Tag Archives: Stillwell Star

by Craig Vanderslice | November 3, 2022 · 8:13 pm

News: StillWell Star Holiday Y2022 Shipping

The Stillwell Star line is interesting, I’ve smoked them all, but I am due for a re-visit. This seasonal release is an aromatic blend, kind of like the Aromatic No. 1, but without the sweet cap (which is referred to as “dulce cabeza” in the press release. This is the kind of cigar that when I’m smoking it my wife says smell like a pipe. Read on:

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust® (DTT) began shipping the inaugural annual Holiday release of its StillWell Star® handcrafted luxury pipe tobacco cigar to its Purveyors on October 27th, 2022. Simply dubbed the “Holiday Y2022”, it is a liga of traditional black cigar tobaccos combined with a unique custom crafted aromatic pipe blend from the pipe tobacco maker Cornell & Diehl® (C&D).

“A tradition in Pipe Culture is for carvers to craft one-off pipe designs and for blenders to create special mixtures to smoke and celebrate the Holidays. In honor of this practice, it was always my intention to follow suit within our StillWell Star line of puros,” states Steve Saka, the founder of DTT.

He continues, “This year’s release is a delightful aromatic puro with a carefully balanced selection of mild Cavendish Burley and choice Virginia tobaccos incorporated. Unlike the Aromatic No. 1 in the core line, this Holiday release does not feature a dulce cabeza, however the tobaccos themselves are wonderfully sweet to the tongue – the flavor and aroma are nothing short of exceptional. Personally, I find the smoking experience to be like sipping a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows fireside. It is nuanced and balanced, a very deftly executed blending of cigar and pipe tobaccos that evokes the emotion of enjoying a relaxed Christmas morning.”

Crafted at Joya de Nicaragua, S. A., the Limited Production StillWell Star Holiday Y2022 is being released in a 6.00 x 52 parejo ringed with snow white bands. The cigars are packed in 13ct boxes that contain an integrated shelf talker describing the blend and retail for $15.30 MSRP each.

About Cornell & Diehl

Since 1990, Cornell & Diehl has provided enthusiasts with some of the finest, handcrafted, boutique pipe tobacco on the market. Prioritizing quality over quantity, the blending house uses only a select few grades of tobacco, specially sourced for their inherent qualities, and focuses production to small, limited runs to ensure the quality of each batch. In addition to C&D’s core lines, the manufacturer also produces all the pipe tobacco blends for the celebrated G.L. Pease brand, as well as those for BriarWorks, Two Friends, Drucquer & Sons, and many others. Located in Longs, SC, Cornell & Diehl operates out of a 30,000 sq ft facility, using traditional machinery and only the finest ingredients available.

About Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, LLC

Founded in 2015, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) has quickly become the premier craft manufacturer of ultra premium handmade cigars. Founded by cigar and industry expert Steve Saka, a former Executive Consultant to JR Cigar and President and CEO of Drew Estate, with the singular focus to create only “Puros Sin Compromiso” – Cigars Without Compromise. Included within their portfolio are Sobremesa, Mi Querida, Todos Las Dias, Sin Compromiso, Umbagog and Muestra de Saka. DTT is the only company ever to be named the “Company of the Year” for four consecutive years by Halfwheel. For more information, please visit: www.dunbartoncigars.com.

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Tagged as Aromatic, cigar, cigars, holiday, Stillwell Star

by Craig Vanderslice | November 17, 2021 · 6:20 pm

Stillwell Star Bayou No. 32 and Navy No. 1056 Cigars

This is the second and final installment in my series of posts recapping my experiences smoking the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Stillwell Star cigars that I purchased at the launch event in South Carolina a week and a half ago. I went into this exercise with an open mind, but with very little experience with pipe tobacco. I’ve smoked a pipe in a the past, but I always found that there was too much work involved and I didn’t get enough satisfaction from it commensurate with the effort involved, the preparation, the cleaning, the general fiddling around involved in smoking the pipe. I’m much happier to just light a cigar and put it down when I’m done and be finished with it. I find that far more relaxing. Of course, that’s just me, there seem to be dozens of people who enjoy smoking a pipe. I even saw Saka smoking a pipe at the event, first time in the twenty-some odd years I’ve known him that I’ve witnessed that. Anyway, Monday I smoked the Bayou No. 32, which I was quite looking forward to. This cigar, like all of them, has the Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper and San Andrés cultivo tonto binder with Nicaraguan fillers. It also has a blend of Bright, Red Virginia and St. James Parish Perique pipe tobaccos. This was another one that struck me as more cigar than pipe, which I suppose is the point. This one started out with some pepper spice, a more unique pepper than one usually finds in a cigar. As the cigar progressed, the spice became a little mouth coating, perhaps cloying is a word one might use. It was interesting, a different texture than normal in a cigar. I’ve smoked cigars with Perique in the blend before, but none have been this unique. This was an interesting smoke.

