Bucanero Don Douglas Cabinet Churchill

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Churchill
Size : 6 7/8 X 48
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler : Dominican, Nicaraguan
Binder : Dominican (Aged 3 years)
Hand-Made
Price : $47.95 (Pack of 10)
More info about purchasing Bucanero cigars...

Ed, a cigar aficionado from MA, has just joined our team of reviewers. You can follow him on Twitter @chemed3196. Welcome!

Bucanero Cigars is a family-owned company that sells their cigars directly on their website (www.bucanerocigars.com). Robert Spoden does not make use of a sales force, and, other than their website, Bucanero does not advertise anywhere which results in quality cigars which are extremely affordable.

Bucanero Cigars is known as the "best of the best" in limited production cigar manufacturing awarded as such in 1999 as the Top 5 Limited Production Cigar Manufacture of the 20th Century Worldwide. Out of 774 cigar manufactures worldwide, the Cigar Industry Review Panel (1999) selected Bucanero Cigars as "Best of the Best" in limited production cigars [information from the Bucanero Cigar website].

This review features the Bucanero Don Douglas Cabinet Series Churchill. This cigar was rated “Excellent” in Smoke Magazine.

Appearance :
This cigar features two large veins running the length of the cigar. The natural wrapper can be described as caramel or toffee in color. The band can be described as fairly ornate - nice light yellow color with the face of a “Fidel Castro”-like gentleman smoking (what else) a cigar. The words “Don Douglas,” “Handmade,” “Bucanero Cigars,” and “Nicaragua” are also written on the band. This cigar had some flakes from the wrapper stemming from the cap. Not much attention was given to that imperfection as the flakes will be removed at the cut.

Construction and Pre-Light :
This is a well-constructed cigar; no soft or hard spots were noticed. The cigar felt nice and firm to the touch. The cigar had no oily sheen to it.

The wrapper had a cellar smell to it; the foot had a similar smell although it was faint. The cigar was cut using a Boston Cigar Company “Little Guy” V-cutter. The draw after the cut (and before the light) was very smooth, and it tasted like caramel or honey.

Flavor :
The initial flavors upon lighting the cigar was that cellar taste that was perceived from the wrapper. To be honest, I was expecting more of the honey/caramel taste that was noted from the wrapper. The cellar taste was not unpleasant, but not expected. The “homey” taste felt stronger in the mouth than the retrohale.
The ash was a nice light grey color, and it was fairly tight. A good 1.5 in. ash was obtained prior to tapping the cigar in the ashtray. The burn line was even throughout the smoke. The smoke can be classified as light, and it dissipated rather quickly.

Towards the end of the first third of the cigar, woody notes (oak) became more apparent. It did seem that the cigar became more balanced the further one got into the cigar. The cigar does feature a long finish, and it became more balanced and more mellow the further one got into the cigar.

Value :
The old cliché of “you get what you paid for” applies to this particular cigar; this is not meant as a negative criticism. For less than $5.00/stick, it is a good and affordable cigar; however, I am not sure I agree with Smoke Magazine’s classification as “Excellent.” Maybe “Good” would suffice in this case.

Overall Rating :
This is what I would consider a medium-bodied, medium-flavored cigar. For me, the biggest issue with this cigar was that original cellar smell from the wrapper and taste noted early in the cigar. True, it became more balanced towards the second third of the cigar. I like complex flavor profiles, but not this particular one. I believe this cigar is not for the novice smoker, but for a seasoned one; the home smell/taste may turn off a rookie smoker. Maybe this cigar would benefit from further aging in the humidor. I would be willing to give this one another try after a few months (or even a year) of aging.