Cigars

20 Acre Farm From Drew Estate
20 Acre Farm Drew Estate

This 20 Acre Farm by Drew Estate took me back to when my Grandmother used to live in Hopewell Junction, NY., tons of farming areas. In fact she lived on a relatively small farm herself with my step grandfather. Beyond their land there was more and more land. The scents that filled the air, the tranquility you feel and most definitely that rich deep nourishing soil that lingers in the breeze is all around. Kind of like when I read Jonathan Drew’s (Founder and President of Drew Estate) statement regarding the 20 acre farm where they grew the tobacco in Florida. “The brand promise speaks to our love affair with this 20-acre plot of dirt in Florida that we continue to nourish year after year. Our brand promise is actually to the farm, kinda like that book [the little engine that could] we’re simply in love with that farm!” Especially WE, as cigar enthusiasts, knowing where are good tobacco comes from, we have to pay our homage to the farm lands just as Drew Estate created here with their new 20 Acre Farm release. 

Speaking of release, 20 Acre Farm made its debut on the November 2021 edition Freestyle Live. The cigar had been released as a “mystery cigar” as a part of an event package leading up to that Freestyle Live. The Florida Sun Grown tobacco was grown on Jeff Borysiewicz’s farm, he stated “The amount of fun I experienced unveiling 20 Acre Farm with Drew Estate during Freestyle Live Special Edition was intense and I’m extremely proud of the cigar” he continues on by saying “20 Acre Farm is a masterpiece that showcases our Florida Sun Grown tobacco while enhancing the sophisticated smoking characteristics of the other tobaccos in the blend, especially the Connecticut Shade Grown wrapper. As a premium cigar retailer for more than 20 years, I can’t wait to offer 20 Acre Farm to my customers and I’m looking forward to hearing what other premium tobacconists think of the cigar.” Without further a due let’s get into my review of this 20 Acre Farm. 

And just like that with my first couple of cold draws the 20 Acre Farm takes you to a place as if you were standing on some farm land (at least for me anyway). I picked up Earthy, sweet grass, very light essence of soil and almost like smelling that farm breeze that fills your nostrils. Having my palate ready; wondering what kind of journey I will be on through the enjoyment of this cigar I couldn’t wait any longer. Time to light up! 

Upon light up; I knew right away with that soft, light, creamy, cedar, earthy, citrus, white pepper notes it was going to be a mild cigar. Embarking on the 1st third of the 20 Acre Farm I was picking up citrus, my glands were activated so that saline taste was coming through, there was a sweetness that came through and not your typical sweetness but what came to mind was stevia, sometimes called candyleaf, sweetleaf or sugarleaf incase you are not familiar with stevia. It’s a different kind of sweetness yet it is a plant ground up to a powder form. Along with the current profiles I’m picking up; I also tasted an oily covering that encompassed my palate. Not a bad taste at all, more of like an oily taste that you would get if you folded an orange peel, then pinched down, and let those oils from the peel hit your palate. As I get down to that last little bit of the 1st third of 20 Acre Farm some white pepper and floral notes crept in. 

Continuing onward to the 2nd third of this wonderful Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade Grown wrapper, Sun Grown Habano binder, and fillers from Esteli and Jalapa as well as Florida Sun Grown leaf, the flavor profiles are continuing to impress. The floral, earthy, citrus note still hang around but some other notes crept in; a creamy caramel, toasted nut butter and a hint of cassis (black current) enter the palate party room along with some chocolate drizzled popcorn. It’s not an upfront in your face chocolate taste, it’s very subtle but that popcorn taste is what came to mind. No salt or butter just some good old fashion air popped popcorn with that ever so light taste of chocolate in the background. 

In the last third of the cigar everything pretty much stays consistent; floral, citrus, cedar, creaminess with a few other profiles that introduced themselves. The chocolate, cassis, and popcorn taste drifted away but in came some toffee, honey, toasted salted peanuts, and a hint of cinnamon joined the mix. Very smooth and DEFINETLY creamy all the way until the 20 Acre Farm was right down to the nub. I’m going to rate this cigar 4.5 out of 5. As someone who like heavier, fuller bodied cigars to me it was missing that “Oomph” because it is a medium body cigar but by NO MEANS am I saying ANYTHING negative or think poorly of this cigar. I enjoyed the journey, enjoyed the profiles, even enjoyed the prices of 20 Acre Farm; Robusto (5 ¼ x 54) $12.40, Toro (6×52) $13.40 & Gordito (6×60) $15.40 all per cigar.

