After more than a decade on the market, Pepper Cream Soda by Caldwell Cigar Co. has earned its stripes. Not just because it is a great little blend, and lives up to its name by providing the flavors and aromatics that are so obviously advertised on its lime green band. But because of its success story.

This blend is a stray that found a new home, and has since gone on to prove that it has the pedigree to provide plenty of smoking pleasure. An entry in the Caldwell "Lost & Found" series that has proven that sometimes what is printed on the band really does say it all. 

So, with a freshly constructed (but all but complete) cigar studio at my disposal, and the mercury dropping outside, I set to smoking and assessing what has quickly become a Klaro favorite as of late. A blend that was given new purpose by Robert Caldwell, and continues to impress me every time I spark up. Let's get to it, shall we?

[Buy 5-Pack]

Unlit Impressions 

Soft and somewhat underfilled feeling, the barrel of this Carhartt-colored cigar is something I would neither categorize as attractive nor repulsive. It's just a plain ol' oil-free wrapper with virtually zero tooth and some jagged seams. It also smells a bit strongly of wet wood ash and cedar sap, with a touch of soil, black pepper, and grass clippings underneath.

At least the foot smells a bit better, with sweet vanilla, Spanish cedar cigar boxes, and a tart and pithy fermented tangerine marmalade mixture making for a pungent pop toward the finish. Pepper and soil are present too, but only in the trailing end of aromatics. Cold draws are dry and dusty. Like leather-bound books sitting in the sun, a cup of milk tea with a slice of citrus sitting nearby as the closest companion.

Oh, and I absolutely adore the little matte lime green band on this little robusto. Not only is it self-explanatory, but the illustration of the pepper shaker over the can of cream soda reminds me of something Shel Silverstein might have sketched way back in the day.

Initial Smoke

Pepper pops you first, followed by the flavor of sun-grown tobacco strains and cedar. LOTS of cedar. A coating of cream gradually glides in, but it is more of a milky round mouthfeel than a full-on cigar flavor profile at this point. That part comes a bit later...

1st Half   

Allow that cedar to get a bit wet on you, and you'll find that body will build right alongside it. Strength and flavors are on the milder side of medium, but the latter seems like it is primed to spike at any given second. Mild peppercorn flavors have replaced the sharp bite from first light, leaving enough space for an extremely creamy, slightly sweet retrohale to stride forth. 

Tangy toward the finish, and dark only in the sense that there are some soil notes and a little chocolate brewer's malts to be tasted, this premium cigar blend starts its second third with more cream than pepper kick. Think a bowl of creamy oatmeal kind of consistency, with faint flavors of this breakfast staple squaring off against any sharpness. 

One strange side note is the mineral flavor that forms. In my sample stick, it was more of a Himalayan pink salt salinity, but in my review cigar, this taste turned a touch funky on me and went more toward a dirty martini. Umami olive notes, top-shelf vermouth, herbal gin, and a bit of citrus are great and all, but not at all what I want in a cigar such as this. So meh... What was that all about?

2nd Half 

Happily, martini time sees itself out shortly, and the cigar blend returns to its prescheduled programming of milky creaminess, sweet cedar, mild citrus, and a good bit of sun-grown tobacco. 

Sparking further interest is how the mineral notes of the cigar still sit on the tongue. A touch sharp, but not unpleasant, these notes brighten the cigar flavor profile while adding a bit of depth. Deeper inside sits some hardwood flavor, but it isn't easy to discern which variety is being proffered up to the olfactory gods. Best to keep moving and see where this all-out medium smoke is leading us.

Parting Puffs

If you guessed that this cigar would build out a nutty, cinnamon-spiked parting puffs final push, then you are either a freakin' seer of some sort, or you've smoked this blend before. Rich, creamy, mineral-heavy, and holding fast to those cedar staves instead of the generic hardwood flavors from a few minutes earlier, the last dozen minutes of Pepper Cream Soda serve their purpose nicely. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Although it may be something some of you will consider being a touch too loose, I found the fluid draw that this robusto provided to be near perfect. Burning cooler than a cup of dry ice, and keeping a combustion line that is ultra crisp, this section of the cigar review was exemplary. At least until it started to tunnel a touch in the final third. Oh, and the ash tended to peel and flake a fuzz more than I'd like, which was likely due to its supple bunch and roll. So there was the need for a minor deduction in points in this portion, but nothing major.

Final Thoughts  

Well, holy shit was that review well worth the wait. Not only was this the first blend from Caldwell Cigar Co. that I reviewed, but it also was the first stogie review in my brand-new cigar studio. Hell, come to think of it this was also my first review of 2025 too. Wild stuff...

So was this blend the right choice for being the centerpiece for all three of these momentous occasions? Indubitably. This is precisely the sort of unconventional, boutique cigar brand rescue mission success story that we need in this world, and it offers all of the right flavors and aromatics to back it up. Pepper Cream Soda has almost everything a fan of peppercorns and cream soda will surely appreciate, along with a few extras to keep transitions and combustive characteristics a part of the conversation. 

Until next time fellow stogie smokers...

Flavor, Aroma & Transitions

Depth & Complexity

Construction, Burn & Physical Appeal

Backstory & Branding

Overall Balance & Repeatability

Stogie Specs