Introduced at the 2021 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) trade show, the All Saints Fine Cigars – Saint Francis Colorado is the 3rd line of cigars from the small and growing company headed up by Micky Pegg. The cigar is a tweaked version of the company’s St. Francis Oscuro blend using an Ecuadorian Habano Colorado wrapper and different ratios of filler from the Oscuro line.
With this second St. Francis line, Micky continues to pay homage to one of the great Catholic Saints, Francis of Assisi, who founded the Franciscan Order. Pope Gregory IX canonized Francis on 16 July 1228. He joined Catherine of Siena as a patron saint of Italy. He later became associated with patronage of animals and the natural environment, and it became customary for churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October.
The blend is described by the company as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano Colorado
- Binder – Nicaragua
- Filler – Nicaragua
The All Saints Fine Cigars – Saint Francis Colorado is expressed in 4 vitolas and comes packaged in 12-count boxes:
Robusto (5.5 x 50) – MSRP $11.00
Toro (6.5 x 50) – MSRP $11.50
Huge (6 x 60) – MSRP $11.67
Churchill (7 x 48) – MSRP $12.67
For this review, I sampled 5 of Saint Francis Colorado Churchills which were provided by the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Saint Francis Colorado is an attractive cigar that sports a light reddish brown wrapper that smooth to the touch and exhibits a nice oily sheen. The soft boxed cigar is well packed and has no softs spots along the barrel. Veins are all but non existent and it is finished with well applied applied.
A single die cut band adorns the cigar that proudly displays the company’s logo in the center and the name COLORADO – SAINT FRANCIS on the bottom. The latin phrase “Pax Et Bonum” is printed on the side of the band which was St. Francis’ motto meaning “peace and goodness be with you.”
Running the Saint Francis Colorado along the nose, I picked up pungent and sweet aromas along the barrel while the foot exuded notes of mild cocoa and nut off the foot.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder of the cigar, I gave it some cold draw puffs that further enticed my senses with natural tobacco sweetness, savory spice and a pleasant nut component all delivered through an excellent cold draw.
I used my double flame torch to gently warm the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of peppery spice smoke. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First puffs grace the palate with blessings of peppery spice
- Natural sweetness develops in the background
- Light citrus notes moisten the palate
- Excellent white ash forms on top of a medium and even char line
- Cedar notes develop midway wrapping the ever present mild spice
- Nuances of chocolate add to the pleasure
- Almond notes start to lay on the finish of each puff
- Extreme ash fell revealing a well formed burn cone
- Spice begins to increase deep in the second third
- The early chocolate morphs into more of a dark chocolate note moving into the final third
- Strength ratchets up
- Cedar remains a core note through the journey
- Slight bitter note appears
- Almond aroma
- Bold earthy notes develop deep in the final third wrapped in a balanced sweetness
- Medium to full in strength
- Total Smoking Time was just shy of 2 hours
Final Analysis
The All Saints Fine Cigars – Saint Francis Colorado Churchill was a superb journey of complex and balanced flavor with a solid core of cedar. I loved how the chocolate nuance midway morphed into a rich dark chocolate note in the final and especially enjoyed the short bursts of almond that graced the palate to add a nice balance. The cigar had a fine burn with just a mild wave here and there and never needed a touch-up. This is most certainly a box worthy cigar to add to your rotation and I highly recommend it. I rate this a solid 96.
Point Deductions: (-1) Mild wave in burn; (-1) Slight Bitter Note in final
Bonus Points: (+1) Buy a Box; (+1) Pleasurable and Consistent experience across multiple samples; (+1) Complex and Balanced; (+1) Extreme Ash
