Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment

When RoMa Craft Tobac’s Intemperance blend debuted in 2012, it was the company’s second brand following the CroMagnon line. According to RoMa Craft Tobac, the branding of the Intemperance line is tied to America’s efforts to ban alcohol and even features a logo “inspired by a famous artifact of the temperance movement, a propaganda poster/political print produced by a temperance hymnodist, A.D. Fillmore in 1855.”

Earlier this year, the company announced its fourth line extension to the Intemperance line: Volstead VO 1920, a name that references the Volstead Act, the law created to enforce prohibition. While the law was passed in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson vetoed the law, which delayed its implementation, meaning the Volstead Act did not actually go into effect until Jan. 17, 1920.

In terms of blend, the Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 is made with an Ecuadorian Sumatra hybrid wrapper covering a Mexican San Andrés binder and a filler blend that includes corojo grown in La Canela, Dominican Republic and tobacco from the Condega, Jalapa and Pueblo Nuevo regions of Nicaragua. The wrapper used on this line is a hybridized version of a Sumatra seed that are grown in Ecuador that is sometimes referred to as “Cameroon-seed grown in Ecuador,” though RoMa Craft Tobac isn’t calling it that.

Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, explained why:

It’s an Ecuador grown hybrid wrapper derived from oriental or Besuki tobacco in Indonesia.

It is closer related to Cameroon than Sumatra, the more popular of the two varietals grown there.

It is marketed as Ecuador Cameroon, but it is hybridized with the original Sumatra seed popularized in Ecuador.

In reality, most tobacco in Ecuador has been hybridized intentionally, or unintentionally. The most common being Habano hybrids.

That said, I am not an expert or an agronomist. What I can say is that of all of the Asian/orientalist varietal tobaccos I’ve tried or worked with over the last few decades, this is my favorite and it works very well in this blend.

The Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 line is being offered in 11 sizes, five of which are regular production and six of which are limited production. In addition, each of the regular production Volstead vitolas is named after a Prohibition Era figure. McCoy, Olmstead and Remus were all bootleggers in different parts of the country; Livingstone operated famous speakeasies in Manhattan; and Einstein and his partner, Moe Smith, were credited with making nearly 5,000 arrests during prohibition, the most of the U.S. Prohibition Unit.

The regular production vitolas are:

• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Izzy Einstein (4 x 46) — $6.75 (Box of 30, $202.50)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Belle Livingstone (4 1/2 x 52) — $7.75 (box of 24, $186)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Bill McCoy (5 x 50) — $7.95 (Box of 24, $190.80)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 George Remus (5 x 56) — $9 (Box of 24, $216)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Roy Olmstead (5 1/2 x 54) — $9.25 (Box of 24, $220)

The six limited production vitolas are:

• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Blind Pig (4 1/2 x 60) — $8.25 (Box of 24, $198)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Senator Volstead (5 x 50) — $8.50 (Box of 12, $102)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment (5 x 56) — $9.75 (Box of 12, $117)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Revenuer (5 3/4 x 46) — $8.50 (Box of 24, $204)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Gran Perfecto (5 5/8 x 60) — $13 (Box of 12, $156)
• Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole (6 1/2 x 44) — $8.75 (Box of 12, $105)

• Cigar Reviewed: Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra Hybrid)
• Binder: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Jalapa & Pueblo Nuevo)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Vitola: Robusto Gordo
• MSRP: $9.75 (Box of 12, $117)
• Release Date: June 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment is a gorgeous specimen from a visual standpoint, with a red-tinged dark brown wrapper that features quite a bit of mottling and oil. In addition, although there are very few overt veins, all three cigars are extremely firm when squeezed and silky smooth to the touch. A spicy yet sweet woodiness leads the aromas coming from the wrappers, followed by earth, black pepper, baker’s spices, barnyard and an interesting—if fleeting—mint leaf note. However, scents from the feet are quite a bit more creamy in nature, including notes of peanuts, cinnamon, cocoa nibs, creamy leather and light honey sweetness. Finally, after a straight cut the cold draw brings flavors of spicy cedar, dry hay, gritty earth, red pepper, bitter espresso, salted peanuts and raisin sweetness.

