I’ve been hiking a lot lately and wanted to share my favorite cigar to take on the trails! It took a lot of trial and error, but I finally found the absolute best cigar to hike with this year in Dunbarton’s Stillwell Star Holiday Edition 2022. Here’s why:
Staying Power
You might think I’m talking about the ability of a cigar to command our attention, but I think the most important thing about hiking with a cigar is how it will affect other hikers. Cigar smoke lingers in the air long after we’ve passed, and I’ve found myself exploring different schools of thought over the summer to accommodate our non-smoking friends.
My first thought was to keep it light: hike with Cuban or Dominican cigars and allow their universally appreciated, pleasant aromas behind me. Then, I found out that not all aromas are quite so universally appreciated.
My second thought was to wait until I reached the summit and, upon finding myself alone in nature’s majesty, fire up a cigar of my choice. This approach worked quite well, although sometimes I had upwards of two hours coming or going that lacked a cigar in my hand.
Then I landed upon the StillWell Star Holiday Edition! These cigars have aromatic pipe tobaccos included in the filler with the delectable result of keeping my palate entertained without offending any passersby. So far I’ve only had compliments on the trails with the aroma carrying warm notes of vanilla and tobacco.
To be sure, there are tobaccos from Ecuador, Mexico, and Nicaragua in the blend. And the aroma is nowhere near as delicate or sweet as a bowl of pipe tobacco but it’s a lovely scent somewhere in the middle of cigar and a pipe.
Complexity
It takes a lot for me to commit a single cigar to a specific activity. I can’t think of a single time I’ve done so in the past! The sheer luxury of trying new blends, factories, master blenders, or sizes makes it all too exciting to grab something new each time.
That being said, the addition of pipe tobacco makes this blend fairly complex in the sense that each puff brings a little something new to mind. I really enjoy how I’ll sense various spicy notes after letting the cigar rest a bit or when dropping the ash, warm vanilla sensations on subsequent puffs, and various pastry sensations throughout.
I wouldn't say this cigar is the most complex blend on the market, but I would wholeheartedly endorse it for being able to keep my attention. And hats off to Steve Saka for keeping it extremely consistent – I can only imagine that task would be harder than ever by adding pipe tobacco to the filler leaves.
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