The Good Stuff:

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s Sin Compromiso is one of this year’s most highly anticipated / most sought after cigars. Making it’s debut at this year’s IPCPR show in Las Vegas Sin Compromiso or “Without Compromise” consists of tobaccos that were specifically grown just for this blend. Everyone knows just how picky, and meticulous Steve Saka, founder of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust can be so to hear that he went through the trouble of carefully picking and growing specific tobaccos to create such a unique experience creates a considerable amount of anticipation. The cigar starts with Nicaraguan filler tobaccos covered with an Ecuadorian Habano binder, then wrapper with a special San Andres Negro wrapper which is grown by using a similar process Japanese fruit farmers use. As the tobacco plant grows workers remove the bottle leaves of the plant which causes more nutrients to be consumed by the tap of the plant resulting in a much bolder tobacco leaf. The end result to all the hard work results in what Saka calls the blest blend he has ever created. 

The Sin Compromiso comes in five sizes: Espada Estoque (7 x 44), Seleccion Intrepido (5 2/3 x 46), No. 2 Torpedo (6 x 52), No. 5 Parejo (6 x 54), and the No. 7 Parejo (7 x 56). All come packaged in boxes of 13 running between $15.95 and $18.45 a stick. I purchased a handful of these over form our friends at Cigar Hustler. 

Size: 5.63 x 46
Wrapper: San Andres Negro 
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicararaguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium / Full
Price: $15.95
Pairing: Evil Twin Liquid Double Fudge (Imperial stout 12% ABV)

Prelight:

The Dunbarton Sin Compromiso starts out with a gorgeous, consistent dark brown wrapper. The color is incredibly consistent minus some very minor darker brown splotches located around the natural webbing in the wrapper leaf. The texture on the cigar is semi-toothy with a good amount of oils while the wrapper itself feels even thick and durable. The cigar is a little softer around the foot than the rest of the cigar, but that shouldn’t cause any issues. As a whole the Sin Compromiso is packed tightly, with a good wither to it. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself showcasing only mild veining as it runs up the cigar’s slender, soft box-pressed body leading up to it’s round triple cap. The cigar is polished off with an elegant black and white band with a cross on the front as well as a cedar sleeve with the cigar’s “Sin Compromiso” printed along the front. 

The wrapper on the Sin Compromiso gives of little more than some faint dark chocolate and spice aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more musk, spice, sweetness, and cedar. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The crowd draw produces really nice chocolate, nutmeg, cinnimon, musk, and cedar flavors which remind me a lot of Christmas. 

First Third:

The Sin Compromiso catches me off guard with a potent little cayenne pepper zing which lasted through the first few initial draws. After the pepper completes it’s exit I am greeted with some great rich dark chocolate flavors along with a mixture of cedar, musk, nutmeg and some really interesting floral undertones. The wrapper also leaves me with a bit of tartness on my lips. The draw is absolutely perfect pumping out gobs of thick white smoke with every little puff. I really love the soft box-press formats as they fit so comfortably in both my hand and mouth. The burn line is razor thin and very even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white ash which held on for just under an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sin Compromiso and the flavors are really mixing it up. The cigar now leads with a bold cedar and spice which wasn’t prominent at all at the start, backed by the great musk that I really enjoy, dark chocolate, and bold espresso. The retrohale is really bringing the spice out of the woodwork. The cigar is still burning perfectly and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick. 

Finish:

Into the final third of the Sin Compromiso and this is where the boldness really comes into play. The pepper has made it’s return, however its just enough to add an extra “umph” the profile that’s lead by cedar, dark chocolate, spice, musk and espresso backed by cinnamon and nutmeg. That’s right, those Christmas flavors I picked up in the cold draw have finally introduced themselves to the experience. It took my an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat. 

Overview:

The Sin Compromiso delivers on all fronts. The cigar started out complex and the rapid changeups in the profile really kept me on my toes. The flavor profile was incredible and really fit my personal preference. The cigar burned like a dream from start to finish and I never once had to reach for my torch to relight, or touch up the cigar. The price is a bit steep but given the amount of work and preparation that went into this cigar I don’t think it’s as expensive as I would have expected and I would (and have) gladly drop the coin to enjoy this cigar. 

Pairing:

Today’s pairing comes from our favorite Gypsy brewers, Evil Twin Brewing. Liquid Double Fudge is a 12% Imperial stout brewed with a whole mess of chocolate. The beer starts off with a huge amount of bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, and caramel with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing off with more vanilla, sweet chocolate and malt. Its a pretty simple beer, but a great one. I chose this particular beer as I really enjoyed the chocolate and musk notes in the Sin Compromiso and wanted to pair it with something that focused on those, without adding much more to the mix. This was perfect. 

