Staff Reviews

I think Drew Estate’s Undercrown is the cigar I’ve burnt the most of, in my life. Seriously. I’d guess that over the last five years or so I’ve gone through maybe… six boxes of these in total. That’s across almost every size – I’ve gone from Gran Toro, to the Gordito, to the Corona Viva, to the Corona Doble, and back to the Gran Toro over the years. Now six boxes might not seem like a lot for those guys out there who consistently buy the same box month in and month out. But that’s never been me, I’ve always been one to jump around from brand to brand. 

All that being said, Undercrown is a cigar I’ve always returned to, always recommended, and always enjoyed. Today, I want to explain why.

Before we jump into all that, I want to explain the background of the “Undercrown” for those who don’t know. Let’s jump back in time seven or eight years. It’s 2010 — the iPhone 4 was just released, Bing and Yahoo have decided to combine search tech to try to take down Google (spoiler alert: it doesn’t work), Drew Brees is the MVP of the Super Bowl after whipping the Colts, and a little cigar company known for their infused blends is killing the game with a cigar called “Liga Privada No. 9”. Now Liga Privada gets a lot of its success from the high-quality leaves contained inside it — the maduro wrapper is fermented extra-slowly and longer than most, and only the highest-quality filler leaves make their way into the final product. The rarity of the tobacco had a lot to do with the unique flavor, and the reviews were good. In fact, this hype surrounding this cigar was SO good, Drew Estate couldn’t keep up with production. 

So the decision comes down from the Drew Estate higher-ups: cigar rollers, “torcedores”, can no longer enjoy the Liga Privadas they roll while they’re rolling them. They need to light up something else. And, as the story goes, a few of these torcedores went on to combine alternate vintages and primings of the same leaves as the Liga 9 into a cigar of their own. After enjoying a few of these cigars themselves, the Drew Estate team realized they had something special here. A cigar crafted by the people, for the people — and so, Undercrown was born. 

Now don’t get confused. Just because this cigar was blended with “leftover” tobacco from the LP9 doesn’t mean it isn’t a premium experience. Take, for example, the Mexican San Andres maduro wrapper. On a lesser cigar, this wrapper leaf is gritty and rustic. On Undercrown, it’s oily, expertly applied, and nearly seamless. Underneath, you’ll find a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Cured Sun Grown Habano binder and a mixture of handpicked Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano long-fillers. In each cigar, these tobaccos are rolled perfectly, with a great weight in the hand and an equal firmness all the way up the length of the 6” x 52 Toro. In (literally) over 100 of these cigars I’ve enjoyed, I’d be hard pressed to think of one with bad construction. 

Toasting the foot of this cigar and taking a couple draws you’ll find a full-flavor, with tons of production off each puff. The flavor is surprisingly creamy, for a cigar this dark. There’s a natural sweetness here, complemented by notes of woodsy flavor and vanilla (or “oak”, some would call it). While there’s a lot going on here, the cigar never inches all the way up the strength dial, resting just below what I’d call full-bodied. As it continues, coffee and black pepper join the mix, until, by the end, the sweetness is mostly gone and what’s left is a more typical Nicaraguan maduro experience — plenty of spice and earth. 

So why do I keep coming back to Undercrown? It’s consistent, it’s reliable, and it is, to me, a shining example of what a maduro cigar should taste like. Never overpowering, never disappointing, and never one-dimensional. If you haven’t tried Undercrown yet, grab a 5-pack of the Gran Toro or the Corona Viva size and give it a whirl. As a note, the Corona Viva contains a higher-ratio of ligero than the other sizes, so it’ll give you more of a spicy kick. And if you have enjoyed Undercrown before this, maybe it’s time to revisit this classic cigar. I guarantee you’re going to be happy you did. 

