📌 Brand: Southern Draw Cigars
📌 Line: Rose of Sharon – Desert Rose
📌 Size: Lonsdale (6’x44)
📌 Weight: 11.6 g
📌 Age: 5 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua
Tasting Notes
Creamy Cedar – Soft, aromatic woodiness with a delicate natural sweetness
Toasted Almonds – Gentle roasted nuttiness adding warmth to the profile
White Pepper – Subtle spice that becomes more noticeable as the cigar progresses
Sweet Hay – Light grassy notes with a slightly honeyed finish
First Impressions
The Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose is a cigar that immediately creates certain expectations. The original Rose of Sharon has always been associated with a smoother, more approachable smoking experience, and the Desert Rose takes that concept in a slightly richer and more assertive direction.
The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper has an attractive golden-brown appearance, with a smooth texture and a few delicate veins. The cigar looks well presented, and there is nothing particularly concerning about its appearance. Pre-light aromas suggest cedar, hay, toasted nuts, and a little natural sweetness, creating the impression of a pleasant and relatively balanced smoking experience.
I was expecting something creamy, flavourful, and perhaps a little more interesting than the traditional Connecticut profile. Unfortunately, while the cigar started reasonably well, the experience deteriorated dramatically after the halfway point.
Smoking Experience
First Third – Opens with a pleasant combination of creamy cedar, toasted almonds, and a delicate white pepper character. There is a gentle sweetness underneath, bringing some balance to the woody and nutty flavours. The overall profile is smooth and approachable, without excessive strength or aggression. At this stage, the cigar is reasonably enjoyable, and there is little indication of just how badly things are going to deteriorate later.
Second Third – Cedar and toasted almonds remain the dominant flavours, accompanied by sweet hay and a slightly more noticeable pepper character. The profile is fairly straightforward, but still pleasant enough. However, around the halfway point, the burn begins to deteriorate badly. What had been a relatively uncomplicated smoke suddenly becomes frustrating, with the combustion behaving inconsistently and the burn line becoming increasingly troublesome. Instead of enjoying the flavours, I find myself concentrating on the cigar's poor performance.
Final Third – Unfortunately, the problems only become worse. The burn is absolutely awful, completely overshadowing whatever flavour the tobacco might still have to offer. The creamy and sweet characteristics become difficult to appreciate, and the smoking experience loses any sense of balance or enjoyment. By this stage, the cigar has become more of a struggle than a pleasure. Regardless of how promising the opening may have been, the second half is a complete disappointment.
Pairings
Alcohol – Doorly's 14 Year Old Barbados Rum - Notes of vanilla, toasted coconut, caramel, and gentle oak complement the cigar's creamy cedar and nutty character. Its natural sweetness would work particularly well with the more enjoyable opening section, although even a good rum cannot rescue the cigar's disappointing combustion.
Tea – Jasmine Silver Needle White Tea (China) - Delicate floral aromas, gentle sweetness, and a smooth, refreshing character complement the cigar's lighter cedar and hay notes. The tea's elegance provides a pleasant contrast to the increasingly frustrating smoking experience.
Music Pairing
“It's a Man's Man's Man's World” – James Brown - Dramatic, emotional, and full of intensity, providing a suitably theatrical soundtrack to an increasingly disappointing final third.
Final Thoughts
Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose is a cigar that left me thoroughly disappointed. The opening showed some promise, with creamy cedar, toasted almonds, white pepper, and gentle sweetness creating a pleasant, if relatively straightforward, flavour profile. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the first half, but it was enjoyable enough to suggest a respectable smoking experience.
Unfortunately, everything changed after the halfway point. The burn deteriorated dramatically, turning what should have been a relaxing smoke into an exercise in frustration. When a cigar burns this badly, it becomes almost impossible to appreciate the tobacco properly. Instead of concentrating on flavour development, balance, and complexity, all my attention is directed toward the combustion problems.
What makes the experience particularly disappointing is that the cigar did not start badly. Had the burn remained consistent, this might have been a perfectly acceptable Connecticut-style smoke. Instead, the second half completely undermined whatever positive impression the opening had created.
I am prepared to forgive minor construction imperfections, and even an occasional uneven burn is not necessarily a serious problem. But the level of burn trouble here was simply unacceptable. A cigar should never require so much attention that smoking it stops being enjoyable.
This particular Desert Rose failed to deliver the basic consistency I expect, regardless of brand, price, or blend. The tobacco may have had potential, but the execution ruined the experience.
Final Score: 2/10
Why not a 10?
The burn became absolutely awful after the halfway point, completely ruining the second half of the cigar. Despite a reasonably pleasant opening, the severe combustion problems made the overall smoking experience frustrating and deeply disappointing.
Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.