Tag Archives: Dunbarton

May 3, 2026 · 9:57 am

Gold Star, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust and El Titan de Bronze Cigars

First off, go back to my last post and comment to enter the giveaway!  These Freshbox humidor starter kits are nice!  There’s the humidor, cutter, lighter and 12 cigars from major brands.  It’s possible that some additional goodies might fall into the box when packing them for shipping!  These take coolerdors to the next level!

  

That’s all for today…just kidding.  I smoked a few cigars this week that I hadn’t smoked before, the first of which is the Gold Star from United Cigars.  Oliver at United was kind enough to send me a couple of these a few weeks back, and I was excited to try them.  I thought originally these were made to commemorate Gold Star families, families who’ve lost children in the line of duty.  Looking at the website, there’s a different story, one of a gold star painted on a tobacco barn.  I kinda like the first story better, but maybe there’s excess baggage that goes along with it.  Anyway, this toro, 6″ x 54, has a Habano 2000 wrapper, grown in Ecuador. Thirty years ago when the Hanaco 2000 wrapper was developed as a disease resistant strain, one of the byproducts was that it was also flame resistant.  You could make kids pajamas out of those wrappers!  It’s improved.  The binder is an Indonesian Sumatra, and the fillers are Dominican Ligero, Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’98 and Connecticut Broadleaf.  The website also mentions some flavor components I don’t know anything about:  “Bohea tea, kalamata olive”.  I have no reference for these, nore have I ever heard the words (Bohea and kalamata, tea and olive I’m familiar with).  Maybe those flavors are there, who knows.  I know that I got a bready sweetness, maybe some leather, and the spice built as I smoked.  Overall, I liked the cigar, I’d buy these, but I don’t know of any United retailers locally. 

 

Next up is the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust 10th Jubilee.  One of my local shops, CigarCigars in Frazer, PA, has Dunbarton cigars now.  I’m happy that the new ownership has brought in Dunbarton, as well as some other brands I like.  This cigar was outside of my price comfort zone, but I bit the bullet anyway and justified it by spreading the cost out with some less expensive cigars. OK, I just wanted to try this one.  These are dangerously close to $20 in PA. This is a 5 5/8″ x 48 corona gorda with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a Mexican binder and fillers from Condega, Estelí, Jalapa and Ometepe. These are made at the NACSA factory where Mi Querida and Red Meat Lovers Cigars are made.  Saka says that he hadn’t used any of these specific tobaccos in his prior blends.  While I enjoyed this cigar, I think if I’m going to splurge on a cigar, it’ll be on a Sin Compramiso which better suits my palate.  This was a really interesting cigar.  It started out with what I think of as umami, with a mild spice.  I swear I got a cinnamon flavor around the halfway point. I don’t have a great palate, and sometimes subtleties elude me, but there were some neat flavors in this cigar.  No regrets, I might pick up another one if I’m feeling reckless with money (which I rarely am).  

 

The last cigar this week was the new El Titan de Bronze Nicaragua. I have smoked a couple of the new Cohiba M Reserva Plata, which is made at El Titan de Bronze in Miami with some mixed results.  I thought it was weird to get Cohibas made in Miami and El Titan de Bronze cigars made in Nicaragua in the same shipment.  I’ve smoked and enjoyed El Titan de Bronze cigars from the miami factory before, and had high hopes for the Nicaraguan. These come in in the $8-10 range, which would be impossible for a Miami made cigar, I suppose. Like the Dunbarton 10th Jubilee, these are made at NACSA.  I smoked the 5″ x 54 robusto which has a Broadleaf wrapper, Mexican binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  On paper I should really like this cigar. My notes are pretty limited on this, I just wrote down meaty…charcoal grill meaty.  This was totally savory without a hint of sweetness.  I will have to smoke a few more of these, I’m not quite sure how I feel about them. I might also have to dig out some of the El Titan cigars I picked up at the factory when I was there a few years ago (sheesh, 7 or 8 years? , time flies).  

