At the 2018 IPCPR, Francisco Almonte, owner of Dominican Big Leaguer (DBL) Cigars, showcased the third release of his limited edition Derrame Series cigar. Known as the Derrame III, it was displayed in a beautiful 49 count humidor that housed 40 box-pressed vitolas and 9 round vitolas. The humidor is as stunning as the cigars it holds. The humidor includes a humidifier, analog hygrometer, double blade cutter, lighter, and key lock.
Though I did not get the humidor yet, Francisco did send me a sample of the cigar along with the cutter and lighter. I could go on and review the cutter and lighter, which are some of the best in the industry, but I am here to review the cigar today.
I reviewed the original Derrame back in November of 2015, and the Derrame II in March of 2017. So let’s see how the latest rendition of the Derrame stands up to it’s siblings.
The Derrame III is a 6 1/4 x 56 vitola and as mentioned it comes in both round and box-pressed formats all packaged in a 49-count box (Humidor). The company has limited the production to 500 boxes (humidors).
The DBL Derrame III blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andrés
- Binder – Ecuadorian
- Filler – Dominican (Proprietary)
All leaf used in the construction of the DBL Derrame III was harvested from DBL tobacco fields in Tamboril, Dominican Republic and have been aged 5 years. They are hand crafted with Passion, Love, and Experience at Tabacalera DBL S.A.
DBL Cigars has set the MSRP of the Derrame III at $9.60/cigar. If you would like to purchase the complete humidor with cigars it will cost you $470.00 which is one hell of a deal.
For this review I sampled the box-pressed Derrame III which I received from the company for review on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The DBL Derrame III is an expertly crafted, box press cigar, with crisp edges and minimal veins. It sports a toothy, cocoa powder brown wrapper that has a slight oily sheen. The cigar feels solid in the hand with a nice weight and is nicely capped.
There are three 3 bands that adorn the Derrame III. The Primary band is the standard red, black, and gold, DBL Logo with the word “MADURO” printed in a ribbon on the bottom. The secondary band just below the primary uses a black, silver, and red motif with the word “DERRAME” printed in silver on the black background. Finally, there is a silver footer band to finish the presentation.
As I ran the Derrame III along the nose, I noted there was not much aroma along the barrel but the foot exuded notes of raisin and spice.
I used the DBL double blade cutter to slice the cap and gave it some cold draw puffs which demonstrated a perfect draw and offered notes of raisin and earth with a hint of spice.
With the pre-light exam to my liking, I used the DBL torch lighter to warm the foot and take in the first puffs of smoke that was mouth filling with a creamy texture.
Cigar Review Notes
- Starts with a relatively smooth draw of creamy mouth filling smoke
- Light pepper and nut starts the journey
- Mouth watering sweetness and fruit join the profile
- Light grey and solid ash develops resting on a crisp medium char line
- Espresso notes grace the palate as it moves through the first third
- Ash fell after a good run revealing a centered but pointed burn cone
- Nut aroma starts to waft off the foot
- Cocoa notes begin to develop in the second third
- Burn gets a bit jagged in the second half
- Sweet savory notes join the profile deep in the second third
- Sweetness continues into the final with an added cinnamon spice component
- Medium in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes down to the nub
Overall, the DBL Derrame III holds up well against it siblings with a complex profile of flavorful notes and aromas. The burn was solid through the first half but demonstrated a slight jaggedness in the burn in the second half, but did not require any touch ups. This is certainly a cigar I would say is worthy of a box buy that is if there were 10 or 20 in box. But hey, buy the whole box and you have an amazing work of art humidor. I rate this a 95.
Point Deductions; (-1) Pointed Burn Cone; (-1) Slightly Jagged burn in second half
Bonus Points; (+1) Buy a Box
