Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Stoic Equanimity Wisdom is between light and medium brown and has a network of lightly raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the head very well finished. There are two bands, both in a dark green, aqua and gold color combination. The primary denotes the company and has the medallion representing the vitola colored in gold, while the secondary denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of wood and earth, while the foot brings wheat bread and cedar. The pre-light draw brings cinnamon raisin bread and cedar along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The Stoic Equanimity Wisdom comes in cellophane and does not feature a UPC sticker. It is double banded with a Stoic-themed primary band and an Equanimity secondary band, with an additional thin white band beneath the main band labeled “75OYPE.” I weighed the cigar at 16.6 grams and measured the humidity at 64.7% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper presented sweet bread, wood and hay, while the foot delivered a more wood-forward profile.

Stoic Equanimity Wisdom

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and a bold mix of black pepper and baking spice. At a quarter inch in, some mustiness becomes present as the black pepper/baking spice combination mellows. At three quarters of an inch in, a light chalkiness joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth, chalkiness and light amounts of mustiness and black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the baking spice has departed and the black pepper has mellowed while the mustiness and chalkiness have picked up. At an inch and three quarters, the black pepper picks back up a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth, with black pepper in the middle of the profile and the mustiness and chalkiness just behind. The strength was right at medium.
John: The cigar opens with sweet wood and nutmeg leading the way, followed by dry wood on the finish. Through the retrohale, creamy baking spices and wood dominate. As the first third settles in, an herbal quality joins the baking spices on the retrohale, adding some nuance. Approaching the midpoint of the first third, bread notes emerge through the retrohale, rounding out the profile.

Stoic Equanimity Wisdom

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper increases a bit and has a fairly long finish. At a half inch in, the toast level increases a bit. At three quarters of an inch in, the mustiness increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth, with lightly zingy black pepper and some mustiness. At an inch and a quarter, a vegetal note joins the profile. At an inch and three quarters, the black pepper mellows a bit as the mustiness increases some more. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is a bit ahead of the earth, with mustiness in the middle of the profile, black pepper right behind and some chalkiness and vegetal note in the back half. The strength remained at medium.
John: The second third begins with creamy bread and wood, with baking spices following and lingering into the finish, accompanied by mildly dry wood on the post draw. As the cigar progresses toward the halfway point, the bread fades from the retrohale, giving way to sweet tobacco and mild wood, with herbal notes providing an accent that defines the profile. In the bottom half of the second third, baking spices intensify to medium strength on the retrohale.

Stoic Equanimity Wisdom

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth increases to become even with the toasted cedar up front. At three quarters of an inch in, the toast level becomes pretty heavy and the vegetal note increases. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth, with mustiness and a vegetal note. At an inch and three quarters, the vegetal note gains some mintiness. As the cigar wraps up, the heavily toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with mustiness in the middle of the profile, black pepper and vegetal mintiness right behind and some mustiness and chalkiness in the background. The strength remained at medium.
John: The final third opens with a combination of creamy earth and wood, finishing with medium-strength tannic wood. As the cigar progresses, the profile becomes increasingly wood-driven, with little additional evolution.

Stoic Equanimity Wisdom

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight through the first third, then the cigar went out at the beginning of the second third and then again not long after, requiring two re-lights. The burn was then a bit wavy through the remainder of the cigar.
John: The burn began with some minor waviness but self-corrected quickly. It remained straight through the second third before the cigar unexpectedly went out, requiring a re-light. Afterward, the burn stayed consistent and straight for the remainder of the experience.

Stoic Equanimity Wisdom

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
John: The draw measured 36 inches of water using the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, it was just slightly on the open side, about one notch toward open, which still lands comfortably in the ideal range for an amazing draw score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and a bold mix of black pepper and baking spice. Some mustiness joined in fairly quickly. Then, some chalkiness joined in. Later, the baking spice departed and the pepper mellowed and the mustiness and chalkiness increased. The pepper then picked back up a bit. The second third saw the pepper increase some more and the toast level increased. Then, the mustiness increased. Later, a vegetal note joined the profile and the pepper mellowed and mustiness increased. The final third saw the earth become even with the toasted cedar upfront, with the toast level becoming pretty heavy a bit later. The vegetal note increased and then gained a minty note. The Stoic Equanimity Wisdom had a nice start with a good combination of flavors that was continually transitioning. It took a step down in the second third as the components moved around but lost the balance it had previously. I ran into some burn issues, but not at the same level as the Moderation vitola reviewed previously which allowed a much better experience than that cigar. The original Stoic release was a better cigar for me, but this isn’t a bad follow-up, but I wouldn’t really see myself coming back to this, other than possibly trying a vitola I haven’t smoked yet.
John: The Stoic Equanimity Wisdom is a cigar that starts with a fair bit of promise, particularly in the first third where the interplay between sweet wood, nutmeg and creamy baking spices offers a balanced and engaging opening. There’s a sense early on that the profile might build into something more layered, especially with the herbal nuances adding some depth through the retrohale. However, as the cigar progresses, that early complexity gradually gives way to a more straightforward, wood-driven profile. The second and final thirds lean heavily on wood and baking spices, with the bread and sweetness fading rather than evolving. While the flavors remain pleasant and never stray into harsh territory, they also don’t push beyond that initial ceiling. From a construction standpoint, the draw was excellent throughout, and aside from a single re-light, the burn performed well enough to stay out of the way. In the end, the Stoic Equanimity Wisdom had a complex profile out of the gate, but settled into a more predictable offering as it finished. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 29 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$2.48

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$2.37

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Stoic Equanimity Wisdom