Vitola: Robusto- 5.25” x 52 ring gauge
- ~$12.50
- Purchased from Small Batch Cigar
Background
Just over 4 years ago, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust put other their first blend: Sobremesa. It went on to great acclaim, including being my pick for Cigar of the Year in 2015. In the intervening years, it has continued to thrill me as one of the finest, most complex medium-bodied cigars readily available. Steve Saka has gone on to create other significant blends, like the Mi Querida (my 2016 COTY pick), Sin Compromiso, and Muestra de Saka series, and now he’s circled back to the one that started it all.
Sobremesa Brûlée is a milder take on the Sobremesa concept, which is a cigar to enjoy after a meal while talking with your friends and/or family “over the table.” Steve says that Brûlée is meant to recreate the “milder, shade wrapped ligas of my early years…I do not understand the recent trend of making strong Connecticut Shade cigars aka ‘not your grandfather’s cigar’. To me this seems like an oxymoron and a fundamental lack of appreciation of the enchanting characteristics and nuances of shade grown Connecticut Seed tobaccos. In Brûlée, I embraced this shade capa and dedicated myself to showcasing its mild, sweet and nutty nature.”
Sobremesa Brûlée is made in the Joya de Nicaragua factory (same as the original Sobremesa) using Nicaraguan fillers (he didn’t detail the fillers this time as he did in the original), a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade G2BW wrapper.
I purchased several of these from Small Batch Cigar, a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, smoking one previous to this review sample. News about the release was reported on Cigar-Coop back in June 2019.
Prelight
Sobremesa Brûlée comes in 13-count boxes that look very similar, if not identical to the original Sobremesa release. The artwork appears to be the same inside the lid, the designs on the outside appear the same. The bands are definitely the same, with the gold foil crown being deeply embossed on the main band and the secondary foot band ready Sobremesa. Interestingly, on the original, the background brown color of the band blends so well with the wrapper leaf that it appears at a glance to just be embossed gold foil with laser-cut holes in it. Here, the dark brown is very obvious as it is set off against the golden Shade wrapper leaf.
The wrapper leaf was a very even light golden hue with a little oiliness. It was even enough and flawless enough that it looked like something that would be put on a Davidoff. The aroma from the leaf was grassy and slightly woody, with touches of barnyard. The foot of the cigar had a stronger earthiness, with slightly sweet touches of chocolate and dark fruit.
The cold draw was very good and featured flavors of hay, molasses, cedar, and a touch of milk chocolate.
Flavor
It took a little longer than expected to get the Sobremesa Brûlée fired up but once I did, it practically exploded with flavor. I got sweet honey notes, mild grassiness, a zing of citrus, and a faint woodiness up front, with secondary notes of natural tobacco and a stronger cedar, while there was a slight roasted nuttiness and black pepper on the finish and retrohale. It was definitely on the milder side to begin with.
Getting into the second third, I noted that the cedar flavor had moved up in the profile until it was the most dominant. Sweeter notes and grassiness had diminished significantly leaving some earth, a bit of black pepper, and some nuttiness.
As the final third began, I got a more pronounced nuttiness, almost hazelnut, along with more sweet, light hay notes. More sweetness crept back into the profile as the third went along.
Construction
I had a perfect draw, very even burn line, and solid ash.
Value
Very good cigar and a price tag that wasn’t too dear, so good value.
Conclusions
Steve Saka definitely succeeded in bringing back the “classic Connecticut Shade” cigar here. Sobremesa Brûlée is mild to mild-plus without ever really touching the medium-bodied range, which is a huge departure from what we’ve seen from nearly every other Conny in the last decade. Even though it was mild, though, it was still very flavorful, smooth, and delightful. If your tastes skew more toward the milder side of cigars, you should definitely give this one a try.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
