Graycliff 50th Anniversary Salomon

As has been noted in several reviews on this site, sometimes when a cigar is released in celebration of an anniversary, it is not immediately clear what anniversary is actually being celebrated. Sometimes it is the founding of a company, the birthday of an individual, or even the anniversary of a certain line within a company’s portfolio.

In the case of the Graycliff 50th Anniversary, the line celebrates the 50th anniversary of when the Graycliff property was purchased by Enrico and Anna Maria Garzaroli and turned into a hotel. For contrast, the original Graycliff Inn was founded in 1844, while the Graycliff Cigar Company was founded in 1997.

The cigar uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, an Indonesian binder and a trio of fillers from Nicaragua, coming from the country’s Condega, Jalapa and Ometepe regions. It debuted at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, offered in three vitolas:

While it might be expected that the Graycliff 50th Anniversary would be a limited edition, it is a regular production release.

• Cigar Reviewed: Graycliff 50th Anniversary Salomon
• Country of Origin: Bahamas
• Factory: Graycliff Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Jalapa & Ometepe)
• Length: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 58
• Vitola: Salomon
• MSRP: $38 (Box of 24, $912)
• Release Date: July 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I do love the salomon vitola, so there is something immediately exciting about seeing the Graycliff 50th Anniversary use the size, even though it is quite a big cigar that seemingly promises to take a couple of hours to get through. But before I can get to the cigar, I have to remove the cellophane, which is also interesting as it just barely covers the foot of the cigar, with no extra amount to fold over and seal as is generally the case. The wrapper has quite a bit of visual texture, between visible seam lines and a network of primary and secondary veins that crisscross the cigar. It also has a touch of oiliness to it, even if there is little if any oily sheen to the leaf, while I can feel its elasticity and seeming fragility. The nipple foot seems a bit smaller than what I think it should be for this vitola, which seems a tick off, but otherwise, the cigar looks good. The wrapper feels a bit thin as I go to inspect the firmness of the cigar, which is firmer than average but nowhere near what I would call firm or hard. If anything, there are a couple of softer spots that could be concerning, but that will only be determined once the cigar is lit. The wrapper has a fairly light aroma that reminds me of butterscotch or toffee, sometimes light and other times richer as it fills the nose. The narrow foot doesn’t allow much of the binder and filler to be added to the profile to really give it any additional aromas, but smelling it further develops the sugary aroma that now reminds me of the top of a creme brûlée. The cold draw is good to a bit firm and quite light in terms of profile and body. My first thought was of light peanut butter, but some evolving sweetness forces me to reevaluate that thought, making me think of wheat bread with honey.

The first couple of puffs of the Graycliff 50th Anniversary are a bit labored as the small nipple foot limits airflow a bit and it seems that the volume of the cigar affects how efficiently each of my draws moves air. Once the burn line gets to the larger part of the foot, smoke production picks up and I get a light initial flavor that delivers more of the light butterscotch flavor I picked up on the cold draw along with a touch of creaminess, which makes for an enjoyable combination, especially for a first cigar of the day. The body of the smoke is fairly light, and having smoked a number of heavier, fuller bodied cigars lately, the profile here is a fairly stark—and welcomed—contrast. A bit of light smokiness emerges in one sample, combining with a bit of woodiness that has the makings of a freshly lit campfire. By the time the first clump of ash drops off, I am fairly impressed with what the cigar has offered, a light but nuanced profile. The creaminess takes the lead in the profile, and as the butterscotch flavor fades, some light pepper begins to take its place. In what is a bit of a surprise, the first cigar feels like I really have to puff on it to keep it lit, while the second cigar needs a number of relights, leading me to decide to dry-box the final cigar. The creaminess begins to fade as the first third comes to a close, replaced by a more pronounced pepper that stars light and bright but seems headed to a heavier, more robust place. Construction is good in terms of the draw, burn line and smoke production, but combustion can struggle, negating almost all the positives the cigar has to offer. Flavor is an enjoyable medium-minus to medium-plus in this section, while body is medium-minus and strength is mild.

