Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
In 2017 Southern Draw Cigars unveiled its second Connecticut Shade offering, the Rose of Sharon. The Rose of Sharon is the company’s second Connecticut Shade cigar following up the QuickDraw Connecticut. While the QuickDraw Connecticut is a line that focuses on smaller, thinner connoisseur sizes, the Rose of Sharon offers a different blend in a box-press format utilizing what can be considered more traditional sizes for the U.S. market. The cigar pays tribute to Southern Draw Cigars’ Chief Evangelist and Founder Robert Holt‘s wife Sharon.
In addition to the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Rose of Sharon features Nicaraguan tobaccos in the binder and filler. The filler also utilizes Dominican Piloto Cubano. As with all Southern Draw Cigars, the Rose of Sharon is produced at AJ Fernandez’s Tabacalera Fernandez.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan (Viso, Seco); Dominican Piloto Cubano (Ligero)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (Tabacalera Fernandez)
Toro: 6 x 52
The cigar is a light brown in color and features a closed foot.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good even with the closed foot. The initial flavors were sweet cream, pink grapefruit, brown sugar, cinnamon, and black coffee. There was also black pepper which I rated at a 7. There was quite of pepper on the finish at the outset The finish started out as a buttery cream.
2 inches in (24 minutes) the pink grapefruit seems to be more of a straight citrus flavor. Now there are the addition of caramel notes. The cigar has a touch of bitterness but the caramel notes hold down the sharpness of the bitter notes. The cream notes seem to have developed into caramel notes. The coffee holds the base and the pepper remains good. The cigar is mild to medium at this point. The finish is now a straight cream with some lingering black pepper. The first third score is an 86.
At the midpoint (40 minutes) I noticed white chocolate notes. They were semi-sweet but they gave the flavors a thickness. Your flavors are a pink grapefruit (it seemed to move back to that), caramel, light brown sugar, light cinnamon, and semi-sweet white chocolate with a coffee base. The bitterness is still hanging around. I find you have that sometimes with a Connecticut wrapper. The pepper is still pretty good and the finish is unchanged. The midpoint score is an 86.
At the 2/3 point (59 minutes) the only thing that has changed is the strength. It is now medium to full bodied. The other flavor notes are still in play. Since nothing changed but the strength I am maintaining a score of 86 for the 2/3 point.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 15 minutes. There were no flavor changes from the final third to the end. The strength remained at medium to full bodied. I found this to be a good, average Connecticut cigar with below average sweetness and some bitterness. It was enjoyable but not remarkable. With no changes the final third score was also an 86.
Overall Score: 86
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