Cigar Reviews
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sin Compromiso
I hope you all had a fun, and safe Halloween holiday! This week I am relaxing in my backyard with a Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sin Compromiso in one hand, and an Evil Twin Liquid Double Fudge in the other.
The Good Stuff:
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s Sin Compromiso is one of this year’s most highly anticipated / most sought after cigars. Making it’s debut at this year’s IPCPR show in Las Vegas Sin Compromiso or “Without Compromise” consists of tobaccos that were specifically grown just for this blend. Everyone knows just how picky, and meticulous Steve Saka, founder of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust can be so to hear that he went through the trouble of carefully picking and growing specific tobaccos to create such a unique experience creates a considerable amount of anticipation. The cigar starts with Nicaraguan filler tobaccos covered with an Ecuadorian Habano binder, then wrapper with a special San Andres Negro wrapper which is grown by using a similar process Japanese fruit farmers use. As the tobacco plant grows workers remove the bottle leaves of the plant which causes more nutrients to be consumed by the tap of the plant resulting in a much bolder tobacco leaf. The end result to all the hard work results in what Saka calls the blest blend he has ever created.
The Sin Compromiso comes in five sizes: Espada Estoque (7 x 44), Seleccion Intrepido (5 2/3 x 46), No. 2 Torpedo (6 x 52), No. 5 Parejo (6 x 54), and the No. 7 Parejo (7 x 56). All come packaged in boxes of 13 running between $15.95 and $18.45 a stick. I purchased a handful of these over form our friends at Cigar Hustler.
Size: 5.63 x 46
Wrapper: San Andres Negro
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicararaguan
Body: Full
Strength: Medium / Full
Price: $15.95
Pairing: Evil Twin Liquid Double Fudge (Imperial stout 12% ABV)
Prelight:
The Dunbarton Sin Compromiso starts out with a gorgeous, consistent dark brown wrapper. The color is incredibly consistent minus some very minor darker brown splotches located around the natural webbing in the wrapper leaf. The texture on the cigar is semi-toothy with a good amount of oils while the wrapper itself feels even thick and durable. The cigar is a little softer around the foot than the rest of the cigar, but that shouldn’t cause any issues. As a whole the Sin Compromiso is packed tightly, with a good wither to it. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself showcasing only mild veining as it runs up the cigar’s slender, soft box-pressed body leading up to it’s round triple cap. The cigar is polished off with an elegant black and white band with a cross on the front as well as a cedar sleeve with the cigar’s “Sin Compromiso” printed along the front.
The wrapper on the Sin Compromiso gives of little more than some faint dark chocolate and spice aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more musk, spice, sweetness, and cedar. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The crowd draw produces really nice chocolate, nutmeg, cinnimon, musk, and cedar flavors which remind me a lot of Christmas.
First Third:
The Sin Compromiso catches me off guard with a potent little cayenne pepper zing which lasted through the first few initial draws. After the pepper completes it’s exit I am greeted with some great rich dark chocolate flavors along with a mixture of cedar, musk, nutmeg and some really interesting floral undertones. The wrapper also leaves me with a bit of tartness on my lips. The draw is absolutely perfect pumping out gobs of thick white smoke with every little puff. I really love the soft box-press formats as they fit so comfortably in both my hand and mouth. The burn line is razor thin and very even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white ash which held on for just under an inch before falling into my ashtray.
Second Third:
Into the second third of the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sin Compromiso and the flavors are really mixing it up. The cigar now leads with a bold cedar and spice which wasn’t prominent at all at the start, backed by the great musk that I really enjoy, dark chocolate, and bold espresso. The retrohale is really bringing the spice out of the woodwork. The cigar is still burning perfectly and I close out the second third with only a very minor nicotine kick.
Finish:
Into the final third of the Sin Compromiso and this is where the boldness really comes into play. The pepper has made it’s return, however its just enough to add an extra “umph” the profile that’s lead by cedar, dark chocolate, spice, musk and espresso backed by cinnamon and nutmeg. That’s right, those Christmas flavors I picked up in the cold draw have finally introduced themselves to the experience. It took my an hour and a half to smoke this cigar down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness nor extended heat.
Overview:
The Sin Compromiso delivers on all fronts. The cigar started out complex and the rapid changeups in the profile really kept me on my toes. The flavor profile was incredible and really fit my personal preference. The cigar burned like a dream from start to finish and I never once had to reach for my torch to relight, or touch up the cigar. The price is a bit steep but given the amount of work and preparation that went into this cigar I don’t think it’s as expensive as I would have expected and I would (and have) gladly drop the coin to enjoy this cigar.
Pairing:
Today’s pairing comes from our favorite Gypsy brewers, Evil Twin Brewing. Liquid Double Fudge is a 12% Imperial stout brewed with a whole mess of chocolate. The beer starts off with a huge amount of bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, and caramel with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing off with more vanilla, sweet chocolate and malt. Its a pretty simple beer, but a great one. I chose this particular beer as I really enjoyed the chocolate and musk notes in the Sin Compromiso and wanted to pair it with something that focused on those, without adding much more to the mix. This was perfect.
0 comments