Woodworking Sessions: Apostate Cigars The Deseret

I’ve mentioned in a previous Woodworking Sessions review about the whiskey barrel guitar I am building for Whiskey & Whitetails. This morning I am getting into rough cutting the neck, shaping the headstock, and cutting fret slots. This neck has been an interesting build since it was built from 3 barrel staves laminated together. It is not the easiest material to work with given each stave had unique contours and dimensions. Due to the different widths of the staves, the width of the neck blank was limited and thus required some planning for the headstock design and tuner positioning. It has taken some time and brainpower, but it’s coming together.

As for the cigar accompanying me today, I am going with an interesting cigar, released by Apostate Cigars, called The Deseret. Apostate Cigars is a new, Utah based company. In fact, according to their website, “Apostate Cigars proudly stands as Utah’s only premium cigar producer.” Apostate is a term that describes a person who abandons religious beliefs and is fitting as the designs and names for the products released from the company surround Mormon culture. A culture that does not condone cigar consumption. 

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Factory: Tabacalera Palma

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Maduro, Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade Accents

Binder: Dominican Piloto

Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua

Vitola: 5 ½” x 54 Robusto

Price: $13.00 MSRP

Link to PurchaseGuitars & Cigars Farm

Release Date: November 2021

Company Website: www.apostatecigars.com 

This is a very interesting looking cigar with the wrapper accents at the foot and head, and the pigtail cap. The accents are kind of cheesy, but the color contrast is attractive. I like the band color choices against the darker San Andres wrapper. The band is over my head in terms of the references, but I like it and I like the color choices. The cigar smells like sweet cinnamon and damp earth. The cold draw has a lot of honey and a bit of bread. First light is full bodied and flavored smoke with a lot of savory wood, some saltiness, a mineral quality, and a molasses like sweetness. The retrohale reminded me of root beer straight away - sweet, vanilla, and some spices. This is off to a great start. About 3/4” in the flavor profile is holding fast with the exception of the molasses becoming more like honey. The retrohale has become more baking spice forward. Nearing the end of the first half it’s become more bready than woody and the honey sweetness is still apparent. There’s also a little spice and pepper. This is a great combination for the morning. Going into the second third this cigar is performing perfectly and maintaining a full body and flavor. Some of the savory, smokey wood is coming back in. The pepper is more distinctly black pepper. Passing halfway there’s a nice bread crust on the finish and there’s still some wood, pepper, spice, and honey on the draw. The honey and bread crust are a great combination. Entering the final third there are still the primary components, but now with the addition of a bit of coffee showing up. Hitting the primary band the draw has shifted to a very dark roast coffee forward profile with the savory wood being more secondary. The sweetness is fleeting but still present. Coming to an end at an hour and 40 minutes, there are no changes to the flavor profile. It maintained a full level of flavor and body throughout with no noticeable strength. 

Overall Experience

I really enjoyed this cigar. It had a great flavor profile that hit the spot for my palate. The base of the profile was darker and more savory, but there was always a balancing honey sweetness that really rounded it out nicely. Interestingly enough, I do not care for honey, but whenever I get it in a cigar, I really enjoy it. I find it very neat that I didn’t read the description on the website for the meaning of the name “Deseret” until a day after smoking it, but it turns out it is a scriptural term that means “Honeybee”. The performance of this cigar deserves to be mentioned as well. It burned flawlessly for the rather lengthy smoke time. I have a couple other Apostate Cigars to smoke for review that I am looking more forward to now, as I did have my reservations leading up to this review because, to be frank, I thought it was a bit of a gimmicky concept. However, I can say that these cigars are certainly legit.

Try The Apostate yourself at Guitars & Cigars Farm. Use code “WW10” for 10% off your entire order, plus signup and start earning rewards points!

Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or via email at trevor@whiskeyandwhitetails.com.


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