Asylum 867 Auntie Petite Corona

At the start of 2022, Asylum and CLE developed three blends for the South Dakota-based retailer Deadwood Tobacco Company. The line was dubbed Chasing the Dragon, which included the Midnight Oil, Auntie, and Zero cigars. After the first year, it was taken to the national market in January 2023. This line was steeped, producing CLE’s take on a flavored cigar experience. Following the store release of this cigar, a lawsuit was filed by Drew Estate and the former owner of Deadwood Tobacco Company. The suit alleged copyright infringement against the Deadwood retailer for use of the “Deadwood” name, as Drew Estate and the former Deadwood owner—Vaughn Boyd—had been producing cigars under the Deadwood name (Sweet Jane and Leather Rose, among others) for more than a decade. This led to a rebranding, and the cigar was re-released under the Asylum banner as the Asylum 867 line.

Asylum 867 appeared in retail establishments in December 2023. Once again, there were three lines created, each with unique tobaccos and a steeping/flavoring process. This somewhat-secretive method is said to flavor the cigars, adding an exotic component to the aromas experienced when smoked. Asylum and CLE worked alongside “Wild” Bill Rectenwald and the team at Deadwood Tobacco Co. & Cigar Bar in Deadwood, South Dakota to collaborate on the updated rendition of the project.

“When Tom first came to me with this idea, I thought it was crazy enough to be an Asylum project. In the end Wild Bill and his team have brought to the table a blend that introduces a new dimension for the Asylum brand.” —Christian Eiroa, president of CLE Cigar Co.

Asylum 867 Auntie Petite Corona Breakdown

These three lines—Auntie, Zero, and Midnight Oil—seem to have been designed with similar tobacco blends. They differ, however, in their steeping flavors and varying sizes. The Auntie is produced as three smaller-gauged sizes. Zero is a larger cigar, with three traditional sizes. And Midnight Oil shows us the well-known, oversized, thicker cigars we expect from Asylum. The line was designed such that, as you smoke the cigars in increasing size (starting with the Auntie), the flavors will increase and intensify. In addition to the flavors brought on by steeping, the Asylum 867 blends have sweetened caps as well.

The three sizes of the Auntie are Corona, Petite Corona, and Lancero. The Zero consists of Robusto, Toro, and Churchill sizes. Finally, Midnight Oil contains the big boys: The 54, The 60, and The 70. Asylum does not go into much detail of the steeping process used for the flavoring of the Asylum 867 line.

Appearance

Asylum 867 Auntie has quite an impressive appearance. The band has orange and black coloring in its design, reminiscent of Halloween. The Asylum skull logo is in the center of the band, with the frontal part of the skull displaying the word “AUNTIE” in a horror-style font. Flanking the main crest of the band, in the same font, is seen “ASYLUM 867 AUNTIE.” Interestingly, the last line has some Asian characters resting beneath the cigar’s title. There is a three-quarter-length paper sheath that has tessellation of the Asylum skull Auntie logo. The boxes demonstrate the same look as the cigar band, with the black and orange colors. It also shows the Asian characters, which are larger and catch the eye on the inside cover and on the side of the box (as opposed to on the cigar, where you just barely see the symbols).

The Auntie wrapper is a satin, medium brown color, with many veins and a light seam noted. The cigar has a very soft, silky feeling to it. The band color and the wrapper really play well off each other.

Smoking Experience

The steeping and sweetened cap of the Asylum 867 Auntie are clearly noted right away. From the cap to the midway point of the cigar, there is a floral, sweet aroma. The foot of the cigar has a sweet cotton candy aroma. With a straight cut and a cold draw of the cigar, a rich maple syrup flavor coats the palate, even without the cigar being lit. After a proper toast, the cigar produces a billowing smoke output.

In just touching the Auntie to the lips, a sugary cap is noted. Intense floral and maple syrup flavors really take over, and enhance the aromatic experience. The flavors combine to remind me of the Christmas season. It is very difficult to pick up the traditional tobacco flavors and to identify the leaves which make up this blend. On the retrohale, there is a sharp holiday spice and burnt earth notes.

The draw for the Auntie is very loose, leading to a faster smoking experience. It continues to produce a high amount of smoke output from start to finish. Repeated retrohaling is at times hard to do due to the flavors being so intense. The burn line is sharp, and the ash is a light white gray color that stays on for about a half to one cm at a time. However, the burn temperature stays cool, despite the loose draw.

The steeping process seams to give the cigar a consistent flavor infusion from the cold draw to the very end. The palate is coated with a sweetness of maple syrup and cinnamon. The retrohale, when finished, stays with floral and cinnamon notes. Throughout the smoking experience, I am reminded of Christmas flavors and French toast. The flavors remain vibrant, and do not fade one bit through the smoking experience. At times, the Auntie feels more like smoking a pipe than a cigar.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

Asylum 867 Auntie is a well-made flavored cigar. The flavors are intense and consistent. One downside was the inability to pick up the Honduran tobaccos used to make up this cigar, as the aromatics were so intense. French toast and Christmas notes make for a good experience (as far as the flavored genre is concerned), and I think this would be something I’d like to smoke around the holiday season. I am generally not a flavored cigar smoker, only partaking occasionally during certain seasons of the year. That said, I’m unlikely to smoke this again, except perhaps a few times during the Christmas season when I’m in the mood for something different. However, if you are a fan of flavored cigars, you’ll most likely want at least a fiver to start. As for me, I would have preferred a little less steeping intensity and more of the tobacco flavor to come through.

• Despite the rebranding, at last check, the status of the lawsuit was unknown, and it appeared it had yet to be settled between the two sides.
• As of this writing, the Asylum 867 Auntie has a “90% Smokable” rating on Dojoverse, ranking in the bottom 48 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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