As I prepared for this review, I took a minute to look back on our most recent reviews of Alec Bradley cigars. To say that we weren’t impressed with the Filthy Ghooligan or the Safe Keepings would be a fair assessment. So when a fiver of their new anniversary cigar recently arrived at TNCC HQ, I wasn’t exactly overflowing with excitement to light it up. But I read the press release anyway.

Here’s what brand ambassador Alec Rubin had to say:
“This cigar represents everything we’ve learned over the last three decades. Thirty years isn’t ancient in the cigar world, but it’s long enough to understand what matters — great tobacco, great partners and cigars we’re proud to smoke ourselves.”

Man, I really wanted to insert a comma after “partners” up there, but a true cigar media personality knows that one must never tamper with the press release – Never. The guys filming YouTube cigar reviews in their car don’t have to worry about that shit. After typing up 1,474 words while reviewing those two previous Alec Bradly offerings, to be perfectly honest, both my patience with and my overall interest in the brand was wearing quite thin. There are so many companies out there that we haven’t reviewed ANY of their cigars over the last decade, why give Alec Bradley yet another shot? But then an interesting thing happened a few nights ago when Yak Boy and I lit this new cigar up over a “few” beers…
 

THE CIGAR – THIRTY YEARS by ALEC BRADLEY

Size: 6 x 54 (toro)
Wrapper: Honduran Trojes*
Binder: Honduran Jamastran & Nicaraguan Jalapa
Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí & Jalapa) and Honduran (Jamastran & Trojes)
Price: $10.99** (Head on over to Famous Smoke Shop right now to get $20 off your order of $100 or more using promo code TNCCC20)

When I slide the Thirty Years toro from its cello sleeve, the distinctive aroma of “rodeo stuff” is immediately detected. For those of you who don’t live in Texas, that’s an olfactory combo platter of red dirt, hay, and horseshit. The cigar itself features a semi-oily wrapper leaf with minimal veins and no soft spots. The entire visual presentation looks sharp.

The cold draw is comprised of unsalted walnuts and unsweetened tea. Upon introducing flame to leaves, a black pepper spice floods the nostrils upstairs. The pepper has rounded corners in that it isn’t biting or aggressive in the slightest. Down below, the draw is primarily earthy with just a touch of bright leather on the backend. Around the 1” mark, a dry floral note joins the pepper. The Thirty Years features sexy and copious smoke production which is somewhat surprising given that I’m sensing that I should be pulling in more smoke with each puff than I actually am…

I decide to punch a slightly larger hole in the cap and that seems to improve airflow somewhat – no big deal. A hint of pencil lead has now joined the retrohale, while the draw remains very earthy with the leather note still hanging in there. Both the strength and body of the Thirty Years land squarely in medium territory.

I decide to use my draw tool to poke a few small holes in the exposed cap tobacco, hoping that proactive measure will finally allow more air to come through – it’s still not that big of a deal, yet. When Yak Boy and I first smoked the Thirty Years, we were drinking a shit ton of beers in an effort to not feel human feelings anymore and we both commented on how well the cigar paired*** with his lager and my Imperial IPA. So there, I just gave you a reason to go buy some beer. But, let’s be honest with one another, if you’re reading this review on a Friday night… I doubt you need another reason.

The second half of the Thirty Years smokes very similarly to the first. The black pepper’s presence does increase somewhat once the cigar’s band is removed but the retro’s complimentary floral and graphite notes far from fade away. In fact, the pencil lead sensation actually grows more pronounced in an effort to keep up. As far as the draw is concerned, it can only be described as consistent. It’s the same earthy profile backed by leather that has been present for the entire smoking experience. And with the airflow issue finally resolved, there’s absolutely nothing to complain in regard to the cigar’s construction here in the final act.
 

THE NUB

TNCC Final Score = 92

Prior to reviewing the Thirty Years toro, I watched a brief video interview conducted by cigar media gods Halfwheel with Bradley Rubin at last month’s PCA trade show. Bradley, the company founder’s son and one of the 3 family members who blended this cigar, called the Thirty Years “a very typical Alec Bradley cigar” and – while I know what he meant – I have to disagree. This Alec Bradley offering is absolutely atypical because I actually fucking liked it! From start to finish all of the highly consistent flavors worked extremely well together. What the Thirty Years lacks in complexity or transitions, it makes up for in its overall enjoyability. Only one sample that was smoked for review featured the draw issue, all the others performed flawlessly. So while the Thirty Years by Alec Bradley is not a great cigar, it is the best cigar I’ve had from the brand in a very long time.

* As far as the cigar’s blend is concerned, the press release from Alec Bradley stated the following: “Crafted at Raíces Cubanas, Thirty Years features a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos that deliver a medium-plus profile designed to honor the journey while looking ahead to what comes next.” I almost just rolled with that limited amount of information – because I am very lazy – but then I decided to check out the AB website and it was surprisingly up-to-date and featured a full blend breakdown for the Thirty Years. I am almost always disappointed when I visit a cigar manufacturer’s website but that wasn’t the case tonight.

** Kudos to Alec Bradley for celebrating 30 years in the industry AND for keeping the price tag reasonable enough for your average consumer to celebrate along with them. Rocky Patel released a thirtieth anniversary cigar in November of last year and it’s $47.50. But it’s a “limited edition”and each cigar is individually packaged in a square tube so I guess that makes sense.

*** The Thirty years also features a QR code on the foot band that takes you to their website. While aesthetically I don’t care for QR codes slapped on everything, I can’t deny it was helpful in this instance. Anyhoo, the company recommends several pairing options on the site and goes even further to explain their reasoning.

They make a good case for all three but I can’t stress enough just how well the Thirty Years paired with our beers.

***** For us, 108 minutes is a REALLY long time to smoke cigar for review******

****** This may be a TNCC record for most asterisks used. If not a world record.*******

******* I looked it up and there doesn’t seem to be a world record for most asterisks used so it’s hard to say. I did come across an article from 2001 in The Baltimore Sun with the amazing title, “The Asterisk: Wise Guy of the Writing World”. However, it was a paid site so I couldn’t read it.

******** I don’t think it’s a mystery as to why I typed a combined 1,474 words while reviewing the previous 2 lackluster Alec Bradley releases compared to the 1,310 words I just cooked up for this one review. Better cigars inspire us, they allow and encourage our minds to contemplate and wander. Or maybe it’s just so many words tonight because of all these goddamn asterisked items that I can’t seem to stop adding?*********

********* I looked it up and asterisked is a real word.