Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Viso, Nicaraguan Seco, Nicaraguan Ligero, Dominican Piloto Cubano
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium
Price: $9.50
Today we take a look at Southern Draw Cigars Rose of Sharon.
Thanks to Robert Holt for buying me these sticks.
BACKGROUND:
From the Southern Draw Cigars Rose of Sharon press release:
March 20th, 2017 – Austin, Texas
“The first day of Spring brings with it a fresh shipment of our Rose of Sharon blend that will soon be available in a limited number of valued retail locations. The blend that was announced August 2016 is now headed for a retailer near you.
“The Rose of Sharon embraces a unique blend that will enhance the current Southern Draw Cigars core line including the Kudzu – Oscuro and Firethorn – Rosado blends. A very well-balanced cigar with Mild Body – Medium Flavor.
“The natural cloud cover of Ecuador has supplied us with a prized wrapper, a velvety feel, gentle sweetness and a toasty burn, our beloved Nicaragua has gifted us with rich and elegant binder and filler tobaccos while the distinct Piloto Cubano of the Dominican Republic adds a dose of boldness and spice that allows this blend live up to its moniker. “She don’t know she’s beautiful!’ said Robert Holt the Chief Evangelist of Southern Draw Cigars.
“Besides the apparent beauty of The Rose of Sharon in its semi box pressed format, the release is a celebration of Grace and the devotion of Sharon Holt as she continues her daily service via strong faith and daily fellowship. “Much like a Rose, Sharon exemplifies our brand with her beautiful soul, humility and a “subtle” boldness which has made an incredible impact on so many lives. We truly needed to acknowledge her, continued Holt.”
SIZES AND PRICING:
Robusto: 5.5 x 54 $9.00
Toro: 6 x 52 $9.50
Gordo : 6.5 x 60 $10.50
Toro: Petaca Case $25.00 Box of 2
DESCRIPTION:
This is a blonde bombshell. Oily shell whose wrapper is caramel and tawny in hue. Seams are tight. Lots of small veins. Solidly packed. Nice triple cap. Smooth as glass. It has the regular SD main cigar band with the pink secondary band that is the ode to Sharon.
And it has a closed foot.
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell peanut butter, red pepper, cream, floral notes, milk chocolate, cedar, and malt.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell big floral notes, peanut butter, red pepper (Two sneezes), hot cocoa, cedar, malt, cream, sweet cream butter, and charred oak.
The cold draw presents flavors of roasted peanut butter, cream, red pepper, chocolate, coffee, malt, cedar, oak, buttered rye toast, and a touch of fruitiness.
FIRST THIRD:
Normally, I toast the foot with an inexpensive angled lighter that works like a charm. It just died on me. These cheap lighters last longer than my good lighters but are unpredictable. I grabbed an older one that I refused to throw away in case of a cigar emergency. It does have a fatal flaw though…the problem is that it doesn’t go out after you stop depressing the go button. I have to blow it out. Well, I just lit up this cigar and my eye itched so I went to scratch it with the lighter in my hand and burned off half of each eyebrow from the middle outwards. Thankfully, I missed my eyeball completely. Now, that would have been a real bummer.
I now can make a living as a circus clown. (I threw the offending lighter away). Charlotte just told me she can fix it. Great. I’m going to look transgender til the eyebrows grow back.
Enough about me…
The draw is perfect. No need for my PerfecDraw cigar poker. (I must admit that I use that tool for half the cigars I smoke).
A mild couple minutes then Blam! The red pepper hits me like an airstrike. Holy cow! I think I’ve gone blind. My sinuses are open, my eyes are full of tears, and my nose is running. Now that’s how you start a cigar. Yeah, baby.
Strength is an immediate medium body.
Flavors begin to roll into formation: Red pepper with extreme prejudice, creaminess, malts, unsalted peanuts, gooey caramel, cedar, charred oak, and milk chocolate with a touch of café latte.
I’ve been going nuts biding my time with the samples. I am a huge fan of Southern Draw Cigars. My last review was the Southern Draw Code Duello Kudzu which made #11 for my top cigars of 2016.
With less than half an inch burned, transitions begin. Complexity raises its head. The finish is long and tasty.
Creaminess claws its way to the top of the list. Followed by my earlier list of flavors…all bombing the hell out of Dresden.
The burn line is impeccable.
I reviewed a wonderful cigar 2 days ago and what a delight to have an incredible cigar to start with this morning.
I’m amazed at the New Breed style of Southern Draw. Each blend is ready to go in a month or less of humidor time. All the blends are very consistent this way.