Finally, there’s the Navy No. 1056. This one has Red and Golden Virginias, “Naval Rations,” Orientals and Latakia pipe tobaccos blended with dark air-cured black cigar leaves in the filler. As with the other three, I polled others on the room note, and on all but the first one I got “cigar”. I suppose it would be different if people were familiar with pipe aromas, sadly we are not. This was another good tasting cigar. It had a smokey sweetness, throughout, very interesting. It was medium bodied, like the other three, and very smooth. All four samples burned perfectly, which was interesting, I wasn’t sure how the different tobaccos were going to burn, but I suppose Steve wasn’t going to put something out that isn’t going to work right. I found smoking these four cigars to be an interesting exercise, however, these aren’t going to be regular rotation cigars for me, I doubt I’ll even go back to them to be honest. As good as they are, they didn’t excite me as much as the other cigars in the Dunbarton portfolio. I’m glad I smoked them, but I’m happier with a Mi Querida, Sin Compromiso or Sobremesa any day of the week. Of course, that’s just me, your mileage may vary.

That’s al for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Bayou No 32, cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Navy No. 1056, Stillwell Star

by Craig Vanderslice | November 14, 2021 · 10:31 am

Stillwell Star Aromatic No. 1 and English No. 27 Cigars

I wanted to get through all four of the new Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star cigars, but stuff came up and I didn’t have time to get the other two in. I will smoke the Bayou No. 32 and Navy No. 1056 this week and write about them in a separate post. Stretches things out a little anyway. I picked up one each of these at the launch event at Low Country Pipe and Cigars last week in South Carolina, long drive for four cigars! The company was good though! As I mentioned in last weeks post, I didn’t want to smoke any of them there in a room full of various aromas, choosing the solitude of my enclosed porch. As is my way, I arranged them numerically, doing otherwise would be an abomination. So I started out with the Aromatic No. 1. Zev Kaminetsky, the local broker and an old friend, told me at the event that this was his favorite (or the only one he’d tried, I can’t remember), and it was reminiscent of another cigar that used pipe tobaccos in the blend. I knew what cigars he was referring to, but I can’t agree. While the Aromatic No. 1 was heavily and distinctly “pipey”, it wasn’t spicy like the other one. My dentist when I was a kid smoked a pipe, he was old school, you walked into his office, he was a one man show, he put his pipe down, cleaned your teeth, filled your cavities, lit his pipe and wrote up you bill at his desk. Those were the days. This reminded me of the Captain Black he used to smoke in his office. Of course, the tobaccos in this blend are the same that’s used in Captain Black, Black Cavendish, Golden Virginia and Burly pipe tobaccos as well as Nicaraguan in the filler, with an Ecuador Habano oscuro wrapper over a Mexican San Andrés binder (from the wrapper leaves used on the Sin Compromiso). I wasn’t a fan, although it either grew on me, mellowed, or I got used to it. Starting out with this one caused me some concern.

Yesterday afternoon, after giving the chicken habitat a thorough cleaning out, and then showering so as not to compromise my senses, olfactory and otherwise, I delved into the next Stillwell numerically, the English No 27. This one is a blend of Turkish and Burly pipe tobaccos, as well as Latakia from Cyprus, again with Nicaraguan in the filler, and the same wrapper and binder combination. I’d probably benefit by sticky my schnoz in some of these tobaccos to better understand what I’m tasting, because I’m rather ignorant in the ways of the pipe. This one was much more cigar-like, even third party observers when polled, commented that the room note was “cigar”, as opposed to “pipe” the night before. I found it on the woody side, with some occasional mellow sweet spice. It was pretty good, and allayed my fears from the No. 1. I suppose I was expecting more flavor from the Latakia, based solely on reputation. I am looking forward to smoking the final two, especially the next in line, the Bayou No. 32, as I actually have smoked Perique in a cigar blend. I’m not sure what to expect from the Navy. I’ll know in a few days.

