Drew Estate

Undercrown 10
Undercrown 10

What better way to celebrate an anniversary than with making a new and better blend. Drew Estate has done just that with the Undercrown 10. I’m sure most of us remember when he original Undercrown came out offering a less expensive alternative to the Liga Privada No. 9 and T-52. Created, almost out of necessity, by the blending team when told they could no longer smoke Ligas, as an effort to keep enough product to fill orders. Because of it being such a grassroots creation the Undecrown was labeled as being “Born On The Factory Floor” and since then there has been the addition of the Undercrown Shade and Undercrown Sungrown and now a fourth has been added to the regular production line with the Undercrown 10. “Like all other Undercrown cigars, Undercrown 10 is born on the factory floor and celebrates Nicaraguan tobacco heritage and the people who work at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, but Undercrown 10 is just a little bit more special than the other cigars in the line. Anticipate a cigar with tobaccos that are aged a little longer than other Undercrown cigar tobaccos. Expect a cigar that’s spicier and bolder than other Undercrown offerings too.” The Undercrown 10 is different than the original with its use of a more premium selection of the San Andrés maduro wrapper seen on the original Undercrown Maduro blend, harvested from the highest tobacco priming available. They then use Connecticut Broadleaf binder and rare Nicaraguan leaves throughout the filler.

I like the “All Dekk’d Out” look of the cigar, with the foot band, ribbon and double band across the top third, but of course most of that needs to be removed to really see it. Once the foot is uncovered and the ribbon is removed I get a good look at the dark brown wrapper. It is slightly oily with some visible veining and a few bumps along the body giving it some character. Now I don’t know if this was intentional or a happy accident but when looking at the cigar under lighting the ribbon has appeared to have left some small specks of gold color on the wrapper above the main band that shine if the light hits them right, giving it an even more regal look. The smell from the body is sweet and floral and from the foot I pick up earth and dried fruit. The cold draw is easy and the flavor is all aged sweet tobacco to me.

The first third starts off quite spicy and a bit chocolatey. I don’t make these sort of wild flavor comparisons but for a moment I thought it tasted like an horchata margarita from Cava de Tequila in Epcot. (That quickly went away as soon as I thought about how pretentious that sounded.) The rest of the first third keep a good spice and pepper flavor. The burn was even and like pretty much all DE cigars there was plenty of smoke to fill the room.

In the second third the pepper begins to fade toward the back and earth and cream notes move forward followed by a bit of bitter dark chocolate. The burn stays consistent, as the construction is solid and of course there’s all that smoke.

At the final third the cigar becomes very creamy to an almost buttery smooth constancy along with a bit of woodiness. The pepper and spice are faint on the retrohale and can be noticed on the finish. Pedro Gomez had commented that there is the flavor of sun dried cherries which I did not notice until I put the cigar down and discovered that the lingering flavor I had was indeed cherries. The burn stayed sharp for the entire production and the medium weighted smoke always satisfied.

I’ve always been partial to the Undercrown line as it came out shortly after I began smoking and wasn’t comfortable spending Liga prices while developing my palate. It gave a solid stick at a fair price and introduces you to quality tobacco. With the Undercrown 10 they step it up a notch with even better tobacco and a new blend that is a real pleasure to smoke. The Undercrown 10 is something I will be keeping in my humidor and part of my regular rotation. With its style it could be smoked by pretty much anyone and pairs well with either tea, coffee, a nice bourbon or peaty scotch. Look for these cigars in your B&M stores and don’t be affraid to buy a box you won’t regret it.

Wrapper – Mexican San Andrés

Binder – Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler – Rare Nicaraguan

Price: Around $12.00

Website: https://drewestate.com

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 pints

Undercrown Dogma Sungrown

Dogma SungrownThe Undercrown Dogma Sungrown, set to be released in August 2020, comes six years after Dojo and Drew Estate teamed up to make the Undercrown Dogma Maduro. Since Cigar Dojo awarded Drew Estate’s Undercrown Sun Grown the No.1 Cigar of the Year in 2017 it’s no large surprise that this would be the next collaboration between the two.

“The Undercrown Dogma Sun Grown features an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed sun-grown wrapper, a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut/Cured sun-grown Habano binder, and all Nicaraguan fillers, including extensively aged ligero from Nicaragua’s rarely used Nueva Segovia region. Like the original Dogma, the Dogma Sun Grown boasts a box-press shape, boasting an amped-up 5″ x 54 format, as chosen by the Cigar Dojo staff in collaboration with Willy Herrera, master blender for Drew Estate. In the spirit of the Dogma, the cigar performs with more intensity than the core-line blend it was built upon.”

