It’s amazing how much Steve Saka loves Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco. His second release under the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust banner was Mi Querida (Spanish for “my mistress”). He has two spinoffs of the Mi Querida lines that also use Broadleaf wrappers, plus the Umbagog and its spinoffs, and the Red Meat Lovers, originally created for a Florida cigar group and distributed by Smoke Inn. It’s not available to all Dunbarton accounts.
The appearance is exquisite, from the smooth and oily wrapper, to the carefully rounded box press, to the tight pigtail cap. The wrapper had aromas of leather and ripe earth, while I got more earth and touches of coffee on the foot. The cold draw was excellent and tasted of cocoa powder, espresso bean, and a touch of dark chocolate bittersweetness.
Once lit, Red Meat Lovers had mix of the dark flavors of earth and coffee, along with brighter highlights of pepper spice and sweet chocolate. Despite this being the “Rib Eye” size it tasted nothing like a steak…which I can be thankful for. I’ll continue to buy these as long as Saka and Company continue to make them.
