Cigar Review: Last Tsar by Caldwell Cigars

• Vitola: Belicoso
• 5.5” x 52 ring gauge
• MSRP $18
• Purchased from Burns Tobacconist

Background

Robert Caldwell seems to be busier than ever right now. I met with the Caldwell local area rep the other day and he told me how Caldwell is working with Tony Bellatto (among others) on Lost and Found, La Barba, Siempre Tamboril. The Caldwell collection is gearing up to gain a bunch of new vitolas. The company has purchased its own factory. And Robert will be at the Chattanooga Tweet-Up in August as one of the Platinum-level sponsors. Oh, and the first Limited Edition cigar from his namesake company was released…before it was “Nothing you’ve ever heard of”…but now that we have heard of it, they are just calling it “The Last Tsar.”

In a break from tradition, these boxes do not carry detailed blend information on them (Boo! This was a really cool thing to do!) and the official press releases and news stories say that it’s secret. It does contain some Carbonell leaf (which we recently saw in La Barba Purple) and the wrapper is the same as used on the Eastern Standard…Arapiraca Connecticut Shade Hybrid Maduro (although that description, which was found on Cigar-Coop is totally different from the Eastern Standard Capa description of “Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano” that is on the Caldwell website…the color is close, though, and I’m sure there’s some reconciling explanation…until then, the mystery deepens).

After I got finished writing the last paragraph, it occurred to me that not only did they stop printing detailed blend information, but they moved the exact opposite way, denying blend some blend information altogether and obfuscating other pieces of the puzzle. Oh well…it will give everyone something to consider and converse about until there are more of these available. And by that I mean…yes, these are a limited edition. The current batch is practically sold out already, but the plan is to release them a couple times a year, so there should eventually be more. I smoked my first one on the way to work at Burns last Saturday…when I got there, I bought another one so I could write this review.

Prelight

The look of the Last Tsar is typical Caldwell. The band is made up of an image of a man who is indicated to be “The Last Tsar”…it says so on the side of the band that wrap around to the back. The date May 18, 1868 is also indicated…that is the Gregorian calendar birthdate of Nicholas II (the namesake for this cigar), although Russia at the time was using the Julian calendar, on which he was burn on May 6, 1868. From the brief reading I did on him, he was mostly a failed leader with violent tendencies (nicknamed Nicholas the Bloody), but the Commie bastards that followed (and killed) him were so bad that he was later canonized as a “passion bearer” and a martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. I digress…the secondary band reads “East is Everywhere” which I take as a reference to this wrapper being the same as the Eastern Standard.

The wrapper leaf is a shade or two darker than peanut butter, with a touch of mottling and a mostly dry feel to it. Giving it a sniff, I picked up on some sweeter, mildly fruity notes that reminded me of some other light-colored Arapiraca (or Arapiraca-hybrid) wrappers I’ve seen. There was a touch of grassiness to it, as well. The foot had more of an earthy aroma, with touches of wood and bread.

I clipped the head from the Belicoso and got an excellent draw with an interesting mix of flavors in it. I picked up some creamy earthiness, an overt sweet citrus note, and just a touch of spicy cedar.

Flavor

The Last Tsar lit on fire easily (I’m thinking that might be a direct quote from Lenin) and right away I noticed how full-bodied this cigar was. The smoke was thick, oily, and palate-coating, with a long finish. I got flavors of dark earth and cedar up front, with a touch of dark fruit sweetness and some brown pepper notes following closely. There was even more pepper and a note of roasted nuts on the retrohale. After about 10 minutes, I was able to detect a bit of the Connecticut Shade grassiness and some lemon citrus, although without any sourness.

One description Robert Caldwell gave for the Last Tsar was “salty” and that came through very prominently in the second third. The body of the cigar actually mellowed out quite a bit during the second third and the blend exhibited more creaminess. The pepper notes hung around but cedar and citrus flavors all but disappeared.

Toward the end, the cedar flavor made a comeback and there was some dry cocoa powder flavor, as well. The pepper spice was still prominent in the mix, but there was not much sweetness to speak of.

Construction

I had a great draw, very straight burn line and solid ash.

Value

This was a very good cigar, but…not really $18 good for me. If it was more in the $14-$15 range, I would have felt better about the price.

Conclusions

Overall, the Last Tsar is probably the best cigar I’ve had from Caldwell yet. However, the price tag just went too high for me. Once you get past a certain price point, I feel a cigar just has to be amazing and this didn’t quite hit that point. That said, it was an excellent, full-bodied smoke with a lot of complexity. Whether or not it’s worth the price for your own palate is something I’ll leave you to discover.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 9/10