Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$10.50
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Who would have thought that the Tom Selleck look-a-like on the band of the Eastern Standard would get so much play? After making his first appearance on the original Eastern Standard in 2014, he made a return visit a couple years later with the “Eastern Standard Maduro,” officially called Midnight Express, as well as the “Eastern Standard Light,” which was officially Dos Firmas. Now the finely coifed Eastern Standard Dude gets a Sungrown line.
The original Eastern Standard used Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, with a Dominican binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut/Brazilian hybrid wrapper. This version uses Dominican and Mexican fillers, an Ecuadorian binder, and a wrapper that is a sungrown Mexican/Habano hybrid. It is available in 4 sizes, in boxes of 20.
Site sponsors Cigar and Pipes and Small Batch Cigars are currently offering this blend for purchase online. I have had two of these before the review sample; I bought them all at Burns Tobacconist, where I work.
Prelight
The same, but different. The background of the Sungrown band is a deep yellow gold color with the Eastern Standard Dude in black (or dark brown, at least) ink, the same as most of the trim and type. There is some trim rendered in white. It continues the theme set up by the original ES release, but making the colors different enough to be immediately identifiable.
The wrapper leaf was a medium-brown color with a good amount of oils and a little slight darker mottling. It had a ripe barnyard note, while the foot of the stick had a mix of earth and sweet grassiness and wood.
After clipping the Eastern Standard Sungrown, I got an excellent cold draw that had flavors of hay and pepper spice, along with a slight citrus sweetness.
Flavor
Before I get too far into the review, I have to admit to not really getting much from the first one of these I smoked. The problem was I fired one up literally less than two hours after they had come off the UPS truck and into the shop. After waiting a couple weeks, I smoked another and it was much better. The lesson…if something doesn’t taste great at first, it may be able to be improved with a little time for the cigar to stabilize at the proper temperature and humidity levels. The other lesson…don’t smoke cigars right after they get done traveling hundreds/thousands of miles.
Once I got the ES Sungrown burning, I got immediate flavors of sweet hay and hazelnuts, followed by a low-level spicy, peppery burn and earth. The retrohale had roasted peanut notes and lots of peppery. Before the first third ended, the sweetness had transformed into a full-on citrus note and the nuttiness on the palate had subsided a bit.
The second third had citrusy sweet and sour notes coming on strong, with red pepper flake burning in the background. Hay and earth were more of a finishing note in the mix, while the retrohale continued to be nutty and peppery.
In the last third, the Eastern Standard Sungrown had more pepper, slightly muted but somehow higher up in the flavor profile. The citrus notes had gone down to a supporting note and earth had risen up to about the same level.
Construction
I had to make a few minor touch-ups to the burn line, but nothing major. The draw was excellent and the ash was solid.
Value
While the Caldwell Collection started off a bit “high end” in price when it debuted four years ago, the pricing has remained fairly steady while other companies have continually raised their prices. Therefore, this ends up being at the high end of the “sweet spot” for pricing these days and a very good value.
Conclusions
The Eastern Standard Sungrown is a very good addition to the Eastern Standard lineup, better in some ways than the original, but still not as pleasing to my palate as the Midnight Express. I enjoyed it from end to end, particularly the peppery notes that never went away and the citrus sweetness that provided an almost perfect counterpoint.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
