Cigar Review: Balmoral Anejo 18

• Vitola: Rothschild Masivo
• 5″ x 55 ring gauge
• Wrapper : Brazilian
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Price ~ $14.00 (mine was gifted by a friend from D.E.)

Prior to receiving this cigar, I had never heard of Balmoral.  You may ask if that’s the a Royal Castle in Scotland, which you are correct.  But this is from a cigar company owned by the Royal Agio Company (a Dutch company) and distributed in the U.S. By Drew Estate. 

This cigar came in a little white box.  This little well made stick had a nice dark brown colour with little veins throughout. I could smell semi-sweet grass aromas as it laid in its box.  And after clipping the cap, I found that it a nice cold draw that was spot on with more of that grass scent. 

After toasting the foot, i took a few puffs and had a halo of smoke around me. I noticed that there were woodsy notes muddled with the grass. Going a little further unveiled a dash of cocoa in the first third of this stick.  

Hitting the halfway mark, I experienced a burst of leather. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was very pronounced.  And within 5 minutes it was gone again and back to the woodsy-grass notes from earlier.  

One thing that is very evident from smoking this cigar is the construction.  The ash held on for well over half the cigar.  I took the band off and it last a bit longer, but before I could snap the photo it finally fell.  But as you can see, this stick was no slouch.  

In the final third, the characteristics didn’t change much.  The woodsy notes remained, the leather was re-introduced but stayed subtle, and became lightly seasoned with pepper.  

The Balmoral Anejo 18 was a good cigar from a company I had not heard of before, but since the company is over 100 years old, one would hope they knew a thing or two about their craft.  

I found this cigar to be incredibly well constructed.  I found it to be a medium bodied cigar, but also not quite as deep in characteristics that I had anticipated.  It’s a solid cigar, but expected a bit more depth of flavour.  I’d probably have this cigar earlier in the day, or offer it to someone who doesn’t prefer more full- bodied cigars.  It’s something I’d smoke again, but not something I’d reach for when there’s a special occasion.  

Pre-light: 2/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavour: 3.5/5

Value: .5/1

Total: 8/10