Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
At the 2022 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust launched the first size of what is being dubbed Mi Querida Black SakaKhan.
Mi Querida Black actually made its debut at the end of 2021 as a part of the JR Cigar 50th Anniversary series. At the time the cigar wasn’t called Mi Querida, but the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Limited Edition EM Maduro. The EM Maduro was a limited 500 box run. When the project was announced, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust owner Steve Saka explained a bit about the naming of the project:
This is a prototype of a Mi Querida liga we’re developing as a possible addition to our brand portfolio,” Steve says. “Our current code name for the project is “MQ Black” as it is intended to be ringed with black bands.” “It is only fitting that this cigar first be used to celebrate JR Cigar’s 50th Anniversary as its inspiration was the maduro cigars that Ed McVey, the longtime cigar buyer, and I smoked during our tenure over two decades ago at JR.
Saka has now made the decision to take the Mi Querida Black blend and introduce it nationally. While Saka has stopped short of officially calling this Mi Querida Black, it appears that will be the moniker for now. He is launching the blend in the same size as the EM Maduro – a 7 1/4 x 54 parejo, but is calling the cigar SakaKhan.
The name SakaKhan comes from a nickname Saka got when he was in the Navy. It’s not the first time Saka has used the SakaKhan name. It was the name of a 7 x 50 vitola in the original Mi Querida (Blue) line for a cigar distributed by Meier & Dutch.
Saka mentioned he is going with one size because of the availability of the tobaccos, and that blended to the 7 1/4 x 54 size is what he has done thus far. As for the blend, it features a Connecticut Broadleaf No. 1 Dark wrapper, a San Andres binder, and a combination of Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican fillers. The cigars are still packaged in ten-count boxes and described as limited production.
Blend and Origin
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf No.1 Dark
Binder: San Andres Negro
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaraguan American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)
Vitolas Available
SakaKhan: 7 1/4 x 54
The cigar is very dark and large. It has a very good feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were citrus peel, brown sugar, nutmeg, light leather, and bakers chocolate. There was black pepper rated at 7. A dark, lightly sweet start.
At the first third (34 minutes) I had the exact same flavor notes. There's not a lot of sweetness in this cigar. It takes quite a bit of sweetness to overtake citrus peel and the bakers chocolate has no sweetness. The finish is bakers chocolate with average to good lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The cigar's lack of sweetness holds it back. I rated the first third 91.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 6 minutes) the cigar continued to burn evenly. In this section I had light citrus peel, light brown sugar, light nutmeg, increased bakers chocolate, and light leather. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The finish is bakers chocolate and leather with good lingering black pepper. The sweetness continues to suffer. I rated the second third 88.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 34 minutes. It stayed on the same path losing a little more sweetness. There are now hints of citrus peel and brown sugar, light nutmeg, light leather, and quite a bit of bakers chocolate. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged with very good lingering black pepper. The bakers chocolate notes are nice but they need sweetness to even them out. Unfortunately this cigar does not have much sweetness and there's even less now. I rated the final third 86.
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