The wrapper is silky with light veining and a nice oily sheen. Milk chocolate in color and slick feeling to the touch this cigar is firm and dense with little yield when pressure is applied. It has the smell of coffee, cedar and a bit of pepper from the foot. The cap cuts fine causing no damage to the body. From the cold draw the flavor is rich sweat tobacco.

The first half is spicy, salty and creamy, just full of flavor. There is loads of smoke production and it burns evenly. The ash holds tight for about 1/2″ at a time and leaves the room with a pleasant aroma.

In the second half the flavor profile remains fairly the same but a bit of roasted nuts is now Dogma Sungrownnoticeable. While I generally don’t discus the retrohale there is a light cinnamon note that can be found and is worth commenting on. The smoke production does not fail and the burn remains sharp for the entirety of the cigar.

This cigar was a real pleasure to smoke, while robust in flavor it was medium in stregnth so it doesn’t leave you with those nicotine jitters. Solid in construction you can tell the care that was taken when these were rolled. With the release right around the corner be sure to keep an eye out at your local Drew Diplomate brick and mortar stores for these to appear on the shelves and when they do grab as many as you can.

Wrapper – Ecuadorian Sumatra

Binder – Connecticut River Valley (Stalk Cut/Cured)

Filler – Nicaraguan

Price: $10.20 per stick (offered exclusively through Drew Diplomat-authorized retailers).

Website: Drewestate.com

Rating: 4.7 out of 5 pints

 

Drew Estate Cancels 2020 Barn Smoker Season and Deploys “The Barn Smoker Goodwill Act”

Drew estate Barn Smoker

Today Drew Estate announces the cancellation of the 2020 Barn Smoker season due to ongoing health concerns surrounding COVID-19.  Additionally, Drew Estate creates the “Barn Smoker Goodwill Act of 2020.”

Barn Smokers are among the highlights on Drew Estate’s calendar every year, and an opportunity we cherish to share in a one-of-a-kind experience with the cigar loving community.  After significant consideration, however, Drew Estate has determined that it is necessary to make this difficult decision in order to ensure the safety of our staff, the staff of the incredible farms with whom we partner, and, of course, the thousands of Barn Smoker attendees who travel across the country to take part in our extraordinary American Tobacco Experience.

While we are disappointed that we will not be able to hold the festivals at the farms this year, Drew Estate is proud to announce the introduction of the “Barn Smoker Goodwill Act of 2020,” which is designed and funded to show appreciation, love, and fellowship to our inner circle during the difficult times we are all facing.

The Barn Smoker Goodwill Act works in the following manner … All Attendees who purchased a ticket at any/all tier levels will immediately be refunded 100%.  In addition, each ticket holder will be asked to submit their address via this link and Drew Estate will be shipping free of charge the complete 2020 Barn Smoker Swag Set that they would have received by attending their ticketed event. This package does not include cigars and will be shipped out by August 1st.  Beyond this, Drew Estate will donate $10,000 per Barn Smoker, for a total of $50,000, to Cigars for Warriors, doubling down on our commitment to our deployed troops.

Finally, on the date of each scheduled Barn Smoker, Drew Estate will launch a two-hour “Virtual Barn Smoker Herf,” hosted on Facebook Live, open to everyone.   While these Herfs are not designed to be exact Barn Smoker replicas, we plan on celebrating each date together.  These unique experiences will include the Drew Estate Ambassadors and our Farmer Partners – and tell a new part of the story not previously showcased during our usual Barn Smoker Festivals.

The dates for the Virtual Barn Smoker Herfs (hosted on www.facebook.com/drewestatecigar ) are below with times to be announced closer to the event:

  • Pennsylvania Barn Smoker Virtual Event: July 25th, 2020
  • Connecticut Barn Smoker Virtual Event: August 8th, 2020
  • Kentucky Barn Smoker Virtual Event: September 26th, 2020
  • Louisiana Barn Smoker Virtual Event: October 4th, 2020
  • Florida Barn Smoker Virtual Event: November 14th, 2020

From the Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew Founder and President of Drew Estate adds, “It is with great sadness that we’ve come to this decision.  Barn Smoker, alongside Cigar Safari, are the experiential programs that we are most deeply connected to here at Drew Estate. I’m also incredibly appreciative to our Consumer Engagement Team, who architected the concept of the “Barn Smoker Goodwill Act of 2020” … in my opinion, going above and beyond for our supporters, our extended family, who had made plans to join us on the sacred farms.  We thank you for your love and support … always #De4L!”