Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched comes in a wooden coffin. After removing the rectangle pressed cigar from the coffin and cellophane, a uniform, dark brown wrapper with some thick but lightly raised veins are present. The seams are smooth and the head is finished off with a tightly would pigtail. There is just a yellow ribbon foot band that denotes the line and sub line. The aroma from the wrapper is dark earth and cocoa with light amounts of smokiness and spice. The foot brings lightly smoky cedar and some spiciness. The pre-light draw brings an aged cedar and light mustiness.
Seth: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched is one of the most beautifully pressed cigars I have even seen. Great pigtail cap. Firm throughout. Wrapper has great coloring. Colorado to Colorado Maduro. Chocolate coloring. Veins throughout. Aromas of rich earth, manure, fruit compote and leather.
John: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched comes in a wooden coffin with a slide top that has Muestra de Saka and an owl etched on the lid. The cigar comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker or main band, but does have a yellow foot band ribbon indicating The Bewitched. If all of that wasn’t enough, the cigar also has an artisanal complication of a pigtail cap, and is box pressed. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet tobacco, raisin and aged wood. From the foot, an intense raisin and tobacco sweetness, and underneath that faint earth and hay.
Jiunn: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched has a soft box press to the even Colorado Red wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head is well wrapped. Aromas from the wrapper tell of ample barnyard, burnt cedar and hay. Aromas from the foot give a nice dose of dry red pepper spice and hay. Cold draw reveals roasted mixed nuts, brioche bread and dry red pepper spice on the tip of the tongue.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with cedar, dark earth and baking spice. At a half inch in, some bakers chocolate becomes present. The retrohale is a creamy mix of cedar and earth with a light baking spice. The retrohale gains some of the bakers chocolate at about an inch and a half in. As the third comes to a close, the profile is cedar, earth and bakers chocolate even up front, with baking spice in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with sweet spice notes. I am picking up some red pepper and cinnamon notes, and they are paired with bits of coffee beans, leather, tobacco, earth and wood. The cigar is smoking at a medium-full level for strength and body.
John: The opening flavors are creamy baking spices, wood, as wood and delayed baking spices trail into the post draw at medium to medium-plus strength. After a few puffs, a chewy sweetness also joins the post draw. As the first third settles in, a mildly dry wood moves into the center of the profile. Some time later, light chocolate breaks through the retrohale.
Jiunn: The first third shows good balance and composure. A well melded flavor profile of brioche bread, cedar, dried red pepper and slightly over-extracted coffee beans. Retrohaling brings added minerals and creates creamy and subtly sweet roasted nuts. The finish has a combination of slightly over extracted coffee beans and minerals. Strength is medium plus and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth becomes a bit dry. At a half inch in, the cedar gains a light toast. The retrohale is now cedar, earth, bakers chocolate and light baking spice. At an inch in, the bakers chocolate is starting to fade. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and dry earth are even up front with the bakers chocolate a bit behind and light baking spice in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The second third delivers that flavor profile of coffee beans, earth, leather, cocoa, pepper and cinnamon spices. Very similar to before. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: Baking spices start things off at just a hair over medium, as earth and wood combine in the center of the profile. Wood lingers between draws on my palate through the post draw. As the second third settles in, some citrus astringency starts to show up at the end of the draw. Chocolate returns to the retrohale as it progresses towards the halfway point. Reaching the halfway point, dry wood begins to define the post draw. In the bottom half, the profile has evolved into a largely wood focused profile along with some tannins and spice accents.
Jiunn: The second third shows more dried red pepper spice and minerals, but the profile still shows a good amount of composure. Strength and body is unchanged at medium-full and medium, respectively.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the overall profile is now a bit drier. At a half inch in, the baking spice picks up a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, dry earth and light baking spice. At an inch in, the bakers chocolate has departed. As the cigar comes to a close, the profile is toasted cedar and dry earth even up front with baking spice a bit behind. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third was in line with the second third. Strong earth, leather, oak and mineral notes, and there are cinnamon and pepper spices on the finish. Faded coffee notes as well. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: Tannic wood carries the cigar into the last third. There’s no real development as the last third settles in. As the last third progresses, there are occasional accents of spice, but it is a largely wood driven profile.
Jiunn: The final third shows astringencies in sharper minerals and deeper over extracted coffee beans. These notes also create tannins to the profile, which is a bit off putting. Strength and body finishes the same medium-full and medium.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched

Burn

Aaron: The burn line was a bit wavy throughout and required a touch-up to keep things in unison at one point. The cigar also went out once right in the middle of the cigar and required a re-light. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Burn was great for the first two thirds, and then I had some canoeing in the final third.
John: The burn was straight through the entire review with an ash that held on in one inch increments.
Jiunn: The burn performance was great. Overall even burn, cool burning temperature and good smoke production.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Nice draw throughout. Perfect level of resistance.
John: The draw was at most one notch into the resistant spectrum which still puts it in the ideal range between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw was perfect, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with cedar, dark earth and baking spice. Some bakers chocolate joined in fairly quickly. The second third saw the cedar gain a toast note and the earth became dry. The final third saw the bakers chocolate drop out. The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched had a nice start, but once the profile became dry in the second third, it dropped down a level and maintained that the rest of the way. If the cigar could dodge the dryness, it would have created a more enjoyable profile. The price point is high and didn’t provide enough enjoyment to really want to make me come back to this.
Seth: I do not remember how many of the Muestra de Saka blends I have smoked, but I prefer this Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched blend and offering from Joya to that of the recent NACSA release. I thought the press was very well done and it really made the cigar pop. It did not smoke like a 48-ring gauge cigar. The flavors of pepper and cinnamon really worked well with the coffee, leather and earth notes. Rich and complex throughout. Great strength and body.
John: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched starts out with rich and nuanced flavors through the first third that took me from creamy baking spices to light chocolate. By the halfway point of the second third, the profile lost most of that complexity to become largely wood focused, where it remained for the rest of the review. The draw and burn were both in the amazing scoring category. While the score might not reflect an above average experience, it was overall still a pleasant cigar to smoke. I had the opportunity to smoke one of these during the PCA show in Las Vegas and I found that experience to be more complex than the review. Given the different outcomes, I’d be interested in trying a third one to see where it more closely aligns. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 22 minutes.
Jiunn: This Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched was one of the most balanced and composed Saka blends that I’ve had. Each flavor blended well without ever being spikey (sans the final third). Even saying this, the cigar did showcase what I find in many of Saka’s blends, (earthiness, good body and depth). I’ll gladly smoke more of these.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$3.41

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.57

Cost/Point

$3.01

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$3.24

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$2.90

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Muestra de Saka The Bewitched