- Price: $8.10
- Made By: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
- Factory Location: Estelí, Nicaragua
- Dimensions: 5″ by 54 ring gauge
- Shape: Torpedo
- Filler: Undisclosed (rumored Nicaraguan)
- Binder: Undisclosed (rumored Indonesian)
- Wrapper: Maduro
- Cold Draw: Sweetness, Chocolate Syrup, Vanilla Ice Cream, Slight Woodiness
- First Third: Sweetness, Chocolate Syrup, Vanilla Ice Cream, Sweet Cedar, Strong Black Coffee, Baker’s Chocolate, Spicy White Pepper
- Second Third: Baker’s Chocolate, Sweet Fruit, Sweetness, Cedar, Strong Black Coffee, Spicy White Pepper
- Final Third: Leather, Earthiness, Baker’s Chocolate, Sweetness, Cedar, Spicy White Pepper
Appearance
When I first laid eyes on the Deadwood Leather Rose cigar, the first thing that came to mind was the Old West. The oily, dark chocolate brown Maduro wrapper has a rugged look, but it’s still well constructed. It reminds me a bit of the cigars you see in Western films, though those don’t have a bad to the bone upper band with a dark-haired woman wearing a rose in her hair as she stands in front of a tattoo-esque spiderweb.
The bottom of said band has a banner with the cigar’s name. The whole scene is rockabilly pinup girl meets Old West, and it is awesome. It also appears that Ms. Rose has her face tattooed, so I best be careful moving forward with this dangerous lady. Check out the back of the upper band for the Drew Estate logo at the center of another spiderweb.
The cigar is a 5 x 54 torpedo shaped stick. The torpedo format uses its pyramid-shaped head to flood the palate with concentrated flavors. This happens as the smoke barrels through the tapered point of the cigar, where complex flavors become more intense. More often than not, torpedoes deliver a tighter draw which makes them burn slower. Of course, the draw can change dramatically depending on how you cut the cap.
Taste & Draw
The Deadwood Leather Rose, Deadwood Crazy Alice, and Deadwood Fat Bottom Betty cigars are the latest three installments in the Deadwood cigar line. The taste of the Deadwood Leather Rose is sweet and spicy. Due to the sweet tip, the balancing act between the two starts off leaning toward heavy sweet before it balances out with spicier notes. Still, the best way to describe the overall experience is well balanced and satisfying.
For me, the draw was easy, the smoke clouds billowing, and there was no trouble with the burn line. The cigar performed well from start to finish, and I will certainly smoke plenty of these sticks in the future.
Cold Draw
Sweetness, Chocolate Syrup, Vanilla Ice Cream, Slight Woodiness
The Deadwood Leather Rose is billed as the spiciest offering from the Deadwood line, so she definitely has my attention. The lush Maduro leaf wrapped around aromatic tobaccos, which were aged and carefully dark air-cured, has piqued my curiosity big time. So has the sweet tip. While sweet tips are often misleading on a cold draw, hints of future flavor notes can still break through the sweetness. Let’s see what the cold draw reveals about this western woman.
Right off the bat, as expected, I’m getting a heavy dose of sweetness. A few more cold pulls, and that sweetness expands to chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream. I taste a wood note in the background, but that’s it. Everything else is coming from the sweetened cap. I could keep pulling, but I’d rather see how this sweetness melds with the rest of the blend once burning.
First Third
Chocolate syrup, Sweetness, Vanilla Ice Cream, Sweet Cedar, Strong Black Coffee Baker’s Chocolate, Spicy White Pepper
The first third opens up with vanilla ice cream. Sill partnering with the chocolate syrup and sweetness, the wood note is more defined now, like a sweet cedar, or maybe that’s just the sweet tip doing its thing to the cedar. I take a few more puffs and taste a strong black coffee note. Soon I’m tasting baker’s chocolate, similar to that in the Padron 1926 Series No. 1 Maduro cigar.
Toward the end of this third, a spicy white pepper note announces itself. It grows with each pull. While the core blend is undisclosed by Drew Estate, I’m hearing from the rumor mill that the long fillers are Nicaraguan. This makes sense considering the note and how Drew Estate promotes Deadwood Leather Rose as the spiciest of the Deadwood sisters. On its current trajectory, it is easy to believe that this spicy black pepper will continue to define itself. There’s only one way to find out, right?
