Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Mr. Brown

There are quite a few different cigars made exclusively for retail shops to celebrate anniversaries or events every year, but one of the most interesting and memorable is a sampler produced for The Humidor in Wichita, Kan. to commemorate its fifth year in business.

Dubbed “The Heist,” the name of the sampler is in direct reference to the movie Reservoir Dogs directed by Quentin Tarantino, which centers around the events that unfold following a failed diamond heist. The project consists of six different limited editions from six different manufacturers, each that are sold in the aforementioned samplers as well as individually at the store.

We reported about the project back in October:

“We are kinda sorta movie freaks,” said Gorden Crippen of The Westside Humidor, “so much so that one night we were watching Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and were struck with the idea that we should do an entire set of cigars based on the movie.” The idea gained traction among the group and they proceeded to build cigars around the main characters, and the fact that there were five main characters corresponded with the store’s anniversary. But as fans of the movie know a sixth character is killed off right after the credits, so Crippen and his crew decided that a sixth cigar would be “one to grown on.”

There were 100 “The Heist” samplers modeled after a jewelry bag containing one each of the six different blends.

There were six different cigars in the “The Heist” sampler.

• Viaje Platino Five Fifty Eight (Mr. White) — (5 x 58) — 50 Bundles of 25 Cigars (1,250 Total Cigars)
• Reinado Grand Empire Reserve Ecuador Edition (Mr. Blue) — (6 x 38) — 15 Boxes of 10 Cigars (150 Total Cigars)
• 262 Cigars Mr. Pink — (6 1/2 x 42) — 100 Boxes of 10 Cigars (1,000 Total Cigars)
• Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Lancero (Mr. Brown) — (7 x 38) — 40 Boxes of 25 Cigars (1,000 Total Cigars)
• La Flor Dominicana Mr. Blonde — (6 x 54) — 40 Boxes of 20 Cigars (800 Total Cigars)
• Alec Bradley Tempus Maduro Torpedo (Mr. Orange) — (5 1/2 x 52) — 100 Boxes of 10 Cigars (1,000 Total Cigars)

Like all of Paul Stulac’s Red Screaming Sun vitolas, the Mr. Brown lancero is composed of a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper covering a Sumatra binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua.The store received 1,000 cigars with the cigars being sold in the sampler, as well as in boxes of 25.

The lancero joins three other regular production vitolas in the Screaming Red line:

• Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Robusto — (5 x 54)
• Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Torpedo — (6 x 54)
• Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Toro — (6 x 56)
• Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Lancero (Mr. Brown) — (7 x 38)

• Cigar Reviewed: Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Mr. Brown
• Country of Origin: U.S.A
• Factory: Guillermo Peña Factory
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Sumatra
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: $12.55 (Boxes of 25, $302.43)
• Date Released: Nov. 1, 2014
• Number of Cigars Released: 40 Boxes of 25 Cigars (1,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2 

The Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Mr. Brown is covered in a dark chocolate brown wrapper that is quite rough to the touch, and exhibits quite a few obvious veins running up and down its length. The cigar is a bit spongy when squeezed, and the small pigtail on the cap is a nice touch. Aroma from the wrapper is strong barnyard, fruit, black pepper, leather and earth, while the cold draw brings flavors of sweet cherries, leather, cedar and bread, along with just a bit of spice.

The Mr. Brown starts off immediately with an intense honey sweetness on the retrohale, combined with copious amounts of both black pepper and spice on my tongue. Other flavors of gritty earth, leather, oak, and licorice flit in and out, with the oak being the closest to a dominant note. Both the burn and draw are excellent through the first third, and some production is just a tad above what I would consider average for the vitiola, although the smoke that is coming off of the foot is quite dense. Strength-wise, the Paul Stulac easily hits a solid medium by the end of the first third, but it seems to be content to stay there for a while.

The profile becomes quite creamy around the start of the second third of the Paul Stulac Lancero and I notice a buttery note that I can’t quite place in addition to the honey sweetness that is still fairly strong, albeit down from its high point in the first third. Both the black pepper on the retrohale and the spice on my tongue have decreased in strength a bit, but they are still strong enough to be a major part of the profile. The other flavors are secondary, but still distinct: creamy oak, earth, hay, barnyard, leather and bread along with a very slight citrus note. Both the burn and draw continue to impress, and while the overall strength has inched a bit higher by the end of the second third, I would still put it at no more than slightly above the medium mark.

I start to taste an interesting combination of spice, mocha chocolate and pepper notes that take the dominant spot in the final third of the Paul Stulac, reminding me somewhat of Mexican hot chocolate. The honey sweetness is still present, but has now been relegated to the background and the finish, while the retrohale brings other flavors of earth, cedar, leather, bitter espresso beans and slight dark fruit. The smoke production is still above average, and while the construction remains excellent overall, the strength has stalled out again and does not get stronger than a slightly elevated medium before I put the nub down with a bit more than an inch left.

Final Notes:

• One of the most impressive things about this blend was the fact that, despite the fact that it was a lancero vitola, the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper did not overwhelm the other flavors in the profile at any point during the smoke, leading to a very well-balanced cigar.
• In addition to directing Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino played the part of Mr. Brown in the movie.
• Speaking of Mr. Brown, the combination of colors in the name is somewhat confusing.
• The sweetness in the blend of this cigar seemed extremely dependent on how hard and how often I took a pull. In other words, if I puffed too hard or too often, the sweetness in the blend virtually disappeared.
• Both the burn and draw were exceptional on both samples I smoked for this review, with nary a problem between them. The burn was really the standout, and it stayed razor sharp for pretty much the entire cigar.
• For the most part, the store is referred to as the  “Westside Humidor” probably because of its Twitter handle. There are actually two stores formally known as “The Humidor Cigars & Lounge” in Wichita, one on the east and another on the west side of Wichita. While the stores were once related, they are now two independent shops.
• Cigars smoked for this review were provided by The Humidor.
• The final smoking time for both samples averaged one hour and 25 minutes.
• The only place you can buy the Paul Stulac Red Screaming Sun Mr. Brown lancero is at The Humidor (West) (316.440.4890) in Wichita, Kan. and they do have some left in stock as of the date of this review.