposites. I think a cigar should logically transition from one profile to the next. The differences in flavor profiles should compliment each other, not compete against each other.” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Blind Cigar Review: Southern Draw | Firethorn
“With a lot of cigars I find the cedar to be a bit heavy handed, not so with this one. The transition from a mature cedar to slightly charred then to a young sweeter one was very nice. The addition of hay, grass and leather paired well with the background flavors of nuts, coffee and cocoa. This cigar certainly offered me a very pleasant smoking experience.” –Gregg (McGreggor57)
“I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these again! Not only did the cigar look great it really delivered on dynamic flavors!!” –Ashley C. (Ashley C.)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 85
Reviewer
Appearance
Aroma
1/3
2/3
3/3
Draw
Burn
Constr.
Overall
Experience
Matt C.
95
88
90
90
87
88
95
95
90
Matthew T.
95
88
90
88
85
95
95
85
85
Gregg
95
90
95
95
90
90
95
95
95
Ashley C.
100
100
97
97
95
97
100
97
100
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Cigar Info
