Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1 – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust launched one of the cigars with the most buzz at the PCA tradeshow in 2021. The new line, StillWell Star, uses pipe tobacco in the blend of a premium cigar. Earlier this year, we reviewed the Navy No. 1056 and gave it a 92. Now we will be taking a look at the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1.

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust founder and master blender Steve Saka has been a pipe smoker for 30 years. Prior to the launch of StillWell Star, he hadn't talked about it much publicly, but it is a part of his smoking life. Occasionally when making test blends or personal blends, he would use pipe tobacco just to experiment. He usually gravitated toward“English” style pipe tobacco but sometimes would go for Aromatics, Orientals, and some others. Saka mentioned to Jeremy Reeves, the head blender of the famed pipe tobacco maker Cornell & Diehl, who himself is also a cigar smoker, that he was using pipe tobacco in his personal blends. The two of them collaborated from there eventually created StillWell Star. He says cigars will always be his main focus, but this project allows him to combine two of his passions into completely unique flavor profile.

While other companies has incorporated pipe tobacco in cigars before, Saka says that he found those to be too sweet or not use high enough quality tobacco or use too much pipe tobacco so that it takes over the flavor profile. StillWell Star is a different approach with the cigar and pipe tobaccos coming from the highest quality available with no expense spared. Each of the pipe tobacco recipes is made in small batches by Reeves (Cornell & Diehl) with the cigar blends being tailored by Saka to specifically showcase and enhance the nuances of that specific pipe tobacco.

StillWell Star comes in 4 different blends : Aromatic No. 1, English No. 27, Bayou No. 32, and Navy No. 1056. All the blends only come in one size, a 6 x 52 toro and in boxes of 13. They are produced at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua, S.A. Each also have the same price tag at $15.30. All four blends use the same high priming Grade A Ecuador Habano wrapper and San Andres Negro binder. The fillers are different for each as they include different pipe tobacco, and different long filler cigar tobacco to compliment.

Aromatic No. 1 uses aromatic Black Cavendish, Golden Virginia and Burley pipe tobaccos which the company says translates to a “delightfully smooth and room pleasing smoking experience.” This blend is the only of the four to feature a sweetened tip and is described as mild-medium bodied.

The name StillWell Star comes from Saka's interpretation of his own pipe smoking experiences. “Due to the nature of pipes, they are a contemplative process in which one needs to be ‘still' in order to be rewarded with the feeling of wellness. ‘Be Still, Be Well' is the origin of StillWell Star.”

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Mexican San Andrés
Filler: Nicaragua, Black Cavendish, Golden Virginia, Burley
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua, S.A.
Blender: Steve Saka
Number of reviewers: 4 – Alan (Eulogy) Sean F. (fullermaine) Ryan H. (Ryan H.) Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
Price: $15.30
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: December 2021
Contributed by: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

Initial Impressions – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1

Appearance: 88

“A 6 x 50 mottled multicolored wrapper, some dark spots some light spots. moderately veined. No oily sheen can be detected as a very dry and flat characteristic. The cigar is very light in the hand.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)

Aroma: 91

“This is clearly a flavored cigar. The artificial smell reminds me of Chocolate Rice Krispies with a touch of baking spice and barnyard. There are natural chocolate flavors in cigars and this is not it. Still, it smells like childhood and I don't hate it.” –Alan (Eulogy)

First Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The taste of coffee and chocolate are just too real, sweetness can be tasted on the lips post draw. The draw is very good burn is very good and the strength of the cigar is so mild. I am getting no hints or signs of spice at all.  As soon as I say that a little spice does appear.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)

“The sweet vanilla and sugar notes give way to black pepper notes.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

Second Third

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

“The flavors are the same as the previous third but I'm chalking that up as a win. A lot of times the artificial flavors start to fall off pretty quickly but this tastes like Cocoa Pebbles, vanilla, baking spice, bread, mild pepper, cedar, and brown sugar.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“These flavors are continuing into the second third of holiday dark chocolate fruit candy flavor, there are some new light flavors of salty dough flavors. Retrohale is still a strong sweet pipe tobacco flavor with a pick-up of red pepper spice that does seem to take a little away from the retrohale flavor. This is a very rich sweet cigar continuing with a thick mouthfeel.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Final Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The flavors have started to dull just a bit but I can still taste what it is supposed to be. It isn't as sweet as it was previously but it is still very chocolatey. Holiday baking spice, vanilla, cedar, bread, tobacco, and mild pepper play in the chocolate notes.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“The burn and draw performed famously while the profile was quite complex and both balanced and smooth. I get earth, creamed coffee, and a good combination of bitter notes kind of took away from it.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)

Overall Impressions – Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1

Draw: 93

“For me, this was a great draw on it. I was able to pull air and flavor through the cigar with no issues.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Burn: 96

“Perfect burn from beginning to end. No touch-up needed.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

Construction: 90

“Besides for the burn in the start of the smoke, this was a quality made smoke. The feel felt well made, and the flavors were so consistent. The last third however did start smoking faster than the first part of the cigar.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

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

“I think this is excellent for what it is. As a flavored cigar, it is very good. It reminds me of high-quality pipe tobacco but the flavors are far easier to discern. To me, it feels more like a cold weather or holiday blend and it is when I reach for this kind of pipe tobacco. It is an interesting cigar and if you enjoy either pipe tobacco or flavored cigars this would easily be worth a try.” –Alan (Eulogy)

“While not a big fan of infused cigars, this one was a pleasure to smoke. Dark chocolate on the cold draw with a nice mix of sugar, vanilla, and black pepper. A nice mid-afternoon or dessert cigar. I'd try this again and add to my humidor.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“The cigar was not a lost cause, the profile is balanced it has a good profile and I thoroughly enjoyed smoking it. It was a little light for me, but the notes produced tasted very well.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)

“This was a very sweet deep dark chocolate fruity smoke. I don't often like sweet smoking cigars but this one was very enjoyable. The retrohale was very different with complex sweetness, red pepper bursts, and pipe tobacco flavor to it. I would really like to have a couple more of these to try and possibly consider adding to my humidor. For the blind tasting, I had Mexican mineral water but I believe a good bourbon or peaty scotch would pair excellently with this smoke.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 78

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust StillWell Star Aromatic No. 1 – Blind Cigar Review