Just a quick gripe. Have you ever avoided something for personal reasons? Then someone, probably not even knowingly, gives you something from that entity? Perhaps it’s something that you don’t even know is from that entity, and you consume it. when you find out where it’s from, do you feel a little betrayed? Duped? I’ve kinda, sorta had this happen twice in two different ways with the same entity this week. I’ll probably just let it slide, but you know, the same way that some people stop doing business with some people for personal reasons, other people might stop doing business with those people for the same reasons, and those people have to realize that. Lots of ambiguity and between the lines stuff here, I know, I’m wishy washy about displaying my politics here. I will come out and say that I think that I think that Privada/ LCA is bad for the cigar industry with their childish branding, and I think their “hacking” thing was a publicity stunt. Also, implicating cigar media and retailers is childish. If you hate your website, it’s yours to change, bud.

That’s more than enough from me today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aromatic No. 1, cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, English No 27, Low Country Pipe and Cigars, Stillwell Star

by Craig Vanderslice | November 7, 2021 · 6:46 am

Stillwell Star Release Event at Low Country Pipe and Cigars

Friday was the official release event for the long awaited and anticipated release of Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star cigars, a foursome of cigars blended with pipe tobacco. The release was held at Low Country Pipe and Cigar, in Little River, South Carolina, which is owned by the same company that owns Cornell & Diehl, the pipe tobacco company that worked with Steve on the blends of the Stillwell Star cigars. Now we know how a shop in South Carolina and their website, SmokingPipes.com, ended up with the exclusive launch. Of course, an event of this magnitude deserved cigar media coverage, and Bob The Cigar Guy, and his son The Chief, popular Youtubers, were on hand. I popped in from Pennsylvania to provide support on the written word side of things since nobody else seemed to be stepping up 😁 . A little backstory: my wife mentioned this event, and wanting to get away for the weekend, and I need to take vacation days, so I made quick work of arranging the day off. As it turns out, the weather in South Carolina this weekend wasn’t much better than in PA, but it was still a weekend away! So I called Tim at Lake Country and bought two tickets for the event (event packs including four DTT cigars). We got up early Friday morning and drove nine hours to a cigar event, a new personal record. When we walked in I think Steve had a WTF look on his face, and I think Zev Kaminetsky, who is brokering DTT in the south now, was similarly surprised. A few words about the shop. Now, I’m not a pipe guy, too much fiddling around for me, I just want to smoke it and put it down, but this place had a huge selection of pipes and pipe tobacco. I took a stroll through the humidor as well and it was adequately appointed with a nice balance of legacy brands and boutiques. I even saw one brand I was unfamiliar with, and I would have explored that further on a day that wasn’t so busy. But this was a Dunbarton event, and it was about the Stillwell Star.

We were welcomed warmly by the staff, who was friendly and attentive, clearly all the folks working here love what they do and do it well. They had a company on site making pizzas that were really good, $10 for a pie that my wife and I split, I’d say it was a 14″ pie, and they were making tons of them, they had an oven right there in the parking lot. I hardly ever eat at cigar events, but after a 9 hour drive I was ready for dinner, so I ate, and it was good. after 35 years, my wife knows my pizza preferences, so my half had sausage, pepperoni, hamburger and bacon. I like a little meat on my pizza. It was mid-bite when Bob the Cigar Guy came up and introduced himself to me. He’s a hoot. Nice guy, has me confused with someone else. I don’t deserve the praise he heaped upon me, but a likable fellow! I enjoyed talking to him and his son over the course of the event. I picked up one each of the Stillwell blends, because they are pricey and, me not being a pipe smoker I really don’t have a frame of reference for the specific pipe tobacco blends, I just want to sample each one, which I shall do on a fresh palate in the comfort of my home lounge (enclosed porch). I did enjoy a Sin Compromiso and a Mi Querida over the course of the evening, while hanging out in the shop, wandering from conversation to conversation, and listening to Saka educate us all on a number of topics, mostly tobacco related. He also autographed various items. This was a great launch event, in a great shop with a great staff. It’s always fun to hang with Saka. I’m just disappointed Dave Lafferty wasn’t there.

Saturday turned out to be a gloomy, windy day, with weather much like we left behind in PA, so we stopped in to Nick’s Cigar World, which was, conveniently, a short walk from our hotel. This turned out to be a nice cigar bar adjacent to a well stocked shop. The cigars were kept in a labyrinth of counter humidors, arranged alphabetically by brand, more or less. Not really needing anything, I picked up a Fuente Rare Pink Signature and a CAO Cameroon Toro and we hung out in the lounge and enjoyed the afternoon. The staff there was attentive, and it was much like being in any lounge, with patrons watching football and busting balls. The staff was friendly and attentive. It was certainly a very nice experience. The cigar was OK, it wasn’t like the L’Anniversaire I remember from the old CAO days (I still have a tubed Churchill from about ’03 I think), but it was satisfying. Overall we had a nice, lazy day in North Myrtle Beach, despite the weather. Driving home today.