Vitola: Bradford (Wide Robusto)- 5” x 56 ring gauge
- $8.99
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
RoMa Craft’s Intemperance line goes back at least as far as 2011, which I believe is the year they made an appearance at the second Chattanooga Tweet-Up as Burns brought in the entire RoMa Craft line. That sounds right anyway. Intemperance was created as a line of cigars that would be a little less expensive than CroMagnon, a little more accessible to the masses because it wasn’t as full-bodied (either version), and a little more likely to be in stock because it could be made in larger quantities. Nine years later, it’s nice to see that the EC (Ecuadorian Connecticut) and BA (Brazilian Arapiraca) lines are both doing well and still in high demand…and that the price hasn’t gone through the roof, which seems to be a problem with more and more cigar companies in the last few years.
In 2016, RoMa Craft debuted a limited-production edition of Intemperance called “Whiskey Rebellion 1794.” It was made originally for Famous Smoke Shop. The first release was a single size made in conjunction with the Cigar Dojo community, then a full 5-size release was done. The cigar was named for the Whiskey Rebellion that happened as a reaction to the 1791 Whiskey Tax, which was one of the first taxes levied by the newly founded United States. After rebels made it too hard to enforce, the tax was repealed by Thomas Jefferson, which may have been the last time a Democrat rolled back a tax.
Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion 1794 became available nationwide in 2019. It is made at Nica Sueno in Nicaragua, using Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, an Indonesian Besuki binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano Ligero wrapper. That reads as the same filler/binder used on the regular Intemperance, with just a new wrapper leaf, but there could be other changes in the blend.
You can find more information about the release at Cigar-Coop. I bought mine at Burns Tobacconist, which is carrying RoMa Craft again after a hiatus; check out their Downtown Chattanooga store for the best selection. If your local shop doesn’t carry them, you can find them at Small Batch Cigar, a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor.
Prelight
Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion (“WR” from now on) uses the same main band as the regular Intemperance lines, a thin white strip with “INTEMPERANCE CIGARS” on the front and a small RoMa Craft logo where the band joins, both in a very dark blue-gray color. The secondary band uses that color for the background, with “THE WHISKEY REBELLION” in white type on the front, and the Intemperance logo on the back.
The wrapper leaf on the WR is so dark I initially thought it was a Brazilian Arapiraca like the previous version of the Intemperance, with the difference in the blend being inside perhaps. Of course, I was wrong, with this Ecuadorian Habano being almost “Maduro” dark, a dark chocolate brown really, and oily to the touch. The aroma from it was barnyard earthiness and a bit of wood. From the foot of the cigar I got rich earth with a hint of sweeter chocolate.
Once cut, the cold draw was excellent and had flavors of cedar, light earth, and cocoa powder.
Flavor
Once fired up, the Intemperance WR serves up flavors of cedar and earth up front, with herb and black pepper as secondary notes. One thing that’s important to note on the Intemperance lines is the slightly shaggy foot, which means that for the first few minutes you are smoking only filler and binder, without any wrapper burning. Once the wrapper caught fire, I got more earth and less cedar, along with a definite cocoa powder note and a slight increase in pepper.
In the second third, the earthiness increased and cedar faded away. There was a good cocoa powder vibe going on with just a touch of sweetness and enough pepper in the mix to keep things interesting.
The last third saw the Intemperance WR get up to the full bodied range with continuing flavors of earth and cocoa powder, along with a bit of espresso bean.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line and a solid ash.
Value
Very good cigar for an excellent price point.
Conclusions
Whiskey Rebellion is a very fine addition to the Intemperance range, giving the line a full-bodied option, while the Arapiraca was always medium-to-full. It wasn’t the most complex blend in the RoMa Craft lineup, but it did deliver a good solid Nicaraguan flavor the entire way with just enough extra touches to provide interest.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
