Todas Las Dias Cigar Review – Any Day – Every Day

I assume everyone knows who Steve Saka is, and if you don’t, you may want to crawl out from under that old rock and join the 21st century cigar club. Steve is the owner of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, a cigar company he founded after parting ways as President of Drew Estate a few years ago.

The first cigar he brought to market in his new venture was the Sobremesa which got rave reviews and he followed that up with the Mi Querida. As he continues to blend, Steve has introduced a cigar that we were all teased about in 2016 known as the Todas Las Dias.

I won’t get into the story about the name of this cigar, as many cigar sites have it told already. All I will say is; his Spanish may be as bad as mine, well nobody is as bad as me but let’s just say the name Todas Las Dias translates to “All Days” and in reality as the story goes he wanted to say “Every Day” which would be Todas Los Dias.  That “los” and “las” would get me all the time and as you see it makes a big difference. Regardless, the cigar has been released and it is the Todas Las Dias and I guess Any Day is good enough for me as I would smoke this cigar all days – every day.

“The workers at Joya de Nicaraguan often cringe at my casual butchering of their mother tongue, but in my opinion cigars are far more than a grammar lesson to abide, they are the physical manifestation of a feeling and of an experience. It is a supple, sungrown Cuban Seed capa which encapsulates its intricate tripa recipe of rich Jalapa and Esteliano tobaccos. From the first puff, there is no doubt of the origin of this cigar or that it is intended solely for the seasoned cigar smoker. ” – Steve Saka

I finally got the opportunity to meet Steve at this years IPCPR and we sat for a while talking about the founding of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust (DTT) and the Todas Las Dias cigar. You can see the video here:

Today I would like to walk you through the Todas Las Dias cigar, which is by far one of the best cigars I have smoked this year. I don’t say that easily and you know I am honest in my reviews so let me walk you through this enjoyable cigar.

The Todas Las Dias is the third installment of the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust portfolio. It is described as a true Nicaraguan puro made with Jalapa and Esteli tobaccos. The blend is described as:

• Wrapper – Jalapa Sun Grown Criollo
• Binder -Nicaraguan Jalapa
• Filler – 4 different Nicaraguan fillers

Steve uses the Joya de Nicaragua, S.A factory in Esteli,  Nicaragua for production. They are available in four vitolas and packaged in 10 -count boxes.

• Toro (6 x 52) MSRP $12.45
• Robusto (5 x 52) MSRP $11.45
• Double Wide Belicoso (4.75 x 60) MSRP $12.45
• Half Churchill (4.75 x 48) MSRP $10.45

For this review,I sampled the Todas Las Dias Robusto, which Steve provided for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press. 

Pre-Light Examination

The Todas Las Dias has a dark brown wrapper with a tinge of red clay color to it. The wrapper has a notable marbling to it. It is clearly a well constructed cigar by examination, with  invisible seams, minimal veins, and tight packing. It is finished with a simple cap. 

There are two elegant bands on this cigars. For the official release, the bands use a silver and black motif. The primary band has a centered diamond shape with  the letters TDL centered in the middle. I know, what is TDL you ask? It is the proper way to make a monogram using the initials of the name, like if I made a monogram of my name (James Robert Vita) it would be JVR. with the “V” larger than the “J” and “R”. Anyway, there is a footer band that makes it clear, by spelling out the whole name Todas Las Dias. It should be noted that there was a limited release of the Todas Las Dias back in 2016 that had different band colors but with the same design.  

Of course looks can be deceiving so lets run it across the nasals. The first note I picked up was a BBQ roasted meat off the foot. I don’t think I have ever described a pre-light aroma like that. Continuing with the sniff test,  I noted a sweet spice and fermented leaf along the barrel of the cigar.

The pre-light cold draw is perfect and offers notes of earth, meat, savory spice and some red pepper. This is actually a great smoke to enjoy for some time prior to lighting it. I rolled it about and just took in all the cold draw notes. I could have sat here listening to the Red Sox for the whole nine innings just tasting it, but cigars are made to smoke so smoke it shall be. 

---

Cigar Review Notes

• Real nasal cleaner to start –  not for the tame at heart
• Savory notes hide behind the pepper and slowly work their way forward in the profile as the pepper coats my palate
• The smoke is thick, creamy, and mouth filling
• Light grey ash evolves atop a medium char line
• Pepper moves out-of-the-way after a half-inch of burn
• There is a subtle sweetness trying to break through making the smoke ingestible – but I refrain from doing so this early in the burn
• I keep thinking BBQ ribs as I puff on this
• Ash is solid and well-formed
• Mild wave develops but corrects itself
• Coffee notes enter after an inch as the sweetness increases
• Cocoa powder completes the first third
• Savory aroma
• Second third introduces a subtle mint making this lip smacking
• Spice enters midway blending well with the cocoa
• End of the second third offers a touch of fruit and almond
• Ash is wicked awesome bad – That’s New England talk for incredible
• Ash finally falls after two-thirds revealing a well centered burn cone
• Savory notes enter again in the final third
• Full strength  – not for the weak palate
• Total Smoking Time was one hour and ten minutes

Overall, the Todas Las Dias from  Steve Saka is by far the best cigar I have sampled in 2017 to date. The flavors were well-balanced and enticing throughout. There were delicious spikes of flavor  to keep your palate intrigued like mint,  fruit, and almond. The burn was spot on with a wave here and there that always self corrected. I would certainly pair this with a Islay Single Malt Scotch such as Oban or Lagavulin to complement the savory notes in the cigar.