Howdy, folks! 

As we kick this Wednesday off, I’m more excited than ever to share my experience with an amazing cigar that I’ve just been blazing through for the month of July.  

One of the coolest things about this cigar is the ‘smokeability’ factor.  If that’s a thing.  I’ve handed this cigar to folks that are just getting into the hobby as well as grizzled cigar veterans, and everyone around me agrees that it’s the best daily choice when the sun goes down.  And I’ve been passing around Davidoff, Opus, Byrons, Padron, and rare Tats – it’s not for a lack of options that they’ve come to enjoy this cigar so much. 

Our exclusive The King is Dead Sleeping Beauty begins with a sweet, earthy sensation, dusty chocolate graham crackers, and a pinch of dried fruit.  Depending on the day, the dried fruit will lend a bit of a sour note to the first few moments of this cigar; other times it takes on an apple-like presence through the nose. 

Once we put about an inch of ash on this cigar, earthy components subside and give way to a sublime, chocolatey nature.  In fact, ‘round these parts we’ve nicknamed it the Choco-latte since explaining the full name to newcomers is a hassle when handing them out.

Depending on where you’re at in the cigar, how low you’ve cut it, and your smoking pace, you can expect to sense the following nuances:

•      Whoppers Candy
•      Chocolate Graham Cracker
•      Bitter, Baker’s Chocolate
•      Mocha
•      Cocoa Powder sprinkled on rough-side-out cattle-hide leather
•      Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind everyone that this isn’t a flavored cigar, but rather an exceptional use by Caldwell and Andrew of the Dominican Negrito wrapper leaf.  I find that a few touch-ups are called for with every Long Live the King vitola, but this wrapper more than makes up for these moments with an impressive array of tasting notes.

Suggestions

If you haven’t yet sampled what I believe to be the best shop exclusives on the planet, I’d highly suggest that you try the Small Batch Exclusives Sampler that I’ll link below. There’s a very good chance that you’ll find a couple of new favorites in there somewhere.  Or you can click here to go directly to the cigar I spoke about today. 

For this particular vitola, my suggestion is to cut low on this perfecto for an effortless draw and amazing flavors.  If you cut below the glue holding it together, just lick the wrapper back into place with your tongue and know that it’s a better alternative than cutting too high for this stick.  There’s just something about this blend that requires a lot of airflow to make the magic happen.  

View Exclusives Sampler