Far from the more normal spice and pepper kick that I get from most cigars these days, the first few puffs after lighting the feet of the cigar feature a combination of sweetness and creaminess that is extremely enjoyable. Main flavors of salted peanuts and cocoa nibs take over the top spots in the profile fairly quickly, although secondary notes of mocha coffee, cinnamon, leather tack, earth and saltine crackers make themselves known at various points as well. The retrohale features a small amount of black pepper, but there is plenty of distinct and creamy caramel sweetness. Flavor ends the first third at medium-plus, while the body and strength both lag behind noticeably at a point just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, the smoke production is copious and dense off of the feet of all three cigars, but one cigar has a bit of a tighter draw than the other two—albeit still smokable—and the burn on two of the three cigars needs correcting with my lighter to avoid larger issues.

Around the time that the second third of the Noble Experiment begins, the profile shifts and two new main flavors of mocha coffee and cinnamon take over the top spots, followed by creamy peanuts, leather, dry hay, dark chocolate, cedar, toasted bread and a light tea leaf flavor that comes and goes. In addition, while there is a bit more black pepper on the retrohale, the amount of caramel sweetness increased compared to the first third. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, but the body has increased to hit a solid medium while the strength has increased to a point just over medium. Once again, the burn on two cigars run into enough trouble to necessitate a couple of quick corrections with my lighter, but the draws and smoke production continue to be free of problems.

A very obvious combination of aromatic cedar and dried tea leaves takes over as main flavors in the final third of the Intemperance and doesn’t budge from that spot through the end of the cigar. Secondary flavors of cinnamon, tasted bread, mocha coffee, cocoa nibs, gritty earth, leather tack and peanut shells flit in and out at various points, while the amount of black pepper and rich caramel sweetness has not changed a bit. Flavor ends the cigar at full, while the body and strength increase again to land just over the medium mark and medium-plus, respectively. Much like the flavor profile, the construction has a major change, with no issues at all when it comes to burn issues for the first time, while the draws and smoke production continue along their excellent paths until I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• If you think you may have seen a review of this line recently on halfwheel, you are not wrong. In June, Charlie Minato reviewed a different incarnation of the line, specifically a pre-release version using a slightly different wrapper, albeit still a hybridized version of a Sumatra seed that is grown in Ecuador. According to Martin, the company put the cigar into product with the first wrapper and Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A., the company’s factory in Nicaragua, began making the cigars. About a week in, Martin found a different wrapper that he thought would work better and he opted to switch the wrapper.
• The Noble Experiment size you are reading a review of is the only vitola in the line so far that features a box-press. However, as is the case with all of the other Intemperance cigars, there’s a small brushed foot at the bottom of each cigar, meaning the wrapper ends before the edge of the foot, leaving some of the binder and filler exposed.
• Unlike the release of RoMa Craft Tobac’s Baka line—which trickled out in various vitolas over the course of a few years—all 11 sizes of Volstead are expected to be offered for sale in 2023. As of earlier this month, eight of the sizes had shipped. The three that had not at that time were Gran Perfecto, Judas Hole and Revenuer.
• 
• One of the cigars I smoked for this review featured a noticeably tighter draw when compared to the other two—albeit still smokable—and all three cigars needed at least one burn correction to stay on track. My second cigar had the largest issue by far as you can see above, but a quick touch-up from my lighter was all it took to get it back on track, and there were no further burn issues after that in that cigar.
• Construction issues are not something that I associate with RoMa Craft Tobac cigars, but thankfully, none of the aforementioned issues had any major effect on the flavor profile during that cigar.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 39 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment cigars, sites sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and Cigar Hustler have them in stock on their respective websites.