Connecticut is not boring. It never was.
The Connecticut Cigar Sampler brings together six cigars that prove a golden wrapper can carry real flavor. Every one of them uses Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, and every maker treats it differently: aged four years, aged five years, aged twice as long as usual, laid over Pennsylvania Broadleaf, or grown desflorado, with the flower topped off in the field so more of the plant's energy goes into the leaf. Same seed, six very different smokes. At Creekside, we think Connecticut is one of the most underrated wrappers in the humidor, and this lineup is how we make the case.
What's inside:
Rodriguez Cigars Reserva Privada Robusto (5 x 50): From the Rodriguez family of Key West. A four-year-aged Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan filler. Mild to medium, smooth and easy, and the perfect place to start.
Principle Cigars Accomplice Connecticut Robusto (5 x 50): A five-year-old Ecuador Connecticut wrapper over a Dominican Monte Plata binder, with filler from the Dominican Republic, the USA and Mexico. A little more going on than you expect from a Connecticut.
Avowed New Dawn Corona Gorda (6 x 46): A dark Ecuadorian Connecticut from A.S.P., aged twice as long as normal, over an Ecuadorian Habano binder and Dominican filler of Piloto Cubano, Criollo 98 and San Vicente. Made at Kelner Cigars in the Dominican Republic. Mild to medium with more depth than the color suggests.
Powstanie Connecticut Robusto (5 x 50): An Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper over a Pennsylvania Broadleaf binder, with aged Nicaraguan filler. Made at Nica Sueño in Estelí. Mellow to medium, with the Broadleaf adding a richer backbone.
Gellis Family Saunter (5 1/4 x 48): An Ecuadorian Connecticut Desflorada wrapper over an Ecuadorian binder, with Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. Aged a full year in Spanish cedar before release and made at Tabacalera La iSLA. Medium bodied, rated 95 points and named the No. 16 Cigar of the Year by Cigar Aficionado.
Warped Isla del Cocodrilo Blanco Limited Edition Perfecto (6 1/2 x 55): Warped's first perfecto. An Ecuador Connecticut desflorado wrapper over a dual binder of Brazilian Arapiraca and Ecuador Habano 2000, with Nicaraguan filler. Made at Tabacalera La iSLA in the Dominican Republic and limited to 1,500 boxes of 15. Medium bodied, with what Kyle Gellis calls an intense creaminess from the Connecticut wrapper.
How to smoke it: Start with the Reserva Privada and the Accomplice, move through the New Dawn and the Powstanie, then finish with the Saunter and the Cocodrilo Blanco as the richest of the six.
