Vitola: Toro- 6” x 52 ring gauge
- MSRP $14.95
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
Steve Saka has a pretty incredible track record. While with Drew Estate, he oversaw the creation of the Liga Privada #9, LP T-52, Undercrown, and Unico lines of cigars. Since leaving he formed his own company, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, and has won consecutive “Cigar of the Year” picks from me on his first two regular releases, Sobremesa & Mi Querida. And even without those sticks being my choices for 2015 and 2016 Cigars of the Year, they garnered massive heaps of praise from many corners of the cigar review “industry.” What to do next?
Muestra de Saka is the answer. MdS is a “line of unique blends and vitolas made in extremely limited quantities that reflect the blending machinations” of Steve Saka. Saka has talked in some forums about how he is using the line to work outside his normal comfort zone, blending milder-than-normal cigars or shapes he doesn’t normally like to work with. The first release in the line is “Exclusivo” and was released in March 2016. It was shipped in a 7-count box of individually coffined cigars and generally only available if a store pre-ordered it well ahead of time.
MdS Exclusivo uses filler tobaccos from all four of the primary growing regions of Nicaragua: Jalapa, Condega, Ometepe, and Esteli. It was created to be “the ultimate expression of my love for the smoothest of Nicaraguan tripas.” Saka also said, “by extremely careful positioning of the leaf it takes the smoker from a silky-smooth beginning of sweet cedar and cinnamon building to a satisfying creamy conclusion. It is a very intricate blend that reward the smoker with complexity and a sophisticated progression.” I could find no definitive word in what country of origin the wrapper and binder are, but I’ve seen at least one source say “Nicaraguan” for the binder and “Habano” (which means virtually nothing) for the wrapper.
By the way, “muestra” is a Spanish word for “sample,” which is a reflection of what this series is about. Each release will be a different “sample” of something Steve Saka has been working on, without an expectation that there will ever been a full, wide-spread release of the blend. I bought two sticks at Burns Tobacconist when they first came in; this review is based on the second one I smoked.
Prelight
The boxes are simple…dark wood with gold foil writing. Elegant, attractive. Each cigar being individually coffined gives the impression that you’re in for a rare treat since each one is to be individually protected in its own coffin (that didn’t turn out to be the case for me on the first one I smoked as it had a cracked wrapper inside the cellophane, inside the coffin…ah well, you can’t control everything). The coffin has “Muestra de Saka” and the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust logo on the slide part of the box, along with a barcode sticker on the bottom side…and as a retailer, I applaud the decision to put barcodes on everything you ship!
As mentioned before, the coffin opens up to a cellophane-wrapped cigar. When taken out of the cello, all that identifies it is a yellow ribbon on the foot that says “Exclusivo” in dark lettering, overlaying “Muestra de Saka” in red-outline type in the background. The wrapper leaf was slightly darker than a milk chocolate brown color and had a smooth, somewhat oily feel to it.
The aroma from the wrapper was mostly earth, with a slight woody tinge and a whiff of something almost vegetal. The foot of the stick had muted earthiness and more wood. It was nice, but not nearly as rich as most Nicaraguan-heavy cigars tend to smell up front. The prelight draw was excellent and the cold flavor had some sweetness, cedar and grassiness.
Flavor
As advertised, the Maestro de Saka Exclusivo fired up with a good amount of cedar flavor riding in a creamy, smooth smoke. In the background were notes of cinnamon and a slight peppery spice, and touches of sweet natural tobacco and earth. On the nose, I got a little more pepper spice intensity, plus some roasted nuttiness and espresso bean. After 10 minutes or so, the cedar took a back seat to the notes of cinnamon that were abundant on each and every puff. It definitely started out on the milder side of the medium-bodied range. Toward the end of the first third, I picked up on a slight floral note in the finish, too.
In the second third, the MdS Exclusivo took a turn toward more mellowness. I still got woody and cinnamon notes, but they were more muted with a slight increase in smooth coffee and floral flavors. Peppery notes were all but gone and the whole experience was just smooth and creamy, relaxing and nice.
The last third was a continuation of smooth and creamy with touches of cedar and cinnamon, highlighted by floral and a touch of resurgence earthiness.
Construction
I had a flawless draw, solid ash and only a couple minor touch-ups needed to the burn line.
Value
As I’ve mentioned before, limited production means higher per-stick pricing. Sometimes the experience delivered is worth it, sometimes not. In this case, I think the price is justified, though I would love to see this blend in smaller ring gauge sizes and at a higher level of production so the price comes down.
Conclusions
The first installment of Muestra de Saka turned out to be pretty much exactly what Steve Saka said it would be…a milder, complex and sophisticated cigar that had a great progression from end to end. While he says he doesn’t want it compared to other things he has done, I can’t help but think of Sobremesa when I smoke it, at least in terms of complexity and certain flavors that are common between the two. On the whole, though, this is a totally different experience that trades some of Sobremesa’s complexity for more nuance and smoothness. The Exclusivo is a great start to this experimental series of cigars.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