 

That’s all for today, don’t forget to go back and enter the contest!  Until the next time (for real this time), 

CigarCraig

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February 4, 2024 · 9:52 am

Dunbarton Famous 80th New Sizes and a Visit to the Leaf

This is going to be a relatively short post today, and a little different than the usual Sunday post.  Friday evening we went up to The Leaf/Famous Smoke Shop in Easton, PA for a cigar.  They were launching two new sizes in their Dunbarton Famous 80th line, a Corona Larga and a Gordo.  I’m not entirely sure why they are continuing with the 80th theme on

these, as the original release in a box pressed toro was in 2019 (read about it here), they could easily call these the 85th Anniversary.  They came out with a Robusto in 2021 (I was there as well, read about it here, please forgive the mention of the other store which has since closed). Since I went to the prior two events, I felt obligated to go to this one, and I like to catch up with Steve and Dave Lafferty, two people I’ve known for a very long time. I picked up a handful of each of the new sizes and lit up a Corona Larga and looked for a place to sit.  The place was packed, not sure if it was a Friday night thing, or a Saka thing, maybe a l

ittle of both.  We sat at a wobbly hightop in the bar area.  The Corona Larga is 6½” x 48, which is a really nice size as far as I’m concerned, probably about perfect for me. They call this a maduro, but it’s really a Sun Grown Nicaraguan H2000 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s a beautiful cigar.  Earlier in the week I smoked one of the original release Toros and it smoked really well, needed a touch up here and there, but I rather expect that with the H2000, but there was an umami funky flavor that was unique and interesting. I didn’t get too much of that, in the Corona Larga, maybe a little bit. I think this strikes me as kind of a cross between the Mi Querida and the Todos Las Dias.  I really liked the Corona Larga, almost regret not splurging on a box, but I ain’t made of money!  We ended up leaving after one cigar as the wobbly table was annoying, the place was too crowded and we accomplished what we intended. We probably missed seeing some people, but we’ll catch them the next time. 

 

Yesterday I smoked the Gordo, which is a box pressed 6″ x 60, kind of an odd size for Dunbarton.  It’s probably better classified as trunk pressed, as it’s not a cuadrado, or sharp box press like a CAO Flathead or the like.  It’s pressed enough to make it feel like it’s closer to a 56 ring than a 60. I liked this one a lot too, although it had some of the funk that the toro had that I didn’t really get in the Corona Larga. While we were at the event, Saka was making the rounds and stopped by to catch up.  Of course, we catch up on personal, family stuff, as we’ve known Steve for 25 years.  He holds court for a while, but he gets up and works the room, recognizing that people are there to see him, and if he’s in the same spot all night the people around him aren’t going to move to let other people hang out for a while. I usually say that I go to these events to see Dave (and I forgot to tell Dave something…damn…). Back to the Gordo:  Like the other cigars in this shop exclusive line, it’s really good. I imagine if you like Dunbarton cigars you’ll like these. Another funny thing is that the Famous 80th line is really the only Dunbarton store exclusive I’ve gotten my hands on (except for the Great Smoke exclusive I had last week). I don’t chase stuff down, if I happen across something I’ll pick it up.  I do wonder if they will still be coming out with Famous 80th cigars fifteen years from now! 

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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October 3, 2021 · 10:41 am

Visits to Son’s Cigars and Famous Smoke Shop

Busy week this week!  First, some housekeeping. If you’ve been a subscriber to my email notifications, and have noticed the lack of emails over the last several months, hopefully that is at an end. Since I “upgraded” the site to SSL, to provide a secure browsing experience for everyone, Something had been broken that made the whole e-mail thing work, and I think it’s finally been fixed. Cross your fingers. I also notice there are about 78 people who initially signed up to received e-mails, but never responded to the confirmation e-mail, so they are not receiving the e-mails, and they probably think ill of me. When you sign up you get an e-mail  from

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Feedburner which you need to respond to to be subscribed, it’s to prevent people from signing you up without your consent, nothing nefarious! There are people who have been subscribed for over ten years, and I appreciate that! I hope it’s not filtered into their spam folder

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s! 

