Since debuting in 2015 at the IPCPR trade show, Dunbarton’s booth has maintained largely the same look and feel, only expanding its footprint year after year. This continued at PCA 2021, being among the few exhibitors to grow in size (roughly 25 percent).
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust was one of the bigger attractions of the show, being one of the few companies to introduce a new core-line product. The cigar is dubbed StillWell Star, which company owner, Steve Saka, had been teasing since the TPE trade show in May. One week before the PCA show, Saka revealed the cigar’s details through social media, being described as “the world’s first luxury pipe tobacco cigar.”
StillWell Star draws inspiration from the contemplative process of pipe smoking, with Saka noting, “[…] one needs to be ‘still’ in order to be rewarded with the feeling of wellness. Be Still, Be Well.”
There are four versions of StillWell Star available at launch: Aromatic No. 1, English No. 27, Bayou No. 32, and Navy No. 1056. Each are sized at 6″ x 52 and make use of a similar wrapper/binder recipe, including a high-priming Grade-A Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and San Andrés Negro binder. The fillers (Nicaraguan) have been custom tailored to the various pipe tobaccos used.
Saka worked closely with Jeremy Reeves, head blender for Cornell & Diehl, on the pipe tobacco blends in order to ensure a proper burn and flavor harmony. This includes an aromatic blend (No. 1), a classic English style (No. 27), perique (No. 32), and a navy blend (No. 1056). The descriptions of each unique blend are listed in more detail on the foot of each cigar box.
There are roughly 20,000 boxes of 13 cigars available for launch in late fall, though the project is ongoing and production will expand to meet demand. Pricing is set at $15.30 MSRP per cigar.
Other new projects included the Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 448 and the Sin Compromiso Paladin de Saka. The former is essentially the Mi Querida Triqui Traca Firecracker cigar—an annual limited release with Two Guys Smoke Shop over the last three years—which is now a regular release. The cigar is described as the strongest blend in the Dunbarton portfolio. It is priced at $8.95 MSRP and will release in the Sep. to Oct. timeframe.
Sin Compromiso Paladin de Saka is the most expensive cigar to date from Dunbarton, listed at $29.75 MSRP. This is a stronger version of the traditional Sin Compromiso blend, showing a more rigid box-press and adding Pennsylvania ligero within the filler. The cigars are also said to be aged for a full year before being shipped, with limited/ongoing production moving forward. This is set to launch in the Nov. timeframe.
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