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Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company | Cigar Review

By The Katman on August 3, 2015 • ( 2 )

Wrapper: Habano 2000
Binder: Nicaraguan Sumatra
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 “Toro”
Body: Medium
Price: $7.50

Today we take a look at the Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company.

BACKGROUND:
Owner of the company is Kendall Culbertson out of Kansas City, MO.
From a 2014 article on the Outlaw Cigar Co. web site:
“Blending tobaccos is a labor of love for Kendall, and he travels frequently to Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic in order to do so. He first took interest in blending more than three years ago and is self-taught. His growing passion for tobacco gives him entry into environments that typically wouldn’t be friendly to outsiders.

“Culbertson’s passion for cigars and the industry is evident as he speaks. “I’ve been telling the industry for a long time, it’s not the growers, it’s not the rollers, it’s not the manufacturers, it’s the brick and mortar stores that have to create demand. Who is responsible for growing this industry? … Mail order doesn’t grow the business. Manufacturers can advertise their brands, and that helps, but when it comes right down to it, it’s the brick and mortars that are responsible.”

The blend was a joint venture between Culbertson and AJ Fernandez and rolled at Tabacalera Fernandez in Nicaragua.
This is a regular production cigar. It was originally released in November of 2014.

There are a total of four lines: Bad to the Bone, Gunslinger, WTF, and Thirteen. And under those main blends, are sub blends of different styles of masterful blending.
All can be bought on their web site.

Outlaw Cigar Company
6234 N. Chatham Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64151-2472
(816) 505-2442

DESCRIPTION:
This is a nice box press with tight seams, lots of veins, a nice triple cap, and packed tightly. The wrapper is a Colorado Claro. Very oily. And smooth to the touch.
The double cigar band is very cool. Simple and direct.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Robusto 5 X 50 $6.50
Toro 6 X 52 $7.50
Torpedo 6 X 54 $8.00
Gordo 6 X 60 $8.50
Corona 6 X 44 $7.00
Boxes of 24 and Singles.

Besides having the opportunity to buy directly from Outlaw Cigar Co, you can purchase Culbertson’s cigars from an online store: Two Guys Smoke Shop.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell floral notes, nutty, spice, sweetness, cedar, and very earthy.
From the clipped cap and foot, I smell rich tobacco, cocoa, spice, nuts, and cedar.
On the cold draw, I taste coffee, cedar, spice, leather, and rich earthiness.

FIRST THIRD:
Draw is a bit tight but will loosen up by the time I get done torturing it.

The flavors shoot right out of the cannon: Caramel, creaminess, nuttiness, chocolate, toasty, caramelized sugar, earthiness, and a subtle, generic fruitiness.

This is exactly how a high premium cigar should start. Guns a ‘blazin’ out of the saloon’s swinging doors.
The draw is spot on and plumes of smoke encircle my head and body like Pigpen from “Peanuts.”

Side note: the folding knife showing Hopalong Cassidy is something I’ve had since I was a little guy around 8. 1958. How I’ve managed to keep it this long is beyond me.

And then out of nowhere, black pepper. It is on the rise. And coming to a theater near you.

John K. sent me the Perdition as well but in the 5.5 x 48 size. I prefer not to review a 30 minute cigar so I smoked it watching TV and playing with myself. Actually, it seemed smaller than that but I was desperate and I had two Gunslingers so I figured John wouldn’t mind. In hindsight, I should have bitten the bullet, so to speak, and saved it for review.
I get a wonderful vanilla flavor. Like the cookies, “Nilla Wafers.” That was a childhood must in our house. They were cheap and forced you to drink milk because I think they were even drier than those kindergarten graham crackers.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 15 minutes.

The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company finds its complexity right here.
Spectacular cigar. Kudos to Culbertson. Standing ovation!! Golf clap! (The wife is asleep).

The Drifter has all the subtleties and nuances I love in a cigar blend.

Strength is a classic medium body. I was getting a little worn out from the strongest cigars on the planet and taking an hour to get my footing back after the review.

