Video review HERE.
Caldwell Cigar Co. and Drew Estate have released the collaborative All Out Kings brand.
The collaborative project was announced last year at Cigar Federation's Cigar Safari where Robert Caldwell, Founder of Caldwell Cigar Co., Jonathan Drew, Founder of Drew Estate, and Willy Herrera, Master Blender of Drew Estate, led the tours blending session where attendees collaborated together with Caldwell, Drew and Herrera to create blends and lay out the rules they couldn’t break.
Jonathan Drew from his Wynwood, Miami Safe House stated, “Collaboration with Caldwell and Willy was super fresh. It was great to watch the magic come together from each of the crews . There is a lot of creativity birthed into ALL OUT KINGS, which will resonate from the cigar taste profile to the imagery that smashes the expected. This is an extended family collaborative that knows how to get down.”
All out Kings debuts with Tobaccos from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Esteli, Nicaragua including Connecticut Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano Wrapper, with Indonesia Sumatra Binder, and filler comprised of Jalapa Viso, Esteli Viso, Dominican C-98 Seco, and Connecticut Broadleaf Ligero. When asked about the blend, Willy Herrera, from Miami, Florida noted “Working with Caldwell was challenging because he is very specific on what he likes and does not like with a maduro blend. Creating a cigar that he could enjoy while still staying true and giving it my signature spice was a delicate balance that I looked for in our numerous blending sessions at Joya and Drew.”
All out Kings will be released in four sizes: Smash (5 x 52) REVIEWED TODAY, Gimme your Lunch Money (5 ¾ x 46), Foreverlast (6 ½ x 54), and The Fourth Pose (6 x 54). The project is packaged in 20 count boxes.
The cigar is dark and oily. It is very well made with little to no flaws. It has an average feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a ton of dark notes; earthy black coffee and leather, There is some sweetness in the form of dry cedar and sweet cream. The flavors break down into a 70/30 split, dark notes to sweeter notes. There was black pepper rated at a 7.
One inch in (15 minutes) the leather notes have decreased while the black coffee remains prominent. In the place of the leather notes, or at least overshadowing them are dark chocolate notes. The cedar has a little twang to it now. The sweetness is somewhat elevated now also. The flavor split now is 60/40, dark notes to sweet notes. The cigar is medium bodied and moving toward medium to full bodied. The finish is a sweet cream with a touch of dark chocolate and a modest amount of lingering black pepper.
At the midpoint (32 minutes) the darker notes are still the lead flavor. The leather notes have returned. The cedar still has a twang with some sweetness. I am not getting the cream notes any longer except on the finish. At times I get a dry cocoa on the cedar. The cigar is medium to full bodied now. The lingering pepper on the finish has increased. 
The cigar lasted 56 minutes. It did not change much except that in the final third I got some of the vegetable/root flavors in the mix. The earthy coffee, leather, and dark chocolate notes were still the dominant flavors. The cedar lost it's twang but it still had flashes of dry cocoa and the vegetable/root flavors mixed in. The pepper on the front end did not change. The cigar was medium to full bodied. This was a very dark noted cigar with very little sweetness. If you like that type of cigar you will like this cigar. For me, it missed the mark. I like dark notes but they have to be evened out with some sweet notes. These cigar sell for around $12 each. There is a lot of hype about these cigars and for me they miss the mark.
Score: 89
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