Vitola: Gordo (Robusto Gordo)- 5” x 56 ring gauge
- MSRP $12.50
- Samples provided by General Cigar Company
Background
Near the end of 2020, General Cigar’s Diesel brand released a special cigar to celebrate the holidays. With a lot of people unable to unwilling to celebrate in 2020, though, it seems appropriate that I’m reviewing it for 2021…to celebrate the ringing out of the old year and ringing in of the new one, perhaps! The Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask Blend Holiday 2020 was released in November and General sent me some samples.
I don’t honestly think there’s much difference between this and the regular release of the Whiskey Row Sherry Cask blend. Both are noted for having Nicaraguan fillers and a “rare Brazilian Alagoas Arapiraca” binder leaf that is aged in Rabbit Hole Distillery’s Pedro Ximénez Sherry barrels (after those barrels are used to aged some of their Bourbon, of course). The regular release uses a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper only. This release adds a Connecticut Shade wrapper to that, with the two leaves presented in a barber-pole format. While it is definitely a pretty look, I have found in the past that adding a Shade leaf as part of a barber pole generally adds very little to blend, especially when the primary wrapper leaf is a strong leaf like a Broadleaf Maduro. The vitola is different from anything released in their regular cigars. They call it a Gordo, but that generally has been used to refer to 6 x 60 cigars, so I personally prefer to call this a Robusto Gordo…same length as a typical Robusto, but fatter.
Before this review, I had smoked at least two of the samples that were provided to me, so this would be my third time smoking this specific blend and size. As with other cigars I the Diesel line, the blend was created by AJ Fernandez, in collaboration with brand manager, Justin Andrews. This edition is released in 10-count boxes that are shipped like a whiskey barrel; the top of the barrel comes off and doubles as an ashtray.
Prelight
At a recent General Cigar event one of the raffle prizes was a “barrel/box” of these cigars. I did not win it, but the person who did is a good friend and when I told him how cool this box was, he gave it to me…seriously this is one of my favorite packaging designs in quite some time. Other than that the packaging is fairly standard for this line. The main band and foot band are—I believe—identical to the ones used on the regular Sherry Cask release.
I maintain that the artistry behind rolling barber pole cigars is one of the most attractive things in the cigar world. Visually, it’s just a beautiful look, and this release is not an exception to that rule. The primary wrapper is milk chocolate brown with some oiliness; the Shade leaf is just visible as a thin line that twists its way up the stick and it’s golden and smooth to look at. The Maduro wrapper dominates in the area of aroma, providing notes of chocolate and earth and coffee, while the foot of the cigar has cedar and oak, along with hints of vanilla and earth and chocolate.
I clipped the end and got a good draw that tasted of dark fruit, oak, earth, and a touch of vanilla.
Flavor
Once fired up, the Diesel Rabbit Hole Sherry Cask Holiday 2020 started off with a mix of earth, dark chocolate, red wine, and wood, along with pepper on the finish and on the nose. The cigar started off at the low end of the full-bodied range and I rather enjoyed the mix of sweetness and spiciness with a little savoriness mixed in for good measure.
As I got into the second third, I definitely picked up on more of the wine notes in the mix…much more prevalent than any whiskey flavors, to be honest. It provided a nice smooth sweetness that had counterpoints of wood, earth, and coffee beans. There was perhaps a little extra creaminess in the mix from the Shade wrapper in the barber pole.
The last third was more earthy with an increasing coffee bean note, while the sweeter flavors slipped into the background with the pepper spice.
Construction
The draw was excellent, the burn line was very even, and the ash was solid throughout.
Value
The price tag on these is a little more than the regular release of the Rabbit Hole Sherry Cask cigars, I think mostly due to the very special box they come in. That makes them a little hard to justify one a one-by-one basis, but the barrel-box is so cool that it makes total sense if you buy the whole box…which I would.
Conclusions
The Diesel Rabbit Hole Sherry Cask Holiday 2020 is a very nice way to ring out a year that was painful for many around the world for a variety of reasons. It was full-bodied without being overwhelming, complex with savory and sweet notes balancing nicely most of the time, peppery at times, creamy at times, and just overall pleasant. If you liked the original Sherry Cask release, you’ll enjoy this…if not, just pass it by. If you did like the original, you’ll probably want to go ahead and spring for a box of 10 so you can get the very nice collectible barrel-box.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