The cocoa and coffee soar. So does the creaminess, vanilla, caramel, sweetness, and spice.
The fruitiness is unveiled: Black cherries and a subtle green melon liqueur like Midori. Very mild, mind you. But I taste it.

There is also a hops quality. Not strong. Just lying back in repose. Like me in the evenings as I lay in repose on the couch while my wife of 30 years pops grapes in my mouth and the dog flaps a giant palm frond fan in my face to keep me cool.

The flavor profile changes to highlight the cookie aspect. There is the Nilla Wafers, graham cracker, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Very, very nice.

Thanks to John K., I have found another great cigar brand. This is the price I pay for being a total cigar outsider. I’m just not privy to all the stuff that surrounds me. Of course, if I spent more time being a news source, I’d know this stuff.

This is a perfect cigar for newbies and experienced palates alike. Mucho flavorful but a nice steady medium body. The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company is smooth as glass. I love this cigar.

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is 40 minutes.

They are playing SRV on the cable TV radio station. Did you know that a roadie was assigned to Krazy Glue Vaughan’s fingertips back on ¾ way through the set? That’s how hard he played. He would bleed and several layers of epithelial tissue would evaporate.

Where was I?
Flavors are bountiful. A real winner. I need to talk Kendall Culbertson out of some samples. As price friendly as these different blends are, my health care is costing us a fortune. I have a test today. And then just one more. Then a final determination of how bad the Alzheimer’s is will be made and meds can be prescribed. Whoever said “I’m 65 but feel like I’m 30” is full of shit. Old age is debilitating and chronic. I hate it.

The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company is screaming laughter like a sea of swarming simbas.
Strength remains classic medium body. No ascension. And no nicotine.

The flavor profile is rock steady. It remains cool as a cuke without a hint of heat or harshness.
This is a perfect medium body blend.

It shall go into “The Katman’s Best 180 Boutique Brands/Blends in the $6-$9.50+ Range” list. And it has a good chance of being in my best cigars for 2015. And yes, I shall rate the Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company. This is new for me. I don’t use some sort of calculus to determine ratings. My gut tells me. After 5 decades of smoking cigars, I can do that.

Holy crap! Sweet Spot 1.0 and 2.0 have collided. What a monster blend!
Bold, explosive flavors.

“I should have listened, baby, to my second mind.
Every time I go away and leave you, darling, you send me the blues way down the line.
“Squeeze me baby, till the juice runs down my leg.
The way you squeeze my lemon, I’m gonna fall right out of bed.”
I’ve got some great Led Zep stories from when I was a demi-god rock star in my 20’s. But not here.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 55 minutes.

Okie doke. Here they are one last time: Spice, coffee, cocoa, creaminess, fruit, nutty, toasty, cookie components, vanilla, caramel, sweetness, earthiness, and leather.
Whew! “That’s some a spicy meat-a-ball!” You gotta be my age to get that. Is there anyone left my age?
Sweet Spot 3.0. Is there no end to the madness? “It’s alive Igor, it’s alive!!”

I swear there is a curse on the ash. Each time it is ready to fall off, it goes right on to the top of my camera hanging from my neck. Thank you baby Jesus for The Swifter.

I want more. Lots more. I’ve never said this before in any of the thousands of reviews…the Toro is not enough. I want the Gordo. I want a solid 2 hours of this blend.

The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company is a phantasm. It is wonderful.

Cinnamon now connects with the black pepper. Remember those little hot cinnamon toothpicks as a kid? In my day, they came in a little wax paper bag stapled shut. I loved those little babies. That’s what I taste now.

Lawdy, I’ve only got 1-1/2” to go. The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company goes down oh so smooth.
New flavor: A-1 steak sauce. It rests somewhere in the middle of the flavor profile list. Subtle but substantial.
This is an extremely complex blend. Kudos Kendall. May I adopt you? I need someone to pay my debts after I’m dead.
A touch of nicotine shows itself. Mild but there.

The spiciness is really surging now.
Final smoke time is an hour and 10 minutes. Nice.

