Ten years is a significant milestone for any cigar company, and for Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, the anniversary provided founder and master blender Steve Saka with an opportunity to look back at just how far the company had come since its rather humble beginnings in the summer of 2015.
The company notes:
“Steve, Cindy and Jon started their “teeny-tiny cigar company” in New Hampshire with a single brand, Sobremesa, consisting of just five cigars. Their first trade-show booth was outfitted with closeout furniture and a cheap vinyl banner, and they didn’t even have sample cigars to hand out to prospective customers. A decade later, DTT had grown into a company with numerous successful brands and a devoted following among premium-cigar smokers.
When it came time to celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary, Steve could have taken the conventional route and produced a large-format figurado, dressed it in elaborate packaging and attached a hefty anniversary price tag. Instead, he went back to the philosophy behind the original Sobremesa: do something different. The result is the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee.”
Steve Saka describes the 10th Jubilee as a totally new liga incorporating six tobaccos he had never previously used. The blend utilizes four finca-specific Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, each representing one of Nicaragua’s growing regions, paired with a Mexican Claro binder and an Ecuador Sumatran Negra wrapper.
Rather than placing the blend into a massive anniversary format, Saka determined that a classic 5 5/8 x 48 Corona Gorda parejo was the ideal size. As he put it, the liga simply “sings” in this relatively unassuming format.
The presentation follows the same philosophy. Instead of an elaborate anniversary cabinet, the cigars are presented in understated 13-count Simple SBN boxes with relatively simple rings. Saka described the 10th Jubilee as another “shot in the dark,” much like DTT’s first cigar—a fitting approach to celebrating the company’s first decade.
The 10th Jubilee is crafted by Nicaraguan American Cigar, S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua, with Steve Saka serving as master blender.
Cigar Specifications
Company: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Cigar: DTT 10th Jubilee
Master Blender: Steve Saka
Factory: Nicaraguan American Cigar, S.A.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Vitola: Corona Gorda Parejo
Dimensions: 5 5/8 x 48 (5.63 x 48)
Wrapper (Capa): Ecuador Sumatran Negra
Binder (Capote): Mexican Claro
Filler (Tripa): Four finca-specific Nicaraguan tobaccos representing four growing regions
Box Count: 13 cigars – MSRP:$18.95/cigar
Pre-Light Examination
The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee presents with a smooth, dark brown wrapper with a reddish tinge. It exhibits a slight oily sheen and gentle marbling throughout. There are a few veins running along the barrel, but nothing major or distracting from the overall presentation. The cigar is firmly packed from head to foot and finished with a well-formed button cap.
The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee features an elegant two-band presentation built around a classic black-and-gold color scheme. The primary band has an ornate, almost old-world appearance. A broad metallic-gold border frames a black field decorated with repeating gold scrollwork, flourishes and small floral-style medallions. At the center is a raised, multi-sided black panel surrounded by a heavily embossed gold frame. Inside sits the stylized DTT monogram, prominently rendered in gold.
The secondary band is considerably simpler and provides a nice contrast to the elaborate primary band. It features a clean black field edged by thin gold borders, with “10th Jubilee” scripted across the center in gold lettering. Together, the bands give the cigar an appropriately commemorative appearance without becoming overly flashy.
Running the cigar beneath the nose revealed something I wasn’t necessarily expecting: an intriguing woody aroma along the barrel. There was also some spice present, while the foot offered a fairly straightforward combination of spice and pepper.
I sliced the cap with my dual-blade cutter and proceeded with the cold draw. The draw offered a pleasing restriction and was quite flavorful. A natural sweetness was immediately noticeable from the wrapper on the lips, and that sweetness seemed to carry through the cigar and settle onto the tongue. A growing backdrop of peppery spice followed, producing a pleasant warming sensation across the palate. Beneath it all was even a subtle suggestion of cream.
This was a very tasty pre-light experience and had me interested in seeing how those initial sensations would translate once fire was introduced.
