Every year at the annual Premium Cigar Association trade show, there is plenty to see and talk about. As in previous years, it was my pleasure to sit with Steve Saka, owner of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT), as we caught up on the past year and looked to the future. This year, DTT had a couple of new offerings and some repackaging to showcase at the show.
- Mi Querida® Triqui Traca
- Sobremesa Brûlée
- Todas Las Dias – Repackaged
The Mi Querida® Triqui Traca
A lot of Spanish to learn in this cigar blend, but once you do, the “me kay-ree-dah tree-kee trah-ka“, should be the boldest, DTT cigar, you have smoked to date.
At its core, it remains the quintessential Mi Querida blend with its earthy, sweet broadleaf notes, but with the incorporation of a couple refinements.
The capa has been switched from the traditional Connecticut Broadleaf Mediums to the rarer No. 1 Dark corona leaves plus a unique, high octane ligero grown in the Dominican Republic has also been introduced into the liga. The resulting cigar retains its inherent sweet loam and chocolate characteristics, yet delivers a significantly heavier smoking experience.
Steve Saka
The company will offer the Mi Querida Triqui Traca to Select Purveyors and will be initially available in only two vitolas each packaged in 20-count SBN boxes.
- No. 552 – 5 x 52 MSRP $10.75
- No. 648 – 6 x 48 MSRP $11.75
The cigars feature a red band and chevron on the box corner to easily identify them from the core Mi Querida liga.
Initial availability of these cigars will be extremely limited due to tobacco constraints. The anticipated ship date to those Select Purveyors who order at this year’s trade show is September 2019.
If you are wondering what Triqui Traca stands for, Steve explains:
’Triqui Traca’ is Nicaraguan slang for oversized firecrackers that are connected by fuses in a long serial string. These explosive ropes are then laid down in the center of a street and sometimes stretch multiple blocks. Ignited from one end, they explode in a cascading line of powerful concussions and blinding light down the entire length of the street.
Triqui Traca are often lit in celebration of important religious and national holidays.
Steve Saka
The Sobremesa Brûlée
Steve Saka explains:
Sobremesa Brûlée is a recreation of the milder, shade wrapped ligas of my early years. Somewhere over the last three decades many of the classic shade cigars have become wispy, uninspiring and rather dull to my palate. I wanted to share with others the way I remember these blonde cigars being.
Also as ligador and tobacco man, I do not understand the recent trend of making strong Connecticut Shade cigars aka “not your grandfather’s cigar.
Steve Saka
The full blend is described as:
- Capa (Wrapper) – Ecuador Connecticut Shade G2BW
- Capote (Binder) – San Andreas Negro
- Tripa (Filler) – Nicaraguan
Sobremesa Brûlée will be offered to Select Purveyors and it will be available in three vitolas:
- Brûlée Robusto – 5.25 x 52
- Brûlée Toro – 6 x 52
- Brûlée Gordo – 6.25 x 60
The Sobremesa Brûlée comes packaged in 13-count dress boxes and carry an MSRP ranging from $12.45 to $13.95 per cigar. They are shipping now.
Repackaging of the Todas Las Dias
The company also repackaged the Todas Las Dias line, changing the box design to include a black inside cover with the TLD logo in white, in addition to a black inner box trim. The design makes the presentation more noticeable on a humidor shelf. The design changes the presentation by placing the cigars in a traditional row, as opposed to the original vertical placement. The band has also been changed to be bright white and black.
