Sobremesa Short Churchill

While Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust debuted its first brand named Sobremesa at the 2015 IPCPR Convention & Tradeshow, the first vitola that was under five inches in length would not arrive until a year later.

That size was the Short Churchill, a 4 /34 x 48 cigar that is packaged in boxes of 14 . Like the rest of the sizes it is rolled at Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. and uses an Ecuadorian habano grade 1 dark rosado wrapper, a Mexican Matacapan negro de temporal binder and five fillers: Nicaraguan GK Condega C-SG seco, Nicaraguan Pueblo Nuevo criollo viso, Nicaraguan La Joya Estelí C-98 viso, Nicaraguan ASP Estelí hybrid ligero and broadleaf ligero from Lancaster County, Pa.

“Having produced Sobremesa for a year now, we are finding a quantity of exceptional, but too short of capa to make the larger formats within the line so the creation of the Short Churchill proved to be a necessity,” said Saka in an email to halfwheel at the time it was released.

According to Saka, the Short Churchill vitola has a little more strength to it than other sizes in the line, something that he specifically wanted for this particular cigar.

There are nine different vitolas in the Sobremesa line-up:

• Sobremesa Corona Grande (5 1/4 x 44) — $9.95 (Boxes of 25, $248.75)
• Sobremesa Cervantes Fino (6 1/4 x 46) — $11.45 (Boxes of 25, $286.25)
• Sobremesa Belicoso Largo (6 x 52) — $13 (Boxes of 25, $325)
• Sobremesa El Americano (6 x 52) — $12.45 (Boxes of 25, $311.25)
• Sobremesa Robusto Largo (5 1/4 x 52) — $11.46  (Boxes of 25, $286.50)
• Sobremesa Gran Imperiales (7 x 54) — $13.45 (Boxes of 25, $336.25)
• Sobremesa Torpedo Tiempo (6 x 54) — $13.19 (Boxes of 25, $329.75)
• Sobremesa Elegante en Cedros (7 x 50) — $13.50 (Boxes of 13, $175.50)
• Sobremesa Short Churchill (4 3/4 x 48) — $10.45 (Boxes of 14, $146.30)

Here is what I said in my first review of the Sobremesa Short Churchill six months ago:

I have smoked a few of the different vitolas in the Sobremesa line, and while I enjoyed the blend, I found those sizes to be lacking in a raw punch of flavor, something the Short Churchill has in spades. The blend features both creamy nuts and vanilla sweetness throughout, although most of the really distinct flavors are relegated to the retrohale. Yes, the Sobremesa Short Churchill is expensive for the viola, but it is also full of flavor, extremely well balanced, and has excellent construction overall, attributes that make it an easy cigar to recommend.

• Cigar Reviewed: Sobremesa Short Churchill
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador La Meca Ecuador Habano Grade 1
• Binder: Mexican Matacapan Negro de Temporal
• Filler: Nicaraguan (GK Condega C-SG, Pueblo Nuevo Criollo, La Joya Estelí C-98, ASP Estelí Hybrid Ligero) & Pennsylvania Broadleaf Ligero
• Length: 4 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Rothschild
• MSRP: $10.45 (Boxes of 14, $146.30)
• Release Date: August 2016
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

As with the first samples, the Sobremesa Short Churchill is covered in a light mocha brown wrapper that features a bit of tooth, but not very much obvious oil. There are a number of inconspicuous veins running up and down the length of the cigar, and it is slightly spongy when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of manure, bitter coffee, sawdust, oak and leather, while the cold draw brings flavors of hay, wood, dark chocolate, creamy almonds and black pepper.

The Sobremesa starts out immediately with a dominant combination of flavors, including creamy almonds and bread, followed closely by other notes of leather, caramel, cream, cocoa powder, espresso beans and earth. There is a surprising amount of spice on my tongue that hangs around until just after the halfway point, where it disappears, and I am also noticing a bit of black pepper on the retrohale. Something I was not expecting was a very distinct dark fruit sweetness that begins to make itself known after the first 10 puffs or so, and only becomes stronger as the cigar burned down, becoming a very integral part of the profile by the end.

Construction-wise, the Sobremesa Short Churchill has no issues whatsoever, with a draw that gives me just the right amount resistance after a simple straight cut to a burn that not only remains razor sharp throughout the smoke, but also only needs to be touched up once near the very end when I probably should have put it down anyway. Smoke production is well above average for the vitola, and while the overall strength starts at a spot between mild and medium, it ends just a touch above the medium mark by the time I am done.