Monday, October 5, 2026

Dunbarton Cigars DTT 10th Jubilee in Review

BRAND: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
BLEND: DTT 10th Jubilee

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Sumatra Negra
BINDER: Mexican Claro
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: 5.63x48 pig-tail cap
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

Bright spices | Praline | Brushed Leather

NOTES:
Sumac & Coriander sounds like an over-priced 'Gastropub' that operates sans menu. Notes italicized above are laid atop a sand castle underbelly. The praline is of a French varietal with the added amuse-bouche amusement of subbing-out more typical nuts for macadamias. Brushed Leather is NOT suede.

Combustion starts on a stutter-step stride, smooths continuously throughout. As it does milk chocolate and a yeasty maltiness become apparent. As do wildflower and flinty nods. Nice 'nuff complexities; could use a tick more depth. Olfactory does important and good work in building harmony via filling blanks.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: B+
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B+
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

Should receive an honorary mention in the next Cigars of the Month listing.

::: very ::: 

Friday, October 2, 2026

Dunbarton Cigars Red Meat Lovers Spicy Beef Stick in Review

BRAND: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
BLEND: Red Meat Lovers (RML)

WRAPPER: US Connecticut Broadleaf
BINDER: San Andres Negro
FILLER: Nicaraguan, American

FORMAT: "Spicy Beef Stick" (648)
closed-foot&flat-head
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Med.-Full/Full
SPICE: 4.5/5

Black Pepper | New Orleans Coffee | Leather

NOTES:
A no bull-shit straight-shootin' son-of-a-gun. Sometimes I like being lied to, though. Very consistent smoke; dutifully earning its nom de puff with each and every puff. Cracked black pepper. Boots, belts, and saddle leathers. N'awlins style Cafe du Monde Coffee (& Chicory). Minerality-laced powdery underpinning at back-end--a taste of tzimmes right prior that.

Not exactly my cup of tea, but a sterling example of that kinda cuppa.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Monday, September 28, 2026

Dunbarton Cigars Sobremesa Tapa Negra in Review

BRAND: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
BLEND: Sobremesa Tapa Negra

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Shade | Nicaraguan Sungrown
BINDER: San Andres Negro
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (652)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Mild-med/Medium
SPICE: 1.5/5

White chocolate | Macadamia Nuts | Buttery Suede

NOTES:
Takes a couple ticks to calm down and open up. How is your mom? There's a learning curve to drawing in something quite different than what's on your lips (Shade/Sungrown). Makes full sense sometime in the opening-third. Becomes a nice creamy-sweet thing with nuff white pepper to keep one honest.

Still smooth to the point of lacking some in structure. Complexity is nice but mellow and needs looked for. A quiet smoke. Hints of lemon cleanse well. Slight dandelion dalliances. Salted caramel comes on in a mid-way shift toward dessert notes. Ends in a black pepper shot of espresso at the nub.

TASTE: A-
DRAW: B+
BURN: A
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Friday, September 25, 2026

Kaplowitz Media. Cigars of the Month for September 2026

Kaplowitz Media.
Cigars of the Month
for September 2026


(listed in alphabetical order)
(names are links to full reviews)

Room101 Johnny Tobacconaut Maduro

That's the list. Hey, maybe check out these links...

Brand Spotlights:
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
La Gloria Cubana
Villiger

Cigars of the Month 2026 Index

::: very :::