The Cigar Journey
I used my single-flame torch to warm the foot to an even orange glow. The tobaccos took readily to the flame, and a light gray, almost white ash quickly began developing above a thin char line. The opening puffs delivered a definite peppery note, particularly through the retrohale.
After about a half-inch of burn, however, the cigar began revealing another side of itself. A wonderfully refined tobacco sweetness emerged, soon accompanied by a sweet cream note. This was a delicious start.
As I worked through the first third, I began detecting the beginnings of what seemed to be a cocoa or chocolate note beneath the sweetness and cream. Oils were also beginning to develop beautifully on the wrapper immediately above the burn line. Smoke production was in the medium-to-full range, while the retrohale had already become remarkably smooth. The pepper that had defined the opening had settled considerably, leaving virtually no bite.
The burn through the first third was spectacular. A light-colored ash stacked tightly in a classic stacking-dimes formation over the thin char line. When the ash finally dropped in a solid chunk, it revealed what I would describe as a near-perfect burn cone. It was centered, well-defined and not overly pointed, displaying something of a rosebud appearance. This is exactly the kind of combustion I like to see in a well-constructed cigar.
Moving into the second third confirmed the chocolate I had sensed earlier. A defined creamy chocolate note entered the profile, complementing the lingering tobacco sweetness and cream. The oils continued to pop along the wrapper, and the new ash picked up where the first run had left off. There was only a mild wave in the burn line and nothing that required my attention. No touch-ups were necessary.
As I progressed through the second third, the chocolate became richer and darker, developing into a lingering dark chocolate note that remained on the palate between puffs. A mild spice began emerging deeper in the second third.
What impressed me was just how refined that spice remained. In fact, refinement was becoming the defining characteristic of the entire experience. The tobacco sweetness, cream, chocolate and spice transitioned smoothly without introducing any unwanted bite, edge or harshness. The finish remained equally smooth.
Moving into the final third, the spice began increasing while the dark chocolate gradually settled into the background. A mild woody note then developed as I moved deeper into the final section of the cigar. It added another dimension to the profile and was particularly interesting considering the unusual woody notes I had detected during the pre-light examination. The ash continued to hold well, dropping in manageable chunks throughout the journey.
From beginning to end, the DTT 10th Jubilee performed spectacularly. The cigar maintained excellent combustion and required no corrections throughout the experience. I took the cigar down through its final puffs with the increased refined spice and mild woody character bringing the journey to a satisfying conclusion.
Total Smoking Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Strength: Solid Medium
Final Analysis
The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust 10th Jubilee delivered a flavorful, refined and exceptionally well-constructed smoking experience. The journey began with a blast of pepper before quickly settling into a pleasant natural tobacco sweetness and sweet cream. The early suggestion of cocoa developed into creamy chocolate and eventually a richer dark chocolate through the second third. Refined spice increased toward the finish as the chocolate receded, while a mild woody note provided another layer in the final third.
Construction was outstanding. The thin char line, stacking-dimes ash, developing wrapper oils, beautifully formed burn cone and essentially correction-free burn were among the highlights of the experience.
The 10th Jubilee also didn’t rely on constant dramatic flavor changes to hold my attention. Instead, the cigar demonstrated its complexity through smooth transitions and refinement, allowing each component to build naturally upon what came before it.
The exceptional construction and spectacular burn certainly contributed to that score, but the cigar was much more than a technical success. The transition from tobacco sweetness and sweet cream into creamy and eventually dark chocolate was particularly enjoyable, while the refined spice and mild woody finish brought additional dimension to the latter portion of the journey.
For a cigar created to commemorate ten years of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, Steve Saka didn’t simply repackage an existing successful formula. He went back to the philosophy that helped launch DTT in the first place and took another shot at creating something different. Based on the cigars I smoked for this review, that shot landed quite well. This is certainly one I would smoke again and would say grab a box of these.