The post Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sin Compromiso appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

This is an oldie, but goodie and it’s finally come time to review Drew Estate’s Liga Privada Ratzilla on Casas Fumando. The Ratzilla is the older brother of the long time favorite Dirty Rat. Both blends fall in the Unico category of the Liga Privada series and are known to be some of the strongest cigars out there. The cigar originally made its debut in 2012, but has come in and out of the scene over the past few years. It’s a rare cigar, but there are plenty of them out there. While the blend is almost identical to the Dirty Rat, the Ratzilla is slightly tweaked to match it’s format. The blend starts with a Connecticut Stalk Cut Habano wrapper, Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and filler tobaccos for Nicaragua and Honduras while coming in a single 6.25 x 46 format which runs $14 a stick.

Size: 6.25 x 46
Wrapper: Connecticut Stalk Cut Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $14
Pairing: Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break (Imperial Porter 11.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The Ratzilla starts out with an absolutely gorgeous dark brown wrapper. I have to say, the Liga Privada series have always had the most beautifully wrapped cigars. Anyways, the wrapper is a very dark brown with lots of areas of darker brown and orange scattered throughout the cigar. The texture is extremely toothy and extremely oily as oils actually get transferred to my skin as I inspect the cigar. The wrapper feels very dense and tough while the cigar as a whole is packed very, very tightly and is as hard as a rock. There as some very small veins as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the round, pigtailed cap. The cigar is polished off with the standard Liga Privada band with the word “Ratzilla” sketched across the front. I’ve always been a huge fan of how simple and elegant these bands were.

The Ratzilla’s wrapper gives off a very bold musk aroma surrounded by a lot of sweetness while the foot of the cigar is mostly spice and tobacco with some sweetness sprinkled in there. The cap of the cigar cut clean and easily using my double bladed Xikar cutter. The cold draw is very bold with lots of spice, pepper, black cherry, cedar, and musk.

First Third:

The Drew Estate Liga Privada Ratzilla didn’t start out with the pepper bomb I was expecting, in fact, there wasn’t much pepper at all. The cigar started out with some bold spice and sweet cedar over brown sugar, black cherry, and musk. It’s bold off the bat, but not as bold as the Dirty Rat is. The draw is perfect, despite being packed so tightly each little puff kicks out massive clouds of thick, white smoke. The cigar also unleashes a ton of stationary smoke as the oils burn off the wrapper while the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted, medium gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

As I make my way into the second third of the Ratzilla, a really bold floral flavor begins to coat the flavor profile. Its real deep, and almost blends in with the musk that was already present. The brown sugar, sweet cedar, and spice are still main contenders in the flavor matchup backed by the black cherry and a bit of cocoa and coffee. The retrohale really brings out the cedar and spice. The burn line is still dead even and I close out the second third with a slight little nicotine kick already.

Finish:

The strength has really ramped up into the final third of the Liga Privada Ratzilla. It started as a medium/full and was well into the full section by the second third, now it’s way, way up there. That being said, I don’t feel overpowered by strength. If this started as strong as the Dirty Rat did I would be on my knees by now. The flavor profile is now leading with cedar, musk, spice, and cocoa with mild coffee, black cherry, and the floral flavors have all but washed out. It took me almost 2 hours to smoke this bad boy down to the nub and I experienced no harshness, no extra head, and a great deal of nicotine so be ready for it.

Overview:

I am a huge fan of the Liga Privada lines, especially the Dirty Rat and No. 9. The Ratzilla fills the gap for when I am craving a Dirty Rat, but have more time to enjoy a smoke. It starts out smooth and light before finishing with a knockout flavor profile and tons of strength. This cigar is incredible and quite honestly one of the absolute best cigars I have smoked in a while. Too bad I only have a few left, but like I said earlier, they are still out there.

Pairing:

Yup, another Evil Twin. Who cares? I don’t. I love this brewery and all of it’s offerings. The Imperial Doughnut Break is a 11.5% ABV Imperial Porter loaded with glazed doughnuts. I’m not even joking. The Imperial Doughnut Break leads with a ton of sweetness, brown sugar, cocoa, light coffee, roasted malt, and spice with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with a ton of malt and cocoa backed by light coffee, sweetness, sugar, and spice leaving behind a ton of sweetness on the aftertaste. The flavors were almost identical to those in the Ratzilla. At one time I thought that the sweetness in the beer may actually overpower the sweetness in the cigar, but the Ratzilla stepped up to the plate and really offered a powerful sweet flavor in it’s profile as well.

The post Drew Estate – Liga Privada Unico Ratzilla appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.