ACID 20 Connecticut Toro

Earlier this year, Drew Estate announced that it would be expanding its ACID 20 brand with a new version, the ACID 20 Connecticut.

What’s odd is that while this is the first time most stores are selling an ACID 20 Connecticut, this isn’t the very time there’s been an ACID 20 with a Connecticut wrapper. In August 2020, Drew Estate released the ACID 20 Bronxilla, a 5 x 54 robusto, as an exclusive for Alliance Cigar Co., a New York-based cigar distributor.

Both cigars use the same blend on paper: an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over an Indonesian binder and fillers from Nicaragua. A representative from Drew Estate did not respond to multiple messages seeking clarification about whether these two cigars are the same blend in function, or just on paper. For what it’s worth, the original ACID 20 blend uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers.

The cigars are infused, though Drew Estate has not disclosed the infusion.

• Cigar Reviewed: ACID 20 Connecticut Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: La Gran Fábrica Drew Estate
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $10.75 (Box of 20, $258.02)
• Release Date: January 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Like I do with all infused or flavored cigars, I opted to keep these cigars stored separately from non-infused cigars but I’m not sure how necessary that is. When I opened up the bag that stored the cigars—which contained a Boveda pack—I didn’t smell much of anything. Smelling the cigars through the cellophane doesn’t reveal any real aromas either. Once the cigars are removed from cellophane, I write something in my notes that I won’t repeat here. Needless to say, there’s a lot of different aromas. There are a lot of fruity flavors that reminds me of sugary snacks like Fruit Rolls up or Gushers. While the smell is very distinct and overwhelms anything that might come from the tobacco itself, it’s only medium-full. Appearance-wise, the wrapper is a mustard tan color with quite a few veins and not the cleanest appearance. The foot adds some chocolate ice cream smells to the fruitiness. While the fruity smell is the dominant force, there’s also some cedar and leather underneath. Taking the first cold draw reveals a number of things. First, the fruity aroma is still the most noticeable thing, even more so than what I’m tasting with my tastebuds. Second, the cap is sweetened with what appears to be some generic sugar sweetness. If I avoid licking the sugar off my lips, it’s a mixture of grain, waffle cone and tortilla chips—just lots of carbohydrates. When mixed with the sweetness on the lips, the flavor reminds me a bit of orange juice.

It’s a pretty similar story at the start of the ACID 20 Connecticut Toro. If I purposely avoid licking the sugar, the first puff is led by grains and cedar, but a minor lick of the lips reveals a sweetness that overwhelms and transforms the rest of the profile. The more time goes on, the more I’m able to taste the fruity sweetness; or perhaps my brain is confusing the smell with what I’m tasting. If I avoid the sugar, it’s a very clear cedar and oak profile with bits of oatmeal and earthiness. At times, it’s almost like a burnt roux, but it’s more wood-like than anything else. When mixed with the sugar, it’s very different not just because of the sweetness but also because of the fruity flavors. The finish is pretty similar to the main flavor but with a lot more creaminess. Retrohales have more nuttiness than cedar; again, it’s very similar to the main flavor, though in this case the profile just isn’t as clean. I struggle to detect much of a difference on the finish of the retrohale for most of the first third, though if pressed it tastes like there’s an uptick in grains. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium and strength is mild-medium. Construction is excellent on all three cigars.

The largest change in the second third takes place somewhere around the halfway mark when I realize that I’m not able to pick up the fruitiness from the sweetened cap. As far as the non-sweetened flavors, I taste more of a roux-like profile but the cedar is still a big part of the profile. At times, there’s some lemon, which seems to be a result of the tobacco and not the added flavoring. The finish reminds me a lot of Life brand cereal, but there are still lots of roux flavors with a starchy creaminess. Retrohales have cedar leading nuttiness, herbal flavors and some minor amounts of white pepper, the first time I’ve tasted pepper in the cigar. The finish of the retrohale is a hodgepodge of the previously mentioned parts of the process: cereal, nuttiness, roux and some burnt coffee. When I lick my lips and then retrohale, the finish turns a lot more herbal. Flavor is medium-full to full—it depends about the added sugar—body is medium and strength is non-existent. Construction remains excellent on each cigar.

I’m not sure if it’s because the sweetness is wearing off or something else, but the profile gets a lot more complex in the final third. Life cereal continues to lead over cedar, a sour creaminess—not actual sour cream—and black pepper. The finish is much grittier than any other part of the cigar so far, with Life cereal leading nuttiness, a harsh earthiness and some tortilla chips. Some puffs produce a profile where all of the flavors are more or less at the same intensity level, other times the grain cereal note leads the ACID 20 Connecticut Toro. Retrohales have a salted cracker flavor, umami, stale bottled water and some cedar, a noticeable change in flavors, but also very different in how my palate reacts to the flavors. Before, it seemed like the retrohales were quite compact; now the flavor seemed much more spread out and I’m wondering if there are things I’m missing. The finish is led by earthiness with some toastiness that fades in and out. Like before, there are a lot of the residual flavors from the retrohale itself and there’s also some white pepper. What’s particularly interesting here is that the flavors that stick around the nose are basically just the Life cereal flavor, everything else is what I’m able to detect in the mouth. Flavor finishes just shy of full, body is medium and strength is mild. Construction is pretty good, though two cigars need minor touch-ups in the final third.

Final Notes

• I feel like with a cigar like this, it’s good to provide some background info. I probably smoke two infused/flavored cigars per year outside of for the purpose of a review. Most of them are simply a matter of smoking a new infused cigar that I’m not reviewing but am curious about, and I’m not really sure when the last time I smoked an infused cigar just because I wanted to was. I don’t have anything against them, rather, I have a lot of cigars to smoke and oftentimes I feel like the sweetened caps require a bit more time than normal for my palate to recover.
• Given that I couldn’t taste the infusion unless I was either tasting the cap or tasting a part of my mouth that had just touched the cap, it meant I could choose, to some degree, how much of the sweetness I wanted.
• This created a number of unique situations, including figuring out how different amounts of the infusion changed the profile. It also meant that scoring the cigar could be a  bit tricky as I could choose to have five consecutive puffs without much added sugar or five puffs that were dominated by sugar. I scored what I felt like was the middle ground between those two options.
• While I think this cigar has more flavors than a lot of sweet-tipped large cigars, the cigar without the sugar was a pretty generic profile. I wouldn’t describe it as boring or basic, but it seemed to be about as inoffensive as a cigar profile could be: lots of grains, woods and creaminess, very little in the way of harshness or pepper.
• In the first half of the cigar, the sweetness seems to be about two-thirds sugar and one-third fruitiness. After the halfway mark, the overall effect is reduced and it’s mostly just sugar.
• I don’t think the infusion here is as strong as a Blondie. It’s still very noticeable, but it wasn’t as strong as some other cigars.
• Cigars like this prove just how useless smelling a cigar through cellophane is. If the cellophane is going to keep these aromas inside, I don’t think much is getting through. That said, some infused cigars definitely have an aroma that permeates the cellophane.
• Construction was very good overall, though the ash was a lot flakier than I’d expect given the profile and manufacturer.
• Drew Estate advertises on halfwheel.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 45 minutes.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar carry the ACID 20 Connecticut Toro.