Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuro

In November 2022, Calwell Cigar Co. released a new incarnation of its Long Live the King line named 11/07, a reference to the fact that both Robert Caldwell, the company’s founder, and his wife were born on Nov. 7. The debut cigar was a Honduran puro released in a singular 6 x 54 perfecto that the company described as a “chubby toro.”

Last October, Calwell announced that the Long Live the King 11/07 would return to shelves, but this time in two separate blends. While both 6 x 54 cigars are made with all Honduran tobacco, the 11/07 Habano is made with a habano maduro wrapper and the 11/07 Oscuro incorporates a maduro oscuro wrapper and also includes added ligero tobacco.

Both 2023 were priced at $25 each and packaged in 10-count boxes. However, the production numbers were different: the Long Live the King 11/07 Habano was limited to 225 boxes, while there were 325 boxes of the Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuro produced.

According to the company, both blends had three years of age on them after being rolled at Davidoff’s Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A. factory in Honduras, and boxes started shipping to retailers in late October.

• Cigar Reviewed: Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuro
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras S.A.
• Wrapper: Honduras (Maduro Oscuro)
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: 11/18
• MSRP: $25 (Box of 10, $250)
• Release Date: October 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 325 Boxes of 10 (3,250 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

It is hard not to do a double-take when picking up the Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuro’s unique vitola; in fact, the first thing that comes to my mind is a military round like the 7.62 NATO, albeit sans the extremely pointed end. The dark, reddish brown wrappers are extremely attractive—one of the better looking that I have seen in a long time—and two of the three look like they were dipped in oil before being packaged. Due to the abundance of oil and lack of any overt veins or bumps, those wrappers are slick to the touch and each cigar has a nice give to it when squeezed. In addition, one cigar has a small soft spot located just under the secondary band, while another features a noticeable box press, albeit one that seems to be unintentional. Aromas from the wrappers include an earthiness that is both strong and sweet, leather tack, barnyard, generic woodiness and brewed black coffee, along with some slight mustiness. A distinct campfire note leads the scents emanating from the feet—my first cigar has quite a bit more of the note than the other two—followed by almonds, mesquite, pencil lead, earth, a vegetal note, and some bready sweetness. Finally, after straight cuts, the cold draws bring flavors that include a combination of campfire and mesquite along with coffee beans, cocoa nibs, black pepper earth and milk chocolate sweetness.

A combination of light spice, earth and plastic start the cigars off immediately after lighting the feet—an admittedly odd combination, but not as nearly as off-putting as it probably sounds—but the profile quickly gains steam with main flavors of salted almonds and brewed coffee. Secondary flavors of pretzel bread, leather, dark chocolate and light cinnamon flit in and out at various points, while the retrohales feature equal amounts of black pepper and burnt sugar sweetness. In addition, two of the three cigars feature a note on the finish I can only describe as sulfur, like the scent you pick up right after lighting a match before the fire starts to burn the wood. The flavor ends the first third just above the medium mark, while both the body and strength are at a point just below the medium but increasing. Construction-wise, there are no issues so far, as the burn lines, smoke production and draws are all working together nicely.

Although the sulfur note on the finish has dissipated by the time the second third of the cigar begins, espresso and cedar take over as the main flavors in the profile, followed by cinnamon, toasted bread, gritty earth, leather tack, and generic nuttiness. In addition, there is slightly more black pepper on the retrohale compared to the first third, and while the amount of burnt sugar sweetness has not increased, that flavor remains strong enough to compete with the pepper. Flavor bumps up to medium-plus and the body ends up at a solid medium, but the strength increases a bit more than both of those to land at a point just over the medium mark. Each of cigar runs into enough burn issues that I have to correct them a couple of times each, though the draws remain excellent and the smoke production remains copious.

There are no major changes in the flavor profiles of the Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuros during the final third: cedar and espresso maintain their place at the top, with various amounts of hay, cinnamon, yeast, dank earth, almonds and a light floral note filling in underneath. Although it is still distinct enough to place, the burnt sugar sweetness on the retrohale has receded slightly, while the black pepper continues to increase in strength as the final third burns down. The body increases again to land at just over medium, but the flavor remains at medium-plus and the strength manages to hit medium-full by the time I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining. Although the burn on one cigar becomes problematic enough to need a correction with my lighter, the other two are fine in that regard, and the draws and smoke production continue on their excellent paths until the end.

Final Notes

• The vitola appears to be the 11/18 vitola that was made popular by Camacho, which is now owned by Davidoff. Recently, this size has been used more by CLE and Asylum, brands owned by Christian Eiroa. Eiroa’s family used to own Camacho.
• While all three cigars featured various amounts of distinct—albeit not close to overwhelming—campfire and mesquite notes in their aromas and on their cold draws, none were present in the actual profile of any of the cigars.

• The secondary bands had quite a bit more glue on them than the main band, so much so that each time I took it off, a chunk of wrapper went with it. This only happened with the secondary bands—the main bands gave me no problems while being removed—but the resulting damage was not bad enough to cause any lasting construction issues.
• The burnt sugar sweetness I noted on the retrohale for these cigars reminded me of what I taste when I eat the crust that sits on top of creme brûlée.
• All three of the cigars I smoked for this review featured extremely good burns until the second third when each ran into enough problems that I was forced to touch them up at least once. Interestingly, two of the three cigars then bounced back to have excellent burns in the final third until I put the nubs down, while the last only needed a single additional correction.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 54 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Long Live the King 11/07 Oscuro cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. and Smoking Pipes have them in stock on their respective websites.