Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 448 (4 x 48) Cigar

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust is the boutique house of industry veteran Steve Saka, producing meticulously blended, full-flavored cigars in Nicaragua. Mi Querida — "my dearest," Nicaraguan slang for a man's secret mistress — arrived in 2016 as Saka's first Connecticut Broadleaf cigar after his years at Drew Estate. Triqui Traca, named for the strings of oversized firecrackers set off in Nicaraguan streets, grew out of the 2018 Mi Querida Firecracker made for Two Guys Smoke Shop and became a regular line in 2019; the No. 448 was announced at the 2021 PCA trade show and reached retailers in December 2021 as the size closest to the original Firecracker.

A rare Connecticut Broadleaf No. 1 Dark corona-priming maduro wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder, with Nicaraguan long fillers plus a high-octane Dominican ligero that gives Triqui Traca its extra punch over the original Mi Querida. The No. 448 is a 4 x 48 parejo finished with a tightly wound pigtail cap, a nod to the Firecracker that inspired the line. Hand rolled at the Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) factory in Estelí and packed in a simple SBN box of 20.

A bold, concentrated maduro profile that opens with mixed pepper, cocoa and earth, joined early by a dark blackberry sweetness. The middle lets the earth take the lead as cedar emerges, with musty toasted oak, espresso, baker's chocolate and leather filling in behind. Body and strength both land in the medium-to-full range, with the body keeping a slight edge.

Bourbon suits it well — reviewers have smoked the No. 448 alongside a pour of Russell's Reserve, whose own sweetness sits back and lets the cigar's dark, earthy core lead.

At roughly 30 to 45 minutes, this is a short smoke that delivers full-bodied flavor without the time commitment of a larger vitola — ideal when the window is tight but the craving isn't small.