Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro

To close out 2023, Caldwell Cigar Co. released new versions of its Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut and Maduro lines, ones that use a sweetened tip.

The blends remain the same, which means that in the case of the Connecticut ST, the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed shade-grown leaf, while the binder comes from Honduras, as does some of the filler, with Nicaraguan tobacco also used.

Both lines are offered in the same three sizes:

• Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST / Maduro ST Robusto (5 x 50) — $9.75 (Box of 20, $195)
• Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST / Maduro ST Toro (6 x 52) — $10.75 (Box of 20, $215)
• Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST / Maduro ST Magnum (6 x 60) — $11.75 (Box of 20, $235)

Both lines are made at Davidoff’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A. factory in Danlí, Honduras, the same factory that produces the regular versions of each blend.

While the blends didn’t change with the addition of the sweetned tip, the packaging did. The cigars come in boxes that say “ST” to denote the sweetened tip and the colors are different; the Connecticut ST comes in orange boxes, while the Maduro ST comes in blue boxes.

• Cigar Reviewed: Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut-seed)
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $10.75 (Box of 20, $215)
• Release Date: December 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 250 Boxes of 20 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I love the color of the Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro, as it reminds me of the idealized color of a graham cracker with its matte hue. The veins are quite small, and the seam lines are just noticeable enough to catch my attention. The cigar is firm but not hard, with just a touch of give to be found if I go looking for it. The cigar also feels on the light side, not underfilled, but just that it uses lighter tobacco. The foot has an aroma of graham crackers, some light toast and just a touch of pepper on the tail of the finish. I’m intrigued to see just how much sweetness I’m going to get from the cold draw, and it only takes a moment to pick up that this cigar didn’t use traditional adhesive for the head. It’s not overpowering as seemingly the sweetener was used sparingly. Beyond the sweetness, there’s a soft-textured flavor that doesn’t have individual components that leap out. I could make the case for some sort of breadiness and a mild creaminess. My lips begin to tingle after a few seconds of contact with my lips.

Consider me surprised by the first puffs of the Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro, as the sweetness from the cap continues to be very mellow, almost to the point where I might overlook its presence in the first cigar. The flavor is pretty mild but not bland or absent, it’s just not going after my taste buds which much assertiveness in the early going. The graham cracker sensation is still there and now warm, while some mild pepper tingles my taste buds. Retrohales have a really pleasant pepper, ample enough to tingle the nostrils sufficiently but not trying to do too much, though they are noticeably more fuller and more peppery than the flavor. I find that if I lick my lips, I find a touch of the sweet adhesive lingering around, probably the most direct interaction I’ve had with it to this point. The retrohales get a touch earthier as this section progresses and are still the fuller, more lively expression of the profile. After starting mild, the flavor is now medium-minus and building. The body of the smoke is medium and strength is mild. Construction is very good with no issues, putting off good amounts of smoke, maintaining an even burn line and a smooth draw.

The second third sees the flavor get a bit toastier and the pepper gets just a touch more pronounced, making for a fuller flavor as this section gets underway, though it’s still shy of having what I’d call a medium flavor intensity. With each puff, the profile dries out a little bit, bringing in a bit of light earth and its more textured sensation. By the midway point, the sweetened tip is essentially non-existent, so much so that I’m pretty much convinced that if I didn’t know the cigar had one, I wouldn’t have guessed it did. The flavor continues its steady progression to becoming drier and more textured, adding in more touches of dry earth, a very dry wood and some black pepper. While I haven’t picked up much creaminess to this point, I’m wondering if there was some that I simply overlooked, as it feels like whatever was smoothing over the flavors is fading away. While the dryness of the flavors gives each puff some real texture, somehow the smoke hangs onto a fairly soft aspect, even as the flavor gets hotter and a touch toastier as this section comes to a close. Flavor is a dry medium-plus, body is medium-full and strength is medium-minus. Construction remains very good and problem-free.

There is essentially no trace of the ST when the final third of the Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro gets into its final third, and even knowing that the cap was sweetened, I can’t even trick myself into thinking it is present. While the profile is markedly different from the first third and is now quite dry, the profile stops short of becoming harsh. That said, the finish leaves something to be desired, as it has some charred flavors, namely toast and dry wood, while the pepper and dry earth also sit on my taste buds after each puff. In the final couple of inches, earthiness takes more of the lead; in the process of doing that, it has picked up a slightly fuller, more developed sensation that is less dry than earlier, though I don’t want to call it damp. Flavor finishes up around medium-plus, body is medium and strength is medium-minus at most, with just enough nicotine to impart a slight sensation. Construction remains fantastic, with no issues of note across the three cigars.

Final Notes

• I’ve never been one to smoke cigars with a sweetened tip, mainly because I never saw the benefit or what it added to the experience. For me, the sweetness doesn’t really affect the flavor, positively or negatively, but just adds this additional layer that doesn’t quite mesh with what else the cigar offers.
• I’d be curious to find a group of cigar smokers who only smoke sweetened tip cigars to get their opinion on this cigar, not necessarily from the flavor perspective, but from the perspective of the sweetened tip.
• While Caldwell used ST as an abbreviation for sweetened tip, in my baseball work, ST is code for spring training.
• None of the three cigars hit me with enough strength to warrant some white sugar, but one cigar had me thinking about it.

• The company lists these as a 6 x 52 toro. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was just under two hours on average.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Site sponsors Cigars Direct and Smokingpipes carry the Blind Man’s Bluff Connecticut ST Toro.