In 1999, Drew Estate unleashed ACID cigars onto an unsuspecting premium cigar world, bridging old-world tobacco traditions to new-world innovation with iconic taste and style … placing Brooklyn, New York, onto the premium cigar map with distinction. The groundbreaking ACID became the tip of the spear for Drew Estate’s rise from a homegrown nasty little posse working on Jay Street in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn to the global premium cigar and lifestyle company it is today.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of ACID’s launch, Drew Estate released ACID 20 Robusto in 2019 and has since added ACID 20 Robusto Tubos, ACID 20 Toro and the Alliance Cigar Co. exclusive, ACID 20 Bronxilla.
During its “Freestyle Live” broadcast on Jan. 20, Drew Estate unveiled the newest addition to the ACID 20 lineup … ACID 20 Connecticut Toro (6 x 54). The smooth, mellow, sweet and aromatic, ACID 20 Connecticut Toro has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Connecticut Shade
- Binder – Indonesian
- Filler – Nicaraguan
The ACID 20 Connecticut Toro is all chromed-out in 20-count boxes and has an MSRP of $10.75/cigar or $258.02/box. For this review, I sampled 3 of these which I received from the company for reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Drew Estate ACID 20 Connecticut is a finely constructed cigar that sports a golden tan Connecticut shade wrapper that is smooth to the touch and exhibits a few veins. It is well packed from head to foot with no soft spots along the barrel. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
Two silver and black bands adorn the cigar. The primary band boldly displays the ACID 20 logo in the center and the footer band denotes this as an ACID Twenty product line. I love how the bands pop on tan background of the cigar itself. Certainly a noticeable cigar on a humidor shelf. Once you remove the primary band the back of it provides some additional branding including the ACID website ExperienceAcid.com.
Running the ACID 20 Connecticut along the nose, I quickly noted a spicy sweetness infusion along the barrel and a bit more off the foot. Yes, we all know this is infused but as I note later in the review, there is much less infusion than say something like an ACID Blondie.
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder of the cigar, I gave it some cold draw puffs that offered an excellent draw and, as expected, infused sweetness and spice.
Using a lit cedar spill, I warmed the foot gently to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of exotic spice and floral smoke. Follow along as I burn this ACID to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First light infused exotic spice and rich floral
- There is a certain Cubanesque flavor with that floral
- Non-tobacco sweetness coats the lips
- Peppery spice on the retrohale
- Light grey ash forms on a medium thick burn line
- Caramel and light pepper notes after half inch
- Sweet cocoa aroma fills the air – like brownies baking in the oven
- Lingering syrupy sweetness on the palate
- Infusion is much lighter than other acids
- Ash fell after decent run, revealing a well formed burn cone
- Aroma shifts to a vanilla note
- The early cocoa notes start to get a little bitter and dryer
- The spice notes and floral notes start to return
- Sweetness lingers on lips
- Aroma shifts one more time to a nutty sensation
- The final third bring in more of a traditional Connecticut bitterness
- Mild to Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 35 minutes
Final Analysis
The Drew Estate ACID 20 Connecticut Toro was one of the best ACID brands I have smoked. This mild to medium strength cigar is most certainly a morning cigar in my mind. It awakens the taste buds and pairs so well with a cup of coffee. Unlike some ACIDS, this one did not leave a long lingering taste on the palate. In fact I found the start of this to be rather Cubanesque in its sweetness and floral beginning. It had an excellent burn and solid ash throughout the journey. As it got towards midway much more of the premium tobacco notes started to be picked up. Team DE did a great job with this one. This may not be the cigar for everyone, but it moved my needle to ACID enjoyment. Grab a fiver and give them a go! I rate this a 94.
Point Deductions: (-1) Bitter Notes deep in second third, (-1) Dryness Midway
Bonus Points: (+1) Excellent Burn; (+1) Pleasurable and Consistent Across all Samples
