Drew Estate ACID Opulence 3 Cigar Review

Before reading please understand this review was based on the batch of these bad boys that cigar.com had sent me. They were pretty dried out upon arrival and this is no way reflects flaws caused by Drew Estate

As stated earlier in this blog that I tend to ignore as I tend to more “life threatening” situations (such as pizza and tv), I wanted to not only blog about design and work related issues, but breakdown some of my favorite cigars, and beers as well.

Fortunately I had the pleasure of getting my hands on a couple (5 to be exact) of Drew Estate’s ACID Opulence 3’s.

When the cigar first appeared it caught me off guard as the banding is not consistent with the rest of ACID line:

Acid Opulence 3 (image courtesy of Cigar.com)

Luckily for me, I know how to read and quickly added this to my “cigars I need to buy STAT!” list.

I ordered these from cigar.com on Thursday of last week, considering the fact that I live on the other side of the US, and they were shipped USPS, I was pleasantly surprised when they came in the following Monday. They packaged them in a Ziploc-air-tight cigar bag, along with a proper humi-care pouch which is why I do not understand the dry condition these cigars were in. I quickly placed them in my humidor. Again, this review is based off this batch which were pretty dried out, this is NOT Drew Estate’s shortcoming in any way, shape, or form. I’m hoping that my humidor will condition these cigars giving me the chance to review the review.

On to the good stuff:

Robusto  –  Size: 5 x 54  –  Wrapper: Maduro  –  Country: Nicaragua

Opulence 3 is labeled the “rarest” ACID cigar in production. They are constructed from 3 different Esteli, Nicaraguan tobacco crops from the years 2005, 2006, and 2007. Each leaf (from my understanding) is then carefully infused with aromas, and oils as only Drew Estates can do. After this, the tobacco is then wrapped with a surprising dark, and heavily flavorful oily maduro wrapper from San Andres, Mexico.

Prelight: Shortly after removing the cellophane the aroma of what smelled very similar to the ACID Blues filled the room. The construction of the cigar was impeccable. One of the most solid I have ever seen.  There were no visible veins or soft spots. The cigar sports a very rounded cap so I decided a cutter would be my best approach.

First Smoke: I used a standard single flame colibri butane torch to light this cigar. I was expecting the smooth, soft, flavorful taste of the ACID blue due to the aroma, but surprisingly I was smacked in the face with a VERY strong, spicy, floral taste of the Opulence 3. Needless to say this surprise was more than welcomed. The first third of the cigar was EXTREMELY powerful, great draw, not a whole lot of smoke (but very thick), with an almost perfectly even burn. I got a little over an inch of ash before it finally gave way. The aroma was extremely pleasant (even my neighbor pointed this out).

Halfway There:The second third definitely kept its flavor and spice. Not to mention strength. This had to be one of the stronger ACID’s I’ve had the pleasure of smoking. Sadly at this point the dryness of the cigar began to take over. The wrapping began to come undone, and very flaky. The draw began to lessen quite drastically, but oddly kept its flavor. Needless to say the ash was all over the place.

Finish:I am sill pretty sad that the cigar was so dry, the finish would have been remarkable. The nub was increasingly power-packed with strength and flavor, the only downfall was at this point the wrapper was almost completely diminished. I’m not usually a fan of the nub, but I couldn’t help but love this one. The increase of flavor kept me wanting more.

OverView:This is a GREAT Acid cigar. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who hasn’t had an ACID before, but for those of you who have, grab these while they are still available. The burn was mere perfect, as well was the flawless construction. Very powerful strength combined with immense spice, and floral flavors.