Freud Agape Limited Edition

In 2021, David Stadnyk—a venture capitalist—and Luis Torres—formerly the ceo of Casa de Montecristo and the head of retail for Davidoff of Geneva—launched a new brand inspired by the founder of psychoanalysis himself, Sigmund Freud. Carrying the somewhat obvious name of Freud Cigar Co., the new company’s first release was a four-vitola regular production line named SuperEgo.

The next year, Freud—the company, not the man—showed off its first limited edition release during the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show. Developed by Torres and Eladio Díaz—who was formerly the supervisor of production at Davidoff’s factory in the Dominican Republic— the new line was named Agape, a word that the Greeks defined as “the highest form of love.”

 

So far, there has been only one Agape vitola, a 5 x 54 robusto that was produced at Díaz’s Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera factory. The Dominican puro incorporated seven distinct types of tobacco—including a binder that Díaz calls an autochthonous Dominican leaf, meaning that it is a variety of tobacco indigenous to the country—and the MSRP was set at $30 per cigar and production was limited to just 3,500 boxes.

Here is what I wrote in my original review back in December 2022:

Expectations when dealing with cigars can be both a blessing and a curse, and with Diaz’s name and talents attached to it the Agape had a significant amount of hype surrounding it from the moment it was announced. After a bit of a bland opening third, the Agape picks up noticeably in the final two thirds, with flavors of oak and charred meat easily outpacing any other notes in the profile and a constant—albeit light—combination of red pepper and honey sweetness on the retrohale. In the end, the Agape—at least at this point in its life—tastes virtually nothing like a Davidoff, which might have been something the company was going for, but still leaves me wanting more.

• Cigar Reviewed: Freud Agape Limited Edition
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera Díaz Cabrera
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $30 (Box of 10, $300)
• Release Date: October 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 3,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (35,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Despite only being a robusto, the combination of the plum background color on the band—which is so large it covers up at least 80 percent of the exterior of the cigar—and gold highlights give the Freud Agape Limited Edition an imposing demeanor. Removing that band reveals a dark chocolate brown wrapper that features plenty of mottling as well as a couple of overt veins. I can see a slight amount of oil present on that wrapper that has a small amount of tooth to it under my thumb, and the cigar is nicely firm when squeezed. Aromas from the wrapper are relatively faint, with a dank earthiness over secondary notes that include barnyard, black pepper, generic nuts and some lightly sweet hay. There is quite a bit more going on when I bring the foot to my nose, with a strong and creamy oak easily the most obvious note, followed by additional notes of cinnamon, dark chocolate, leather tack, bitter espresso and light charred meat. After a punch cut, the cold draw brings flavors of sweet cloves, sourdough bread, earth, cinnamon, oak and more barnyard.

The Agape starts off with some light spice on my tongue as well as a strong flavor of bitter espresso, but within 10 puffs both of those recede to the background, replaced by main flavors of sweet cloves and powdery cocoa nibs. Secondary flavors of gritty earth, plain oatmeal, nutmeg, oak and leather tack show up at various points, while the retrohale is full of red pepper and honey sweetness, the latter of which becomes stronger as the first half burns down. The flavor ends the first half at medium-full when the body hits a solid medium, and the strength lands a point just over the medium mark. In terms of construction, there are no issues whatsoever, as the straight burn line, copious smoke production and excellent draw all work together flawlessly.

During the second half, charred meat and creamy oak become the main flavor combination in the profile of the Freud. Additional flavors include coffee beans, dry hay, sourdough bread, dank earth, nutmeg and mineral saltiness, while the retrohale features about the same amount of red pepper but more honey sweetness compared the first half. Flavor bumps up to full, while the body increases slightly to a point just over medium, and the strength ends at medium-full. Finally, while the cigar does need a minor correction just after the final third begins, that is the only issue I have with any aspect of the construction before I finish the cigar.