Before I contracted COVID-19, one of my favorite things to do on a (mostly) weekly basis was a Cigar of the Week. A little over two years later, I’m finally confident enough in my sense of smell and taste to write about my experiences again. I’d say I’ve got about 80% of my taste back and about 50% of my smell back at this point – it’s all there, although it’s muted and I have to dig deeper than I would like.
Three of my personal favorite cigars last year were from Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust: Krakatoa, Mi Querida PapaSaka, and the Red Meat Lovers Filet Mignon. Each of these amazing blends showcased an impressive array of strength and grace in various ways, each of them caused me to secure a second box. Considering the timeline of when they were released and how many I’ve smoked already, I think it speaks volumes. Particularly the PapaSaka, which I purposefully went through a box in about a week last month.
There are so many cigars these days that you light up and think… “This is going to be amazing in a couple years.” And there are plenty that you fire up, enjoy thoroughly, recommend to your friends, and then end up forgetting about in your humidor with all the new releases. But there are very, very few cigars that present such a balanced experience within a month of release that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it can’t get much better.
In my humblest of opinions, Krakatoa and the Mi Querida PapaSaka are two of those cigars. Not to say that these cigars won’t improve in time or have little surprises waiting to reward our patience, but to my palate these cigars are as close to perfect as I can imagine.
I’m burning my last PapaSaka as I write this and I’m already itching to order more. It began as a Spice Lord, commanding heavy doses of lingering pepper before serving up sweet earth, savory char, and bitter dark chocolate / coffee notes for amazing contrast. And there’s a creaminess that presents itself in how well the oily smoke coats the palate, as well as a tempering of flavors.
In a word, the PapaSaka is a meal. Throw in a 10-count box and now we have a value meal! If you’ve also experienced this incredible cigar, drop us a comment below and tell us your thoughts.
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