Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan
Vitola: Toro (6 ¼ x 52)
Purchase Link: Dissident Bloc
DISSIDENT BLOC REVIEW – CALIFORNIA
Summary: Man, this stick looks like someone took an indelible marker to it. I expected dark chocolate or pepper, but the first few puffs offer sweet coffee. Corn and banana (I hope the band is yellow).
A few minor touch-ups later and baking spices welcome me into the second third. Floral notes. The sweetness reminds me of sumatran tobacco, but the wrapper looks way too dark, so I'm curious to see what this is composed of.
Final third. The strength is pretty much planted at medium. Finishes with cappuccino notes.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Being able to confidently start your sleeper pick in your fantasy football lineup.
Pairing Suggestion: Cask strength rye.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Fiver.
DISSIDENT BLOC REVIEW – WISCONSIN
Summary: This box-pressed cigar gave me some major issues. While the draw was good, if slightly on the looser side, the burn was an absolute disaster. The cigar has been stored properly for quite a while, but the wrapper just refused to burn unless I was holding flame directly to it. I've smoked a lot of cigars, and this was a pretty uniquely bad burn experience. It made the cigar basically unsmokeable.
Flavor-wise, it did start out nicely with notes of chocolate, earth, pepper, walnut, cedar, and a touch of creaminess. After that the flavors stopped mattering with such bad combustion problems.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: Earthy pepper, I suppose.
Pairing Suggestion: Bourbon.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Single.
DISSIDENT BLOC REVIEW – OREGON
Summary: Wow, the wrapper on this Toro-sized stick is super smooth. The color is espresso. Nothing but barnyard on the wrapper; light cocoa from the foot; lots of cocoa and black tea on the cold draw, which, by the way, is the perfect resistance. Starting with smooth wood notes, black pepper, dark earthiness and fresh walnut. Cocoa, coffee and a hint of... anise?
Middle... chalky cocoa, mild wood notes mixed with a hint of black pepper, some burnt toast and an overall “earthy” flavor to the whole mix. Great construction and great smoke output from this cigar.
Heading into the home stretch and I keep tasting hints of mint in the profile. Mostly it’s built of dark earthy notes, charred wood, black coffee and walnut. This cigar hasn’t offered much variation since the beginning but it’s a solid smoke with perfect construction. This offered a really enjoyable smoking experience.
If You Like That, You Might Like This: A “full auto” day at the local rifle range.
Pairing Suggestion: A nice stout.
Purchase Recommendation to a Friend: Box.
Participants in this blind review were completely unaware of the cigar they were evaluating until all submissions were received and processed. Each participant was asked to answer a summary paragraph, an if/than statement, a pairing suggestion, and a purchase suggestion. Cigars were provided by Small Batch with only the expectations of candid responses. All pictures, information, and formatting were completed by a Coordinator outside of the reviewing process.
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