Thinking about the previous 4 installments of this series, I was a little shocked that there were so many “milder” cigars in the Saints & Sinners set. A couple were pretty good to me…the other two were kind of…well, disappointing. So now we come to S&S 2025 #5 and see what it brings to the party.
I could tell just from looking that the dark chocolate colored wrapper likely meant a Maduro of some sort. Judging from the particular earthy quality of the aroma, I’m inclined to think this is a Mexican Tuxtla leaf, especially since it’s been one of Pete Johnson’s favorite wrappers for a few years now.
The cold draw was effortless and had sweet notes of chocolate and dark fruit, along with some earth and cedar. Lighting it up amped up the earth, along with coffee bean and unsweetened cocoa powder. There was a subtle sweetness that came through in moments after I would puff, then a mild pepper spice on the finish. The retrohale had a lot more pepper, but still nothing earthshaking.
It didn’t surprise me a bit that this ended up being my favorite of the 5 blends from this year’s member kit…what surprised me is how much better it seemed to be. This is definitely one that I would buy in the store if I knew what the actual blend is…and if it’s indeed something that is regularly released. Great way to wrap up the series!