No disrespect for the good blends that hit the “ridiculous price point list,” the Rose of Sharon is every bit as good and you can knock off $6 or $7 from the price tag. No greed in Mr. Holt’s blood.
Hugely complex at such an early stage that I am excited and intrigued over what’s ahead of me.
Flavors morph at the speed of 3.0 x 108 m/s. Measured at 1 Å = 10-10 m.
The best of the best with the Rose of Sharon becoming a bona fide flavor bomb, fast moving transitions, deep complexity aided by ancillary subtlety and nuance. Wow.
I believe that this blend has healing powers as I feel my eyebrows growing back in H.G. Wells’ notion of time.
SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Time flies by too quickly. This is a killer blend. Holt is going to make a bundle on this blend and then move to the Seychelles Islands and retire while becoming a full time philosopher and recalcitrant.
Malts storm the beach head. A long list of extraordinary influences.
Another example of a blend without a flavor list a mile long yet it is exactly on target for presenting the blender’s intent.
The long ash falls right on to my naughty bits as I type with the cigar in my mouth. It seems only fair to self-immolate while smoking the Rose of Sharon. But I have no intentions of becoming a monk.
Strength is a steady as she goes medium body. This is a perfect morning cigar; especially if you haven’t eaten breakfast which always affects my palate afterwards. So I don’t eat breakfast before I review. Glad I got that into the open.
The blend is sublime with striking notes of intensity and determination. It aims to please. And I’m here to be pleased. (Wait, that doesn’t sound right).
Here they are…if I can catch them in mid-flight: Creaminess, peanut butter, red pepper, malts, chocolate, caramel, sweet butter, coffee, cedar, charred oak, rye toast, and a new influence: lime zest.
I gave the Southern Draw Code Duello Kudzu a rating of 95. I’ve already hit that with the Rose of Sharon.
Halfway point. Smoke time is 50 minutes.
The construction is first rate. The burn has been perfect not requiring a single touch up.
I’m back to smacking my lips like a lizard staring at a bug. The finish is a mile long.
Transitions continue on their upward trajectory. Complexity is so deep that it is cavernous.
Another perfect cigar blend for my tastes.
A sip of water brings a roar of flavors to my palate.
I’m pretty iffy on Connie wrapped blends. I just don’t find them full of pep. The Rose of Sharon turns that Connie preconception on its head.
The only way it could be better is if I put the cigar in a sausage machine and huffed the burning tobacco as it extrudes in a tubular fashion.
You know right away when you are smoking the perfect cigar blend. Something in your puny brain alerts you that a blitzkrieg is heading your way. The Rose of Sharon meets that criteria.
One thing I really like is that the spiciness keeps transforming itself from large doses of red pepper to black pepper. A surprise in every package of Cracker Jack.
I’ve checked and it appears that mine will be the first review of the Rose of Sharon. Those other reviewers better rate this cigar like I do. If they don’t, then they should be water boarded. I won’t tolerate seeing a rating of 90.
The lime zest has contributed its compliance into a Mojito cocktail with the addition of subtle mint circling the wagons.
If I were only allowed one cigar to smoke from this point forward, it would be the Rose of Sharon. Really.
It’s time to insert my 1972 Led Zep Live CD and rock out and pop and weave like Ray Charles singing along with Robert Plant.
LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is a quick one hour 20 minutes.
Uh oh…..nicotine. And the strength hits medium/full. I place a Kevlar vest over my lap to protect from a second assault to my naughty bits…just in case I drift into a state of delirious enlightenment.
The Rose of Sharon is on a trajectory of orbiting the space continuum while I soak up the perfect cigar experience. (Watch out for black holes).
Southern Draw has hit the bullseye with splendor and a constant ratcheting of spectacular mastery. Holt is a young man. Imagine what he will be blending 10 years from now.
Why is it that a reasonably priced super premium blend like this can be had for less than $10? While the supposed 22 multi-country expensive blends refuse to touch this price point. I swear that those blends that add the countless tobaccos from all over the world are just PR to justify the ridiculous price points without delivering the goods.
The Southern Draw Cigars Rose of Sharon delivers the goods plus those you never expected.
I’m enjoying this blend so much that it wouldn’t bother me a bit to end the review right here so I can sit back and enjoy the cigar without distraction.
The Rose of Sharon will make the top of the pole for my 2017 cigar list.
When you find these cigars, buy as many as you can afford. Steal from your wife. Sell your infant’s mobiles above his crib and sell them on Ebay. Knock over a convenience store. Rob a bank. Make your cat walk the streets in a mini skirt in the bad part of town.
