Drew Estate commemorated ten years of Undercrown with the global release of Undercrown 10, a bold new ultra-premium addition to Undercrown’s current premium lineup of Maduro, Shade and Sun Grown expressions.
To celebrate the brand’s anniversary in 2021, Drew Estate got “All Dekked Out,” a tag line that denotes Undercrown 10’s elegant packaging and reinforces the pride of Undercrown’s ten years of excellence. The new, sophisticated packaging is surpassed only by Undercrown 10’s complex, rich and bold blend of ultra-premium aged tobaccos that is descrbed as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andres
- Binder – Connecticut River Valley Broadleaf
- Filler – Select and rare Nicaraguan
La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate Factory Spokesman, Pedro Gomez noted:
“Undercrown 10 offers smokers an experience of Mexican hot chocolate … naturally sweet with hints of raisin and cacao … waves of intense black pepper … along with notes of sun-dried cherries, espresso, woodiness and earthiness.”
Undercrown 10 will officially debut with four core vitolas:
- Toro (6 x 52) MSRP – $240/box or $12/cigar
- Robusto (5 x 50) – MSRP $235/box or $11.75/cigar
- Corona (5 x 43) MSRP – $210/box or $10.50/cigar
- Corona Doble (7 x 50) MSRP – $270/box or $13.50/cigar
Each vitola comes packaged in bold 20-count boxes.
Pre-Light Examination
This is a solidly built cigar that is pressed into a toro vitola. The wrapper is dark brown and toothy with minimal veins and is fairly even colored throughout. The packing is tight from head to foot. There are no soft spots or give detected anywhere in the construction. The cigar is finished with a well applied double cap.
Two bands adorn the Undercrown 10. The primary band uses a blackish blue and gold motif that proudly displays the Undercrown logo in the center with the number “10” in cold circle below. There is also a footer band that uses the same motif and declares “A DECADE OF DEDICATION” and displays the phrase “ALL DEKK’D OUT” in the center. The compnay went even further and added a gold ribbon that runs over the cap and down under the band.
When the band is removed, the back of the band adds an added touch with a thank you to the consumer.
Pre-light aromas were quite pleasant on this. I detected a mildly pungent and spicy set of aromas along the barrel while the foot offered enticing notes of cocoa and nut. I like how this is shaping up. This has me wanting to cut it and give it some cold draw puffs.
I used my double blade Xikar cutter, fresh out of the package to give the cap a clean and smooth slice across the shoulder. Careful examination, of the head, shows a couple of stems but nothing that is going to give me an issue. In fact, I have said it before, stems add flavor, so long as they are placed correctly in the bunching so as to combust properly. I gave it some cold draw puffs that I found to be lightly peppered with a hint of fruit, all delivered though a perfectly restricted draw.
The most critical step, warming the foot with my new Freestyle, single flame, torch lighter. I held the flame away from the foot and slowly let the leaf warm to the heat as I rotated the barrel. Once there was noticeable ignition, I took the first puff of the Undercrown 10, which graced my palate with an initial pepper blast to get the journey started. Follow along a I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First puffs offer smooth black pepper blast to the palate and nasals
- Oodles of naturally sweet smoke enter as the pepper notes recede
- Touch of cocoa enters
- Light grey ash forms on a thin char line
- This has a very liga privada like burn – lots of smoke trying its best to keep the burn even
- Fruit and toasted bread notes join the party and entice the palate
- Light spice notes brighten the mix
- The ash fell in a decent chunk revealing a well defined burn cone
- Mild jag in the burn
- Dry fruit notes linger on the palate after each exhale
- Butter cracker aroma wafts off the foot
- Touch of sweet cinnamon appears deep in second third
- Spice notes grow as it progresses into the final third
- Toasted Caramel notes wrap the spice for a delightful finish
- Medium in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 50 Minutes
Final Analysis
I found the Drew Estate Undercrown 10 to be an extremely complex cigar that had the burn quality of a Liga Privada but not the strength. This is a medium strength cigar that was flavorful and aromatic from foot to nub and certainly one I would buy more of. I found the flavors to be quite pleasant and well transitioned. I enjoyed the core of natural sweetness throughout the burn that shifted around a supporting cast of flavor characters. This is certainly worth a box buy and all enthusiasts should add this one to their rotation. I rate this a 96.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild jag in Burn;
Bonus Points: (+1) Extremely Complex; (+1) Buy a box; (-1) Consistent across multiple samples
