(Description taken from Dunbartoncigars.com website)
Our Master Ligador, Steve Saka, while known for being one of the world’s foremost cigar experts has also been a pipe smoker for over three decades. For many years he has casually crafted handmade cigars incorporating some of his favorite pipe tobaccos into blends for his own personal consumption. While he would typically use “English” style blends, he would also mix it up with a few Aromatics, Orientals and others. While he enjoys his pipe smoking, cigars remain his first love and doing this allowed him to combine the flavors and aromas only a pipe could offer into his beloved puros.
When he told this practice to Jeremy Reeves, the head blender of the famed pipe tobacco maker Cornell & Diehl, who himself is also a cigar smoker, everyone’s wheels began spinning at the possibilities. Earnest work began to create a unique, refined smoking experience combining our shared passions.
StillWell Star is the world’s first luxury pipe tobacco cigar.
Cigars incorporating pipe tobaccos into their mix is not new, but almost universally they are unbearably sweet, utilize marginal pipe and cigar tobaccos and are rather simple, heavy handed blends that afford the smoker little sophistication or balance. In short, not the type of cigars that Saka smokes.
StillWell Star is a totally different approach.
All of the cigar and pipe tobaccos used are amongst the finest available, no expenses spared. Each of the pipe tobacco recipes is meticulously crafted in small batches by Reeves utilizing only the best tobaccos and techniques. And each of the cigar ligas was carefully tailored by Saka to specifically showcase and enhance the nuances that each of the pipe blends add to the cigar.
The end result is a truly mesmerizing smoking experience. Four unique cigars each with its own personality, deftly blended to afford the smoker the nuances of the flavors and aromas of the pipe blends, yet working in concert with the black cigar tobaccos. Balance, measured, refined and elegant are all hallmarks of StillWell Star.
All 4 cigars come in a 6 x 52 size and boxes of 13.
All 4 cigars look alike with the exception of the band at the foot which designates the blend name.
I received this cigar along with the other 3 in a press packet. Only one cigar of each blend was sent. I do not like reviewing a cigar with only one sample but I decided to do so. It's sort of a quasi blind review. I know nothing about the cigar other than what's on the website. I do not know what to expect. I will review all 4 blends this way.
Today we look at the Bayou no. 32.
A combination of Bright and Red Virginia leaf with the most select St. James Parish Perique pipe tobacco added to a medium-bodied Nicaraguan puro.
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: San Andres Negro Cultivo Tonto
Filler: Various
The cigar, like the others, has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were somewhat in line with a standard cigar; citrus peel, peach, and leather. There was black pepper rated at 7. Interesting start.
At the first third (32 minutes) the cigar is improving as it goes. By and large you have the same flavor notes but they have switched intensities. The citrus peel has pulled back, the peach notes are sweet and pronounced, brown sugar, and a somewhat subdued leather. The finish is peach with pretty good lingering black pepper. The cigar is currently medium bodied. At this point the cigar is quite good. I rated the first third 92.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 16 minutes) black coffee appeared out of nowhere, and it was in abundance and somewhat earthy. The other notes are still in play but they have been reduced by the large amount of coffee. Plus, there is also some bitterness in the cigar. Needless to say the cigar made a big change. The finish is still peach with a minute amount of black coffee and very good lingering black pepper. I would say the cigar is now medium to full bodied. The cigar took a step back. I rated the second third 88.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 40 minutes. The cigar stayed true from the second third through the end. The only change was the bitterness reduced quite a bit. The coffee is elevated and the sweeter notes are subdued. The finish is now light peach and nutmeg with very good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium to full bodied. I held 88 for the final third. The cigar is not bad but I didn't find it very appealing after the first third.
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