 

Wednesday evening I went over to Son’s Cigar Lounge in Exton, PA and met up with Barry Stein from The Cigar Authority and 2 Guys Cigars, who was passing through. He had his wife, Heidi, along with him, I suppose to prove her existence (I kid, I’ve known Barry over a decade, he’s a good dude, and Heidi is obviously a saint). We were joined over the course of the evening by cigar company rep, an independent broker, and a major cigar company owner. There were a couple customers there too! I bought some cigars I haven’t had yet, as I do when I’m there, and their selection is growing by leaps and bounds. They have a rather large range of house blends made by Noel Rojas, and Brian, the manager there, recommended the Sumatra, which I bought and smoked immediately, being a fan of the wrapper. it was not at all disappointing, as a matter of fact, I liked it much more than the Street Tacos Barbacaoa I smoked after it. I’ll pick up more the next time I’m there, if there are any left! I also snatched up a couple of the Bangarangs, which are made

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by Espinosa at the AJ Fernandez San Lotano Factory for the folks at Powstanie Cigars (Pospiech Cigars). This is another cigar I should go back and buy more of. I’m to understand that they sold all of these and didn’t even keep enough to have in their own store, Cigar Hustler, in Florida. This is a very strong cigar, lots of pepper spice and nicotine. I enjoyed it, in the way one enjoys hot wings that make you sweat while your eating them. It’s 6″ x48 format, which is probably just about right, as any more would be too much of a good thing. This is a short paragraph, and I have several pictures I want to put in, so I should think of more words to say, but I have none! Oh! I know, Barry was kind enough to gift me an Aladino Box Pressed Toro, which had a United Cigars secondary band on it, so I gather that it’s exclusive. Aladinos always remind me of the old Camacho Corojos, this is no different, and the box press is nice. It was smooth, rich and full of flavor. I like these. 

 

Yesterday I took a drive up to Famous Smoke Shop as they were having an event releasing the latest Dunbarton Famous 80th Anniversary in a Robusto size. I think it’s Famous’ 82nd anniversary by now, but who’s counting. Dave Lafferty was there, and I guess that Saka guy showed up eventually. Of course, Saka was there, I’ve known him so long that I’m a little over-familial with him and people maybe mistake it for something it isn’t. So I did get to talk to Steve, mostly he asked how my family was doing and stuff friends who haven’t seen one another in a while do. I keep wanting to ask him why the hell he didn’t put the Dunbarton D on the back of the Stillwell Star bands like the Sin Compromiso and Sobremesa, so he could avoid them being put on the cigars upside-down, but I forgot again. There were other personalities there, and I met a fellow Craig who is a reader and social media acquaintance who lives a few miles away from me there. I will have to smoke the toro and robust

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o side by side, but I believe the robusto to be stronger. I bought a bunch, and still have several of the original toros, so I’m in good shape. I doubt they sold out, so Famous should have them available soon on their website. If I may vent, the Leaf, which is the bar portion of the Famous shop in Easton, is no longer a restaurant. They have converted the dining area to a lounge, which is OK, they didn’t really have enough lounge space before, in my opinion. My beef was that they had live entertainment yesterday (a solo guitarist/singer). It alwa

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ys befuddles me why places that are based around a product that is about sitting, relaxing and having conversation, and the seating area is actually designed for this, they have loud music that makes it difficult to have conversation! WHY? It’s neither fair to the patrons nor the performer, really. I don’t get it.

