Joel Sherman 75th Celebration

In August 2014, Nat Sherman released a brand new cigar to commemorate the 75th birthday of Joel Sherman, who began working full-time at his family’s business in 1960 at the age of 21, and who at the time of the cigar’s release was the ceo and president of Nat Sherman International.

Appropriately named the Joel Sherman 75th Celebration, the cigar is a 7 1/2 x 46 fundadores gordo priced at $19 and packaged in boxes of 10, with only 2,500 boxes produced. Blend-wise, the cigar is made up of an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper covering Dominican tobacco used in both the binder and filler. It was rolled at the Quesada Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic.

However, the personal touches for this release do not stop at the name, as every cigar includes a secondary band that features Joel Sherman’s signature, and each box contains a note from Sherman himself explaining his love of cigars and his history in the family’s business. Finally, a crest on the front of each box the cigars come packaged in was inspired by a bass drum Sherman played when he was younger.

Here is what I said in my original review almost four years ago:

Everything about this release screams (or maybe quietly whispers) elegance to me: from the bands to the boxes to the story behind the cigar itself. Although fairly light strength-wise, the blend is a flavor bomb, medium-bodied and very well made. Having said that, the flavors of the Joel Sherman 75th Celebration are subtle for the most part and really need to be concentrated on to get the full experience, so take your time.

• Cigar Reviewed: Joel Sherman 75th Celebration
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Quesada Cigars
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 7 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Fundadores Gordo
• MSRP: $19.00 (Boxes of 10, $190.00)
• Release Date: August 6, 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,500 Boxes of 10 (25,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

Having come from the same box as the cigars for the original review, the Joel Sherman 75th Celebration is similar to those and covered in a pale golden brown wrapper that lacks any obvious oil and is extremely smooth to the touch. In addition, there are a number of small veins running up and down the length of the cigar and it is slightly spongy when squeezed. The aroma from the wrapper is a combination of citrus, dark chocolate, espresso beans, cedar and nuts, while the cold draw brings flavors of creamy oranges, cocoa powder, hay, cedar, cloves, peanuts and white pepper.

Just after lighting the foot, the Joel Sherman 75th features a dominant creamy cashew flavor, followed closely by other notes of cinnamon, bread, freshly roasted coffee, bitter cocoa powder and earth. Unlike the first samples I smoked, there is a somewhat surprising amount of spice on my tongue that hangs around until just after the halfway point—after which it disappears, never to be seen again—and I am also noticing a nice amount of white pepper on the retrohale. Both of those combine nicely with a distinct creamy and sweet orange citrus note that becomes obvious in the first third and increases the strength until the start of the final third, where it starts to recede noticeably. In addition, while the creamy cashew note remains dominant throughout the cigar, the second half brings a number of different secondary flavors, including vanilla, salt, baker’s chocolate, buttered toast and nutmeg.

Construction-wise, the Joel Sherman 75th Celebration gives me no issues at all, with a draw that features the perfect amount of resistance following a simple straight cut and a burn line that remains virtually razor sharp for the entire smoke, never coming close to needing to be touched up once. In addition, while the smoke production is firmly in the average range, the overall strength starts out extremely mild in the beginning and barely reaches a point halfway to the medium mark by the time I put the nub down one hour and 52 minutes later with about an inch to go.