From the Office of DA Mayor...

Every cigar has a story, I’m here to translate that story. OK, It Sounded better in my head, but it is true, every cigar tells a story, and the story changes depending on who’s smoking the cigar. To most, a cigar is just a cigar. A time to sit back, relax and enjoy a couple hours of relaxation and meditation. To others a cigar tells a story of tobaccos from various countries expertly blended together to bring about a pleasing aroma and flavor. Then there are people like me that enjoy cigars like the first two groups of people, but for me there is more to the story of cigars. They are about the people that make them as well as enjoy them. They are about the places where cigars are made as well as the places they are enjoyed. Lastly Cigars are about the events that celebrate them. Today I will tell the story of a cigar that is near and dear to my heart for no other reason than I helped pick the blend for this cigar. The cigar is the Espinosa Alpha Dawg Short Churchill.

Before I get into the flavor notes and the blend, let me tell you the backstory of the Alpha Dawg. The cigar is made by Erik Espinosa, the man behind Espinosa Cigars. Erik has built his brand primarily on the use of social media and word of mouth from the retailers that support his brand, and has done very well with this brand of marketing. To celebrate the retailers, bloggers and social media supporters, Erik held the first Lazonapalooza event in 2016. This is an invite only event that is held at his warehouse in Hialeah Gardens, Florida and at the beginning of the event, guests were given three cigars and told to smoke them throughout the weekend and they would have an opportunity to vote on the blend they thought was the best with the knowledge that the winner would be Espinosa’s event only cigar.

So as one of the lucky few to be invited, I smoked through the blend and voted for the 2nd cigar, which never confirmed, but I suspect was the winner. Nonetheless, demand for the cigar was so high that Erik decided to put the cigar into regular production instead of keep it as an event only cigar. Unfortunately, because of FDA regulation, the Alpha Dawg is no longer in production, but you can find it at some online and Brick and Mortar retailers.

Now let’s get to the fun part – the tasting notes! As a preface, back when I was doing cigar reviews in the 2010’s, I had a rating system that I would gauge cigars by. This time I will not be doing that. I will simply give the reader information and let you decide whether you want to smoke the cigar or not. Prefacing done – tasting notes will commence.

In the first third of the Alpha Dawg, it has a distinct spicy and nutty flavor that goes really well together. It’s not really a food spicy and nutty, more of a smell but it most definitely works. Something I have learned to do since writing reviews way back when is retro haling, which if you don’t do this, please take the time to learn this technique because it will really enhance your cigar enjoyment. With that said, the Alpha Dawg’s retrohale in the First third is that of fruit and some spiciness.

In my opinion, the second third of a cigar is the most important, because that is where you really get to know the construction, body and complexity. With the Alpha Dawg, the Spice and nutty flavors maintain but some earthiness works its way into the fold with the retrohale turning to earthiness as well. The construction of the cigar is very good. The draw is excellent, while the burn had some wobbles at times, but they fixed themselves. The cigar is medium bodied at this point.

In the final third, the Alpha Dawg finishes with an earth spiciness that is very much like enjoying spiced peanuts. Overall, the Alpha Dawg is a medium bodied cigar with medium flavor notes and excellent complexity as well as very good construction. I believe this is a cigar any smoker can enjoy, just remember that if you enjoy cigars on the lighter side, the Alpha Dawg is a step up in “weight class”.

There you have it my friends, My first cigar review in about six years. I hope everyone that reads enjoys the review and finds it informative. If you have any comments of suggestions, you can find me on Facebook under Dak Knoll. Until Next time, remember, It’s your world, I’m just smoking in it!