Who let the Dawgs Out! Erik Espinosa – that’s who.
Once an event only cigar, the Alpha Dawg by Espinosa Cigars has been let out to the public for all to enjoy. Of course the cigar had to have a packaging design, if it was to be sold in production. Enter the Espinosa fan base. Erik decided to let his fans decide the blend and packaging concept at last years La Zona Palooza held at Espinsosa Cigars headquarters in Miami. I am told there was three designs to choose from and fans attending the event got to vote. The result is now the Alpha Dawg.
So here we are in 2017 and I finally got my hands on an Alpha Dawg. I have to thank Espinosa cigars and Smoke Inn for letting the dawgs out, and adding these to the fabulous list of premium cigars received at the Great Smoke 2017. The Alpha Dawg is a stunning cigar to look at with its milk chocolate-brown wrapper that has a slight sheen to the leaf and a tinge of red clay color. It is adorned with two bands – the primary is a red, white, and silver band with the word “Espinosa” printed across the front and “Alpha Dawg” under it; a red satin band finishes the cigar on the foot.
The Espinosa Alpha Dawg comes packaged in 10-count, black, cabinet style, boxes. The lid is black and white drawing of Erik and the words “Alpha Dawg” acorss the bottom. I have to say I think the fans picked the right design, but then again I did not see the losing concepts.
The Espinosa Alpha Dawg is available in 3 vitolas:
- Corona Gorda – 5.5 x 46 – MSRP $8.00
- Robusto – 5 x 50 – MSRP $8.25
- Short Churchill- 6 x 48 – MSRP $8.75
The blend on the Alpha Dawg is described as:
- Wrapper – Habano Rosado Oscuro
- Binder – Nicaraguan
- Footer – Nicaraguan
Since cigars were made to enjoy, and this one has rested for a couple of weeks, it was time to let the Dawg out! I decided to listen to some Led Zepplin live from ’73, the Alpha Dawgs of rock and roll, to keep me company on this smoking journey
For this review I sampled the Espinosa Alpha Dawg Short Churchill
Cigar Review Notes
- Sweet nutty aroma on the foot
- Nice draw with just a tinge of pepper and some natural tobacco sweetness,
- Rolling it around a but I also picked up a light cinnamon spice
- The wrapper has a gentle mottling to it and the near invisible veins
- First light offered a full creamy body of smoke with a peppery retro hale
- Earth and oaky wood add to the profile
- Fruit wraps the smoke nicely as the pepper moves in and out
- Creamy cafe late enters at the end of the first third
- Ash is solid white
- I just love how the fruit and coffee are blending
- Spice moving in again as the ash continues to hold strong into the second third
- Smoke pleasantly mellows out deep into the second third
- Sweet maple syrup aroma builds into the final third
- Strength creeps up to a solid medium-plus
- Finishes with a sweet cinnamon spice
- Total Smoking Time was one hour and 15 minutes down to the nub
Overall, the Espinosa Alpha Dawg is a cigar that needed to be let out to the masses. This was nothing short of an enjoyable smoke that burned well with lots of flavor to please your palate. The price make this an easy box buy and would leave you some coin to pick up a nice aged rum to pair them with.
Espinosa Alpha Dawg