Finally I will leave this article by quoting more words from Jonathan Drew in regards to this cigar “20 Acre Farm is a brand with both purpose and promise. While many of ya’ll might think of Drew Estate as a bunch of roughneck reservoir dogs, this is really only partially true. We also have a very elegant side to us, a classy side if you will. The elegance of 20 Acre Farm is unquestionable, as that luxurious creamy bomb coats the palate with layer after layer of butta and more butta. It’s just so smooth it’s crazy.” And there you have it folks spoken by the Founder and President of Drew Estate himself. You’re only next step is to start your search for this wonderful 20 Acre Farm! Enjoy!!

Wrapper –  Ecuadoran Connecticut

Binder – Honduran

Filler – Nicaraguan/United States

Website: www.drewestate.com

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 pints.

Kintsugi by Alec Bradley Cigars
Kintsugi Alec Bradley

Now here is a cigar that is super interesting; the name alone “Kintsugi” is pretty remarkable on its own when it comes to naming a cigar. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold – a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections. Kintsugi teaches you that your broken pieces make you stronger and better than ever before. When you think you are broken you can pick up the pieces, put them back together, and lean to embrace the cracks. 

I can certainly express one thing, I embraced every puff and draw during this tasting of “Kintsugi”. Kintsugi is an elegant, multifaceted medium bodied cigar created by Alec and Bradley Rubin. They had created this cigar to pay homage to the ancient Japanese art form which in turn joins pieces of ceramics back together with gold lacquer-making them even more beautiful. Cigars, like the gold lacquer, are a bonding agent-bringing people from all walks of life together. With a Honduran Habano Wrapper and Honduran/Nicaraguan binders & fillers, being produced at the Raices Cubanas factory in Danli, Honduras, “Kintsugi” certainly was created to celebrate camaraderie! 

Being that the two brothers (Alec & Bradley) grew up in the cigar industry and under the guidance of their father (Alan Ruben), they have learned to appreciate the tradition of cigars (the history, the blending, the agriculture, the social significance) their very first release back in 2018 was the “Blind Faith”. Then in 2019 their second release was the “Gatekeeper” and of course their third release in 2020 was none other than the “Kintsugi”. That’s enough history let’s get into my review of this wonderful cigar. 

Before lighting up, I took a few moments with some dry pulls. My immediate sense of taste went to milk chocolate, cardamom, toasted cashew, and a very light essence of sweet cream. In my opinion, my palate was pleased and my glands started to salivate before lighting up. Let’s see what the next step has in store. 

Upon Lighting up, some floral notes hit me with a hint of white pepper, a swirl of milk chocolate and believe it or not, because I have not thought of this particular snack in quite some time but I’m sure you have heard of or at least tried, Asian snack mix? (You know that Asian version of our Chex mix except it has that sugary glaze on them on peas in that mix.) Well, if you’ve tried them then you know you get that toasted, grainy, sweetness that makes you want more. At least for me anyway, I always want more. Now if you have not tried that type of mix, as I described, it has a toasted grain with some sweetness. It’s such a unique taste that A: you should definitely try some and B: I’m wondering if having that snack mix to snack on while smoking this cigar would enhance. Hmm… maybe next time I’ll try that. Anyway, onward to the first third of this cigar. 

Carob Chips come to mind. Another flavor profile I have not thought of in awhile. What are Carob Chips you ask? Carob Chips are from a sweet pulp that is dried, roasted, and then ground into a powder. Carob is less bitter than chocolate AND is not made with added sugar but while I continue to smoke the first third there is some sweetness with a hint of cedar creeping through. 

Continuing on down to the second third of “Kintsugi” most of the profiles are remaining present. Although, some new flavor profiles joined the palate party; picking up some woodsy earthiness along with a subtle hint of saffron. Maybe it’s the floral note that remained present is why I tasted saffron. The toasted notes continued to please my palate but it certainly transits from cashew, to almonds, to that Asian snack mix. 

Reaching the last third of the cigar the richness of everything came through and then some; notes of coffee, salted dark chocolate, cedar and leather, all of which had that sweetness to keep the glands salivating. Overall, this is a very good cigar. In my opinion I’m giving it a 4.3 out of 5. Now, I’m partial and enjoy smoking Honduran tobacco so this rating maybe higher than what you would rate it as. With that said, “Kintsugi” comes in four different sizes for you to try: Corona Gorda (5-5/8 x 46), Robusto (5×50), Toro (6×52), and Gordo (6×60). 

If you enjoy Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco then there is a good chance you will enjoy this cigar. Most certainly this cigar is moderately priced ranging from $7.40-$10 (depending on what state you are in prices may vary) so only one last thing to do. Go and purchase one for yourself and give it a try!