PRICE POINT:
If I had blind taste tested, I would have guessed $12.00. Never would I have guessed that this is a $7.50 stick.
Price range from $6.50-$8.50 is pure nuts. Here is a man of integrity. A blend this good could go for much, much more. But Kendall is a mensch. I lay prostrate in your presence.

SUMMATION:
What a wonderful start to my day. A massively impressive flavor profile. Perfect complexity, balance and finish.
The price is right.

Thank you again John Kozlowski for gifting me this cigar.
The Gunslinger Drifter by The Outlaw Cigar Company is a damn fine cigar.

I want all my readers to go to the The Outlaw Cigar Company web site and buy everything you can. Start with this cigar. And then work your way across the large assortment.
Make sure you tell Kendall that the Katman sent you.
I rate this cigar: 92

And now for something completely different:

I just watched a special on HBO called the “43rd AFI Life Achievement Award to Steve Martin.”
It brought back a bunch of memories from my teens.

At the age of 16 in 1966, I got a gig at Knott’s Berry Farm through my best buddy, Skip Howlett.
The park was divided into two parts. One on each side of Beach Blvd in Buena Park, CA.

I worked on the side called the “Independence Hall” side. Walter Knott built a scaled down version of the famous building and stocked it with ultra-right wing political material including pamphlets from the John Birch Society.

I had applied at the main employment office but Walter didn’t hire Jews or any other ethnic group.
Bud Hurlbut actually owned all the rides and Knott merely leased him the land. Skip talked to Bud and got me a gig. Steamboat captain.

The Independence Hall side had several attractions – Carousel, duck lagoon, Cordelia K. side-wheel riverboat, rowboat rental, and miniature train ride.

I was the steam boat captain. And no, the 50 seater didn’t run on tracks like Disneyland. I actually steered the boat. When riders asked me if the boat was on a track, I replied, “No. But the water is.” That always caused confused looks.

Walter Knott liked to visit the Cordelia K. Named after his wife. He was old as dirt back then. An employee drove him over in a maintenance golf cart. He was then helped on to the boat and he took a few rides. I steered the boat around in a big circle and then made a second circle close to Duck Island in the middle of the lagoon.

I was there for 2-3 years part time while going to school. The money was lousy and after a couple months, I hated the job. Especially during summer when the lagoon, without any filtration system, stank so bad that neighbors miles away complained about the stink. Not a day went by when some employee didn’t go home sick.

Back then, it was free admission to Ghost Town and the rest of the big park.
So, on a Friday or Saturday night, it was a cheap date. Lots of shit to do.

I also found myself dating just about every single girl my age that worked there. The very last one turned into an 8 year relationship. I was hated by all the women for using them and dropping them; then moving on to the next prey.
We loved the Bird Cage Theater. Steve Martin was honing his chops there. I think it cost 25 cents to get in but as an employee, it was free.

So Skip and I visited often to watch the crazy antics. It was so corny. And we were high on weed so we laughed the loudest.
We would hang around between shows scoping the females and that’s how I met Martin.
A very funny guy.

We got to know each other a little. And he would make jokes about me because of my loud laughter during the shows.
Sometimes, there would only be a few of us in the 200 seat theater.

One day, Martin came over to our side on a break and rode with me on the Cordelia K steamboat. He did a crazy routine for the riders. And I let him drive the boat a few times.

If management had seen what he did with that boat and the crazy way he drove it, I would have been fired.
And as things happen, we both moved on. Knott’s became a faint memory.

After the Knott’s died, the big family took over and were lousy at it. They were eventually bought out by Six Flags..I believe. And they turned into a real amusement park.

Independence Hall still stands but they drained the massive lagoon and paved over it to make more parking for the park. The carousel, the train, the row boats, and the Cordelia K were gone forever.

I have two photos of me on the boat. One turned into a postcard and you can barely make me out. And the second is an Instamatic photo of me right in front of the boat while it was docked. It is somewhere in the house but…???
At the time, Martin was so unusual that it never entered my puny brain that he would go on to be a major star.
He was just Steve to us. The guy that would smoke weed with us behind the Bird Cage between shows.