Dunbarton Stops Production on Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA and Sin Compromiso Varita Májica
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust has announced that it is stopping production on a pair of cigars, the Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA and Sin Compromiso Selección Varita Mágica, with Steve Saka saying he has no current intent to make more as he wants to make space for new sizes in 2024.
The Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA is a 7 x 38 lancero that debuted in March 2019, with an undisclosed blend and production handled by Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. The line as a whole is designed to reflect the blending machinations of Saka, as the name means Sample of Saka or Saka’s Sample.
What the cigar was seemingly more notable for was its name, both as a hashtag and as an abbreviation for now leave me the hell alone, as the cigar was produced as Saka’s concession to those wanting him to offer a lancero in his company’s portfolio.
Saka has long expressed his issues with the lancero vitola, dating back to his days at Drew Estate, citing both the challenge of making the vitola from a blending and construction standpoint, as well as his own lack of preference for the size. “Like all the others, this vitola is yet another personal blending challenge given that I am vocal in my lack of appreciation for this lancero format,” Saka wrote when the cigar was released. “As a ligador, I have never had a lancero that I didn’t feel I could make better if I were to blend the same in a slightly wider format.”
The Sin Compromiso Seleccion Varita Májica, which was previously called the Espada Estoque, is a 7 x 44 lonsdale that was one of the five original vitolas in the Sin Compromiso line when it debuted at the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
It is also made at Joya de Nicaragua’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, though the blend is disclosed. It uses a Mexican San Andrés Negro “Cultivo Tonto” wrapper, an Ecuadorian habano-seed binder, and fillers from Nicaragua.
It gets its name from the Spanish phrase for without compromise, with the idea to make a cigar that wasn’t held back by any of the normal constraints that go into making a profitable cigar line: materials, time and costs. The other sizes in the line will remain in production.
In a post on Facebook, Saka said that the company still has boxes of the Sin Compromiso Seleccion Varita Májica, though it does not have any more of the Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA.
Patrick Lagreid
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
Related Posts
-
February 28, 2017 -
July 2, 2017
