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2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #20: Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary by Quesada Cigars

The #20 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary by Quesada Cigars. On April 10th 2022, Quesada Cigars Founder and President Manuel “Manolo” Quesada turned 75 years old. Commemorating the occasion, Quesada Cigars released a special limited edition cigar dubbed the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary. More recently, Manolo’s daughter Raquel has been playing an increasing role in the operations of Quesada Cigars, but according to Quesada Cigars the Manolo Quesada 75th Anniversary was a project specifically blended by Manolo himself.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r8o

 

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #21: Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate (Audio)

The #21 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate. Blackened M81 is a three-way collaboration project between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Drew Estate's own Jonathan Drew. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich. Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich who introduced Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to Drew. Soon enough, the idea of creating a cigar brand was floated. From there, the wheels were put in motion to create a cigar that shared the vision of the Blackened Brand. After iterating through many test blends during the COVID-19 pandemic, they settled on the flavor profile, the Blackened M81. As for the name M81, it stands for Metallica 1981 – the year Metallica was formed.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7F

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #21: Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate

The #21 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Blackened M81 Toro by Drew Estate. Blackened M81 is a three-way collaboration project between Metallica’s James Hetfield, Distiller Rob Dietrich of Sweet Amber Distilling, and Drew Estate's own Jonathan Drew. Blackened is the name of a whiskey collaboration of Metallica and Dietrich. Dietrich and Drew have been friends for a while. It was Dietrich who introduced Metallica lead singer James Hetfield to Drew. Soon enough, the idea of creating a cigar brand was floated. From there, the wheels were put in motion to create a cigar that shared the vision of the Blackened Brand. After iterating through many test blends during the COVID-19 pandemic, they settled on the flavor profile, the Blackened M81. As for the name M81, it stands for Metallica 1981 – the year Metallica was formed.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7F

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #22: E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick (Audio)

The #22 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick. The Allegiance is the fourth installment of the Perez-Carrillo line. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo to be produced outside its Tabacalera La Alianza factory. Other projects we have seen are the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua out of Plasencia and the Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares’ factory. The name Allegiance pays homage to the many partnerships and alliances the Perez-Carrillo family has forged over the years. In the case of the Allegiance, the partnership is strong, as Oliva had one of its Cuba Aliados projects produced at Tabacelrera La Alianza.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7t

Note: On this audio/video recording, we incorrectly said E.P. Carrillo had eight appearances on the Countdown. In reality it was nine.

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #22: E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick

The #22 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick. The Allegiance is the fourth installment of the Perez-Carrillo line. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo to be produced outside its Tabacalera La Alianza factory. Other projects we have seen are the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua out of Plasencia and the Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares’ factory. The name Allegiance pays homage to the many partnerships and alliances the Perez-Carrillo family has forged over the years. In the case of the Allegiance, the partnership is strong, as Oliva had one of its Cuba Aliados projects produced at Tabacelrera La Alianza.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r7t

Note: On this audio/video recording, we incorrectly said E.P. Carrillo had eight appearances on the Countdown. In reality it was nine.

The Smoking Syndicate: Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Mi Querida Black PapaSaka (Audio)

Today we are reviewing the Mi Querida Black PapaSaka from Dunbarton Tobacco  and Trust.  Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust released the Mi Querida Black SakaKhan  last year at the  2022 PCA Trade Show which was met with a lot of excitement.  The cigar ended up many Top Cigars of the Year list and was a huge seller in cigar shops.  With the success of the SakaKhan, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust decided to release a new Mi Querida Black in a  corona gorda size which they named PapaSaka. The PapaSaka features a very similar blend with the notable difference being the Honduran tobacco in the SakaKhan being replaced with tobacco from the Dominican Republic  in the PapaSaka.  Let’s look at the blend.

Mi Querida Black PapaSaka

• Vitola:  Corona Gorda
• Size:  5 5/8 x 48
• 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)
• MSRP: $15.95

PapaSaka provided by Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust

From Dunbarton Tobacco  and Trust:

Mi Querida Black (pronounced “me kay-ree-dah”) is the ultimate execution of our family of broadleaf ligas.

“Black” is the third iteration of this style of blend within our Mi Querida family of puros. It retains the soul of our two other ligas within the line, however with the addition of a very select grade of Honduran grown Habano Seed tripa incorporated into the blend. Only the finest materials are utilized from the exhaustively “creamed” tripas, to the very best grade of dark Connecticut-grown Broadleaf capas with acute attention paid to their craftsmanship. Robust, rich, and decadently satisfying, the Limited Production Mi Querida Black is the apex of broadleaf cigars.

