Dunhill Heritage Toro (Prerelease)

The Dunhill brand is an old and well known name with quite the rich history. Starting out with a line of automobile accessories and moving into other luxury goods, Alfred Dunhill went on to open his first tobacco shop in London in 1907 and became a popular tobacconist, with patrons the likes of King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill. Over the years the Dunhill brand transformed in the tobacco industry, at one point having Cubatabaco produce a cigar with the Dunhill name and eventually having the tobacco brand rights sold to British American Tobacco.

While the brand is owned by British American Tobacco, distribution rights in the United States are held by General Cigar Co., and the latest release from the Dunhill brand is the Heritage, which is being made at General’s Honduras factory, STG Danlí. The cigar is blended to be more full than the other lines the brand has, featuring an Ecuadorian habano ligero wrapper. With the name Heritage as well, the packaging hearkens back to its Cubatabaco days, with very Cuban-inspired packaging, from the band down to the ribbon wrapped around the cigars in the box.

It will be released in five sizes, though only four will be released in the United States for now.

• Dunhill Heritage Churchill (7 1/2 x 50) — $12.55 (Boxes of 10, $125.50)
• Dunhill Heritage Gigante (6 x 60) — $12.95 (Boxes of 10, $129.50)
• Dunhill Heritage Box-Pressed Robusto (5 x 50) — $10.15 (Boxes of 10, $101.50)
• Dunhill Heritage Toro (6 x 50) — $11.25 (Boxes of 10, $112.50)
• Dunhill Heritage Torpedo (6 1/4 x 52) — Not Slated for U.S. Release

• Cigar Reviewed: Dunhill Heritage Toro
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: STG Danlí
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Honduras & Nicaragua
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $11.25 (Boxes of 10, $112.50)
• Release Date: August 2015
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 2

The first thing that I notice about the Heritage is its extremely uniform color on the wrapper. Its a deep shiny brown, almost looking like the entire cigar was dipped in a shellac. As such, the feeling of the wrapper is very smooth and slightly oily. There is quite a bit of give when I squeeze the cigar, more than I would prefer, but stopping short of being what I would call underfilled. The aroma off the wrapper is strong, straight barnyard aroma of earth, leather and hay. The cold draw has a much more flavorful profile, with cinnamon, spice, earth, leather and a light chocolate pudding note.

Starting into the first third the profile is much different from the cold draw, with a much more bold approach. Meaty salt and pepper, cinnamon and a rich buttery vegetal note start the profile out. The burn begins near perfect  with nice little layered rings created a beautiful medium gray ash. Each draw brings plenty of smoke, with the cigar having a nice draw right in the middle of ideal. The cinnamon has faded slightly about an inch in, while the bold pepper and meaty notes are more out front. Somewhere in the middle is the vegetal note, not too strong, but not what I would say is a minor background note either.

Moving into the second third, the cigar continues with bold profile. There is less meatiness to it, though the pepper is still front and center. Cinnamon, spice and vegetal notes dance around each other, keeping me engaged in the cigar. The ash is holding well to an inch and the burn continues mostly even, only requiring a minor touch up right around the middle. An earthiness has started to develop, joining the pepper and spice, with the cinnamon mostly gone at this point and the vegetal notes very minor and in the background.

Interestingly enough, the final third sweetens up a bit, though the pepper, earth and spice are still quite strong. The cinnamon and vegetal notes are gone at this point, having been replaced completely by the rich earthy note. While the burn continues to be mostly even, as with the second third it needs a minor touch up to get a bit of the cigar that is lagging behind the rest of the burn. The ash is quite compact and still holding strong, only having dropped off around five times the entire cigar. As the Heritage finishes up it stays cool and the profile smooth.

Final Notes

• In addition to being bold, the Heritage is quite strong as well. I was feeling the strength by the end of the first cigar and the second only added to it, placing it firmly in the full category.
• According to Alfred Dunhill Ltd’s Wikipedia page, Dunhill inherited his father’s saddlery, and with the new fad of automobiles growing, started using the shop to produce accessories for them. It was his patented “Windshield Pipe” he developed that eventually led him into the tobacco business.
• The Dunhill brand is still in the pipe game as well, with pipe tobacco manufactured and distributed by General Cigar Co.
• Dunhill cigars that were manufactured by Cubatabaco are highly sought after cigars. We’ve reviewed a few, including the Dunhill Cabinetta, Estupendos and Mojito.
• The cigars for this review were provided to halfwheel at the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
• Final smoking time averaged a little over two hours.

The Bottom Line:

Brian Burt

I have been smoking cigars since 2005 and reviewing them as a hobby since 2010. Initially, I started out small with a 50-count humidor and only smoking one or two cigars a month. Not knowing anybody else that smoked cigars, it was only an occasional hobby that I took part in. In March of 2010, I joined Nublive and Cigar Asylum, connecting me with many people who also shared an interest in cigars. Reading what they had to say about brands I had never heard of, I quickly immersed myself in the boutique brands of the industry and it was then that cigars transformed from a hobby into a passion.