Vitola: Corona Gorda- 6.25” x 46 ring gauge
- ~$14.95
- Samples provided by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Background
Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust brand made a rather huge splash in the cigar industry during 2015. That was when he introduced the original Sobremesa, a cigar that went on to win accolades galore, including my pick as Cigar of the Year. A few years later he revisited the Sobremesa name with an entirely new blend called “Sobremesa Brûlée.” Intended to be “just like your grandfather’s Connecticut Shade cigar” it was an entirely new blend that really shared nothing with the original Sobremesa. In 2020 he released a tweaked version called Sobremesa Brûlée Blue, which is very similar to the original Brûlée, but with more “richness and depth.” It is also available only a single size and is produced in limited quantities.
The Sobremesa Brûlée Blue is produced in the Joya de Nicaragua factory, like the others in the line. It uses Nicaraguan fillers, a San Andreas Negro binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade G2BW wrapper leaf.
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust provided two samples of this blend for this review. I also smoked it one time previously, so this review is based on the third time I smoked it. You can find them (when they are in stock) at Small Batch Cigar, a sponsor of Leaf Enthusiast. I got some background information on the blend from Cigar-Coop.
Prelight
The boxes for these are the same as those found on other Sobremesa releases. That’s not a bad thing as they are ornate and attractive without looking like they are trying too hard. The design for the bands is the same as the original, as well, but with a different color scheme. Whereas the original had a brown background that made it seem like the band could be laser-cut with windows showing the wrapper leaf through it, the background of these bands is a powder blue color. Definitely distinctive when you see it. The Dodger fan in me says royal blue would have looked better, but it may have been too close to the dark blue of the Mi Querida band.
The wrapper leaf was smooth and slightly oily with no real veins visible. It had a light hay and grassy aroma to it. The foot was earthy and sweet smelling. I swear I could pick up mocha aroma there overriding just about everything else. There was some controversy about the cap being sweetened and I think Saka had said it absolutely was not (though I can’t say with 100% certainty). Giving the cap a precut lick, I would have to say it definitely seemed sweetened to me…but I’m not offended by it.
After I cut the cigar, the prelight draw was excellent and I got flavors of earth and cedar and espresso bean and a touch of that sweet hay that was enhanced by I do assume was a sweetened cap.
Flavor
Once fired up, the Sobremesa Brûlée Blue had creamy cedar and hay notes up front, white and black pepper right behind that, and a slightly earthy finish. The retrohale had a little red pepper and more cedar. As I made my way through the first third, the sweetness ebbed away a bit, leaving a more straight-up grassiness. Earth moved up in the profile while cedar took a step back. The pepper notes stayed fairly consistent and the body was just slightly above mild.
The body ticked up toward the more mild-to-medium range in the second third as earth and cedar flavors took the lead while the creamy hay notes were more of a secondary flavor. The pepper notes melted away on both palate and nose.
Getting into the last third, the wood and pepper elements combined into a nice cinnamon burn riding on top of the creamy hay notes. Sweetness picked up again in the form of citrus and earthiness was an underlying flavor.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
This cigar sits well above “average” in price…so it’s a good thing it also sits well above “average” in terms of experience that it delivers.
Conclusions
The Sobremesa Brûlée Blue was an excellent example of a mild cigar with tons of complexity and a rich flavor that is tricky to produce in a Connecticut Shade. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I still enjoy the original Sobremesa (in this same vitola, by the way), but it is a significant step above the regular Brûlée version. These are a limited release cigar…get them when you find them!
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
