Stolen Throne Phantom Queen

Stolen Throne Cigars had hoped to close out 2020 with the release of its first limited edition, but as was the case for so many people, companies, events and products, the COVID-19 pandemic and its related supply chain issues forced a change. So instead, the company shifted the release of the Phantom Queen to the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show.

 

The cigar gets its name from the Celtic deity of death and war, who would often appear as a warrior queen and a raven in the same story. But why Celtic mythology is the source of its name, the cigar itself hails from Nicaragua, as it is made at the Rojas Cigar Factory in Estelí. The blend uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a binder and fillers that come from Nicaragua. It is released in a 5 x 54 petit belicoso vitola, with pricing set at $12 per cigar and $120 for one of the 1,500 boxes of 10 cigars produced for the release.

After debuting at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show in July and being scheduled to ship in September, the cigars shipped to retailers in December 2022.

• Cigar Reviewed: Stolen Throne Phantom Queen
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Petit Belicoso
• MSRP: $12 (Box of 10, $120)
• Release Date: December 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Stolen Throne Phantom Queen comes in a vitola that I don’t see very often, so the shape is the first thing that catches my eye, followed closely by the band that the cigar wears. Given that I haven’t seen the cigar prior to this review, the design on the band takes me a few moments to process and makes me think that it could be part of Drew Estate’s Deadwood Series. Given that the cigars were sent to me in individual cigar bags to help make up for the lack of cellophane—something we don’t do much—I’m further intrigued by trying to figure out just what these cigars are. Once out of the bag, the cigars look good, though they have very visible seem lines and a fairly decent vein structure, which some might deem less than ideal. The heads on the cigars aren’t the best I have ever seen, as they don’t come to a sharp point, there’s a small opening in the head, and two cigars have a bit of an angle to them, but I’m not too concerned given that I will be cutting it off in a moment. The cigar itself is rolled fairly firmly with a touch of give to it. It also feels a touch lighter than average, leading me to wonder if there are lighter-weight tobaccos in the blend as it doesn’t feel underfilled. The partially covered foot allows for some of the filler tobacco to show through, and when sniffed gives me a light and somewhat sweet aroma that reminds me of an apple-flavored caramel corn, something I’ve never had but could see being a creation. There is some corn cereal behind that, but little in the way of pepper. Air moves well on the cold draw, neither too loose nor too firm and with a less defined experience than what the aroma offers. I find something that reminds me of an English muffin with a bit of apple in it, though little to nothing in the way of pepper.

The Stolen Throne Phantom Queen starts off on a familiar and enjoyable foot, with a bit of creaminess and wood on the palate and some campfire in the aroma. Neither has much in the way of pepper, but both retrohales and regular puffs start developing some in the first inch. The pepper ends up bringing a fuller-bodied smoke and fuller-flavored profile along with it, marked by more wood, less creaminess, and the first taste of a slightly rough, robust earthiness. While it skips a few puffs, the campfire returns to the aroma and retrohales and quickly establishes itself as the high point of the experience in the first inch or so. It’s a very impressive first third from the Stolen Throne Phantom Queen, which really nails enjoyability, clean flavors and an aroma that truly contributes to the experience. Flavor is medium and occasionally medium-plus, body is medium and strength is mild. Construction is very good, and in particular, the ash, which holds on quite impressively. Smoke production and the draw are both good, the burn line is slightly uneven but not problematic, and there hasn’t been any issue keeping the cigar burning.

I don’t pick up any pronounced changes as the second third gets underway, but there is a subtle shift in the bread and wood aspects. Both shift just enough to elicit a slightly different physical reaction, in particular, the bread becomes toast and the change hits my palate the same way the change in the food would. There are puffs where the wood also hits my palate with a bit more texture, almost as if a piece of lumber was yet to be sanded. There is just a bit less creaminess in the flavor profile, cedar becomes a bit more pronounced in the retrohales, and the black pepper is just a touch crisper than earlier, but the cigar isn’t that much different on the whole. There are some spots where a bit of nuttiness emerges, though the texture of the toast and wood grabs my attention and turns that nuttiness into a fairly fleeting sensation. The earthiness also seems to get a bit lighter and occasionally seems to disappear at times behind the other flavors. The cigar’s combustion begins to struggle in the back half of the second third, leading to the need for a touch-up or complete relight. The final puffs of this third are the most complex that the cigar has offered, though the complexity comes with a bit of flavor density that makes it hard to identify all of the individual components. The earthiness grounds the cigar, the pepper provides the front-line tingle, and creaminess fills in the gaps, while a tight mix of wood, grains, bread and lighter earth forms the middle portion of the profile. Flavor is medium-full, body is full, and strength is medium-minus. Outside of some combustion issues, the construction remains very good with an easy draw, even burn line, good smoke production and ash that still hangs on well.

Much like when the Stolen Throne Phantom Queen moved from its first third to its second, the cigar doesn’t get into its final third with much of a pronounced change, but if I pay a bit closer attention to things, I can find that the cigar is a bit brighter with some of its components. Specifically, the pepper has a bit more of a point to it, as does the wood, which hits the taste buds a bit differently than the cigar has thus far. While the earthiness somewhat faded into the background in the second third, it returns to a role of more prominence by becoming more vibrant and adding some weight to how it hits the palate. Once the burn line moves through where the band would be, the earth gets a bit grittier, and I’m tasting just a bit of heat affecting the flavors, giving the profile its most textured expression on my taste buds thus far. Creaminess seems to have departed, which removes the smoothing sensation that it offered, a change that furthers the sensation I’m getting. The draw firms up right around the final inch-and-half, dragging out the smoking time a bit and making each puff just a bit more labored. Beyond that, the occasional combustion issue remains, forcing me to pick between increasing my puffing rate and get the cigar hotter or try and keep it cool but deal with relights. It’s not a great set of choices, but the cigar does its best to stay enjoyable regardless of which one I go with. Flavor finishes medium-plus, body is medium-plus and strength is just a tick over mild but far from medium.

Final Notes

• I’m curious to find out if the opening in the head of the cigar was intentional to help excess moisture leave the upper portion of the cigar, or simply a mistake. If it was intentional, it doesn’t seem to have worked as intended, as each of the three cigars I smoked for this review needed a decent amount of attention to stay burning in the second half.

• We bought a box of these cigars, and Brooks Whittington noted that six of the 10 cigars had at least some sort of damage to the cap. The cigars did not come in cellophane, which can help reduce damage during transit.
• He didn’t mention that the cigars felt like they were rattling around, but Brooks took a photo of the cigars inside as soon as he opened the box, and the bands were facing in a number of different directions, which suggests they weren’t packed snugly enough to prevent a bit of damage.
• The ash on the Stolen Throne Phantom Queen can get to pretty impressive lengths if given the chance. Given the need for photographs, I didn’t notice this until the second cigar, but when I let the ash go, it held on quite impressively, almost reaching the bottom of the band before it started flaking just enough to nudge me to knock it off into the ashtray.
• Stolen Throne Cigars is based out of Virginia and offers several lines, including Crook of the Crown, Call to Arms, and 3 Kingdoms. I haven’t had the chance to try those cigars yet, but given the descriptions that I saw online, they all appear to be fuller in flavor and strength than the Phantom Queen.
• I did not get any appreciable strength from the Stolen Throne Phantom Queen.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours and 10 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co. lists the Stolen Throne Phantom Queen but it was out of stock at the time of publication.