The Tuesday Night Cigar Club has a long history with the Rose of Sharon. We first smoked this now iconic cigar at CATS Fest many years ago when it was presented to us in a pink wooden box, and we absolutely loved it. Then a short while later we also happened to love the Desert Rose variation of the blend in multiple sizes. Not only has the Rose of Sharon appeared on our year-end “Best Of” lists multiple times, but it is also a cigar that I always keep well stocked in my personal humidor as well. So to say that I’m excited to sit down and dig in to this new exclusive size courtesy of Casa de Montecristo would be an understatement. So I won’t say that. I’ll just smoke this sucker and type some shit up…
THE CIGAR – ROSE OF SHARON SALOMON by SOUTHERN DRAW
Size: 7 1/8 x 58 (box-pressed salomon)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Price: $12.17 (while these samples were submitted to the TNCC for review, you can purchase them right now at the Casa de Montecristo website)
The now iconic pink Rose of Sharon band is accompanied here by a secondary Casa de Montecristo Exclusive pink band that looks right at home. The light golden brown wrapper leaf is a thing of beauty and, aesthetically, the salomon vitola is quite stunning visually. Curiously, the cigar is described as being box-pressed but all of the samples smoked for this review looked round to my eyes. There are no distinct prelight aromas detected and the cold draw reveals only a hint of milk chocolate and a faint woodsiness…
After delicately torching the foot of the Rose of Sharon, I’m immediately greeted by a gentle white pepper spice through the nose while the draw’s initial flavor offerings are that of lightly roasted coffee and cedar. Just shy of ten minutes into the smoking experience, a walnut note begins to develop alongside the mild pepper.
Construction so far is outstanding with a smooth draw and zero burn issues. The Rose of Sharon salomon is an absolute smoke show with bright white clouds constantly swirling around the cigar and then eventually upward. Some mineral has now joined the pepper and walnut notes via the retrohale, while the draw’s core flavors of light coffee and cedar are holding steady.
The Rose of Sharon’s impressive ash drops right before the halfway mark just as a touch of must appears on the retro and a yellow cake flavor saddles up next to the coffee and cedar. Because I’m a professionally licensed expert cigar reviewer and a highly respected media personality, I only drink bottled spring water while reviewing but holy shit am I ever positive that this stick would pair beautifully with a café con leche. That’s coffee with lots of milk in it for all you non-experts out there. The walnut note has vanished as the must and mineral increase their presence to compete with the white pepper.
I used the word “compete” above but I should clarify that all of the Rose of Sharon’s flavors are complimenting each other wonderfully with absolutely no clashing or jarring moments whatsoever.
A rich vanilla buttercream frosting note comes out of nowhere right before the burn line hits the cigar’s secondary band. It first arrives through the nose and a few puffs later it begins to develop on the backend of the draw as well. Construction has remained stellar on all fronts, I’d complain about something if I could but I just can’t…
The mild spice has all but disappeared in the Rose of Sharon’s final act and that’s just fine, as the vanilla icing note is playing quite nicely with the fading must and distinct Nica mineral. The draw’s cedar and cake notes have now also bid us adios and that’s okay too, the vanilla and coffee flavors both remain steadfast. The cigar never requires a touch-up with my lighter and it never burns too hot as I smoke this impressive sucker down to the last possible puff. I suppose that’s the highest compliment I can offer in that I didn’t want my enjoyment of the cigar to end.
THE NUB
TNCC FINAL SCORE = 94
The Rose of Sharon salomon is a complex, expertly constructed cigar featuring an array of highly enjoyable flavors that transition beautifully over the course of 95 minutes. I’ll be visiting the Casa de Montecristo website to order a box and I highly encourage you to do the same. Unlike some other disappointing cigars we’ve smoked recently that were well north of the $12 price point, the Rose of Sharon salomon delivers a truly elegant smoking experience that’s worth every dollar spent.
