Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 is a lightly marbled medium brown and has a few lightly raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps pretty well applied. There are two bands, both in blue and gold. The primary has a star and the foot band denotes the line and variation. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of peated whisky and stewed fruit while the foot brings a mix of wood and peated whisky. The pre-light draw is airy wood along with a light dose of peated whisky.
Seth: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 has a wonderful aroma of mesquite barbeque, peaty Scotch, rich earth and strong oak. There are some damp pipe tobacco notes as well, and that is all. The cigar has a lovely wrapper that is light Maduro in coloring, and I would classify it as chocolate brown. There are few veins present throughout, and those are medium in size. Firm throughout and well-constructed.
John: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker with an integrated tear space so it remains intact when the cellophane is opened. The cigar has a primary band along with a footband that identifies it as the ‘StillWell Navy No. 1056’. For aromas, I was picking up on wood and pipe tobacco sweetness from the wrapper. From the foot, sweetness, wood and mild pipe tobacco.
Jiunn: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 has a Colorado wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head well wrapped. Aromas from the wrapper are great, providing peat, smoke, iodine and bandages. It honestly smells like a lot of southern Islay peated Scotch. Cold draw however is less wowing, giving mainly a soft peat, smoke and roasted nuts.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted oak and a sharp baking spice. At a quarter inch in, there are faint notes of peated whisky on random draws. At a half inch in, the baking spice has mellowed a bit and the peated whisky now has a subtle but regular spot in the profile. The retrohale is a cool, lightly toasted oak with a light mustiness. At an inch in, the profile is now musty, toasted oak with baking spice a bit behind and a subtle peated whisky in the background. At an inch and a half in, the baking spice has mellowed even more. The strength in this third was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with some rich earth and mineral notes. I am picking up some barbeque qualities as well, but they are subtle and on the finish. Toasted and aromatic tobacco is present as well, and the finish is of damp wood. Medium in strength and body.
John: The profile is wood forward with a smoked wood finish leading off. Some mild pepper is present on the post draw after just a few puffs. A nice balance between pipe and cigar tobacco as it progresses. There are some pleasant spices building on the post draw as it progresses. I still find myself wanting the pipe tobacco to be more intense, but it is balanced and approachable.
Jiunn: Where the heck is the pipe tobacco influence? I definitely don’t mind the profile, but I get zero of the pre-light nosing experience. Flavors are overall easy going, with plenty of naturally sweet creaminess, roasted nuts and well rounded dry red pepper spice. Retrohaling kicks up the red pepper spice a notch, as well as the roasted nuts. The finish is on the shorter end, with a hint of bbq smoke and dry red pepper spice. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the mustiness increases a bit. At a half inch in, the baking spice is now even with the peated whisky in the background. The retrohale is now just musty, toasted oak. At an inch and a half in, the profile remains musty, toasted oak up front with light baking spiced and peated whisky in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is right in line with the first third. Rich earth, mineral qualities, some barbeque meat notes, toasted and aromatic tobacco, and damp wood. Medium in strength and body. Long finish.
John: Wood, sweet pipe tobacco and baking spices combine as spices and wood finish into the post draw. The spices are sitting on the front of my tongue through the post draw. Some dryness joins the post draw as it progresses.
Jiunn: The second third is the same as the first third. Still not getting any of the pipe tobacco influence. Flavors still consist of ample naturally sweet creaminess, roasted nuts and rounded dry red pepper spice. Strength and body continues to be medium.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056

Final Third

Aaron: The final third continues with the musty, toasted oak up front with light baking spiced and peated whisky in the background. At a half inch in, the toast level picks up a bit. The retrohale is musty toasted oak with a really faint peated whisky note in the background. The cigar wraps up with the musty, toasted oak up front with light baking spiced and peated whisky in the background. Strength remained at medium.
Seth: My palate is shot. Rich earth, damp wood and tobacco, and mineral notes. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: The profile is wood forward going into the last third. A mild pipe tobacco returns into the center of the profile as a mild, dry wood finishes. Approaching the halfway point, it is still wood forward with a wood center.
Jiunn: The final third becomes a tad sharp in the dry red pepper spice, but just like the first two thirds, no pipe tobacco influence. Still plenty of naturally sweet creaminess, roasted nuts and rounded dry red pepper spice. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: Even burn line throughout.
John: The burn was straight with the ash dropping at half inch increments. At the halfway point, the burn struggles, eventually going out. One re-light was required.
Jiunn: Flawless burn performance. Even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperature and ample smoke production.

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: Very tight draw.
John: The draw was perfect, in the ideal zone between resistant and open.
Jiunn: The draw was great, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted oak and a sharp baking spice. Some light peated whisky joined a bit later as the baking spice settled down. Some mustiness joined a bit later. The cigar maintained the musty, toasted oak up front with light baking spiced and peated whisky in the background the rest of the way. The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 started well with a nice combination of flavors and that peated whisky as a nice supporting note. The profile dropped to average in the second third as the baking spice fell back and maintained that level the rest of the way. This is probably my favorite of the four releases thus far in the line. I could have gone for a fuller peated whisky note in the profile. This smoked more like a traditional cigar than any of the other renditions and could see it being the one most traditional cigars smokers enjoy. It still isn’t a profile I would come back to that often though as overall it was an average experience.
Seth: I may not be a Navy guy. I did not care for this Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056, and I think it was only a matter of time before I got a Stillwell that was subpar. Too many attempts at blending a pipe cigar, and no successes. A lot of the same thoughts on the other Stillwell’s I have reviewed, but more negative. I don’t see this being a type of cigar that I can say, “this just wasn’t my blend.” I don’t see any chance of success, but I would be interested in seeing what it smoked like in a smaller vitola. Too tight a draw as well. Down periscope!
John: The Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 was more enjoyable for me than the Aromatic No. 1. Part of the reason was the lack of sweet cap, which I felt allowed the tobacco to be more clearly represented, but also because the pipe tobacco in the Navy No. 1056 was much more influential on the profile. The first third was the most complex for me, with the second and last thirds not harmonizing quite as well. The draw was perfect, and the cigar went out once, requiring a re-light. As I mentioned, this is my favorite of the Stillwell Star series so far, and this is one I might return to in the future depending on how the other blends stack up. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 12 minutes.
Jiunn: My overall experience with the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056 was just ok. The profile itself is actually pretty good, for a traditional cigar. But what I was looking for in this rendition is obviously not that. The smoking experience did not give me any pipe tobacco experience. And because of that, it was average.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$2.62

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.03

Cost/Point

$3.79

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$2.59

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.66

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star Navy No. 1056