Cigar Creek Cigars is the brainchild of two Indiana friends, Bryce Elsner and Josh Dowler. The name comes from the winery that Elsner’s parents own in Martinsville, Indiana. Bryce added a brewery to the winery and is in charge of that while he and Josh decided to create cigars that would pair well with the craft brew being produced.
Their journey into cigars began in the spring of 2019, when the business partners started selling a range of cigars from big names to boutique. It did not take them long to dive deeper and brand their own cigars. Bryce and Josh reached out to Tabacalera Kafie to help them on their journey and after a number of months working with the master blenders they introduced their first two inaugural blends – the Cedar Creek Connecticut, and San Andres Maduro. It is the latter that is the subject of today’s review.
The company describes the San Andres Maduro blend as:
- Wrapper – Mexican San Andres (aged 4 years)
- Binder – Honduran Habanos
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The Cedar Creek Cigars San Andres Maduro is expressed in a single (6 x 52) toro vitola and come packaged in 10-count boxes with an MSRP of $11.00/cigar.
For this review, I sampled three cigars which were gifted to me by a great BOTL – Kevin Thompson. Thanks Bro!
Pre-Light Examination
The Cedar Creek Cigars San Andres Maduro is a dark brown and slightly veiny cigar that has a gritty toothy wrapper with a mild oily sheen. The cigar feel fairly well packed, but I should note the last inch by the foot was a bit squishy and not circular. The cigar is finished with a simple cap.
A single large band adorns the cigar that uses a burgundy, black and gold motif. The name “Cedar Creek Cigars” is boldly printed in black across the band along with the company’s location “Martinsville Indiana”. The band also notes they are “Family Owned & Operated”. Lastly, the back of the band declares the cigar is “Hand Made in Honduras”.
Running the Cedar Creek Cigars San Andres Maduro along the nose, I picked up a sweet floral aroma along the barrel and a hint of pepper and malt off the foot.
I used my CigarMedics HumidiMeter to check the foot and got a solid reading of 67% humidity, just fine for the ensuing journey.
Using my double blade Xikar cuter, I sliced the cap straight along the shoulder of the cigar and gave it some cold draw puffs that presented a developing fruit sweetness. As you roll it about and puffed a little more there was a mild black pepper note joining. I felt the draw was decently restricted.
With the pre-light examination out of the way, it was time to warm the foot gently with my double flame torch and begin to draw in the first mouth filling puffs of smoke that awoke the palate with notes of sweet fruit and malt along with a peppery retro-hale. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First light offers sweet fruit and malt along with a peppery retro-hale
- White ash forms on top of a thin and even char line
- Ash fell after a good inch of burn, revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- An interesting piney wood aroma develops
- Vanilla cream and cocoa notes break in midway
- Aroma shifts to more of a leather note
- Barrel begins to gets squishy
- Smoke is smooth and full in volume
- Dry fruit (fig) enters deep in the second third
- Mild jag in the burn moving into the final
- Burns hot to the touch in the final
- Flavors were consistent down to the nub
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 Minutes
Final Analysis
Overall, the Cedar Creek Cigars San Andres Maduro Toro was a fine inaugural blend for this new company. It had a complex body of flavors and aromas that transitioned well through the 90 minute journey. I especially liked the malt, vanilla, and cocoa notes that kept the palate interested, not to mention the dry fruit notes that lingered after each puff. Construction was pretty good, but it did get a tad squishy in the second third and there was a mild jag in the burn moving though the final. This is worth grabbing a five pack of and I rate this a 91.
Thinking about the pairings they may offer and looking at their beer sections, I would think this would pair very well with the Vanilla Bean Milk Stout or even the WTFrüt Fruit Beer.
Point Deductions: (-1) Squishy foot Pre-Light; (-1) Slight Jag in the burn in the final third; (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-1) Squishy Barrel moving through second third; (-1) Hot to the Touch in the final
Bonus Points: (+1) Complex in Flavor and Aroma; (+1) Consistent Across Multiple Samples
