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Caldwell Cigar Co. "Long Live the King"

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Initial Smoke

Seconds after sparking this smoke up, those mulled wine spices circle in, along with some strong notes of cedar, salt, and a generic wholegrain cereal of some sort. Vintage leather is also present, as is a mildly spicy retrohale that leads the senses toward some sweeter cereal grain notes. The draw is perfect, smoke production is near-perfect, and the texture of the fluffy stuff is medium in body.

1st Half

Creamier and cocoa-like, with a Japanese white bean paste aftertaste, the sweeter side of the cigar shows itself early on in the first third. As lightly toasted wholegrain bread crisps beneath tabs of salted butter, retrohales mellow and spiced herb tea notes are allowed to expand. The latter of these is very much corojo-based, so that binder and the select ligero leaves inside are doing a damn good job of keeping up with that wrapper.

Keeping with that medium-bodied, medium-strength mixture, the second third starts with a touch of farmyard funk, and then moves into some heavier hardwood flavors. Before long, more soil and a sappy, cedar-strong finish form, and the cigar seems to settle on moving toward medium-full in flavor. Spice levels are still very much manageable, and this makes the strength of the cigar seem lower than it surely is.

2nd Half

Although the tasting wheel does not change all that much for the next thirty minutes or so, the continuation of everything found in the first half of the cigar is pleasant. The only notable addition is that of herb salt-dusted popcorn, which may sound odd, but somehow it works well with everything else being tasted at the time.

Get into the final third, and the blend grows brighter in character, with roasted tea notes and a floral finish being top tasting points. Retrohales remain resinous and cedar-forward, with very little sign of the cigar going dark or heavy in any way. It's a mighty fine moment in the blend that doesn't let you down, even though it may seem a tad tame to some smokers. 

Parting Puffs

A final round of flavors occurs once the band is removed, with roasted chicory root and a spicier, sappier spin on cedar smells making retrohales a touch toasty. Smoke textures turn dry at this point, with clay-like soil and a bright finish adding another grade of complexity to the blend. Not bad, but not phenomenal either. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Although the ash that built in the first third of the cigar was nothing short of tremendous, ash drops and ash flake became an issue later on. Still, there never once was the need for a torch touch-up, and the overall flow pulled through the point end of the torpedo was near-perfect. Body may never have moved beyond medium-plus, but this magnitude felt perfectly at home on the tongue, with very little seeming out of place anywhere along the way.

Final Thoughts

Although the tobacco blend that makes The King is Dead possible may lead you to believe that you are in for an outrageously wild smoking experience, I found the cigar itself to be fairly formal in nature. Even when the spicier moments later on forced me to reach for my adult beverage, I did not find myself standing back in shock. This is a medium smoke in every regard, and a damn fine one at that. 

Smooth and oily, but also creamy, cocoa-like, and creatively concocted, the delivery of tastes and smells from this unorthodox blend is very enjoyable and easily repeatable. I am also a sucker for a figurado, so getting to review this blend in "Last Payday" torpedo format made the experience all the more enjoyable and memorable. 

I was surprised to find that the cigar was not nearly as cocoa-forward or dark in nature as some claim it to be, with a balanced mixture of cedar, light soil, hardwood, and corojo leaf being the most consistent tastes. This not only makes the cigar far more compatible with a wide array of beverages, but it also prevents it from becoming too oppressive in potency during the warmer months of the year. Perhaps that's why Robert Caldwell was so determined to tame that rarity of a tobacco leaf and then turn it into a wrapper...