Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Deadwood Dominicana Robusto is dark tan and has some raised, knotty veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are three bands, with the primary and secondary being creamy white, white with some red, blue and silver bordering. The primary denotes the line, along with the brand and manufacturer while the secondary denotes the brand and manufacturer. The foot has a white ribbon. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of cedar and paper while the foot brings cedar and barbecue smokiness. The pre-light draw brings an airy cedar along with a significant sweetness on my lips from the cap.
Seth: The Deadwood Dominicana Robusto is decent in appearance. It is not the best-looking Connecticut, but there is a nice golden hay coloring with the wrapper. It is silky in texture and sports medium sized veins throughout. The wrapper has an aroma of soft tobacco, earth and cedar, while the foot gives off some fruit, soft spice, rich earth and tobacco notes.
John: The Deadwood Dominicana Robusto comes in cellophane and features a UPC sticker with an integrated tear tab that allows it to remain intact when opened. It includes a primary Dominicana band, a secondary “Deadwood Tobacco by Drew Estate” band and a silver ribbon foot band. I weighed the cigar at 12.3 grams and measured the humidity at 64.2% using the CigarMedics HumidiMeter Pro. For aromas from the wrapper, I could pick out sweet tobacco and hay. Out of the foot, I was getting a sweet, almost infused spice note with faint hay underneath.
Jiunn: The Deadwood Dominicana Robusto has a Colorado Claro wrapper shade. The wrapper is both smooth and uniform in coloration. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas provide heavy sweetness mixed with a hint of savoriness to the cap as well as cedar and mixed nuts.

Deadwood Dominicana Robusto

First Third

Aaron: As the cigar begins, there is some lightly toasted cedar and some earth and black pepper, but then the sweetness from the cap rushes over it for the finish. At a quarter inch in, the core flavors increase in fullness a bit. At a half inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and some creaminess. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth and black pepper a bit behind and some creaminess in the background. The sweetness from the cap on my lips that transfers to my tongue has a constant place that just kind of encapsulates the other flavors. The strength was mild-medium.
Seth: The first third begins with a light sweetness, cedar, cream and soft earth. There is some tobacco notes present as well, but overall, the cigar is smooth, sweet and creamy. I would classify the cigar as being mild to mild-medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with sweet, herbal tobacco, followed by intensified sweetness through the finish and post draw—likely from a sweet cap. I find the retrohale presents creamy herbal tobacco with dry hay on the finish, and that same cap-driven sweetness on the post draw. As the third settles, savory tobacco notes begin to move into the center of the profile. Nearing the halfway point, as the sweet cap influence begins to fade, the lead shifts to mild creamy tobacco and hay.
Jiunn: Aside from the cloying sugar sweetness, there’s mixed nuts, edgy/raw cedar and associated wood bitterness. Retrohaling gives a nice dried red pepper spice and mixed nuts. The finish is seemingly forever as a result of the sugar sweetness on my lips. Strength and body is medium.

Deadwood Dominicana Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the creaminess picks up a bit and the pepper mellows slightly. At a half inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth, black pepper and some creaminess. At an inch in, the black pepper is now very mild. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth, with creaminess just behind the middle of the profile and black pepper in the background. The sweetness from my lips still remains, but isn’t as prominent as before. The strength remained at mild-medium.
Seth: The second third continues to deliver the same profile as before. There is a sweetness present on top of this cedar, cream and earth flavor profile. There are faint spice notes with the tobacco, but they are soft. Again, the cigar is smooth, sweet and creamy. Mild to mild-medium strength and body.
John: The second third begins with a combination of creamy tobacco, hay and earth, with earth lingering into the post draw. As the third settles, tannins enter the post draw, adding a subtle drying effect. Towards the bottom half of the third, earth in the post draw has mellowed to light-plus strength.
Jiunn: The second third’s flavor profile is intact. Still the same cloying sugar sweetness on my lips and palate with raw and bitter cedar and mixed nuts. The strength increases to medium-full, while the body remains medium.

Deadwood Dominicana Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth, black pepper and some creaminess. At an inch in a light vegetal note joined the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is ahead of the earth, with creaminess just behind the middle of the profile and black pepper in the background. The sweetness from my lips is pretty light now. The strength remained at mild-medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the first and second. The sweetness is not as present, but it is still delivering that cedar, cream and earth flavor profile. Faint spice and tobacco notes remain present on the finish. Like the first two thirds, the cigar is mild to mild-medium in strength and body.
John: The final third opens with sweet tobacco (still hinting at the remnants of the sweet cap), light-plus earth in the center, and hay on the finish. The post draw is defined by dry wood and hay. By the halfway mark of the final third, medium-strength earth reasserts itself and dominates the post draw.
Jiunn: The final third is still the same. Still the same cloying sugar sweetness on my lips and palate with raw and bitter cedar and mixed nuts. Strength and body is unchanged at medium-full and medium, respectively.

Deadwood Dominicana Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight through the first two thirds and then a bit wavy in the final third. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: The burn was good from start to finish. Not perfect, but good.
John: The burn was relatively straight in the first third. However, the cigar spontaneously went out at the beginning of the second third, requiring a re-light. Afterward, the burn line remained steady through the remainder of the review.
Jiunn: Burn performance was top notch, giving an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

Deadwood Dominicana Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was great throughout the cigar.
John: Measured at 50 inches of water using the CigarMedics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw was 2 notches toward the resistant side, which placed it just outside the optimal range.
Jiunn: The draw was also top notch, giving the ideal balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with some lightly toasted cedar and some earth and black pepper, but then the sweetness from the cap rushes over it for the finish. Some creaminess joined a bit later. The second third saw the creaminess pick up a bit and then the pepper mellowed during the duration of the third. The final third saw the toast level increase a bit and a vegetal note joined in. The Deadwood Dominicana Robusto had a nice start with a good combination of flavors and a sweetness that wasn’t too overpowering. The sweetness mellowed as the cigar went along and the profile dropped a level in the second third as the pepper waned. The profile remained at average for the rest of the cigar. I’d really like to smoke this without the sweetened cap just to get a feel for the tobacco profile on its own, but as it sits, it’s likely not a cigar that I’d return to.
Seth: I don’t like the bands against the cigar. I hate the white against the Connecticut wrapper, and throwing in additional colors makes it worse. As for the Deadwood Dominicana Robusto, it’s ok. There are better Connecticut releases on the market, and I would gravitate towards the Chateau Real or ACID 20 Connecticut over this smoke. The sweetness on the cigar was not bad, and it was soft, but I felt the overall blend was too soft with that profile. They could have added some more body, strength and complexity, and it would have made the cigar much better. They should have put some Nicaraguan tobacco in the filler. Not a blend I would come back to in the future.
John: The Deadwood Dominicana Robusto delivers a unique profile rooted in sweet herbal tobacco, influenced early on by a sweet cap that gradually fades to allow more natural tobacco character to emerge. While the flavor evolution is mild and the complexity limited, the cigar maintains consistent themes of hay, earth and creamy tobacco throughout. A spontaneous re-light held back construction slightly, and the draw was somewhat towards the resistant spectrum, requiring a little more effort to smoke than I would have preferred. This cigar will appeal to fans of sweet-capped blends or the Deadwood brand, and those looking for a lighter bodied, easygoing smoke. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Jiunn: Overall, this Deadwood Dominicana Robusto wasn’t for me. The major influence of the sweet cap was a bit much for me. However (and interestingly enough), that sweetness did a really good job of covering up the cedar rawness and bitterness. But as a whole, it’s not something I’d be interested in returning to.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$1.96

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.18

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.18

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.04

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Deadwood Dominicana Robusto