Undercrown Dogma (Prerelease)

On March 24, Drew Estate announced a new vitola in the Undercrown line called Dogma. The 6 x 56 box-pressed cigar is a project being made in collaboration with Cigar Dojo, an online cigar community, and is being sold exclusive through Florida-based Smoke Inn.

Based on the Corona ¡Viva!, the blend includes a Mexican San Andreas wrapper, Connecticut Stalk-Cut Habano for the binder, and Nicaraguan & Brazilian Mata Fina filler tobacco. The Dogma is being sold in 10-count bundles, with each cigar retailing for $9.95.

We published a press release with more details:

When asked about the “Dogma” project, Jonathan Drew said, “we have been major supporters of Cigar Dojo from the beginning. A handful of Drew Estate employees, myself included, are Dojo members, and we have always been floored by the support Drew Estate has received on the app and website. When Eric (owner of Cigar Dojo) approached us about coming up with this special commemorative cigar, it was a no-brainer. My dad, “Baitfish” Gary, came up with the name ‘Dogma’.”

The “Dogma” will be a limited run of 10-count bundles, and will be sold exclusively through Smoke Inn, a South Florida cigar retail chain, owned by Abe Debabneh. For those based outside of Florida, the cigars will be available through Smoke Inn’s web store. The “Dogma” will be priced at $9.95 MSRP per single and $99.50 MSRP per 10-count bundle.

The flavor profile of the “Dogma” aligns with that of the Corona ¡Viva!, featuring notes of cocoa, earth, and a rich spicy character. If you enjoy the Corona ¡Viva! but would like a longer, 56 ring gauge smoke, the “Dogma” will be a new favorite.

In tandem with the release of the new “Dogma” size, Drew Estate will be running a social campaign and giveaway through their website which will allow consumers to try the cigar before it hits the market. To enter, visit http://drewestate.com/dojodogma. Unfortunately, the giveaway is not available in MA, MI, and VA due to anti-tobacco promotion laws within those states.

The Undercrown “Dogma” will be available for pre-order Friday, March 28th, 2014, through SmokeInn.com. In the meantime, make sure to enter Drew Estate’s “5 Days of ‘Dogma’” giveaway for your chance to try the cigar before anyone else in the country. 

With the addition of the Dogma, the Undercrown line now includes nine vitolas.

• Undercrown Robusto (5 x 54) — October 10, 2011 — Regular Production
• Undercrown Belcoso (6 x52) — October 10, 2011— Regular Production
• Undercrown Gran Toro (6 x 52) — October 10, 2011— Regular Production
• Undercrown Gordito (6 x 60) — October 10, 2011— Regular Production
• Undercrown Corona Doble (7 x 54) — October 10, 2011— Regular Production
• Undercrown Corona ¡Viva! (5 5/8 x 46) — May 8, 2012— Regular Production
• Undercrown Flying Pig (4 1/8 x 60) — June 2012 — 205 Boxes of 12 Cigars (2,460 Total Cigars)
• Undercrown Puro Sabor (5 1/2 x 50) — January 2014 — 200 Cigars (Nicaraguan Cigar Festival 2014)
• Undercrown Dogma (6 x 56) — April 2014 — n/a

• Cigar Reviewed: Undercrown Dogma
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
• Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
• Binder: Connecticut Stalk-Cut Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan & Brazilian Mata Fina
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Vitola: Toro Gordo
• MSRP: $9.95 (Bundles of 10, $99.50)
• Released Date: April 15, 2014
• Number of Cigars Released:  n/a
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2 

The Undercrown Dogma is quite striking when held in the hand with an obvious oval shape to the box-press and a yellowish hue to the mottled brown wrapper. The cigar is just short of rock hard when squeezed, with very little give at all, and there are viens up and down the length. The wrapper is silky smooth to the touch, and smells strongly of a combination of cedar, leather and slight peppermint.

The Dogma starts off the first third with a strong earthy base, although I am noticing some other notes of creamy leather, cedar, bitter espresso and cocoa. While there is very little sweetness in the profile so far, I am picking up some very slight peppermint, especially on the retrohale. Speaking of the retrohale, I am also getting some black pepper every once in a while, but it is sporadic at best. The draw is wonderful through the first third, and while the burn is far from razor sharp, it is still well within normal ranges. Strength-wise, the Dogma ends the first third firmly in the medium range, but does not seem to be going anywhere fast. 

The second third of the Undercrown Dogma sees a shift in the core flavor from earth to more of a leather being dominant, although there is still quite a bit of creaminess overall that does not seem to be dissipating anytime soon. Other notes flit in and out randomly: the aforementioned earthiness, dark chocolate, coffee, cedar and a bit of dry tea leaves. The sweetness from the first third is more noticeable, and has morphed into more of a nutmeg flavor, although it is still not that strong yet. Construction-wise, the burn has evened up on the Dogma nicely, and it has become razor sharp by the halfway point, while the draw is still excellent. The overall strength has not budged as of yet, and stays well solidly on the medium mark.

There are some slight changes in the final third of the Undercrown Dogma, most noticeably the dominant flavor, which shifts again, this time to a creamy dark chocolate base with complimentary notes of espresso, leather, gritty earth, oak and even a little nuttiness now and then. The sweetness on the finish is still not overly strong, but has changed to more of a black licorice flavor that continues until the end of the cigar. Smoke production is way above average, and both the burn and draw continue to impress. The overall strength has not budged since the start of the second half, and ends at a solid medium when I put down the nub with a little less than an inch left.

 

Final Notes

• Given a promotion Smoke Inn is running, there were at least 200 bundles made for the first shipment.
• Cigar Dojo has another cigar being made for it, the La Jugada Nunchuck.
• I smoked the second Undercrown Dogma and a Corona ¡Viva! at the same time to judge the similarities and differences between the two. In my mind, the Corona ¡Viva! is easily the better cigar, with more complexity, more sweetness and significantly more pepper on the retrohale, while the Dogma features a noticeably creamier profile overall, more earthy notes and slightly more strength overall.
• I am not sure if the oval shape to the box-press is intentional, but I would imagine it has to be, since both of the samples I smoked looked exactly the same in that regard. This is not the first oval-shaped box-press recently, as the newly released Casa Magna Domus Magnus II Tiberius uses the same look as well, along with the somewhat obviously named San Latano Oval which was first released at the IPCPR show in 2011.
• There was a shocking difference in the wrapper shades of the two samples we were sent for review, with one being significantly lighter than the other. Variations in wrapper shade are normal, even within the same line, but the first time I looked at the two together, I thought they were two different blends.
  
• Along with the above, take a look at the wrapper color differences in the collections shot above. For edification, I used the darker of the two Dogmas for that photograph.
• I am not sure I would have made the secondary band as big as it is, as it competes directly with the main Undercrown band. 
• There are also way too many logos on both bands. There are four in total: the Undercrown logo on the top main band, the Dogma logo on the bottom secondary band, the Drew Estate logo on the back of the main band and the Cigar Dojo logo on the back of the secondary band.
   
• I really love the way the oval feels in my mouth, better than a box press in that regard.
• Smoke production was well above average, but not quite on par with a Liga Privada.
• The samples smoked for this review were sent to halfwheel by Drew Estate, who advertised with halfwheel earlier in the year.
• These smoked quite slow, and the final smoking time for both samples averaged one hour and 50 minutes.
• Smoke Inn is the only place to purchase the cigar. They are currently back-ordered, but they seem to indicate there will be another shipment.