DREW ESTATE ANNOUNCES UNDERCROWN SHADE

With the IPCPR quickly approaching, Drew Estate has provided a look at what they’ll be offering at their booth. As with 2014, this year’s showcase cigar features a Willy Herrera blend, only this time it doesn’t fall under the “Herrera” line of cigars—instead, you will find a return to the Undercrown line, one of Drew Estate’s most popular cigar brands.

Denoting the cigar’s Ecuadorian “shade grown” Connecticut wrapper, this release is branded Undercrown Shade, and features a contrasting, light and delicate wrapper—compared against the heavy, Mexican maduro of the traditional Undercrown. But, as many are aware, the original Undercrown was said to be created by the Drew Estate rollers, in an effort to create a more affordable and available variant of the prestigious Liga Privada line of cigars. The company hasn’t forgotten this either, explaining that the blend was again crafted by the same rolling team, with Willy acting as the judge.

Since day one, Drew Estate has demonstrated that no premium cigar company better understands its team, and that the heart of the company is the production floor and factory. This is why I chose to work closely with the rollers responsible for the original Undercrown blend, and challenged them to create a Connecticut blend that would satisfy my palate. It was a long road, taking more than a year to develop. In the end, it was a very rewarding process, as finding a Connecticut blend to fit my palate wasn’t easy. We finally found a marriage of Drew Estate’s unique tobaccos that we believe is really special, and we’re excited to share the new blend with everyone at the IPCPR show.Willy Herrera

Undercrown Shade Breakdown

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Sumatra
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98 – Nicaraguan Criollo & Corojo
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate (Nicaragua)
Production: Regular Release (shipping Fall 2015)
Vitolas: six sizes (25-count boxes)
Price: $7.50 – $9.95

With a release date scheduled for this fall, the new Shade cigars will arrive in 25-count boxes, mirroring the sizes of the original Undercrown cigars (excluding limited releases such as Dogma, Corona ¡Viva!, Flying Pig, and ShadyXV).

These sizes include a Belicoso (6 x 52, MSRP$9.00), Corona Doble (7 x 54, MSRP$9.50), Corona (5 5/8 x 46, MSRP$7.50), Gordito (6 x 60, MSRP$9.95), Gran Toro (6 x 52, MSRP $8.25), and Robusto (5 x 54, MSRP $7.75).

“The final blend is medium-bodied, lush & ultra-smooth, flavors that only a shade grown wrapper can deliver,” according to the Drew Estate press release.