It has been a while since I spoke about Warfighter Tobacco Company. Today I offer a review of the company’s .50 Cal Garrison Oscuro Maduro Double Corona, a cigar that has been aging in my humidor for about 18 months. I received this from the company at the 2018 IPCPR.
Warfighter represents more than just our brave military forces. the Warfighter Tobacco Company describes the “Warfighter Ethos” as:
“What is a Warfighter? We are Service Members, Veterans, Firefighters, Police Officers, First Responders and anyone who believes in selflessly protecting others from the cold, hard world. We are the Sheepdogs who protect the herd from the big bad wolf. We are a fraternity of men and women who are willing to lay it all down for an idea.
Warfighting is tough work and throughout history, at the end of the mission, when one of our members goes down, or it is time to celebrate victory, the warfighter has done so with a cigar in hand. It is in that spirit that Warfighter Tobacco Company was born.“
Warfighter Tobacco has a full portfolio of cigars, some of which we have reviewed already on Stogie Press. Besides their cigar portfolio, which is now available in over 100 cigar shops and lounges across the nation, they also sell apparel, accessories, and even coffee through their website. The company is owned an operated by combat war veterans.
The Warfighter Tobacco .50 Cal Garrison Oscuro Maduro blend is described by the company as:
- Wrapper: Habano Oscuro Maduro (Honduras)
- Binder: Connecticut (Honduras)
- Filler:
- Habano (Ometepe, Nicaragua
- Habano (Estelí, Nicaragua)
- Habano Ligero (Condega, Nicaragua)
This bold blend is expressed in 5 vitolas and comes packaged in 20-count boxes except the lancero, which comes in a 30-count box:
- Robusto (5 x 52) MSRP: $9.50
- Toro (6 x 52) MSRP $10.50
- Double Corona (7 x 52) MSRP $11.50
- Rocco (6 x 60) MSRP $13.50
- Lancero (7 x 38) box of 30 MSRP $9.70
For this review, I sampled the Warfighter Tobacco .50 Cal Garrison Oscuro Maduro Double Corona.
Pre-Light Examination
The Warfighter Tobacco .50 Cal Garrison Oscuro Maduro is a dark, practically black (Oscuro) cigar that has a dense packing and is solid from head to foot. There is a decent oily sheen to the wrapper that has a fine vein structure throughout. The presentation is finished with a simple cap.
A single black and gold band adorns this cigar with the company logo centered and the term “.50 Cal” printed on the side.
Running the cigar across the nose, I picked up butter and roasted nut aroma off the foot but not much along the rich dark barrel.
A simple straight cut across the shoulder, opens the cigar for some cold puffs that are bit more restricted than I would prefer. The cold draw offered notes of lightly toasted bread and an impressively, fairly mild profile.
I used my double flame torch to warm and ignite the foot, and drew in a peppery burst of initial smoke that was rather surprising, based on the cold draw. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial light has a hit of pepper on the retro-hale
- Light grey flaky ash forms on a thick and slightly wavy char line
- Buttery notes join the profile as the pepper pulls back
- Nut aroma wafts off the foot
- Smoke volume is medium volume to start
- Ash fell early a flat but fairly centered burn cone
- The burn wave continues and shows a bit of an off burn developing, after a second early ash fall
- Hint of cedar joins the mix
- Smoke is has smoothed out quite well moving into the second third
- Spice notes add to the profile along with a hint of coffee
- Oak nuances enters with a lingering the spicy note on the palate
- Saltiness enters near end of second third
- Spice has pulled back quite a bit
- Flavors mellow out in the final third with a touch of dark chocolate
- Medium – Full in strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Overall, the Warfighter Tobacco .50 Cal Garrison Oscuro Maduro Double Corona was decent cigar that offered some fine flavor transitions. It was mild to start and eventually ratcheted up to medium-full in strength and a spicy core that lingered on the palate through a good 50% of the burn. The ash was flaky and it fell quite often so don’t expect to carry a long ash on this. This is one i would suggest enjoying after a big meal and perhaps grab a five pack of. I rate this a 90.
Point Deductions: (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-1) Ash Falls Often; (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Medium Volume of Smoke
Bonus Points: (+1) Complex Flavor Profile
