Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye (2023) – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Last year, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust announced the return of a previous store exclusive into a regular production cigar at the 2023 PCA Convention & Trade Show in July. The Red Meat Lovers Club made its mark in 2019 as a Smoke Inn exclusive in South Florida. This line is now a nationally available cigar and with the launch came two new vitolas, the Filet Mignon and Porterhouse, signaling a significant expansion from its initial limited edition status.

Crafted with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, paired with a Mexican San Andrés negro binder, and filled with a blend of tobaccos from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania, the Red Meat Lovers Club series offers a distinctive smoking experience. While the original 6 x 56 toro gordo size did not join the national rollout, the 6 x 52 toro (Ribeye), introduced in December 2020, will be included alongside the new offerings and is the focus of our review today. The other current sizes are: Red Meat Lovers Club Beef Stick (6 x 48), Red Meat Lovers Club Filet Mignon (5 x 54), Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye (6 x 52), and Red Meat Lovers Club Porterhouse (6 x 60).

Unique in its presentation, the Beef Stick stands out as the sole round cigar in the collection, with the remaining vitolas featuring a box-pressed design. Each variant is available in 10-count boxes. The entire Red Meat Lovers Club line is produced at the Nicaragua American Cigar S.A. (NACSA) facility in Estelí.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Pennsylvania, Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigar S.A. (NACSA)
Blender: Steve Saka
Number of reviewers: 5 – Bradlee W. (Brad W.) Jason A. (Jason A.) Fred L. (Fred L.) Doug S. (Unpossible_1) Mickey T. (irratebass)
Price: $15.45
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: September 2023
Contributed by: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

Initial Impressions – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye (2023)

Appearance: 96

“Swarthy, looking wrapper, excellently wrapped with a healthy showing of toothiness, finished with both a sharp box-press and a pigtail cap.” –Fred L. (Fred L.)

Aroma: 94

“Heavy barnyard scent on the body and foot (not a bad thing).” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The pre-light: sweet chocolate upfront, woods, earth, and pepper.
Upfront a very heavy flavor of charred oak with a slight fruity sweetness followed by hints of leather and earth with a subtly fruity and white pepper aftertaste. As the cigar burns down a slightly more caramel flavor comes in with the charred oak taking the forefront. The spice drops off as well, replaced with a very buttery smooth smoke.” –Fred L. (Fred L.)

“So far in the first third, those flavor notes (earth, fermented fruit, plum, cocoa) have built from the initial light up. There's a long finish, and a nice mild to medium body on the mouth feel the smoke is creamy, almost chalky, but tolerable. There's a nice cabinet spice note on the foot smoke. As the first third ends, there's a deep fermented fruity note with a little bit of cocoa and a very slight slight slight white pepper. Overall the ashes burning straight, white, and hot with dimes noted to be stacked. Money!” –Bradlee W. (Brad W.)

Second Third

Flavor: 92
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“No real changes in this third, which is fine. I did eventually v-cut this cigar because I was getting tar build up. This really helped with the draw. Strength is still at a medium.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

“The peppery earth notes are still dominating easily all the way up to the halfway point. Add in a finish of strong bold coffee to really hit it home. Another interesting thing to note is how sneaky the strength is in this. Doesn't really hit you but it's definitely there.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)

Final Third

Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“The final third of the cigar continued with the same balanced notes of cream, dusky cocoa and fermented flavor. Very rich flavors as the cigar nubs out with a kick in body as the cigar was ending. The cigars construction was excellent scoring it very high in my review. The ash was nicely packed, tight and fell off appropriately in 1.5” chunks. ” –Bradlee W. (Brad W.)

“Well the cigar stayed true to it's form and kept the same flavor profile and strength. Really nothing else to add, and that's ok with me. It was an enjoyable smoke.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Overall Impressions – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye (2023)

Draw: 93

“I tore the pigtail off, and it was fine, but then it had tar build up so I v-cut it and that helped. Plenty of smoke output, no complaints.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Burn: 90

“One touch up in each of the first two thirds. Otherwise good burn.” –Jason A. (Jason A.)

Construction: 93

“Immaculate construction, everything from the wrapper selection to the sharp box-pressed body is expertly executed on: A+” –Fred L. (Fred L.)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 93

“Plum, earth, fermented tobacco, cream and dusky cocoa.” –Bradlee W. (Brad W.)

“Decent medium-bodied cigar, no strength. Not a flavor bomb by any means. Not much on flavor transitions. Similar notes throughout.” –Jason A (Jason A.)

“A truly excellent cigar. While not overly complex, there were plenty of big rips of full-flavored smoke to be had. The construction and box-pressed body were flawless and the delivery of flavors were consistent. Certainly in the medium-full range, I can easily see this cigar paired with a ribeye steak and a hearty glass of red wine.” –Fred L. (Fred L.)

“Looking at a cigar like this, you kind of feel like you know what you're going to get. And sometimes it's nice when that holds true if it is something you typically enjoy. Good and hearty, with rich bold flavors make for a great session in the cold weather. I'm glad I got the opportunity and look forward to discovering what it is, so I can smoke it again to pair with a delicious coffee stout. It feels like they would be made for each other and I'm happy to find out for you.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)

“Overall this was a very good cigar and I would smoke it again. Lots of sweet tobacco, cherry notes and wood throughout. My only dig was there were too many relights, and not sure if it was me or the weather. I'd recommend picking up a fiver. It was a good 2hr smoke for me.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 98

To view the complete scores and notes, click here

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye – Blind Cigar Review