Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara

The idea that cigars tend to pair well with brown spirits such as Scotch, whisky, rum or bourbon is a pretty well-understood part of the cigar culture. Go to a cigar bar, look at the drink menu, and you’re bound to find a hearty list of such offerings.

The idea that tobacco and brown spirits go well together goes beyond drinking a spirit while smoking your cigar, as numerous companies have used spirits barrels to age both tobacco leaves and finished cigars as part of the cigar-making process. Since 2018, General Cigar Co. has partnered with the distiller Rabbit Hole to create a line of cigars that bring tobacco and bourbon together before the finished cigars reach consumers.

For the fourth and most recent release in the collaboration, the Nicaraguan habano leaves used for the binder underwent an aging process inside Japanese Mizunara oak barrels that were used to age Rabbit Hole’s 15-Year-Old Mizunara Founder’s Collection bourbon. While the law states that bourbon is required to be aged in freshly charred, new American oak barrels, it can be finished in other barrels, which is where the Mizunara wood comes in.

The rest of the blend featured a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and more Nicaraguan habano tobacco for the filler. The cigars were produced by Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A., which produces other Diesel lines.

The finished cigar, the Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara, comes in a 6 x 52 toro vitola, and is priced at $15.99 per cigar or $159.90 for a box of 10 cigars. While the release is a limited edition, production numbers have not been disclosed.

“With Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara, we have given the binder leaf a distinctive personality through its contact with the hand-shaped barrels to create a unique smoking experience,” said Justin Andrews, business development manager of Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s (STG) North American Branded and Rest of World divisions, in a press release. “This cigar pairs beautifully with bourbon and creates an equally memorable smoking occasion on its own.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara
• Country of Origin: Nicaragaua
• Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Habano)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $15.99 (Box of 10, $159.90)
• Release Date: May 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review:

The first thing I notice when looking at the Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara is the bands. They are well done and the footband reminds me of a Rabbit Hole bottle label and the primary band a more traditional cigar band but also something you might find around the neck of a bottle. That should come as no surprise, as they seem to draw some inspiration from the branding on bottles of Rabbit Hole, particularly the diagonal lines used in their labels. The Mizunara wordmarks match those used by Rabbit Hole, and the fonts on the footband appear identical to those used on the bottles. If anything, the Diesel logo feels a bit washed out when looking at it straight-on, but rotating it slightly reveals the contrast and detail. The wrappers are all a very dark brown, a color that almost seems to absorb light, making it challenging to see any variation, though there is a touch in spots. There are some very small veins, while the leaf has a dry texture with a fine-grained feel on my fingers. The first cigar is firm but has some give, the second is notably lighter but feels much the same as far as its density, and the third is the firmest of the bunch yet isn’t rock hard. All three look to be rolled well, with no visual imperfections or distractions. The aroma of the foot is quite engaging, at first reminding me of a light Scotch whisky, just without the accompanying alcohol burn and some touches of cardboard. One cigar leads with more of a warm cola note, finishing with some black pepper and a Dr. Pepper profile, while another is rather restrained and just has old, dry wood and a touch of pepper. The cold draw is smooth and has just a touch of resistance consistently across the three cigars. The first flavor that jumps out of the first cigar is chocolate syrup, and then a bit of coffee comes along to give me the mocha sensation. The second cigar has more of the cola flavor that I found on the aroma, while the third has a dry flavor that elicits a dried-out spirit barrel. Some dryness follows whatever initial flavors are offered, along with a good amount of tingling on my lips and then a touch of damp potting soil.

The first puffs are unique in a way that has me searching for the right words to describe what I’m experiencing. It’s a good profile with unique sensations, with a leading flavor that reminds me of both a spirit and a barrel, with some light pepper mixed in as well. When it comes to that spirit, it’s definitely more in the category of whiskey, bourbon or Scotch, though I can’t necessarily pinpoint which one, but I will say it doesn’t have the sweetness of rum or the syrupy character of cognac. Retrohales have a bit of dry pepper and barrel wood, making for a lighter sensation than the flavor, but the pepper hangs around, tingling my nostrils for some time. Some creaminess develops about half an inch in, while the retrohales develop a richer black pepper with a bit of spiciness that really lights up my nose. The flavor picks up some earthiness and chocolate after the first clump of ash drops, while the retrohales get a bit more fragrant than they’ve been thus far. The first third is medium-full in flavor, medium-plus in body, and mild in strength. Construction is quite good in all three cigars, particularly when it comes to having an even burn line and good smoke production, but that’s no knock on the draw or combustion.

As my palate seems to like creaminess in cigars more and more, I find my taste buds latching onto whatever creaminess the cigar offers, only to have it pushed aside by the earthiness, which has swapped the chocolate from earlier with more of a coffee sensation. Retrohales are still punchy, but the length of the finish has shortened, making for a quick impact each time I pass the smoke through my nose. The flavor seems to get a bit less defined as this section progresses, as the profile is still enjoyable, but the specifics that make it so are harder to identify. There is some dryness from the barrel wood flavor still hanging around the edges of the profile for some added flavor and sensation. Flavor has dialed back to medium, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-minus. Construction is still very good, though one cigar needs a relight.

While I don’t want to say the second third was boring, it’s nice to return some more defined flavors from the Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara. The earth and chocolate flavors are back to set the base notes of the profile, while the dry wood sets the middle and black pepper builds off of that to tingle my taste buds and nostrils. Speaking of my nostrils, there is a really enjoyable peppery retrohale not too far into this section. The earthiness picks up a bit more robustness and just the slightest touch of char in the final inches, with a few spots of the complexity left to be found before the earthiness takes over. Flavor finishes at medium-full, body at medium-plus and strength at medium-minus. Construction is very good regarding draw, smoke production and the burn line, but combustion struggles in one cigar.

Final Notes

• Reading about the history of Mizunara wood and its use in whiskey got me thinking of Westland Distillery’s Garryana, a limited-edition whisky made with a species of white oak native to the Pacific Northwest.
• Mizunara trees are native to Japan and take around 200 years to grow large enough to be cut.
• As this article by Decanter noted, Mizunara wood has become fairly sought after, even though it has some notable drawbacks and can overpower certain spirits.
• The wood also produces less yield than comparable other varieties and is known for being difficult to work.
• While I haven’t yet seen the box in person, I do like its design, which seems like the right blend of familiar and distinctive, in particular how the front portion is attached to the lid. It sort of reminds me of how the trunk of a car opens.
• The Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara never hit me with much in the way of nicotine strength. There’s some to be found in the final third, but this cigar is by no means a gut punch, and I’d almost certainly feel more of an effect from an ounce of whisky.
• If you were looking to buy a bottle of Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection Mizunara 15 Year, it costs about $1,500 per bottle before taxes.

• 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.
• The real story was the weights, however, which had so much variance that we re-weighed them just to be sure our measurements were accurate, which they were.
• We recently started numbering the cigars smoked for a review, so we can be sure of which cigar corresponds to a certain weight, length or ring gauge. I put each of the three cigars in my hand before smoking any of them to see if I could figure out which one was which based solely on weight, and it was quite easy. The lightest of the three really stood out, while it took a bit longer to figure out the other two.
• General Cigar Co. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 20 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Cigars Direct and Famous Smoke Shop carry the Diesel Whiskey Row Founder’s Collection Mizunara.