Second Third
Baker’s Chocolate, Sweet Fruit, Sweetness, Cedar, Strong Black Coffee, Spicy White Pepper
Shortly after transitioning into the second third, the vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup disappeared. The baker’s chocolate is now more pronounced as if it absorbed the vanilla and chocolate to form something mightier. The strength of this Deadwood stick has remained medium to full from the opening gate. It’s a great tasting stogie with the massive smoke output you’ve come to expect from a Drew Estate cigar.
I keep smoking, and a sweet fruit note joins the party. The sweetness from the cap has diminished slightly. The sweet cedar has dropped the sweet and is making a name for itself on its own. The black coffee remains strong, and as predicted, the spicy white pepper is gunning hard for point position. But isn’t that expected when dealing with a bold and spicy outlaw like Deadwood Leather Rose?
Final Third
Leather, Earthiness, Baker’s Chocolate, Sweetness, Cedar, Spicy White Pepper
Seeing as the cigar is named Leather Rose, I’ve wondered if a leather note would appear, and here in the closing third, it has, and it tastes wonderful. Not fresh leather or broken in leather but right in-between. Perhaps it’s been there the entire time hidden beneath the sweetness, but no matter because this is one hell of a satisfying note. The only other new flavor I’m getting is earthiness.
Present to the end we have baker’s chocolate, sweetness, and cedar with the spicy white pepper way out in front. Leather Rose is indeed the spiciest of the Deadwood gals, though the sweetness and other sweet flavors keep the spicy well in check. Drew Estate cigars always impress, and the Deadwood Leather Rose cigar is no exception.
Summary
The Deadwood Leather Rose cigar is true to its billing of the “spiciest of the Deadwood ladies.” While the promise of spice is real, there is plenty of sweet in this rich Maduro to keep things balanced. Drew Estate is one of the hottest cigar companies in the game today, and with cigars like this, it’s easy to see why.
The Leather Rose starts with big sweetness due to its sweet tip. To some enthusiasts, this sweet tip may be a turnoff, but I think if they give this one a try, they’ll be pleasantly surprised. The sweetness from the cap is quickly balanced with notes like spicy white pepper, cedar, and earthiness.
That said, this is still a sweet-tipped cigar, so there’s more sweet to the equation than your average Maduro. Deliciousness like vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and baker’s chocolate all make an appearance—nothing quite like having your dessert and smoking it too.
The Deadwood Leather Rose and her sister cigars all deserve well-earned spots in your humidor. The edgy packaging, creative backstories, and general badass nature of the line is only a tease of the satisfying Drew Estate manufactured blend within. I would definitely recommend this medium to full strength cigar to seasoned smokers. For the novice, you probably want to look towards a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 to get started.
Deadwood Leather Rose Cigar Pairing Notes
A medium to full strength sweet and spicy cigar like the Deadwood Leather Rose calls for tasty stouts and aged whiskeys. The selections I made further balance the stogie and make the flavor notes more pronounced.
- Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve Irish Whiskey
- WhistlePig 10 Year Straight Rye Whiskey
- High Water Campfire Stout
- Medium or full roast coffee
- Tennessee Legend Salted Caramel Whiskey
Deadwood Leather Rose Cigar History
The Leather Rose, Fat Bottom Betty, and Crazy Alice stogies are all part of the Deadwood by Drew Estate cigar line, a collaboration between Drew Estate and Deadwood Tobacco Co. located in the historic Old West town of Deadwood, South Dakota. These three gals, along with the Deadwood Sweet Jane cigar, make up what Drew Estate describes as the “four bewitching Deadwood sisters” cigars.
Drew Estate Founder and President Jonathan Drew stated, “The four sisters of Deadwood are a notorious bunch of mysterious, wild, rebellious and provocative ladies whose infamous tales from the Old West are revealed with every puff of their captivating cigars.”
Whoa. Now if that isn’t a great origin story for a cigar’s theme, I don’t know what is.
As the story goes, Leather Rose left Deadwood with a wealthy client. No one knew exactly where Rose’s travels took her, but according to legend, she robbed a number of banks and secured a fortune before riding back into town to reunite with her sisters in Deadwood’s most infamous brothel.
One spicy lady, Deadwood Leather Rose is known as the headiest of the Deadwood sisters, but that’s not to say you should underestimate any of these outlaws. Befriend them, treat them right, give them a prime spot in your humidor, and they’ll show their thanks every time you light one up. That is, of course, if you’re the age of 21 or older, at which point you can legally consume tobacco-related products in the United States.
