Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée Robusto

📌 Brand: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
📌 Line: Sobremesa Brûlée
📌 Size: Robusto (5 1/4" × 52)
📌 Weight: 14.6 g
📌 Age: 2 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

Tasting Notes

• Cream – Soft sweetness muted by construction issues

• Toasted Bread – Present but faint

• Light Caramel – Barely detectable under bitterness

• Bitterness – Dominant throughout due to tunneling

First Impressions

The Brûlée Robusto shows a clean Ecuador Connecticut wrapper with minimal veins and a soft matte sheen. Pre-light aromas are cream, hay, and a hint of vanilla sweetness. Cold draw is slightly restricted but workable.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Cream tries to emerge, but immediate tunneling introduces bitterness and thin smoke. Burn requires early correction.

• Second Third – Toasted bread notes attempt to peek through, but bitterness dominates the profile. Another correction needed.

• Final Third – Bitterness intensifies; tunneling continues, flattening any remaining sweetness. Smoke becomes harsh, and enjoyment drops sharply.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Dictador 20 Year Colombian Rum - Smooth caramel and vanilla with subtle oak sweetness help mask the cigar’s bitterness and bring out its hidden creamy tones.

• Tea – Nepal Jun Chiyabari Black Tea - Floral, clean, lightly fruity — lifts the bitterness and restores some balance to the palate.

Music Pairing

“Hump de Bump” – Red Hot Chili Peppers - Punchy and upbeat, adding energy to an otherwise rough smoke.

Final Thoughts

Despite its reputation for sweetness and balance, this sample of the Sobremesa Brûlée Robusto struggled from the start. Persistent tunneling, harsh smoke, and overwhelming bitterness prevented any of the blend’s subtler flavors from showing up. Construction flaws ultimately determined the experience.

Final Score: 3/10
Why not a 10?
Tunneling, harshness, persistent bitterness, and muted flavor evolution made it a disappointing smoke from start to finish.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.