This month’s review by Mr. Clay the Cigar Guy from The Cigar Society, is The Deadwood Sweet Jane by Drew Estate.
I smoke almost every single day, with my cigar of choice, almost never being a sweet tip or flavored cigar. Not that I don’t like them or enjoy them, it is just that I prefer a stronger and more “traditional” cigar. However, I do tend to smoke sweet tip and flavored cigars when I have an event. I do that because as the intoxicatingly sweet aroma wafts lightly through the air, it piques the curiosity of the occasional cigar smoker and beckons them to my tent like the “pied piper”. The cigar that I typically smoke during these events is the Sweet Jane from the Deadwood Series by Drew Estate. This series also includes the following cigars: Crazy Alice, Fat Bottom Betty, Leather Rose, The Girl with No Name, and the new Dominicana. I thought the Sweet Jane would be an appropriate cigar for this month’s February issue.
I was introduced to this cigar over a decade ago. Over the course of this time, I have come to appreciate The Sweet Jane for its sweet, mellow, and delightful taste. This cigar also comes in a tin of ten cigars (4 x 32), but I prefer the Corona vitola (5 x 46). The latter will be the cigar that is reviewed today.
The Deadwood Series Sweet Jane is made by the Drew Estate Cigar Company, which was founded in 1996 in the DUMBO neighborhood of the World Trade Center in New York, and even had a kiosk inside the World Trade Center at one point. They make ACID, Tabak, Undercrown, and one of the best lines in the cigar world, Liga Privada. Drew Estate has a unique outlook on cigars, and their slogan, “The Rebirth of Cigars,” shows their unique philosophy. This cigar has a maduro wrapper from Nicaragua, but the filler and binder parts of this cigar are undisclosed. This, to me, adds to the allure. In prior reviews, I have mentioned that maduro wrappers tend to have a stronger effect on the smoker, especially a novice smoker. However, there are exceptions to that rule; this cigar is one of them.
Wrapper – Nicaragua
Binder – Undisclosed
Filler – Undisclosed
Size – 5×46 Corona
I will be pairing this cigar with a pour of Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon, neat, of course. Rum or coffee is usually my preferred drink with a darker maduro cigar, but after doing countless hours of “research” over the years by drinking assorted whiskies, spirits, and smoking hundreds of cigars, I decided to try a small batch bourbon with a maduro. I grabbed the cigar from my personal humidor; I walked to my desk in my office, put on some Otis Redding, and started my smoking routine. I grabbed a tabletop four-cut cigar cutter, picking my favorite cut, the “V-cut”. I placed the cigar in my mouth, tasting the sweetness of it. I flip the lid of my torch to double-check the intensity of the flame, making sure it is sufficient for the process. I place the cigar in my mouth, push the button on the torch, and the flame leaps to life. I inhale slowly, rotating the cigar gently back and forth. I repeat the slow rotation two more times, while inhaling to get the cigar to light. It lights almost perfectly and evenly. The first notes hit, sweet like candy. Which is appropriate since this February, and sweet candy is the order of the day for Valentine’s Day.
Once the initial candy flavor hits, I take a second deep drag on this cigar, and the hit of vanilla and sweet chocolate flavor is unmistakable. It is eventually followed by spice and mocha.
In the middle of this cigar, the earthy tones start to step up a little bit, but are not prominent. I do notice the beginning of a very slight sweet aroma to form, and flavors of a sweet cream with a taste of coffee and leather emerge.
The final third of this cigar is a compilation of all of the flavors. The chocolate and spice form a sweet partnership. The leather and earth tones glide over the tongue with a lingering taste that stays just the right amount of time. The mocha and vanilla flavors resonate on the tongue like a delicious cup of coffee. This cigar will form a “heart-shaped” love affair with your taste buds. To top it off, the aroma is so deliciously sweet that even your Valentine’s Day date will not mind the smell. Gentlemen, to be fair, your date may even want to taste it for herself, making her your “smoking hot date”.
Pairs well with
Black Coffee
Tequila
Bourbon
Spiced Rum
Stout
Red Wine – Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec
More from the TKG cellar: Drew Estate plays by its own rules, and so should you. For a smoke with a very different kind of character, our review of Encore Majestic covers a stick with real staying power. And for a spirit with equal conviction, The Whiskey Rebellion is well worth the read.
