Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze is light brown with some lightly raised veins that carry a lighter color to them. The seams are smooth and the head is well finished, but the top cap is a darker shade than the rest of the wrapper. There are three bands, with the primary and secondary being gold, various shades of blue with some red. The primary denotes the cigar brand, secondary denotes the lifestyle brand and the foot band is dark blue and gold and denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of construction paper and mild earth, while the foot brings spicy cedar and earth. The pre-light draw brings cedar and dusty earth, along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker with the cigar information, which tears when the cellophane is opened. It features a primary Trinidad band, a secondary Tommy Bahama band, and an additional foot band indicating the Island Collection. I weighed the cigar at 16.7 grams and measured the humidity at 66.4% with the Humidimeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet bread, tobacco and faint wood. From the foot, I was getting the same aromas at similar intensity.

Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, bold black pepper and some earth. At a quarter inch in, a bit of a floral note joins the profile. At a half inch in, the pepper mellows a bit and some creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth, black pepper and a light floral note. At an inch and a quarter, the earth increases a bit. At an inch and a half in, the pepper mellows a bit more and the creaminess increases a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth a bit behind, black pepper just behind that, creaminess in the back half of the profile and a light floral note. The strength was right at medium.
John: The initial flavors in the first third are mild, sweet tobacco combining with wood, with the wood lingering into the post draw and settling on the palate. Light-plus strength black pepper provides an accent note as the cigar settles in. As the first third continues, the pepper increases in strength to medium-minus on the post draw. Bread leads off the retrohale a short time later. Around the 35-minute mark, the pepper intensity begins to recede, settling back down to just over light-plus strength. Bread, wood and sweet tobacco define the profile through the bottom half of the first third.

Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper picks back up a bit. At three quarters of an inch in, the pepper has increased some more and is now a bit ahead of the earth. The retrohale is now just toasted cedar, earth and black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with black pepper a bit behind, then the earth. The creaminess is in the back half along with a light floral note. The strength remained at medium.
John: The second third kicks off with a combination of baking spices, bread and mildly tannic wood. Sweet tobacco and wood combine to define the post draw as the second third continues. Moving toward the halfway point, baking spices, including some cinnamon, linger on the post-draw palate, adding warmth without overwhelming the profile.

Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper becomes pretty mellow. At a half inch in, the creaminess increases to the middle of the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth, creaminess and mild black pepper. At an inch in, the toast level for the cedar increases a bit. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper picks back up to the middle of the profile. At an inch and a half in, a vegetal note joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth a bit behind, creaminess and black pepper in the middle and vegetal and floral notes in the back half. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
John: The last third begins with creamy wood leading off, with plain bread underneath. Mildly dry wood defines the finish. Pepper returns through the retrohale at light-plus strength as the last third settles in, but the profile remains largely steady and somewhat restrained through the remainder of the cigar.

Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on through the first third and then in inch and a quarter increments after that.
John: The burn was straight through the first third, becoming wavy in the second third. By the last third, the burn was uneven and required a touch-up to correct.

Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: I measured the draw at 42 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, I found the draw to be perfect.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, bold black pepper and some earth. A floral note joined in fairly quickly. Then, the pepper mellowed and some creaminess joined in. The second third saw the pepper pick back up a bit. The final third saw the pepper become pretty mellow and the creaminess increase. The toast level then increased and the pepper increased some more as well. Later, a vegetal note joined in. The Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. It took a step down in the second third as the pepper increased and remained at that level the rest of the way. I thought this was an interesting cigar with the nice, early combination of flavors it provided. While the flavor components remained, they moved around a bit and weren’t as enjoyable as the beginning. This is a cool project, but with it comes a higher price point. It just didn’t do enough to make me want to come back to it with any regularity.
John: The Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze delivers a consistently approachable and well-blended smoking experience that leans into balance and subtlety rather than intensity or complexity. From the outset, the cigar establishes a soft profile built around bread, sweet tobacco and wood, supported by restrained pepper and baking spice accents that never push the strength beyond comfortable levels. The first third offers the most dynamic movement, with pepper briefly asserting itself before settling back into an accent role. As the cigar progresses, the profile becomes increasingly consistent, with baking spices and cinnamon providing warmth in the second third but little in the way of dramatic transitions. The final third pares things back further, focusing on creamy wood and bread with mild dryness and a late return of pepper through the retrohale. Construction was solid overall, highlighted by an excellent draw and a burn that, while requiring some attention late, never seriously detracted from the experience. In the end, this Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze is a cigar that succeeds by knowing its lane. It doesn’t aim for boldness or strength, but instead offers a relaxed, consistent profile that feels well-suited to casual settings or moments when a more demanding cigar would feel out of place. While it doesn’t quite sustain the interest needed to push beyond a Good rating overall, it remains an enjoyable, easygoing smoke that delivers exactly what it sets out to be. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$2.92

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$2.61

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Trinidad x Tommy Bahama Island Collection Breeze