At this years Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE), Kevin Schweitzer, owner of the Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group (VRCG), introduced a new line extension to his company’s acclaimed Dominican Blue line of cigars. The new extension was a box pressed Churchill of the blend.
This new line extension expresses the Dominican Blue blue blend in a (7 x 48) box pressed vitola and comes packaged in 20-count boxes with an MSRP of $9.00/cigar. This elegant cigar joins the Short Pyramid and Pig Tailed Finished Toro in the VRCG Dominican Blue line.
The blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder – Sumatra
- Filler – Dominican Piloto and Seco HVA
The VRCG Dominican Blue line is the creation of legendary cigar maker, Victor De La Cruz in collaboration with Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group (VRCG) owner, Kevin Schweitzer.
In the press release, Schweitzer noted:
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Victor de la Cruz and his Tabacalera L&V S.R.L factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. This box pressed Churchill truly brings out the flavors of the Dominican Blue blend. Victor is a legend in the industry and a master blender going back decades in the business.”
For this review, I sampled three Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group (VRCG) Dominican Blue Box Pressed Churchills that I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press. The most recent cigar sampled has been aging in my humidor for close to a year.
Pre-Light Examination
The VRCG Dominican Blue Box Pressed Churchill is a rather rustic looking cigar with some bumps and veins running through the dark brown and marbled wrapper. The cigar is softly boxed pressed and has a mild oily sheen. The barrel has a decent firmness to the touch. A simple cap finishes the presentation.
Like the original vitolas in the line, it is adorned with a band uses a bright gold and blue motif with the Rock-A-Feller logo proudly emblazoned in the center. The bottom of the band includes images of the Dominican flag on both sides of the VRCG shield. I like the choice of colors for the band as it really pops on the background of the cigar. There is also a bright blue satin footer band applied.
I stabbed the foot with my CigarMedics HumidiMeter and got a perfect reading of 65% humidity, perfect to start the journey.
I ran the cigar across my nose and picked up a light sweet spice note along the barrel while the foot exudes an inviting almost candied fruit like sweetness. Enticing indeed!
Once I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder, I proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that I found to be quite pleasant with a hints of earth, sweetness, and spice prepping the palate for what is yet to come.
My double flame torch was perfect for warming the foot to an even orange glow as I drew in the first puffs of peppery and cedar laden smoke. Follow along as I burn this one to ash!
Cigar Review Notes
- White pepper opens the vault of flavor along with notes of cedar off the first puffs
- Fruit notes quickly join the profile
- Thick and creamy smoke is at full volume
- Bright white ash forms on a thin char line
- Slight wave in burn forms
- Light citrus and spice develop
- Ash fall in a big chunk revealing a well formed an centered burn cone
- Toasted caramel aroma
- Spice notes build moving through the second third
- Slight off burn but does not require any touch-up
- Sweet cedar notes dance back in deep in the second third
- Aroma shifts to a sweet nut moving into the final third
- Mild to Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Overall, the Vintage Rock-A-Feller Cigar Group (VRCG) Dominican Blue Box Pressed Churchill was a mild to medium strength and elegant smoking experience. With rich notes spice and sweet cedar forming a core it had pleasantly balanced flavor and aroma nuances moving in and out through the journey. This is a cigar both a new and experienced enthusiast would enjoy any time of the day. It did have a mild wave in the burn throughout along with a slight off burn in the second third but did not require any touch-ups. This is worth picking up a fiver of for sure and let a few age. I rate this a 94.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Off Burn
Bonus Points: (+1) Positive experience through multiple samples; (+1) Complex in flavor and aroma
