Agile Cigar Review: Undercrown Shade Suprema by Drew Estate

Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at Undercrown Shade Suprema. This is a cigar line we previously assessed in the Flying Pig size back in October 2016.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
Binder: Sumatra
Filler: Dominican Criollo ’98, Nicaraguan Criollo, and Nicaraguan Corojo
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Suprema: 6 x 50/54

Back in 2015, Drew Estate launched its first major Connecticut Shade offering with the Undercrown Shade. Fast-forward to 2019 and Drew Estate would launch a limited edition line extension called the Undercrown Shade Suprema. The Suprema was intended to be a bolder version of the Undercrown Shade. In addition, the Suprema was in a size that Drew Estate had never released before a 6 x 50/54 perfecto, having a slight Salomon quality to it. Today we take a closer look at the Undercrown Shade Suprema.

Blend-wise, the Undercrown Shade Suprema uses the same tobacco components as the rest of the line. The perfecto shape of the blend results in a stronger cigar. The blend itself uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Sumatra binder and fillers consisting of Dominican Criollo ’98, Nicaraguan Corojo, and Nicaragua Criollo. One unique feature of the Suprema is that it is packaged in five-count boxes.

For the most part, the Undercrown Shade Suprema delivered a combination of cream, berry, classic wood, and black pepper. Early on the cream notes took control. This continued as the cigar burned through the tapered tip and into the base of the cigar. Toward the second third there was an increase in the classic wood and to a lesser extent the berry notes. The wood joined the cream notes in the forefront. By the last third, there was an increase in pepper. The retro-hale of the Undercrown Shade Suprema delivered notes of cedar early and this transitioned to more of a black pepper note in the second half.

In terms of strength and body, the Suprema delivered a medium strength, medium-bodied smoking experience from start to finish. Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Back when I was a part of the Stogie Geeks podcast, my colleague Mark Maloney came up with an expression “Belle of the Ball” meaning the best size in the line of a cigar. With the Undercrown Shade Suprema, this is exactly what we have with the Undercrown Shade line. While I’m not necessarily convinced the Undercrown Shade Suprema is bolder than the other offerings in the line, it really doesn’t matter here. The cigar delivers a wonderful representation of a Connecticut Shade blend from start to finish offering lots of creaminess and no aftertaste. It’s a cigar I’d recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would definitely smoke again. The five-count box makes this a no-brainer for a box purchase in my book.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Classic Wood, Berry, Pepper, Cedar
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good