By now, those that read my articles and follow my social media know I love dogs. I just can’t seem to live without them. They are part of the family and bring so much joy to our lives. It goes without saying that when I come across a cigar that is dog related I am going to be interested in the background story. The Bobalu Boxer is just such a cigar.
Jeff Lipton, owner of Bobalu Cigars in Austin, TX describes the inspiration of “The Boxer” as follows:
The Boxer is named after my “Sweet Girl Nellie”, who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Nellie and my other boxer Coda have spent their entire life coming to work with me daily and bringing joy to all the employees and customers at Bobalu Cigar being our greeting committee. Anyone who knows me knows how much my dogs mean to me.
Wow, I truly understand that love for a dog. My delightful cocker spaniel Ziggy, “The Duke of Merriment”, spends hours with me in my home cigar lounge bringing joy to all my friends who visit.
As special as dogs are to Jeff Lipton, his Boxer cigar is just as special. Created to celebrate Bobalu Cigars 19th anniversary last year, it has been aged a minimum of 18 months before hitting the market. The Bobalu Boxer is an extremely limited cigar packaged in special 10-count boxes. They come in two wrapper varietals; Corojo and Sumatran and can be ordered direct from Bobalu Cigars on their website.
- The Corojo is available in a 5 x 50 vitola with a retail price of $11.95 or $74.95/Box
- The Sumatra is available in a 6 x 52 vitola with a retail price of $12.95 or $79.95/Box
Today I will be reviewing the Boxer Limited Edition Sumatra.
Bobalu describes the Boxer Sumatra as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorean Sumatran
- Binder – Dominican Cuban Seed
- Filler –
- 5-year-old Dominican Seco Cubano
- 5-year-old Dominican Lijero
From a presentation perspective, the Bobalu Boxer Sumatran is adorned with two bands; the primary depicts a picture of a Boxer in the center and identifies it as the Sumatran blend, the secondary is a footer band that declares it as “The Boxer”.
Cigar Review Notes
- Dark tan, slightly gritty wrapper, adorned with primary and footer bands
- The cigar is solid to the touch with no soft spots
- Sweet hay aroma on the foot
- Earthy and restricted cold draw with a sprinkle of pepper
- Inital puffs deliver a creamy and dry fruit smoke with a spicy fruit aroma
- Sweetness and a hot cocoa flavor enters after an inch
- Fruit aroma morphs into a floral note
- Fruit and sweetness continue through the first third
- A solid white ash develops, perfectly formed resting on a medium char line
- Coffee and cedar develop in the second third with a delicate sweetness in the background
- Spicy chocolate aroma is now wafting off the foot
- Bitter coffee bean enters midway through the burn and then gives way to a mild almond flavor
- The solid long ash and pristine straight burn is just simply amazing
- The ash finally fell beyond the midway point exposing the quality construction with a perfectly centered burn cone
- Some dry leather enters at the end of the second third
- Finishes with light spice, cedar, and sweetness
- Mild to Medium in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour
Overall, the Bobalu Boxer, Limited Edition Reserve Sumatra, was a fantastic smoke, with impeccable construction and delicious flavor notes. It was an easy smoke to enjoy and would be enjoyed by any cigar smoker. I personally smoked this one down to the nub, and was glad I had one more to smoke. These are worthy of a box buy.
You may want to check the Bobalu website as they are running 20th anniversary specials as they celebrate 20 years in business s February 14.
Bobalu Boxer Sumatra
Bitter coffee bean enters midway through the burn and then gives way to a mild almond flavor –
Has to be the best description!
Thanks for reading StogiePress Brian. That note transition was quite interesting – Boston Jimmie