This is a review of the BOTL™ / Drew Estate 2012 Cigar.
Pre Light: This cigar has a beautiful dark and oily wrapper with very minimal veins. Construction is excellent and has no sign of any tight or loose spots throughout. The smell reminds me of a pouch of Red Man Chewing tobacco, but far more pleasant. It has scents of earth, tobacco and a sweet smell to the cigar.
Light: Trying to give this smoke the respect it deserved, it was lit with two splints of cedar. One, to toast the foot, then cut, then one to gently bring it to life. I immediately tasted the sweetness of the oily wrapper as it hit my lips, I was hit with a pleasant earthy note that brought through with fresh tobacco flavor. There was only a slight hint of black pepper on the back end once lit.
First Fifth: This review is broken down into fifths as it was quite a long smoke. I got more earthy and fresh tobacco flavors, still only a slight bit of black pepper on the back end of the throat. For those of you who like the flavor of the OR #9, you will be pleased as I was getting that same signature sweetness that is a signature of the OR #9. True to Drew Estate fashion, this smoke delivered with a lot of smoke, however it was proportionate to its ring gauge and is not overtaking like its larger brothers. There was also a faint "meaty" flavor that kept you wanting more, with a slight sweetness of cashew hidden in there.
Second Fifth: So far the construction lived up to the pre-light and produced a perfect burn with nice snowflake and ribbed white and black ash. In this section I continued to get more of the OR #9 sweetness, fresh tobacco and earthy flavors. It was still producing a slight bit of black pepper on the back end, but to a smaller extent. I still got a slight hint of cashew and picked up on a little bit of black cherry as well. Looking back, I think this is the sweet-spot of the cigar and was very nice.
Third Fifth: The cigar continued with the core sweet and earthy tobacco of the smoke as the ash continued to fall off in increments of at least one inch, thanks to the quality construction. Toward the end of this segment it did produce a slightly bitter note that will no doubt go away with a short period of time. It continued to produce large quantities of smoke and burned perfectly throughout.
Forth and Fifth-Fifths: I ended up putting it down due to time and family commitments.
Final Thoughts: The flavors would go perfectly with a nice peaty scotch, like Laphroaig. For the beer drinkers, I think a stout would be a perfect pairing with this smoke. Both libations would compliment the earthy tobacco flavors and add to the warm feeling that was brought forth while smoking this fine cigar. It produced a relatively long smoking experience due to the fine construction that Drew Estate delivered with this excellent example of a mild-medium bodied smoke. All in all...A MUST TRY.
For more detailed information go to: http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php/61320-Drew-Estate-BOTL%E2%84%A2-2012-Cigar
Thanks for reading,
TG
Note: Cigar Consumed Mid-March 2012 (pre-release)
Last edited:
