Wrapper: Dominican Republic
Binder: Mexican San Andres Negro
Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 50)
Purchase Link: Sir Winston Churchill The Traveler 2019
WINSTON CHURCHILL THE TRAVELER REVIEW – CALIFORNIA
Summary: Spice and cream on the pre-light. First few puffs bring to mind a spicy Cuban. Leather and aged tobacco. Caramel corn deliciousness.
Honey bran muffins kick off the second third as I tap off a solid chunk of ash. The burn is a bit wavy so I'm touching it up because I'm pretentious. Potpourri on the retro hale.
The razor-sharp burn is back in the final third. Bran and cream sweetness with more dried flowers. Nubbed it.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Spring picnics.
Pairing Suggestion: Rye.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box.
WINSTON CHURCHILL THE TRAVELER REVIEW – WISCONSIN
Summary: This cigar brought piles of cedar, along with peanut, spice, salt, and a popcorn finish. The profile was heavily dominated by the cedar.
The draw was looser than I'd prefer, though the burn and ash were both completely fine. Overall, this cigar just wasn't a match for my palate. The long popcorn finish was quite nice, though.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: If you like cedar a lot. Perhaps if you live amongst cedar chips, like a gerbil or hamster.
Pairing Suggestion: Sweet tea.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Single.
WINSTON CHURCHILL THE TRAVELER REVIEW – OREGON
Summary: This week’s cigar is a nice looking robusto and feels like it’s packed just perfectly. The cold draw has a nice resistance and has some floral notes right at the front and a little bit of dry hay and nutmeg at the end.
The beginning flavors of dark toast sprinkled with cinnamon are really enjoyable and join with a relatively heavy floral or sharp citrus note. In the retro hale, I’m getting the same dark toast and cinnamon flavors, but the citrus note is very recognizable as orange peel. Wrapping up the whole flavor train is a perfect amount of pepper spice reminding you of this cigar has just a little kick.
In the middle of the cigar the flavors have turned from toast to more wood flavored notes, but it still combined with the citrus, some pepper and just a little bit of a lasting bitterness on the tongue.
Moving into the final section, warm cedar flavors with cinnamon and cereal grains mix with a very light pepper spice for the feature act. On the palate there is still a short-lasting orange peel flavor that adds a nice twist.
Mechanically, this cigar was far from perfect. The burn was a little bit erratic from the very start, I encountered a small tunnel in the middle section, and the ash was relatively flaky off and on.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Back porch summer vacation contemplations.
Pairing Suggestion: Light-bodied Porter.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Fiver.
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
