Drew Estate - Smoking Monk Imperial Stout Review

Drew Estate Smoking Monk: Imperial Stout Review

First Look: Beautiful, Dark Brown, 6x54 Toro. A slightly shiny and smooth, with an attractive gold label that has a monk embossed in the center of the top band, and "Imperial Stout" on the Foot-Band. Great roll, quality wrapper and cap, no hard or soft spots to note. True to all other sticks by Jonathan Drew this stick is infused to provide a flavor-Filled, uniquely enjoyable experience.

Cold Draw: I pick up a Floral, Chocolatey sweetness that may also present a touch of vanilla as well. Great pull on the draw, and the cap has to be sweetened as well based on the taste.

First Draw: Floral, and earthy, a LOT of smoke billowing off the stick with a pronounced sweet nuance with a hint of leather. Unfortunately early on I got a bitterness that didn't seem to want to let up clear through the first third. The burn was sharp, never needed a touch-up or relight. The draw was absolutely perfect though, but what was most apparent was its fast change up from sweet to bitter. Unfortunately I smoked this cigar without pairing it with a Stout beer, which may have been the drawback. Again, as other recent DE Sticks the primary flavors seemed to come from the tobacco instead of the obvious infusion, which directly contradicts of most DE blends I’ve tried.

First 3rd: Notable bitterness continued a touch of pepper and spice in the back of the throat, the retrohal had a noticeable bite that I wasn't expecting. Ash stayed Consistent and even which furthered my expectations of a well-constructed Stick. Again, the overwhelming bitterness would certainly accompany a good Irish Stout beer, that I lament not having paired up with this cigar. The cigar was almost unenjoyable solo.

Half Way There: Bitterness did not relent, a scosh of floral nuance, but I felt it was lacking complexity and enjoyable flavor profile. The aroma however remained pleasant and there was no shortage of smoke as it burned onward. I felt as though the more I burned through the mid-way point that the Aromatics were more enjoyable than the cigar itself. The hints of pepper were beginning to be apparent as well, however it continued to give me a sense of having let myself down for not having paired this up with a beer. This also had to be one of the stronger, more potent DE's I’ve had.

Onward to the Nub: The nub was increasingly power-packed with strength and flavor, the Smoke was almost over-powering in it's wafting. Between the potency, The consistent draw, and the power of it had me wishing for a bit more sweetness to bring me more to it's side. Ash held on forever, and the burn line was fairly even. I had a hard time convincing myself to finish the nub out, but noticed that the bitterness relented and gave way to a much more enjoyable complexity, which I wish had been there for the whole cigar.

Conclusion and Recommendation: This Drew Estate Cigar left a lot to be desired, but feel like I let the experience down by not pairing it up. I feel if I had been drinking a Stout Beer, that it would have been a completely different experience. I would not recommend smoking this alone as you may encounter a bit of disappointment. That being said however, I would recommend you try this, but only if you are ready to down some dark suds with it. Overall the stick earns a solid 6/10 from me.