Cigar Reveal #106

When asked how he would characterize a Caldwell cigar to someone that's never had one, Robert Caldwell replied, "Flavor first. Equilibrium. Balanced. Simple yet sophisticated." Taste familiar? Caldwell began his cigar journey in the now-trendy Wynwood district of Miami. He partnered with Christian Eiroa (Camacho) to form Wynwood Cigars, but when that dissolved he teamed up with a small factory in the Dominican Republic called Tabacalera Ventura to produce cigars for his new company. In 2014, Caldwell released three debut brands: The King is Dead, Long Live the King, and Eastern Standard. Of his new cigars he said, "I wanted to produce cigars that were multi-dimensional and that tasted different than what was on the market. I don't like cigars that are too much of anything. Too rich, spice, creamy. Too much of anything is bad. I like balanced and well-rounded cigars that are also dynamic with a lot of character." It worked. Within a couple years Caldwell cigars were a fixture on most shop humidors in the country, and in 2015 The King Is Dead earned a spot on Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 Cigars of the Year list. Caldwell now has several regular production cigars, along with collaborations, limited editions and even other cigar brands. For The King Is Dead, he used a special wrapper called 'negrito' that is rarely used due to it's "difficulty to play well with other tobaccos." It took sorting through hundreds of blends to finally get it right. We're of the opinion that it was well worth the effort.