Dunbarton Sin Compromiso & d'Usse VSOP

Dunbarton Sin Compromiso is a softly rounded box pressed with Nicaraguan tobacco filler, an Ecuadoran binder and a shiny, oily, ever so slightly coarse, like ultra fine sandpaper, coffee brown San Andres wrapper with few visible veins. The cigar is also covered with a cedar sleeve with the name Sin Compromiso, which translates to “without compromise.” Don’t toy with me, Dunbarton. Back up the brag!

After toasting the foot, the initial puffs had a taste/aroma that briefly reminded me of Laphroaig scotch. There was a maritime, peaty note. Now I’m pairing with Cognac so it’s not from drinking scotch. Interesting. The note was there for a couple of puffs and then, to paraphrase the last Kaiser Soze reference line from The Usual Suspects – And like that…It was gone!

Charred wood (maybe oak), pepper, spice, chocolate (between cocoa and Toll House cookie chocolate drops), earth, leather, and honey/cinnamon-ish sweetness. Coffee takes its time entering the picture and it’s more like the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans halfway into the first third. Think I picked up a fleeting citrus note and hints of dried fruit, herbs and something akin to what I remember of Clove gum.

The wood, coffee and chocolate become more dominant by the final third with the coffee tasting more like dark roast/espresso and the cocoa/chocolate now dark chocolate. There’s a lot going on with this cigar – balance, transitions and super complexity. I am impressed.

Perfect draw, copious amounts of smoke, dead even burn line start to finish, the torch was on sabbatical. The grey ash held to roll off at over an inch. Only fell off once.

I got to the nub and didn’t want this smoke to end. Yes, it’s that good. The Sin Compromiso is the best of many terrific Dunbartons I’ve experienced to date.

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