Dunbarton Sin Compromiso Seleccion Intrepido

[Awesome1]

That last Dunbarton was so good I decided to make it a 2 fer on this fine Thursday evening.
The presentation on this is very nice. cedar wrapped foot is a nice touch. Of course upon removal the cigar smells like cedar. Wrapper is a dark chocolate toothy oscuro. Construction seems fine except for a spot about 1/3rd of the way up thats a little soft. I don't think it will be an issue.
Pre light draw is perfect and flavor is very interesting. like a mouthful of chocolate or cocoa.

1" in and getting a little pepper, coffee, chocolate and a watery mineral element I don't really care for. Definitely on the lighter side of full at this point. Ash is gray and black and the ash from the wrapper is peeling away and flaking off. I don't think I have ever had a Mexican San Andres negro wrapper before so the flaking is probably the wrapper and not really a construction issue. The burn is terrible but I'll give it a little longer and see if it corrects itself. Retro is cedar bordering on pepper. Aroma is a smooth chocolate. Very nice.

About a third of the way in and the ash dropped. Right around where that soft spot was. Burn has now corrected itself as well. Smoke output is excellent. Some burnt leaf flavor added to the mix with the chocolate and a little bit of coffee as well. Mineral flavor is gone for the moment. Retro is still mostly cedar.

Right around 1/2 way and we have a sweet component entering the mix. An inch later and I still cant identify that sweet note. I'm thinking instead of a dry cacao note it is more of a milk chocolate flavor. It isn't a sweet spice like nutmeg or cinnamon.
Anyway, moving on. Getting close to the last third. Aroma is very nice. Smoke volume is great. Burn is not perfect but well within being acceptable. Flavors are about the same and strength is still barely full.
Let's see what the last third has to offer.

Aroma has a nice char to it or burnt leaf which I really like. Little saltiness coming in on the palate. (Seems I have been using the incorrect spelling of palate.) Every puff is bringing in more saltiness too which I really enjoy. The sweetness is just about gone. Still some coffee but more like espresso now. A toasted leaf flavor there also. Right towards the end there is pepper and a nice tobacco flavor. Everything else seems to be gone.

Final thoughts are as follows. I smoked these 2 Dunbartons with about 1 1/2 hrs in between. I like the Sobremesa better. An hour after smoking it I was still licking my lips and thought it was excellent. This Sin Compromiso is a good cigar but I feel a bit over priced. If both of these were the same price my opinion would be the same. I think the Sobremesa was more balanced and more complex and in a blind tasting I think I would pick that as the more expensive cigar.

 

[MikeNice]

Personally I like the Sin Comprimiso a little bit more. However, I do think in the 7" versions it does suffer from the lack of complexity. I would stick with the Intrepido for this line. The No. 2 would ironically enough be my second choice. It opens the flavors a bit, but at six inches can border on too much of a good thing.

 

[Awesome1]

Personally I like the Sin Comprimiso a little bit more. However, I do think in the 7" versions it does suffer from the lack of complexity. I would stick with the Intrepido for this line. The No. 2 would ironically enough be my second choice. It opens the flavors a bit, but at six inches can border on too much of a good thing.

These 2 were my first experience with the line. For 20 years it has been nothing but Cubans for me. Now that I am revisiting the NC's I have to say I am impressed with a lot of good quality brands out there. So many to explore though. I will probably spend more time going through more in this line/brand. However at this price point I think I can enjoy Cubans for the same price and IMO better cigars. The custom rolls anyway.

 

[Alwayslit]

Great review. They definitely sound box worthy.

 

[MikeNice]

These 2 were my first experience with the line. For 20 years it has been nothing but Cubans for me. Now that I am revisiting the NC's I have to say I am impressed with a lot of good quality brands out there. So many to explore though. I will probably spend more time going through more in this line/brand. However at this price point I think I can enjoy Cubans for the same price and IMO better cigars. The custom rolls anyway.

The Saka cigars are a bit pricey. He does a lot of things others don't however. He buys extra tobacco to ensure he survived any shortages and to minimize variation across multiple years of production. Plus, from what I've heard, he is more picky about the quality of wrappers than most and this leads to more rejected leaves. It adds to the cost.

I like Cubans, but the extra effort of getting them in the US and the construction issues I've had make me much less likely to buy them. The cost doesn't help either.

 

[CigarGavin]

I wasn’t a fan of the Sin compromiso’s when I picked up my first box in 18. Had a heavy minerality like you mentioned, and my first box came in destroyed because of the wrapper fragility. That being said, I started smoking through that box the middle of last year and it’s been excellent. A lot more sweetness, balance, and chocolate notes. I’ve smoked another four since then and everyone has been very nice. I know Steve is not a huge aging guy, but more than one of his blends does very well with time.

 

[Awesome1]

I wasn’t a fan of the Sin compromiso’s when I picked up my first box in 18. Had a heavy minerality like you mentioned, and my first box came in destroyed because of the wrapper fragility. That being said, I started smoking through that box the middle of last year and it’s been excellent. A lot more sweetness, balance, and chocolate notes. I’ve smoked another four since then and everyone has been very nice. I know Steve is not a huge aging guy, but more than one of his blends does very well with time.

You answered a question I had in my head about aging potential on some of these NC's. Smoking Steves stuff as well as Pete Johnsons, it seems like both have the right stuff to set them down for awhile.
All of these reviews on the NC's I have been doing is with stuff just in in the last 3-4 weeks. Bought loads of 5 packs just to try over the next several months and see if there is something in there that I can enjoy and smoke on so I can slow my Cuban consumption.
What I am finding is that there is some really good quality cigars being grown that I can definitely enjoy. However, if I have to age them first then do I smoke the cubans to let the NC's age more or vice versa. LOL.
More than likely there will be a few of Steves sticks put down for a longer rest to enjoy in the future but definitely not going to be an everyday smoke.
As I was typing this I was smoking a PC from Tatuaje. I swear they have a similar profile to some young Partagas. Lots of pepper that I assume will turn into a toasted nut/charred leaf flavor later with some age. These are the types of smokes I can load up on that won't break the bank. Since I have had 3 of them in the last 24 hrs I am fairly certain I will need a couple 50 cabs if I want to ever do a review on them. .

 

[MikeNice]

The Tatuaje stuff is blended with age in mind. He said they are blended to be good in two weeks or two months, but they become something special after two years.

 

[Awesome1]

The Tatuaje stuff is blended with age in mind. He said they are blended to be good in two weeks or two months, but they become something special after two years.

I'll try and put a few sticks away for 2 years.