For those of you that don’t know…

As I have said before, one of the most interesting brands in cigar history has always been Dunhill, and the Dunhill Estupendos is one of the rarest (and most expensive) vitolas that they produced. It is also one of the two vitolas that came in a Tube (the other being the appropriately named “Tubo”).

The Estupendos came packaged in aluminum tubes, and were sold in boxes of 10…Here is what the boxes look like with (some of the) tubes in it, and what the tube itself looks like…

(photo via Wikipedia)

For the history of the Dunhill brand, Wikipedia has it down pat, so I thought I would just quote the article, instead of trying to rewrite it…(you can find the entire article here):

Beginning in 1977, Dunhill and Cubatabaco began discussing the possibility of producing a cigar brand bearing the name of Dunhill. An agreement was finally reached in 1982 and Dunhill cigars hit stores in 1984, starting with the Dunhill stores of ten countries and eventually expanding to thirty. The ultimate downfall of the Dunhill brand was that it was out to compete with the other high-end private label, Davidoff. Seeing as how both brands were being produced by Cubatabaco, the Cuban tobacco monopoly wanted to make profits from both and had no wish to participate in the market competition between the two tobacconists. Unhappy with Cubatabaco’s unwillingness, when the original contract expired in 1991 Dunhill chose not to renew, having already begun scoping possible new locations in the Canary Islands, Dominican Republic, and Honduras for cigar production. Eventually, Dunhill would give up making cigars altogether and sold the rights to put its name on tobacco products to British American Tobacco.

Editor’s Note:

These were rolled at the old Real Fábrica de Tabacos Romeo y Julieta (852 Belascoain Street.) The factory is now known as Briones Montoto or more commonly “new H. Upmann” as it is currently the home for the production that used to take place at Upmann. Old H. Upmann, offically known as Heroes of Moncada, is undergoing renovations. Dunhills were made at a few factories over the course of history, and tax stamps weren’t used. The most recent Cuban Dunhills, those from the 1980s, were made at Real Fábrica de Tabacos Romeo y Julieta. Much thanks to Christoph Wolters of La Casa del Habano Hamburg for assistance on that. Another interesting tidbit, the old Romeo y Julieta factory (Briones Montoto) is the homeshop to the roller Jaime Parede, better known as “Hamlet“. — el niño diablo.

Dunhill produced 8 different vitolas in the short time they were in existence (although interestingly, there were seven different vitolas that were proposed other then these, but were never produced)…They are:

• Atados — 6 ⁷/₈ Inches x 28
• Cabinetta — 4 ⁷/₈ Inches x 50
• Estupendos — 7 Inches x 47
• Havana Club — 9 ¹/3 Inches x 47
• Malecon — 6 ¹/2 Inches x 42
• Mojito — 5 ⁵/₈ Inches x 42
• Tubos — 6 ¹/₈ Inches x 42
• Varadero — 5 ¹/₈ Inches x 42

But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Dunhill Estupendos
• Country of Origin: Cuba
• Factory: Real Fábrica de Tabacos Romeo y Julieta
  
• Wrapper: Cuba
• Binder: Cuba
• Filler: Cuba
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 47
• Vitola: Churchill
• Est. Price: Varies (but expect to pay at least $500-$750 each)
• Date Released: 1985

The cigar itself is fairly large (although not the longest in the line, that would be the Havana Club)…The wrapper is a darkish brown, has quite a few veins, and is pretty bumpy up and down the length…It is firm when squeezed, but not overly so…The wrapper smells slightly of cedar (which is not surprising, considering there is a sheet of cedar in the tube it was stored in), spice and what I swear is apples…In fact, when smelling the wrapper, I instantly thought of spiced apple cidar, and that is what I am sticking with…The Predraw is the same spicy cedar with a bit of hay…

The First Third starts out with HUGE flavors right off the bat…I tasted leather, cedar, licorice and sweet earth for most of the third, but it calmed down as it entered the Second…There was not that much spice or pepper (a bit, but not much), and it was a fairly mild start strength wise…

Around the start of the Second Third, the profile shifted abruptly, and the cigar turned extremely sweet and creamy with notes of nuts, leather and wood…There is more spice present (especially on the retrohale) and it is the perfect amount to compliment the flavors without overwhelming them…

The Last Third featured yet another profile shift, this time with quite a bit of espresso, dark chocolate, and less sweetness…There is an interesting floral note that creeps in towards the end as well…The spice that was present continued to ramp up as the cigar ended, and was actually quite strong at the very end, but never strong enough to take away from the flavors…A very dry finish as well…

Final Notes:

• Every time I smoke a Dunhill, I think of the interesting fact that out of all of the vitolas they produced, only one (the Cabinetta) was above a 50 RG (and just a 50 at that)…In fact, 5 of the 8 vitolas were 42 RG or below…In this age of cigars, where smaller Ring Guages are shunned, and 50 RG is becoming the norm, it is interesting to look back at a time when cigars were produced with a different frame of mind…
• I have heard it mentioned that the Estupendos are richer in flavors, mostly because of the fact it was stored in a tube…I don’t know if that is the reason, but I CAN tell you that it is quite a bit richer (and a better cigar) then the Mojito I reviewed…
• Whenever I smoke an aged stick, I am always conscious of the idea that there are certain cigars (and even specific vitolas within lines) that might be “Past Their Prime” (i.e. are past the point of prime aging)…Thankfully, this cigar was definitely not one of them…
• The Smoke smelled quite sweet, almost like cotton candy (in fact, it instantly reminded me of the LFD Small Batch #2…
• The Strength of the cigar increased near the end, but never went further then a Medium…However, it was stronger then the Mojito I reviewed…
• The Burn and Draw were perfect, as I expected they would be…
• The Final Smoking Time was just shy of two hours (1 Hour and 55 minutes, to be exact)…

The Bottom Line: I was absolutely astounded by the multitude of flavors that were present during the smoking of this cigar…There have been very few cigars I have smoked that had the complexity, finesse, smoothness and refinement that I tasted, with each flavor distinctly noticeable…It changed profiles so many times, it was like I was smoking three different cigars, each excellent in it’s own way… I have smoked quite a few cigars, from fresh off the rolling table to sticks that are almost 100 years old, and this was one of the best cigars I have EVER smoked, bar none. I don’t believe in a “Perfect” cigar, but this was as close as it comes for me…

Final Score: 99