Spice, a lot of spice.
My Rating: 7/10
Where to Buy: Cigar Man
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade x Brazilian Mata Fina (hybrid seed)
Binder: Habana Dominicano
Filler: Dominican Criollo ’98, Dominicano Corojo Ligero, Nicaraguan Habano
Ring Gauge: 50
Size: Robusto (or Corretto on Caldwell Cigars)
On Friday afternoon, as August long was kicking off, I closed my laptop and walked over to the humidor, giddy to pick out my pre-dinner smoke. To my disappointment, however, all I had in the humidor was a cigar cutter and a few Boveda humidifier packs…
Fast forward to Saturday at the check out counter of Cigar Man in Westboro (my preferred cigar shop in Ottawa). The associate at the counter is a younger guy who recommended the H. Upmann №2 a couple months ago (one of my favourite cigars). I trust his judgement and so I asked him to recommend something entirely different. Either something brand new, or something that I might not have heard of in mainstream cigar publications. Without hesitation he recommended the Eastern Standard, by Caldwell Cigar Company.
Caldwell was created in 2014 with a very simple agenda: to create special cigars using well aged rare tobaccos. They are a business built on friendship with the main goals of: Creation, Innovation & Ambition.
I found the Eastern Standard to be a wonderful smoke. Upon the first pull, I noticed spice. A lot of spice. There was also hint of pepper and cocoa. The draw was smooth and the smoke very full. The cigar was well wrapped, evidenced by the perfectly even burn.
If you’re smoking this cigar in the evening, I suggest smoking after dinner, rather than before, as I found the spice lingered in mouth a little bit. If (or when) I smoke this cigar again, I will do so with smooth single malt, like an Oban, after dinner.
Smoking time was about 40 minutes. My only negative comment would be that the taste profile seemed to fall apart toward the end of the smoke. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this cigar. It was nice to try something totally different by a new company. I look forward to trying more from Caldwell...
Thank you for reading.
CIGARRO | Thoughts from the humidor…
