Cigar Review: Mason-Dixon Project 2015 (South) by Crowned Heads

• Vitola: Toro
• 6” x 52 ring gauge 
• MSRP $9.85
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

The first Mason-Dixon Project was announced by Crowned Heads Cigars in late 2014. It was set to be a regional release, limited in quantity and annual in production. The first version had an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapped version for the South and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped stick for the North. For 2015, the guys at CH mixed it up a little, while maintaining the same overall flavor of the release.

Again, Mason-Dixon was made by My Father Cigars in Nicaragua, with half of the production going to the North and half to the South. Each set of cigars comes in a 20-count box and production is limited to about 30,000 sticks of each (or 30,000 sticks total…I guess it depends on how you read the news stories and points out that punctuation does, in fact, matter!).

For 2015, the North received a box-pressed cigar with Nicaraguan filler and binder and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, while the South got a box-pressed stick with Nica filler/binder and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Put the words “Connecticut Broadleaf” and “My Father” together and usually you have an automatic winner for me…witness Tatuaje Noellas Reserva, Petite Cazadores, Avion 13 Reserva, JV13 (Jason from the Monster Series), Jaime Garcia Reserve, and Tennessee Waltz. Will the same result come about here? Only one way to know…

This review is based on my third smoking of the 2015 Mason-Dixon Project “South.” I bought all three at Burns Tobacconist. Some background for this review came from halfwheel.com’s news article.

Prelight

The look falls in line with other Crowned Heads releases…the box is a simple wooden slide-top box with minimal adornment. The band is pretty much the same as last year’s MDP release except it has “MMXV” (2015) in a line between “Mason” and “Dixon.” While this is a dual region release, the flavor of the artwork is decidedly Dixie in my eyes…which seems okay and natural being as the company is based in the South.

The cigar itself was a soft box-press with a beautiful, oily and velvety feeling Maduro wrapper leaf. It was ripe with earth and chocolate aromas and had just a couple larger veins, which was actually fairly smooth for a Broadleaf. The foot had more earth aroma along with a strong cedar note. The prelight draw was a bit snug but had a semi-sweet chocolate flavor up front.

Flavor

On light-up the MDP 2015 had a mix of earthy and bready notes with a subtle sweetness and a bit of creamy coffee flavor. The body was medium at the most and the smoke seemed very creamy and smooth. The retrohale was nutty and had just a touch of pepper. Honestly, I’d put this as closer in flavor profile to the Henry Clay Tattoo that Pete Johnson worked on with Altadis rather than the other Nica/Nica/Broadleaf cigars (like Tat Reservas, Tennessee Waltz, and Jaime Garcia Reserve) that My Father produces. It was very good…just unusual for a cigar with Nicaraguan filler and binder.

As I moved into the second third, I noted that the body really hadn’t moved at all…still a medium-bodied smoke with plenty of sweetness. The bread notes had moved on and I was getting more of a coffee and floral combination from the Mason Dixon South 2015. Very flavorful, but still very unusual.

In the last third, more pepper started to come through, along with an increase in cedar. The retrohale continued to feature roasted nuts and coffee.

Construction

As noted before, the draw was a bit tight, but nothing that ruined the experience. I had a very even burn line throughout and a solid ash that grew over an inch at one point before I tapped off.

Value

The price tag is reasonable for a small-production stick.

Conclusions

The Mason Dixon Project 2015 South Edition was an interesting take on the tried-and-true combination of Nicaraguan and Connecticut Broadleaf tobaccos. While those cigar tend to mostly be medium to full in body, this one never got above medium, but did feature some unique and unexpected flavors that turned out to be quite delicious. While I can definitely draw some “family flavor” lines between the Tennessee Waltz, Tatuaje Reservas, and even something like the original La Sirena, this cigar doesn’t really have that same familiarity…and that’s a good thing, really. MDP 2015 is a very good blend all on its own, and should serve as a way to get people interested in the sweetness of Broadleaf even if they prefer a true medium-bodied stick.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10