Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Robusto (5” x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description provided by Alec Bradley Cigars)

Alec Bradley announces the launch of Safe Keepings, a new brand that will feature blends made according to recipes recorded in the Alec Bradley founder’s blend book.

Alec Bradley brand ambassador Bradley Rubin explained, “When we felt the time was right, we opened the blend book and started to do a deep dive on the blend recipes inside. Together with the team, we selected the first blend we wanted to roll out. Alec Bradley Safe Keepings honors the blend legacy of the Alec Bradley cigar brand while giving us the opportunity to move forward with resources we never would have been able to access before. Alec and I are extremely proud of what Safe Keepings represents, and that’s a nod to the past and a glance into the future of the brand.”

Alec Bradley Safe Keepings is a Nicaraguan puro, crafted by Oliva at Tabolisa, featuring tobaccos from pristine fields in Esteli, Condega and Jalapa. The blend is built on a foundation of Jalapa, Condega and Esteli Criollo 98 tobaccos, and both its wrapper and binder are Nicaraguan Habano. The experience is medium-to-full-bodied with notes of pepper, spice and cocoa.

The line is being launched with four sizes that ship in June and will become a permanent addition to the Alec Bradley cigar brand portfolio. Each of the frontmarks comes in 24-count boxes.

Available vitolas:

Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Corona (5.37 x 46); SRP per cigar $10.49

Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Robusto (5” x 52): SPR per cigar $12.29 REVIEWED TODAY

Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Toro (6” x 52); SRP per cigar $13.89

Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Gordo (6” x 60); SRP per cigar $15.19

The cigar is nicely made and has an average feel in the hand.

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were a lime citrus, brown sugar, and earthy leather. There was black pepper rated at 7 1/2. 

At the first third (21 minutes) that ash was still intact. There were light lime and brown sugar notes, earthiness, light leather, and black coffee. There is also a roasted nut element; something like almond. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is leather with very good lingering black pepper. The mix is dark and not overly sweet but it's working at the moment. I rated the first third 92.

As I moved through the second third (40 minutes) there is plenty of leather and black coffee and the black pepper is mixing well with those two. But the sweeter notes are light. The cigar is medium bodied but leaning toward medium to full. The finish is unchanged. The increased dark notes have hurt the cigar. I rated the second third 90.

The cigar lasted 1 hour 2 minutes. The sweetness elevated. Now the predominant sweet notes is more of an apricot with brown sugar. The nuttiness is gone. There's still plenty of leather, earthiness, and black coffee but not as dominant. There's a lot of black pepper mixing well with the notes. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. The cigar got pretty nice again. I rated the final third 92.

Overall Score: 91.33