Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III

In December 2013, RoMa Craft Tobac released the first of what has become seven different El Catador samplers, which the company uses as a way to let its customers smoke the company’s various blends in a specific size. That sampler was the El Catador de Los Perfectos, which debuted at Port Charlotte, Fla.-based retailer Tobacco Locker and included two each of the: CroMagnon Mode 5, Intemperance BA XXI Envy, Intemperance EC XVII Faith and Aquitaine Mode 5.

Five more samplers followed between 2014 and 2021, and earlier this year, RoMa Craft announced the seventh collection named El Catador de Las Gran Coronas, which translates to The taster of the Gran Coronas from Spanish. The 16-count sampler is made up of two each of eight different blends in the same 5 3/4 x 46 vitola that the company calls a “gran corona.”

• Intemperance BA XXI Contempt
• Intemperance EC XVIII Reverence
• Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III
• CroMagnon Anthropology
• CroMagnon Aquitaine Anthropology
• Baka Jengi
• Neanderthal HS
• Wunder|Lust Fiorella

Of those eight blends, only the three Intemperance releases are new cigars for this vitola. My review today concerns the Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III, part of a line which was inspired by the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791-1794. The newest release is made up of the same blend as the rest of the Intemperance WR 1794 cigars, namely an an Ecuadorian habano ligero wrapper, an Indonesian Besuki binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

Each of the El Catador de Las Gran Coronas samplers has an MSRP of $165 per box and 2,500 boxes were shipped to retailers in early April. However, this winter, RoMa Craft says it will release 300 boxes of each Intemperance blend in the same 5 3/4 x 46 vitola that is included in the El Catador de Las Gran Coronas sampler.

• Cigar Reviewed: Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano Ligero)
• Binder: Indonesia (Besuki)
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Coronal Gorda
• MSRP: $10.31 (Box of 16, $165)
• Release Date: April 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,500 Boxes of 2 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

There is more of a reddish tint to the wrapper on the Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III than what I remember from most of the past releases in the line, as well as more mottling. The wrapper is sandpaper rough to the touch and features quite a bit of oil, and all three samples are extremely firm when squeezed. Aroma from that wrapper includes faint earth, leather, dark chocolate, generic nuts along with a fairly large amount of hay and vanilla sweetness. The foot brings notes of almonds, earth, cookie dough, oak, black pepper and bourbon-soaked oak. Finally, after a straight cut the cold draw brings flavors of saltine crackers, earth, oak, black pepper, almonds, leather and slight maple syrup sweetness.

Just after lighting the foot of the Intemperance, there is plenty of cinnamon and spice, along with some obvious earth, all of which quickly transitions to main flavors of almonds and oak. Additional notes of peanuts, leather, anise, crackers and cinnamon flit in and out, while the retrohale features both black pepper and a maple syrup sweetness that seems to have been pulled almost directly from the cold draw. Flavor starts off strong at just under medium, while both body and strength are together right below that point. Construction-wise, all three samples feature an excellent draw, plenty of smoke and a burn line that barely wavers.

Although the main flavors in the profile of the cigar do not change one iota compared to the first third—that is, a combination of almonds and creamy oak—the second third is still quite enjoyable. Secondary notes of roasted espresso beans, leather tack, earth, hay and cinnamon make themselves known at various times, while the maple sweetness and black pepper have become equal partners on the retrohale. Flavor increases slightly to a solid medium, the body increases a bit more to just under medium and the strength increases enough to reach a solid medium. Unfortunately, two of the three cigars run into burn issues early in the second third—both need one correction each to keep on track—but all three samples continue to give me no issues when it comes to the draw or the smoke production.

A new mineral saltiness invades the profile of the Intemperance WR 1794 Lee III during the final third, which increases the overall complexity slightly, although the main flavors of almonds and creamy oak show no signs of letting up any time soon. In addition, flavors of sourdough bread, leather, earth, cocoa nibs, hay and coffee beans all show up in different amounts, while the retrohale continues to be dominated by both black pepper and maple syrup sweetness. Flavor and body both end up at medium plus while the strength stalls out at a solid medium. Having said that, the final puffs of the final sample I smoked for this review became unusually bitter, with multiple corrections needed to even come close to finishing up. Other than that, all three cigars feature excellent draws and copious smoke production while the other two cigars need not corrections at all before I put the nub down with about an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• My final cigar smoked just as well as the previous two cigars up until the final third when everything seemed to go a bit off the rails: the burn gave me more trouble resulting in multiple corrections, and a noticeable bitterness showed up on the finish that affected the overall balance. Having said that, the issues were only noticeable in the last part of that one cigar.

• Quite a few of Roma Craft Tobac’s creations have an “unfinished foot”—which is when the wrapper is cut just shy of the end of the cigar, leaving the filler exposed—but this was one of the only times I can remember when both the binder and filler were left this exposed.
• As I mentioned in my review of the Intemperance EC XVIII Reverence, the “Gran Corona”—also known as an “A”—vitola has historically been used to describe a cigar that measures around 9 1/4 by 47. This is obviously a different “Gran Corona” vitola.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three samples averaged one hour and 28 minutes.