Cigar Reviews
Lone Wolf Sungrown
Here we are today with another review that comes courtesy of our friend Lou B. At a recent herf, Lou and I traded/gifted a few cigars to each other and so I decided to review a few of them. Today’s cigar is one I had never heard of prior to him giving it to me so I figure I’d do a review and see what happened. The cigar today is called the Lone Wolf Sungrown.
The Lone Wolf Cigars website gives a pretty good back story for the brand and cigar, so I won’t re-invent the wheel here. Here’s what the website says:
The Lone Wolf wholesale and retail Cigar Company was founded in 1996 by cigar lovers Chuck Norris and James Belushi. As friends, they shared a love for cigars, Norris and Belushi set out to create a classic American cigar company that represented their values and ideals.
David R. Weiss, president of The Lone Wolf Cigar Company, acquired the company in 2000, after managing the retail operations since 1996. Weiss’s leadership led the company from a specialty niche position to nationally recognized brand and retailer
A cigar line that has Chuck Norris involved?! Awesome! haha. But aside from that cool factor, the Lone Wolf makes a few different cigars. They have some in-shop proprietary lines which include the Signature Select, Lobo Rojo and Lobo Fuerte. Also, the Lone Wolf Cigar Co. mass distributes a couple blends, namely the Sungrown and Wolfpack lines. Now the store itself is located in Santa Monica, California.
One thing you might notice if you google this cigar is that the band has changed a bit. A lot of the pictures on the web seem to have an older yellowish label. That might be the “Wolfpack” blend but I’m not 100% sure on that. And from what I read the Wolfpack is the same Sumatra wrapper so I’d have to do some more digging to find out any further differences. But anyways, the band has the same logo, but the color is different and the word “Sungrown” was added on the top curve.
Now the vision of Lone Wolf cigars was to create a classic American cigar company that would impress aficionados and casual smokers alike. Not only that, but to offer them at fair prices, and I have to say that this cigar is offered at a VERY fair price. It can easily make your daily rotation without breaking the bank. So let’s see if this budget cigar is worthy of being included into that daily rotation or if it’s another cheap cigar to toss into the bushes.
Cigar: Lone Wolf Sungrown
Drink: Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter
Vitola: Toro (6 x 50)
Wrapper: Indonesian Sungrown
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: About $1.85
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours
Construction:
• The wrapper on this Lone Wolf Sungrown is not going to win any beauty awards, it has some roughness to it and an odd brownish-green color, a little more green and it could have been mistaken for a candela
• On the good side, there are no major veins to be worried about here, just a couple medium sized ones which I have to say is rare for a budget cigar
• The foot has a nice clean cut to it and looks to be fairly well packed
• The top of the cigar is finished off with a fairly rough double cap with has a few folds on the sides
• There is a nice amount of spring to the cigar when squeezed that is consistent from head to foot
• My double bladed guillotine cutter made easy work of the cap and left me with a smooth end
• The draw is just about perfect on this Lone Wolf Sungrown
Burn:
• Toasting the foot was surprisingly awesome, the wrapper didn’t run on any side and it took it’s time getting to the nice orange glow and doing so evenly
• I’m happy to say the burn is moving along razor sharp through the first third, not a single wave to be concerned about so far
• Passed the halfway mark and still no issues in the burn department, razor sharp the whole way
• A lot of budget cigars seem to burn really fast but this one is taking its time and allowing me to enjoy it
Smoke & Ash:
• Each draw is bringing a very full amount of smoke without much effort
• While resting, the cigar is showing off a nice steady stream of light smoke, giving off a nice woodsy aroma too
• The ash seems to be looking strong and neat in the first third without much flaking
• The color of the ash almost seems to be a lighter grey with a hint of the greenish brown wrapper with some darker black accents
• The first ash held strong to about 1.5 inches, but it started flaking a bit so I tapped it off before it ended up on the floor or my lap
• The second ash kept the same strength and neatness as it lasted another 1.5 inches before taking a tumble into my lap 🙁
Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Lone Wolf Sungrown has a very light aroma, maybe just a touch of woodiness to it
• The foot adds a bit of a sweet floral aroma to the mix with maybe just a touch of spice
• The pre-light draw is very interesting, it has some fresh wood flavors and floral notes in there and one other thing I can’t seem to pick out, but it has a sort of refreshing touch to it
• The initial draws are fairly mild and balanced with some woodsy and leather notes and just a touch of white pepper here and there
• The retrohale is also fairly mild with very little bite to it and just a touch of cedar on the finish
• As we move along, the woodsy flavors are taking control for the most part but the leather and spices are still around
• At the halfway mark, the strength may have barely crossed into the medium range but flavors are mostly the same
• The spice started making a comeback in the last third, even tossing some baking spices into the mix with the pepper
• All the flavors seemed to start gaining some intensity as I burned through the last third, the strength also picked up into the higher end of medium here
Final Thoughts:
Now this cigar was not overly dimensional or complex, that’s a given. But something we need to keep in mind is that an entire box can be had for only $45. That’s less than $2 a stick for a Toro vitola! Now most times, a sub-$2 will burn terribly and give poor flavors. This was not the case here. Although one-dimensional, it was a tasty dimension, never harsh or bitter and stayed tasty the whole way through. And what about this burn, damn near perfect! Can’t complain at all about that. These are definitely worthy of a box purchase to have around when you want a well burning cigar with some flavors that you can enjoy without breaking the bank. They also make an excellent giftable cigar. Also, how can you say no to Chuck Norris? If you don’t go buy a box now he will round-house kick you in the head! lol
Pairings:
this is not the first appearance of this tasty brew on the website and won’t be the last. The Coffee Porter by the local Toronto brewery called Mill Street is one I always seem to keep stocked in my fridge. It’s got a nice thick texture that overflows with malty and coffee flavors that almost always make a perfect pairing to my cigars. If you ever come across this, be sure to give it a try. It paired very well with the more subtle flavors of the Lone Wolf Sungrown and added the nice coffee flavors to the mix. Other good pairings here would be coffee, an lighter brew such as an amber or blond or maybe even some tart juice.
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