Wrapper: Ecuadorian Hybrid Dark Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Habano
Filler: Dominican Habano Seco, Criollo 98 Viso, Corojo Ligero,
Size: 5 x 50 “Corretto”
Body: Medium
Price: $10.50 MSRP ($6.50 at Small Batch Cigar)

NOTE: I fucked up and used the wrong cigar name of the Caldwell blend. Total brain fart. All the info is appropriate for the Eastern Standard, I just got the name wrong. Thanks to buddy John Starr for bringing this to my attention. Getting old ain’t for sissies.

Today, we dissect the Caldwell Cigar Co. Eastern Standard.

There is a tremendous back story to Caldwell cigars. Too much for my sleep deprived readers to assimilate without nodding off.

So if you go to Halfwheel.com, there is a lengthy story about this company.

It appears that the only way you can buy this brand is through B & M’s. But there are a few boutique specialty stores like Small Batch Cigar that carry them. Andrew kindly sent me a few for review.

There is a shit load of blends by Caldwell. SBC carries Eastern Standard, Gibraltar; Long Live the King, Murcias, Sevillana, and The King is Dead. Prices range from $5.00-$9.00 depending on blend and size. New Havana Cigars carries the Bellatto in just one size and in 5 packs.

Sizes:
Euro Express: 5.5 x 44
Corretto: 5 x 50
Cream Crush: 7 x 48

Construction is on a par with some of the best cigars I’ve seen. Seams are invisible. The mottled, almost translucent wrapper is the color of butterscotch. Veins are minimal. The triple cap is near invisible with a small Cuban style pig tail atop it. The cigar has a nice sheen and is silky smooth.

I clip the cap and find aromas of cocoa, gingerbread, caramel, cedar, sweetness, and rich earthy tobacco. (I use my handy little scissor gizmo to remove the cap without removing the tobacco underneath. I am getting so good at this that I begin to wonder if I picked the right profession; like maybe I should have been a Jewish moil.

Time to light up.

First puffs are combinations of cocoa, caramel, creaminess, coffee, a bit of spice, rich earthiness, and some citrus.

The draw is spot on. Lots of smoke is produced by this small cigar. I measure it and it falls short of being 5” by half an inch.

I wish the sun were out so you could see the beauty of this stick with sunlight making the wrapper glisten.

But I am up early because I have an appointment with another quack in a couple of hours. Not good planning on my part. Now kids, don’t be like your Uncle Katman. Behave and do what your parents tell you what to do even if they say, “ Because I said so.”

This is a quality cigar. It has a thread running through it that says it’s a Caldwell but is very different that the earlier reviewed The King is Dead. And this time, the dry boxing worked perfectly. Less than two weeks of alternate humidor time and open air arena time.

The char line is just a tad wavy but well within the acceptable parameters.

There is a real Starbucks coffee flavor to this stick. And then the spice finally shows up at the ¾” burned mark. It is black pepper. Subtle, but on the rise. IN fact, all the flavors are rising to the occasion.

Especially the tartness of the citrus and the sweetness of the caramel.

The cigar has the slightest amount of bite to it which is my fault. I’m not as smart as I think I am and no matter how well the dry boxing worked, it is still a bit of green cigar.

The creaminess surges accenting the coffee nicely. The cocoa gimpily walks behind.

And then just like that, the bite is gone and the cigar is smooth and creamy.

The cigar is jam packed and a slow smoker. The strength begins at medium body and is slowly, but surely, moving its way up. The Caldwell web site says it is a medium body cigar and so do a couple of online stores, but it is more than that. Of course, the bite may be fooling me.

I am nearing the start of the second third. The flavors aren’t as bold as The King is Dead. They were pretty impressive near the start. But now the Caldwell Long Live the King is beginning to show the same characteristics as the King is Dead.

Here are the flavors: Spice, creaminess, sweetness, caramel, coffee, graham cracker, something fruity (Like me), cocoa, and sweet cedar. A new nuttiness arrives.

The second third begins and I was about to say I doubt the cigar has the ability to attain flavor bomb status. But now, I’m not so sure.

There is a real kick in the power department and it is not the bite from being green. The labeling of this stick as medium is wrong. It is medium/full as the second third begins. It seems to be a much stronger cigar than the Caldwell The King is Dead.

Construction remains on a par with some of the best cigars out there. A near perfect char line. A cap that does its best to fight my drool. And perfect wrapper representation.

The stick begins to become complex with flavors taking turns being out front. The balance becomes more sophisticated. This is a cigar for the experienced palate. There is a lot going on here and if you are not king of your domain when it comes to knowing a good cigar when you smoke it, you are S.O.L.

I still have the Caldwell Gibraltar, Long Live the King, and the Sevillana to smoke and I look forward to it. I only have one of each so timing is everything. But both cigars are 6 x 60’s. And no matter how I apply my dry box technique, only time will age these cigars to the point where I can review them not a minute too soon.

I am nearing the halfway point and while the cigar is trying, it just doesn’t want to seem to cross the threshold of becoming a flavor bomb. It may be my timing or it may be this is the way the cigar is meant to taste.

I am dead center of the halfway mark. It is a very, very pleasant stick. It has a nice sophisticated flavor. Truly, a high premium cigar.

The price. It seems a bit steep. The Caldwell Eastern Standard had an MSRP of $9.25 but could be had at Small Batch Cigar for $7.20 with your discount of 10%.

The price for this cigar, instead of $9.25, is only $6.50 at SBC with your discount code of leafenthusiast and free shipping. This stick is what I would call a $7.00 stick. So the pricing from SBC is fantastic. And I would jump on that band wagon.

I’m a sucker for all things Small Batch Cigar. My lovely reader, John Starr, gave me the heads up on this online store and I am forever grateful. No one can compete with their pricing and free shipping and discount.

The last third begins without any significant flavor change. It is smooth and creamy. Sweet and tangy. And full of coffee and cocoa. And it is here that the flavor profile makes its run for the border. I am on the cusp of seeing the cigar attain flavor bomb status. Obviously, it will attain this status much sooner if given the proper amount of humidor time.

The Caldwell Eastern Standard is a better cigar at this minimal aging time. It is a kitchen sink type of flavor profile.

But still, I like the Caldwell Eastern Standard a lot. But as I am smoking it first thing in the morning when my palate is fresh, I don’t think it will hold up to a full day of smoking in which the subtle flavors will disappear as my palate becomes crispy.

From reading what Halfwheel.com brings to the table about Caldwell cigars, the company is digging its own mythology. Basically, like a lot of boutique blends, they take the attitude that they are putting out the best blends on the planet and no one can touch them.

I cannot begin to describe how that same feeling comes across from the dozens of boutique brands I’ve reviewed in the past are like.

Almost every time that a new boutique brand came out and asked me to review their cigars, I got the same spiel. And most horrifyingly, they want to talk to me on the phone and dole out their love for cigars. Snooze. So now, I do it strictly through email with questions.

And out of those dozens of new brands, 99% of them go under within a year.

We have definite flavor bomb status. A smooth creamy cigar.

Here are the flavors for the last time: Creaminess, citrus, graham cracker, cocoa, coffee, citrus, fruit, and sweet cedar.

The strength did a turnaround and is back at medium body. A small amount of nicotine rears its ugly head.
Overall, the Caldwell Eastern Standard is a very good cigar. A couple months of humidor time will probably do the flavor profile a real service.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: Caldwell Cigar Co. Eastern Standard Cigar Review, cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars