Ashton ESG 21 Year Salute

Overall Score

1 review for Ashton ESG 21 Year Salute

  1. L**

    Ashton ESG 21 Year Salute

    Origin : Dominican RepublicAshton
    Format : Robusto
    Size : 5.25 x 52
    Ring : 52
    Wrapper : Dominican Republic
    Filler : Dominican Republic
    Binder : Dominican Republic
    Hand-Made
    Price : ~$20 each

    This is the robusto version of Ashton’s flagship line . . . the Estate Sun Grown. The ESG sports a celebrated wrapper grown on the Chateau de la Fuente farm in the Dominican Republic. Ashton claims that this wrapper has never been used on any other cigar it produces and that the series relies on rare tobacco to provide its rich, bold complexity. We’ll see if these claims are accurate.

    Appearance : [rating:5/5]
    Beautiful. This cigar is wrapped with a golden, brown leaf that has obviously been meticulously rolled. The ornate band just adds to the overall luster and gorgeous presentation of this stogie.

    Ashton ESG 21 Year Salute

    Construction : [rating:5/5]
    Perfect. The draw and burn were flawless. The cigar sported a beautiful ash too, which held long and firm.

    Ashton ESG 21 Year Salute

    Flavor : [rating:4/5]
    After lighting, I was surprised to find sweet and mellow tastes, rather than a peppery blast. I guess I’ve smoked too many VSG’s, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first half of the smoke exhibited a refined earth and leather taste. At the halfway mark, this cigar burst into an array of flavors. I detected chocolate, cinnamon, nuts and, at times, a wonderful cedar taste. I was quite delighted by the complexity of flavors presented in this stogie. My only complaint was that the cigar was very much on the mild side. Even though there were numerous flavors present throughout the smoke, I felt that there was really no “punch” to the cigar. Also, the flavors are not as rich as I would expect.

    Value : [rating:2/5]
    Quite frankly, this cigar is priced at more than double its worth. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of good in this stick, but there are many, many cheaper cigars that rival it. While I won’t name other brands, the VSG line from Ashton exhibits as many flavors and provides a stronger, more pleasing smoke, at least to me.

    Overall Rating : [rating:3.5/5]
    Ashton advertises and prices this cigar as a top-of-the-line smoke. Quite simply, it’s not. There are plenty of smokes at half its price that offer a similar or better experience. For instance, you can pick up an Ashton VSG that will rival, if not exceed, this particular smoke. Staying in the family, pretty much any Opus X will surpass this experience, and most sell for half the price. In the end, this cigar is just too expensive. It is a nice experience, but not worth the price of admission.

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    Helpful?
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    • A***

      My review of the Ashton ESG (22 Year Old Salute)

      To celebrate twenty consecutive years of increased sales and overall growth, Robert Levin and Carlos Fuente Jr. have teamed up to create the Ashton Estate Sun Grown, or ESG for short. Such a special occasion called for a very special cigar. The ESG uses a unique Dominican wrapper grown on the Chateau de la Fuente farm in the Dominican Republic. This wrapper has never been used on any other cigar. The blend is the creation of Carlos Fuente Jr.

      Appearance & Construction: The Ashton ESG is a gorgeous looking cigar with a beautiful medium brown colored wrapper that exhibits a very fine tooth. There are virtually no veins in this torpedo and the roll is flawless. The band is very intricately done and has plenty of gold accents.

      Ashton ESG Review

      Smoking Characteristics: Once I opened up the cigar enough it drew nicely. But the first cut did not produce a good enough draw so I clipped it down a bit more with my Xikar and voila! The burn was off from the get go because of a horrible light on my behalf. I used a soft flame lighter, which I rarely do and didn’t quite get it lit evenly in the beginning, hence the burn suffered. I take all responsibility for the bad burn of this cigar however the ash is a different story. The ash is a nice white gray color but flowered in areas and flaked off everywhere. By the time the cigar concluded I had a nice mess going on; my laptop, and my jacket had ash all over. The body of this cigar is medium.

      Flavor: The Ashton ESG has a nice woodsy core with notes of orange peel, cinnamon, nuts, and leather. The flavors of this cigar are extremely smooth and are balanced to perfection. The second third was much of the same complex flavors but with a bit more body. In the final third the body amped up even more and the leatheriness was more pronounced.

      Final Thoughts: Throughout the cigar I could not help comparing it to and Fuente Fuente Opus X. The flavor profile is similar however I think I prefer the ESG over the Opus. The flavors were much more smooth, more balanced, and it had a bit more complexity to it. This cigar is a winner but for $25, you better believe these will only be for special occasions.

    • B***

      Sadly I tried one of these the other night and felt like I had been taken. I will even do you one better. I feel this cigar is average at best and I would pay about $5 for another.

    • d****

      finally a website cigar review that’s honest. I think the VSG is a much better cigar just of the bat. Then you throw in the prices and it’s a no brainier.

    • C**** M*

      Thanks for the review! It sounds like I’ll be sticking with the VSG which is pricey enough for me!

    • z********

      Hi Lee, Don’t know about you, they are the best cutters far and away even more then the Xikar cutter! Always a perfect cut. I use them over a more expensive scissor received as a gift when I 1st started on cigars.

    • L**

      ztop . . . love the Xikar scissors!!

    • S******

      First. Those are great pics. I love the cigar against the weathered wood. Second. Awesome honest review. It’s too bad the price would keep most away from this one. It sounds okay but I know I’ll get more from many others for a lot less. Thanks again.

    • C***

      ztopcat13 was right.

    • z********

      Way overpriced in my opinion, for that price you could get a real nice Cuban like a Partagas Salomones for $18.50, a VR Unico, A Cohiba Sublime or Trinidad FUNDADORES could be bought for the price of that Dominican. Nice to see someone else who uses the Xikar scissor, I never have a cigar without having it with me!

    • M*********

      This is the ESG 21 Year, which I didn’t find to be as good as the 20 Year or 22 Year. Definitely pricey but worth smoking at least once.

    • k*******

      Sadly that’s about what I expected from this cigar. I was excited when they announced it’s release but I figured that it would not live up to the hype.

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Cigar Region Dominican Republic
Filler Dominican
Wrapper Dominican Republic
Binder Dominican Republic
Length 5 1/4
Ring Gauge 52
Vitola Robusto
Construction Hand Made
Price Paid $20