As a self-appointed ambassador of all things cigars, I spend a lot of time thinking about branding. And if there’s one thing that makes me nervous it’s the words “rebranding” and “new directions.” Normally well-intentioned, many “rebranding” campaigns unfortunately end up as big failures (New Coke, anyone?). So you can understand my initial hesitance around Joya Red. A classic Nicaraguan brand known for their kick-ass, powerhouse cigars was going to deliver a smooth and medium-bodied blend? I wasn’t convinced. So when the boxes landed on our docks, I did what needed to be done — snuck a box of Toros away and headed upstairs to perform a little QA.  

The first impression was great. While most boxes from Joya are chunky, weighty, and very “old-school”, I like this new approach to packaging here. The red and gold band looks nice against the golden-brown Habano wrapper, and the box is sharp. Paper wrapped, each box contains 20 cigars, in two rows of ten. The next step here was easy. I picked the cigar with the shiniest cellophane, broke out the ol’ cutter and lighter, and began puffing away. 

At first, this cigar is rather mellow. There’s a sweetness to it (CA calls it “brown sugar”, that’s a little too technical for me), with a crisp and clean tobacco core. It’s good, but the best was yet to come. Around an inch in flavors of roasted nuts join the mix, and as the cigar burns down it’s only picking up steam. Eventually, I was given a nice medium-bodied mixture of wood, toasty tobacco, coffee, and some hints of black pepper. In all, everything kept cool and smooth, never even inching into the full-bodied territory of some other JdN’s like Antano 1970 or Dark Corojo. But the flavors certainly kept coming. By the end of this cigar, you’re left with a super satisfying, palate-smacking wallop of delicious Nicaraguan goodness, all without breaking a sweat. I let this one burn down as far as I could go without burning my fingers, and then stashed the rest of the box in my humidor.   

As you may have guessed at the beginning of this review, I wasn’t sure I’d like the “new” Joya, but I tried Red anyway. And I’m glad I did. Joya Red is a fantastic cigar that I can heartily recommend to anyone who enjoys a balanced blend. It’s smooth, complex, and subtle — a perfect contender for your new daily stick. 

Unlike some of the guys around here, I don’t have a cigar lit at all times of the day. A few of the clowns around here burn ‘em like they’re going out of style. But when I light up a cigar, I want to make sure I’ve got the time to savor and enjoy it. Plus, my personal preference is for full-bodied, powerhouse sticks. And they taste so much better when the sun’s down, and there’s a beer in my hand. 

So, without further delay, let me review for you all one of my go-to, end-of-the-day blends: Diesel Uncut. If you've experienced Diesel before, you know this brand is 100% beef. The regular Diesel is a dynamite stick overflowing with flavors, and one that I’ve burnt countless times. With Diesel Uncut, famed blender A.J. Fernandez promised even more undiluted flavor, and the dress mazo packaging style keeps these sticks priced low. A winning combination so far. 

But how do you turn the dial up even further on a high-octane blend like Diesel? Well with Uncut, AJ employs a rich Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper over a robust mix of Nicaraguan binder and long-filler. The wrapper has a slight shimmer of oil, and is a gorgeous warm brown color throughout. In less artsy terms: this thing looks like a friggin’ chocolate bar, and I want to tear into it. 

Lighting it up, I’m never disappointed. The “uncut” foot at the end gives you a blast of the wrapper flavor as you put it to torch. It’s loaded with chocolate, dark espresso, and cedar, like any good maduro should be. As you get into the cigar, you get more black pepper and the cigar builds in strength. This is one you can easily burn your fingers on as you puff away down to the nub. 

Now, as much as I love Diesel Uncut, no cigar is perfect. My complaints here are relatively minor: I wish there was a longer vitola, like a Churchill. The Toro is delicious, and I’d love to see what an extra inch or so could bring to the table. The only other thing I want to make clear is that this cigar’s got a real kick in flavor and strength. It’s great if that’s what you’re looking for (which I am), but this is definitely not a cigar to enter on an empty stomach. 

Alright, I’ve droned on long enough. If this sounds good to you, I’d highly recommend a mazo of the Toros. If it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, leave ‘em all to me. Not gonna hurt my feelings.