Initial Smoke

With a promise to never provide any overbearing grassy notes in this blend, Steve "Papa" Saka's milder version of the ligero-loaded Sobremesa blend begins with a slice of buttered toast, vanilla fortified sweet cream, a touch of dried hay, and the slightest kiss of coconut. Mild, milky, and incredibly refined, it's the perfect start to the day, sort of initial smoke for pairing with a cup of caffeine.

1st Half

As more milk and honey hover over the tongue, the highly anticipated taste of cinnamon and sugar-coated graham crackers plops on the palate. A touch of dry cedar offsets the sticky sweetness of caramel, assisted by a touch of mineral and cream of wheat. 

Still buttery as can be, the second slice of toast arrives just in time for a conservative slathering of orange marmalade, complete with the pithiness that comes with the stuff. Retrohales are darker and nuttier, with an emphasis on the tastes of caramel without all of the sugary sweetness being the secondary focus. Everything is well-behaved and mild, save for the body of the cigar, which has more of a mild-medium texture and finish. 

2nd Half

With toasty cedar tastes and a stronger pour of sweet vanilla coming behind, the move into the second half of the cigar isn't as much of a transition as it is a moment of melding. All of the flavors and aromatics I just mentioned are mixing together marvelously, and with the finish gradually becoming more of a focal point, the desire to make the best retrohale possible becomes the blend's obvious prerogative in life. 

As cinnamon flavors begin to form a bit of spicy heat in the final third, the tanginess of that orange marmalade makes its move, and is met by the mixture of vanilla and lightly roasted tree nuts from retrohales. Milky in texture, with a wonderful light roastiness on the finish, the latter end of the final third receives a bit of white pepper spiciness, as well as the instantly recognizable rarity that is honeysuckle. This floral note only lasts for a few minutes, and is not always detected in each cigar, which is a pity considering how refreshing it is to suddenly discover.

Parting Puffs

The sudden strike of split hardwood sends slivers of tannin notes across the olfactory senses, and the drying texture that follows emboldens the mild white peppercorn spice that has continued to build in strength behind it all. Retrohales are still a center point and are quite floral, but in more of a generic dried flower sense than what I had hoped would be more honeysuckle. As the finish grows slowly nuttier and eventually bitter, the nub of the cigar is placed in my iron ashtray, and I stand back to assess what has just transpired. 

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Although there were some waves to the burn line on the robusto vitola I reviewed, the combustion pace of the cigar caused it to self-correct any time it began to stray too far. This caused the ash to build to an immense size, which, like every other stick I sampled prior to my review, was near polar white in color with very few flakes. And while the draw did impress, the cigar did seem like it wanted to stall in between the second and final third, and the need to repeatedly puff for a moment was painfully apparent. But the blend never went out, and after a minute or two, the cigar's ash and burn were right back on track again.

Final Thoughts

If I were going to reach for a light breakfast cigar first thing in the morning, and intended to pair it with a cup of coffee, this would be one of my top picks. While I will always appreciate the La Palina White Label for its increasingly rich, earthy characteristics, and love all of the Honduran puro attributes found in the Raices Cubanas Clásico, there is no getting around the fact that the Sobremesa Brûlée is the cleanest and smoothest of the three.

By this point, everything that needs to be said about this blend has already been emphasized in the paragraphs above, so it's time for you to make up your mind. Do you cough up the extra coin and buy a bundle or an entire box of this blend? Or is it best to snag a single and see if you can draw any comparisons to this review? Either way, I'm going outside to enjoy this lovely weather, and I'm bringing my coffee and a Sobremesa Brûlée with me for company.