I’m back in the garage for some more work on the whiskey barrel lid guitar. Due to the size and shape of the lid boards, I have to build the body in four sections. So today I need to get the layout of the top piece and glue together some boards for the first top section. I chose to smoke a cigar that I have been looking forward to smoking since I first heard mention of the blend prior to release. The 3 Kingdoms by Stolen Throne Cigars is the third regular production release by the company and joins the Crook of the Crown and Call to Arms. I spoke with owner Lee Marsh who had this to say about this release:
“It’s an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper over Nica binder and mostly Nica fillers. We are keeping some info undisclosed. The name comes from being the third regular production and the fact that we sourced tobacco from three different countries. This is also a special cigar because it’s utilizing the first tobaccos that we processed from raw ourselves.”
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Rojas Cigar Factory
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua & Undisclosed
Vitola: 5 x 50 Robusto
Price: $10.00 MSRP
Release Date: November 2021
Company Website: https://www.facebook.com/StolenThroneCigars/
This 3 Kingdoms has a veiny, medium dark wrapper with a firm pack, dense feel, and closed foot. I like the color combination of the band, but am indifferent on the design. I do, however, always like the band material. The cigar smells faintly like a barnyard, in a good way. The cold draw is near flavorless, likely due to the closed foot restricting air flow. First light shows medium body smoke with full flavors of leather, earth, and a bit of aggressive pepper. The retrohale is very gritty earth and dark fruits. About a half inch in the aggression settles down. A somewhat salty, savory vegetal note has joined in on the draw. About an inch in some cream appears and the pepper is out for the most part. There is still a vegetal earth component and a bit of leather as well. The performance has been perfect and the draw is great. The retrohale shows some pepper, fruit sweetness and more cream. The ash dropped just into the second third. The fruit from the retrohale is beginning to appear on the draw along with some subtle wood and spices. The profile is a bit drying at this point. The draw is medium to medium-full in flavor and body. There is no noticeable strength to this point. The retrohale is full, still holding on to some pepper and cream with a more vanilla sweetness than fruit. Crossing halfway it’s back up to full flavor. There’s like a burnt pastry note in there that's pretty interesting. The finish is showing some slightly bitter wood and pepper. The retrohale has a bit of acrid bitterness but with some citrus that cuts through. I dropped the ash because the draw had loosened up considerably and the smoke became thinner, almost like I hit a spot where the filler wanted to tunnel. Fortunately it’s not tunneling, so it must just have been a soft spot in the pack. Entering the final third the draw is still quite loose and the smoke is still thin. The bitterness and burnt pastry had quickly faded. It’s cream and citrus right now with some wood on the finish. Into the band point some earth is coming back in and the draw and smoke level are back to normal. Coming to an end at about an hour and 25 minutes, the flavor and body are full, the strength is up to medium. The flavors are primarily citrus, cream, a bit of wood and earth, with a touch of pepper on the finish. The retrohale is more creamy and nutty with a bit of citrus still punching through.
Overall, I enjoyed this cigar. There were no mind blowing flavors but the overall profile was dynamic and flavorful. The cigar came out of the gate with some full, bold flavors and aggression that I attribute to the wrapper leaf burning on the closed foot. I enjoyed the way that these became more an accent to a balanced blend as the cigar burned. Throughout there was always a nice medley of savory and sweet flavors. The only exceptions would be the spot where the draw loosened way up and the smoke quality weakened. However, these are handmade products and there will be occurrences like that. Fortunately, it did not impact the cigar moving past it and it certainly did not taint any aspect of the experience for me. As far as the 3 Kingdoms’ place in the Stolen Throne lineup, I think this cigar hits the mark as a unique experience in the portfolio.
This cigar was acquired through a friend of mine. A google search will reveal some online resources for these cigars, or check with your local B&M retailer.
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.