Cigar Review: Sobremesa Short Churchill by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

• Vitola: Short Churchill
• 4.75” x 48 ring gauge
• MSRP $9.95
• Samples provided by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

Background

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’ve spent an “inordinate” amount of time discussing Sobremesa here on Leaf Enthusiast the past year and a half or so. Some people might say that, but I wouldn’t. I did a full review of the Cervantes Fina vitola in November 2015 (and Jon did one of the Americano soon after). I named it my 2015 pick for Cigar of the Year, then did a re-visit of that decision in the second half of 2016, as well as a “Cigar Extra” look at the Elegantes en Cedro line extension. So it’s been featured 5 times in a year’s time…but if you compare that with how many times the newest Corvette was on the cover of Car and Driver in the first year of its production, I think you’ll find that we compare favorably.

All this to say, I was a little hesitant to put out another full review of another vitola in the same line. But circumstances being what they are (namely, it’s January and review material is a bit thin at the moment…plus Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust sent me samples), well, I decided to go for it.

The latest “training pack” from Saka and crew does not got into nearly as much detail about the origins of the tobaccos for the blend, and I generally don’t go into that much detail when I talk to people about this blend in the shop, either. My basic pitch goes like this: 7 different types of tobacco from 4 different countries, so expect a great amount of complexity. That ends up being 4 different Nicaraguan leaves, plus Pennsylvania Broadleaf in the filler, a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano Grade 1 Dark Rosado wrapper. They combine to make an exquisite and rich blend that is medium in body and wonderful to smoke time after time. Each individual size tends to highlight different aspects of the blend, but when it came time to create some line extensions, Steve Saka decided to change things up a bit.

The Elegantes en Cedro and Short Churchill vitolas were designed specifically to bump up the strength just a bit. The training pack calls the Short Churchill “bordering on potent, a much stronger liga option.” I have smoked about 6 or 8 of these Sobremesa Short Churchills, some of which I purchased and some of which were provided by the company. This review sample was provided by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust.

Prelight

I still think the Sobremesa box and band is one of the strongest examples of cigar art around today. The box is beautiful and the band is elegantly simple while being more intricate than it first appears, to the point that the brown background gives the illusion of the band having holes cut in it with the wrapper leaf showing through.

The wrapper leaf in question is a rich dark chocolate hue with just a touch of red under certain lighting conditions; it is definitely one of the darkest rosado leaves I’ve ever seen. It glistened with oils under the light and had a strong, pungent earth and leather aroma.  The foot of the stick had more earth, along with hay and cedar notes.

Once clipped, the cold draw was very easy and featured flavors of cedar and hay, along with a touch of cinnamon and a mild sweetness.

Flavor

The Sobremesa Short Churchill starts off with an unexpectedly heavy earthiness (unexpected because it was quite a bit heavier than my favored Cervantes Fino vitola), along with a large portion of cedar. Layered under that are black pepper and cinnamon notes, then a short hit of coffee and anise. The retrohale had a slightly stronger pepper component, along with cedar and roasted nuts.

The cigar burned lazily into the second third, where it displayed notes of roasted nut and cinnamon and medium-roast coffee on top of earthy flavors. Sweeter notes of dark chocolate came and went, while the pepper spice was just a dull burn in the background.

In the last third, the Sobremesa Short Churchill started showing off the fuller body that was designed into this vitola. The flavor profile displayed more earth and coffee notes, with the cedar and cinnamon taking a supporting role. Pepper was still low-level.

Construction

As with pretty much every other Sobremesa I’ve smoked, construction was superb. Just the right resistance on the draw, a very even burn line and an ash as solid as concrete.

Value

A very pleasant smoking experience and the cheapest of the Sobremesa line, so the value is high on this one.

Conclusions

There are a couple reasons why I’ve smoked quite a few Short Churchills since it was introduced. First, it is the cheapest in the Sobremesa line-up. Second, it is my second favorite vitola. While it sacrifices some of the amazing balance and complexity of the Cervantes Fino, it more than makes up for it with a slightly increased body and “presence” while smoking it. While I will more often opt for the Cervantes Fino size, I do prefer this vitola over all the remaining ones. If you already enjoy the Sobremesa line and just wish it had a little more kick, this is your cigar.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10