 

Well, that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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April 2, 2019 · 9:46 am

Podcast: Episode 13: Sunday Funday with Steve Saka

Sunday, March 31, I attended an even

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t at Famous Smokeshop‘s Easton PA. location, where they have their retail store and the Leaf Cigar Bar. They were hosting the Sunday Funday with Steve Saka, which featured an afternoon of Jameson Irish Whiskey, three Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust cigars, and three gourmet donuts.  I managed to get Ste

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ve out of his shell for a few minutes, you know how shy he is…so I hope you enjoy listening to this episode.

 


 

This might be the first place you’re

hearing about the Polpette, Steve’s mixed filler creation! I smoked it, and it was awesome at 10 days old, and will end up being one of those cigars that people trip over themselves to get ahold of, whether Steve believes it or not! I know it’s been a while between shows, hopefully now that it’s spring, I’ll have more opportunities to  record.  Until the the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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March 24, 2019 · 10:51 am

Rodriguez Cigars, a Few Favorites and a Kentucky Fire Cured Revisit

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ly. I always look forward to warmer weather!  This week I enjoyed a few cigars I really love, the Umbagog Toro Toro, and the E.P. Carillo Seleccion Oscuro Especial No. 6, both 6″ x 52 parejos that’s my preferred size, and both maduros, with the former being Connecticut broadleaf and the latter being Mexican San Andrés Negro. The two cigars aren’t that similar, but both overwhelm the palate with rich flavors and have heavy espresso notes in common, with Umbagog being sweeter and the Oscuro Especial being earthier and dirtier. I love them both, and never have regrets when I light either one up. They are two cigars I could see having in a rotation (of about 20) if I were to hang up my blog hat and settle into some normal semblance of cigar consumerism. As it is, I like to enjoy one of these every now and again, they are both so good.

 

For some reason I have been wanting to revisit a Drew Estate MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured lately, and I’m not sure why. I actually really like the Swamp Thang line extension now and then, heck, I’ll just say it, I’d smoke it more than now and then, I don’t so the novelty doesn’t wear off. I didn’t care for the KFC when I smoked a prototype at the factory in Nicaragua in 2013, it was too campfirey for me, but I’ve grown to enjoy the production version after some humidor time, and I have a handful that have been in the humidor for quite a while. So I went all in and grabbed a “Just a Friend” which is the 6″ x 52 toro, again, a size I like, and “fired” it up. I have a couple smaller vitolas, including a Flying Pig, floating around, but I figured I’d commit. It had the campfire on the pre-light, but no hint once lit, which is fine by me. I would put this cigar on the savory end of the spectrum flavor-wise, maybe leathery. It’s good, enjoyable, but I think I like the what the Candela adds to the blend in the Swamp Thang version better, it’s just a little more interesting to me. It’s not a cigar that I’d avoid, that’s for sure.

 

Last week I saw an article on Cigar Aficionados website about the formation of the Coalition of American Cigar Rollers, and one of the companies mentioned was Rodriguez Cigar Factory in Key West, Florida. I hadn’t heard of this factory until a few months ago when my neighbors who winter in Florida happened to send me a box of five of their Reserva Privada series Torpedos from a visit. I had set this little box aside in the humidor not knowing how long it had been out of proper conditions, and kinda forgot about it until this article reminded me of it, so I figured last nig

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ht would be the right time to give one a try. The Reserva Privada has a four year aged Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, which is on the darker side in my opinion (I wasn’t sure it was Connecticut until looking it up actually), with Nicaraguan fillers and binder, rolled in Key West. The torpedo is a perfectly formed 6″ x 52 with a pointy head like a Perdomo torpedo and burned perfectly with an ideal draw, even though I snipped a rather small bit off the end to start. I was very impressed with this smooth, rich tasting cigar. It was elegant, with a caramel sweetness that was enjoyable. I am a bit jaded, and often go into cigars like this wondering if they will be either just another cigar, or worse, but this was a very nice smoke, and worthy of attention. It’s even priced well for a U.S. manufactured product.

 

That’s enough from me for now. It’s supposed to be nice today, and I have some things I want to get done in the yard, and I have the day off, so there are cigars to smoke too. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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