A sharper black pepper begins to take the lead in the profile as the second third gets underway, which pushes the mellower start of the first third almost completely into the rearview mirror, though some occasional creaminess serves as a reminder of the cigar’s beginning. That pepper leads the next couple of puffs, becoming a bit sharper and more focused as opposed to coating the palate with the sensation. Retrohales are peppery, but a bit softer as the creaminess hangs around the nose a bit longer. It’s around the midpoint that more combustion issues arise, as what seems like a normal amount of rest between puffs leads to the cigar going completely out and necessitating a full relight. As the burn line makes its way through the midway point, the flavor profile gets quite a bit sharper, taking on something that is quite toasty at first before adding pinches of white pepper, with a few sporadic touches of creaminess hanging around to soften the profile, which is a welcomed addition when it’s there. Flavor-wise, things turn for the worse fairly quickly, adding chalk and a dry, mineral-laden earthiness, while a real funky sourness sits on my tongue and has me frantically looking for water to rinse off my taste buds. There is also a building sense of nicotine strength, but given the flavor, I’m beginning to wonder if it might be some under-fermented tobacco as it hits the system noticeably differently than just more traditional nicotine strength. This turn seems to be exacerbated by having to frequently relight two of the three samples, while the one cigar that got dry-boxed does a bit better but still shows the flavor changes. What I can get out of the cigar leads to some cough-inducing puffs and a sharp, occasionally biting profile that holds onto some of the pepper but otherwise makes it harder to pick out individual components. Combustion is absolutely abysmal in one cigar, refusing to stay lit and requiring multiple relights, with the flavor taking on an increasing char with the repeated use of my lighter. The other two perform only mildly better, leading me to wonder not just how much of a struggle the final third will offer but how long it will take to get through it given how much the cigar goes out. Flavor is medium intensity, body is medium, and strength has built up to medium. I do have to give the cigar credit for having a very durable ash, even burn line and good smoke production when it is actually burning.

Given what the cigar has offered both in terms of flavor and combustion thus far, I’m both fascinated and frightened by what the final third might offer. If it could suddenly start burning properly and offer the profile that it did in the first third, I’d be relieved, while if it continues down the road that it veered onto around the midway point, I feel like the remainder of this cigar is going to be tough to muscle through. All three cigars continue to struggle with combustion, though the one cigar that got several hours of dry-boxing performs incrementally better. Flavor is somewhere between rough to nearly unpalatable, the latter experience seemingly a direct result of the multiple relights. At its better offering, the Graycliff 50th Anniversary Salomon has a thin, sharp black pepper, a bit of dry wood, and flirtations with creaminess, while the finish offers dry tobacco and a little bit of a tingle. Combustion continues to be a problem, and two of the three cigars seemingly close up shop and turn out the lights, as they have zero desire or ability to stay lit and get thrown in the ashtray with an inch-and-a-half or so left. The third cigar, which got a dry-boxing, does a bit better but still needs multiple relights as I try and push it across the finish line. Its flavor does a bit better but still leads with an ashy, smoky profile that makes me think of a spent charcoal grill and which leaves an ashy taste on my tongue. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium and strength is now medium-plus. The ash, burn line and smoke production are still quite good, when the cigar is burning that is, as keeping the cigar lit has turned into a truly Sisyphean task.

Final Notes

• The first two cigars had such pronounced combustion issues that I decided to dry-box the third cigar, something I don’t like doing except in the most extreme circumstances.
• It seemed that beyond the combustion issues, the flavor was also drastically affected by way of the numerous relights.
• The ash on this cigar is quite impressive, both in terms of density and durability. There were a number of times when the ash reached a point where I thought I should knock it off so as to avoid having it end up on my desk, only to find that I couldn’t knock it off.
• The bands on the Graycliff 50th Anniversary look quite nice to my eye, though I wish they would have used the back of the band to explain the anniversary.
• While none of the three cigars hit me with a ton of nicotine, there was a bit to be found, but the more lasting sensation was one of frustration and a taste of cigars that had suffered from needing too many relights.
• Final smoking time was about three hours and 15 minutes, which I got from the third—and dry-boxed—cigar, though the first two cigars never quite made it to the finish line, which skewed that number. But on the whole, it was just over three hours before I gave up on each of the three samples.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Site sponsor Corona Cigar Co. carries the Graycliff 50th Anniversary Salomon.