As part of the reintroduction of Dissident Cigars by Benjamin Holt , the company showcased a re-blended line of cigars that includes the “Home”, “Soap Box”, and “Bloc” names. I recently reviewed the Dissident Bloc and today I offer my review of the Dissident Home.
The Dissident Home is a limited production cigar that is produced at Fabrica Oveja Negra (James Browns Factory, in Esteli, Nicaragua. Benjamin explained his process of blending this cigar in a press release earlier this year:
“I really tried to focus on what the name Home meant to me in the context of cigars. I kept reflecting back on how much I love Esteli tobacco and the first time I spent at Fabrica Oveja Negra.
Fabrica Oveja Negra creates fantastic artisan cigars and it instantly became a no brainer for me to highlight these tobaccos in this way. I’m very proud of this cigar and how it brings out the flavor that I feel is the taste of Esteli.”
The resulting blend that was used in the Home is described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuador Maduro & Corojo
- Binder – Ecuador
- Filler – Nicaragua
The Dissident Home is produced in a single Box Pressed (6 x 52) Toro vitola and is packaged in a 20-count box. The company has set an MSRP of $14.00/cigar.
Pre-Light Examination
The Dissident Home is a beautiful box pressed cigar that is wrapped in barber pole style with the dark San Andres leaf taking up most of the wrap along with a thin strip of Corojo. The seams are all but invisible on this roll. The San Andres has a nice dark brown color to it and a light tooth (grit) on the leaf. The packing seems good with just a slight give when pressed between the fingers. The presentation is complete with a well applied triple cap.
The band on the Dissident Home is as bold as the other cigars in the company’s portfolio. It uses the same Black, White, and Red color scheme with the word “HOME” printed across the top with a red letter ‘H’ and the rest in white. The date 2019 is printed below identifying it as a limited production cigar. On the bottom, the company name is presented.
Running the Dissident Home across the nose, I detected a sweet and pungent aroma along with what I would say was an orange citrus note. The foot aroma were just as enticing with notes of chocolate and raisin. Wow, do i smoke this or eat this! I suppose I should at least cut and cold puff it for a bit which is exactly what I did.
Using my double blade Xikar cutter, I slice the cap at the shoulder to open it up and gave it some cold draw puffs. The draw was on the loose side while the pre-light notes included pepper and touch of chocolate and raisin. Yes, this is one of those cigars I would suggest cold puffing more than others. Savor the pre-light notes and smell that wrapper again.
OK, that’s enough, time to fire this one up as I grabbed my double flame torch and warmed the foot as I drew in the first puffs of pepper laden smoke. Damn, that opened my nasals, where is that tissue? Now let’s get into the rest of the review.
Cigar Review Notes
- First light offers tons of pepper on the nose
- Light grey ash – medium to thick slightly wavy char line
- Nice crackle on the burn – listen to your cigar sometimes
- Woody notes enter as the pepper pulls back a bit
- Full volume of thick and creamy smoke
- Flaky ash falls early revealing an off-centered burn cone
- Caramel and coffee notes fill out the profile
- Floral aroma
- Continues the off burn and required a touch-up
- Sweet oak notes join the mix
- Spice finds its way into the profile midway
- Flavors seem to mute down near through the second half with just an added saltiness
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 25 minutes
Overall, the Dissident Home was a cigar that was quite enticing during the pre-light and had my expectations set high, especially having smoked the Bloc which was excellent. Once the burn began, the flavors in the first half were decent but then muted down in the second half. The ash was flaky and when it dropped early, there was an off-centered burn cone that evolved into a off burn which required a touch-up. We rate this an 89.
Point Deductions: (-1) Open Cold Draw; (-1) Off Burn; (-1) Required Touch-up;(-1) Off-Centered Burn Cone; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-2) Should be Lower in Price
