Cabaiguan WCD 120 REDUX

Most of Pete Johnson’s limited editions come with fanfare, but every once in a while the Tatuaje faithful seems to miss one. Such was the case with the 2007 release of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 for Washington D.C.-based W. Curtis Draper’s 120th anniversary. History almost repeated itself again five years later when the cigar was brought back as one of four releases to honor the 125th anniversary.

I remember calling W. Curtis Draper to order a few more boxes right before I published the review a little over a year ago, they had a decent amount of the 250 boxes made for that release. Here’s how the end of that review went:

For this review, I smoked three WCD 120 REDUXs and one of my prized original releases and five years makes a big difference. The originals are much sweeter and have a lot more complexity that has come out with time and the gradual decline of the pepper. However, you can tell there’s a lot in the REDUX and it wouldn’t shock me if five years from now they are actually better than where the OR release is now. In any case, there’s zero reason to believe that these aren’t going to be just as good and I honestly doubted that was going to be possible. For me (and many others), the WCD 120 is one of Pete’s greatest releases and the WCD 120 REDUX at this very early stage seems to be one of those rare times in which a cigar has been replicated with great precision some time later. Should have bought two boxes.

I ended up with a lot more than two boxes and still have quite a few left. And there’s at least two reasons for that. First, given where the original WCD 120s were five years later, I felt there would be some hope that the cigar would age quite well. Secondly, while the cigar smoked wonderfully for the first few months after it was released, by June of 2012 I found they weren’t smoking particularly well, so I stopped smoking them, for almost a year.

A month or so ago it was announced that the WCD 120 would be returning to W. Curtis Draper, this time for good. Pete Johnson would make it a house cigar and so I wondered, what would the third batch taste like and how were my boxes of WCD 120 REDUXes doing.

• Cigar Reviewed for Redux: Cabaiguan WCD 120 REDUX
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 4 5/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 42
• Vitola: Petit Corona
• MSRP: $7.50 (Boxes of 12, $84.00)
• Date Released: February 3, 2012
• Number of Cigars Released: 250 Boxes of 12 Cigars & 2 Cabinets of 125 Cigars (3,250 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 2

There is not a cigar that I can remember that smells this good out of a box. The Cabaiguan WCD 120 REDUX posses this sweetness that combines with the cedar to create an aroma that is strong and amazing. As for the cigar itself, it’s a bit hard, but the wrapper appears to have the same unique texture and feel that I remember from last year. The cold draw is somewhat tight, but there’s an unbelievable mixture of sweetness, grassiness and dare I say, twang.

It starts differently. While there’s a classic Connecticut aroma, the flavors are a mixture of a defined charred woods up front and black pepper on the back of the throat. Gone is the sweetness I remember so fondly. While the cigar progresses, the Cabaiguan adds notes of grassiness, leather, earth, barbecue, smokiness, fruits and at one point popcorn. It is definitely not sweet, yet complex and detailed as ever.

While the flavor is full, the strength is only slightly above mild. I think it’s the one area where it falls within the typical Cabaiguan profile, although the medium-full body is not something I’d use to describe the rest of the line. The draw is not as tight as the cold draw and the WCD 120 REDUX sits right in a sweet spot for me with smoke flowing out of the cigar at each puff, although little while resting.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.