Undercrown Shade Gran Toro (6 x 52) Cigar

Undercrown began as the factory rollers' own cigar — when overwhelming demand for Liga Privada meant Drew Estate's team could no longer burn through that blend at work, they built a cigar of their own from similar tobaccos. Undercrown Shade, announced ahead of the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show, is the Connecticut-wrapped chapter of that story: master blender Willy Herrera challenged the original Undercrown rolling team to create a Connecticut blend that would satisfy his palate, a process that took more than a year. It was the first cigar Herrera blended at Drew Estate outside the Herrera Esteli family, and it launched in the same six vitolas as the original San Andres-wrapped line.

A silky Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Sumatra binder and long-fillers of Dominican Criollo '98 with Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo — a full reblend rather than a wrapper swap on the original Undercrown. Handmade at Drew Estate's La Gran Fabrica in Estelí, Nicaragua. Gran Toro format, 6 x 52. Box count: 25 cigars.

Medium-bodied and notably smooth, the Gran Toro opens on cream and wood with a slight red pepper note underneath, the wood soon turning to a sweet cedar spice. Cream moves to the forefront through the first third alongside a light fruit sweetness and a distant toasty note, while the retrohale carries black pepper and cedar. Cedar and red pepper step up as the primary notes in the last third, giving the finish a little more spice.

The creamy cedar-and-caramel profile pairs naturally with a latte or another milder, milk-forward coffee.

A roughly 90-minute smoke well suited to a relaxed, reflective morning.