Wrapper –  Honduran Habano

Binder – Honduran/Nicaraguan

Filler – Honduran/Nicaraguan

Website: www.alecbradley.com

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 pints.

Guaimaro from Esteban Disla
Guaimaro from Esteban Disla

Good day Ruffian nation, T Money back for another cigar review. Today we’ll be tackling the Guaimaro from Esteban Disla. This name may be somewhat familiar to you. He is the co-owner and factory manager of Nica Sueno. Nica Sueno produces Roma Craft and also Powstanie. Oddly enough, this cigar isn’t sold through Roma Craft. The name Guaimaro comes from a nickname he was given in Cuba by none other than Sergio Cuevas. The name is an affectionate moniker that was given to skinny, dark complexioned boys that worked the farms of Cuba. (Guáimaro is also a town and municipality in the southern part of Camagüey Province in Cuba.) It is located between the cities of Camagüey and Las Tunas.He says he owes all he has to Sergio and couldn’t think of a better way to honor him. Now, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of this cigar. It is a 5×52 soft box-pressed cigar. It has a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Brazilian Arapiraca Castano binder with fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It has a lighter hue to it than most San Andres wrappers and has a bunch of visible veins throughout. This was originally released in November of 2016 with an MSRP of $7.50. This cigar was given to me by El Prez, Mitch, so I’m not sure of the amount of aging this specific cigar has. I used my new cigar scissors to slightly clip the cap off. The cold draw is wide open and has some chocolate sweetness and dark sod right upfront. Without further ado, let’s light this bad boy up.

Guaimaro 5×52 Soft Press

Right off the bat is a huge blast of earth and leather. The earth is so deep that it’s hard to taste anything else. Has a decent smoke output while the retrohale has a sharp horseradish sting that made my eyes water. If this holds through the cigar, it’s going to be a nicotine monster. Some semi-sweet chocolate is starting to show through the earth a bit further into the cigar. Some dried nuts are also lingering, but the earth is definitely the biggest flavor by far. Getting towards the end of the third, it has a wonky burn but nothing that needs to be addressed at the moment. The draw is excellent, while the strength and flavor are around medium.

Getting into the second 3rd, a smoked meat flavor is leaking into the picture. It’s not the greatest flavor, but nothing to dock in points. Slight cinnamon is mingling with the earthy flavor and the retrohale has calmed down to just a small horseradish bite. Not much transition going through the rest of the 3rd. The word of the day is definitely earth! Finishing up, the cigar is still about medium in strength and flavor. Burn has evened out nicely and the draw is still impeccable.

Rolling along into the final 3rd, a floral note comes to the forefront. It’s a welcome change from the earth bomb that was overtaking the cigar from the beginning. Retrohale is more of a white pepper bite than a horseradish bite like most of the cigar. The floral note continues, while the earth hangs on to let you know its never going away. Not much change until I finally nub it and send it to the bottom of the Stinky ashtray. The cigar ended up around med/full in strength and medium in flavor.

Well, truly not much to dissect with this one. Pretty straightforward stick throughout. Tons of earth dominated most of the stick, with some floral notes bringing it to the end. A few notes about the cigar that aren’t taste-related. As with most cigars out of Nica Sueno, the band was impossible to remove and ended up cracking the wrapper trying to get it off. Also, was a really wavy burn that took a couple of relights, but nothing too crazy. Other than that, not much to complain about. T Money score: 3.5 out of 5. Rebuy 5 pack.

If you like a tasty, earthy forward stick without a bunch of frills, this will be right up your alley. It would be a great stick if you’re reading or have something else you’re focused on. There are many still available on the market, so it shouldn’t be an issue getting your hands on a few to enjoy by yourself or with your best friends. I paired the cigar with coffee, but the earthy profile would be great with some scotch or even a floral gin. Until next time, remember to do something nice for someone and treat everyone like you want to be treated. Cheers family!

Wrapper –  Mexican San Andres

Binder – Brazilian Arapiraca Castano

Filler – Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic

Website: None available but you can find these on https://www.famous-smoke.com (DR Members don’t forget we have a 17% discount if your purchase in over $50. Contact Distinguished Ruffian if you need that discount code.)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 pints.

  • Travis Peterson AKA T Money is the Co-Captain of the Arizona/New Mexico Chapter of Distinguished Ruffians. He started his cigar journey in 2007 and hasn’t looked back. Outside of cigars he has a passion for brewing beer, playing guitar, bowling and golf. He is also a self proclaimed grilling and smoking expert.