Mi Querida Black is handcrafted at NACSA cigar factory under the stewardship of their Master Cigar maker Raul Disla at my direction. Packed in an elegant box that expresses from the outside the richness of the blend inside. As always, the pace of its production is being dictated by the tobaccos themselves and therefore it will be limited in its availability via Select Purveyors for the foreseeable future.

You  can watch our  interview with Steve Saka of  Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust with us at the 2023 PCA Trade Show here  where he  discusses the PapaSaka.

Final Score:  92

The Smoking Syndicate: Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Mi Querida Black PapaSaka

Today we are reviewing the Mi Querida Black PapaSaka from Dunbarton Tobacco  and Trust.  Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust released the Mi Querida Black SakaKhan  last year at the  2022 PCA Trade Show which was met with a lot of excitement.  The cigar ended up many Top Cigars of the Year list and was a huge seller in cigar shops.  With the success of the SakaKhan, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust decided to release a new Mi Querida Black in a  corona gorda size which they named PapaSaka. The PapaSaka features a very similar blend with the notable difference being the Honduran tobacco in the SakaKhan being replaced with tobacco from the Dominican Republic  in the PapaSaka.  Let’s look at the blend.

Mi Querida Black PapaSaka

• Vitola:  Corona Gorda
• Size:  5 5/8 x 48
• 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)
• MSRP: $15.95

PapaSaka provided by Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust

From Dunbarton Tobacco  and Trust:

Mi Querida Black (pronounced “me kay-ree-dah”) is the ultimate execution of our family of broadleaf ligas.

“Black” is the third iteration of this style of blend within our Mi Querida family of puros. It retains the soul of our two other ligas within the line, however with the addition of a very select grade of Honduran grown Habano Seed tripa incorporated into the blend. Only the finest materials are utilized from the exhaustively “creamed” tripas, to the very best grade of dark Connecticut-grown Broadleaf capas with acute attention paid to their craftsmanship. Robust, rich, and decadently satisfying, the Limited Production Mi Querida Black is the apex of broadleaf cigars.

Mi Querida Black is handcrafted at NACSA cigar factory under the stewardship of their Master Cigar maker Raul Disla at my direction. Packed in an elegant box that expresses from the outside the richness of the blend inside. As always, the pace of its production is being dictated by the tobaccos themselves and therefore it will be limited in its availability via Select Purveyors for the foreseeable future.

You  can watch our  interview with Steve Saka of  Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust with us at the 2023 PCA Trade Show here  where he  discusses the PapaSaka.

Final Score:  92

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #23: Muestra De Saka The Bewitched by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (Audio)

The #23 2023 Cigar of the Year is Muestra De Saka – The Bewitched by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. In 2022, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust The Bewitched made its national debut, becoming the sixth installment of the Muestra de Saka brand. Owner and master ligador Steve Saka has described the Muestra de Saka line as a limited production line of unique blends that reflect his blending machinations. The story of the Bewitched goes back to 2021, when the company released a special limited edition cigar to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Owl Shop of Worcester. Following that release, a decision was made with the blessing of the Owl Shop to release the same cigar as an ongoing release under the Muestra de Saka portfolio.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r6S

 

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #23: Muestra De Saka The Bewitched by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

The #23 2023 Cigar of the Year is Muestra De Saka – The Bewitched by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. In 2022, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust The Bewitched made its national debut, becoming the sixth installment of the Muestra de Saka brand. Owner and master ligador Steve Saka has described the Muestra de Saka line as a limited production line of unique blends that reflect his blending machinations. The story of the Bewitched goes back to 2021, when the company released a special limited edition cigar to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Owl Shop of Worcester. Following that release, a decision was made with the blessing of the Owl Shop to release the same cigar as an ongoing release under the Muestra de Saka portfolio.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r6S

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #24: Red Anchor Admiral by United Cigars (Audio)

The #24 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Red Anchor Admiral by United Cigars. Red Anchor is a line that was brought back by United Cigars in 2022. According to United Cigars, the brand has over 250 years of history. In 1770, Red Anchor was the first registered trademark for a cigar shop; in 1772, it was the first cigar brand ever created. By 1937, the brand was dormant. A few years ago, United Cigars' owner David Garofalo, who has an affinity for cigar history, acquired the trademark so he could resurrect the brand. In 2022, the Red Anchor was brought back to coincide with the brand's 250th anniversary.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-r5X