This is the first blend in which the flavor of peanut butter has been constant and potent throughout the entire smoke. The creaminess is its dance partner in perfect sync.
The Rose of Sharon is one of the most complex blends I’ve had.
There is never a let up of strong consistency and surprises. A contradictory statement? I have no idea. I’m buzzing on life. With recurring strong flashbacks of the 1960’s.
The Rose of Sharon is a monumental accomplishment. No construction issues. A char line that never needs touching up. A flavor bomb in conjunction with a colossal magnitude of serious, passionate, and furious blending that reaches 9.5 on the Richter Scale.
Yeah, I really like this cigar.
Final smoke time is one hour 50 minutes.
See the whole line of Southern Draw cigars on their web site. You can purchase directly from them.
Addendum 5-21-2017: 15% OFF all Southern Draw Cigars online with promo code: KATMAN15.
RATING: 100
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
Wow ! On my list ! Will definitely have to try one of these ! Sounds like an awesome blend , and doesn’t cost you an arm or a leg ! Great review as usual !!
(Did miss reading a story, though).
Your eyebrows will grow back but yer gonna look funny for a few months. I know. …I lost mine about 6 years ago lighting the pilot light on my gas furnace. Ouch!
Sitting here on my porch next to my Rose of Sharon tree I planted 7 years ago dreaming of getting my hands on one of those cigars.
TR
OK, I went and bought 2. It is very good and unique. I don’t know about all the flavors you mention. It reminds me of toast with cinnamon sugar on it. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Bob…How many weeks did you allow the cigars to rest before lighting up? I waited about a month. Tried one a week or two in and it was not ready. Still, a month of humi time is nothing these days.
Mr. Katman,
%99 percent of the cigars you rave, I agree with %20000. I don’t get all the flavors that you speak of, not even close, but I know if you say you are getting orgasm from a cigar, I usually look for them. Latest one has been Paul Stulac and BeSpoke.
So this blend you gave a hundred. I guess i know what I am getting next.
Thank you for all your reviews and great writing.
Thank you Ted…
Phil
It was straight off the truck and I put the other away for aging. I’m just saying I just get one big taste impression. And, hey, I like cinnamon toast! Keep on truckin’
The sticks need a minimum of several weeks humidor time without their cellos. ROTT gets you a brand new cigar to throw away.
Robert and Sharon are the two best people you can find anywhere. Down to earth and very very humble people. Southern Draw hits another home run! Get the Rose of Sharon when you see it and you won’t regret it. It’s a great smoke at a great price. Very deserving off the 100 score. Thanks guys for a wonderful stick.
Rod (San Antonio)
FYI…Just got a great deal @ Famous Smoke Shop Five Pack Feeding Frenzy. Buy 3 get one free. So I got 2 five packs Rose of Sharon and Sobremesa Corona Grande 5 Pack. Saved $33…now have to wait a month to enjoy. Thanks!
Oops typo or brain fart…SAVED $44….Not $33…EVEN BETTER!
Phil, since your palate seems to parallel mine in most ways, although I can’t discern all the flavors that you do, and since every time I’ve got something that you’ve recommended has been a success, I did it again, and ordered a couple of four packs of these! And, of course, I had to smoke on ROTT… mistake. I knew it when I fired it up. Oh, it was a much better than average cigar through out until I got down to the last third, but I tell ya, I know once these have had some humidor time, they’ll be exactly as you describe!
Like you, in my opinion, Southern Draw can do no wrong! They’ve got an excellent business plan, they have an excellent partner in AJ Fernandez, and they appear to be very fine folks! Thanks for your review, glad to see that you’re up to doing them again.
VK
I’ve found one thing to be mostly true…cigars upon receipt are rarely ready to smoke and you just end up flushing your dough down the toilet.
But a little miracle occurs with a lot of good blends. On days 2-4 after receipt, you may get a real wallop in the puss because the cigar is giving you a real taste of its potential…and then it goes into hibernation for however long needed.
The Rose of Sharon is better with a few weeks on it at the least.
Thanks for writing,
Phil
I can’t agree enough with your recommendation. I’m a huge fan of subtle and nuanced blends, and the RoS is right up my wheelhouse; so much so that after nubbing it, I was torn between rolling on the ground in gibbering ecstasy and immediately chain smoking another.
I didn’t get the peanut butter motif you mentioned, but I paired this with a ginger-rosemary tea, so that could have thrown my palate off.