Diesel Disciple TAA Exclusive 2021

Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Exclusive

Since 2018, the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has participated in the annual Tobacconists Association of America (TAA) Exclusive Series of cigars. For the first three years, this cigar came from the CAO brand In 2021. Things would change as the Diesel brand from STG’s newly formed Forged Cigar Company would be given the opportunity to be a part of the TAA Exclusive Series. This in itself was interesting because Diesel’s roots were as a catalog brand. STG has worked hard to position Diesel as a brick and mortar brand and the TAA is positioned as an upper echelon of brick and mortar retailers. Diesel’s 2021 entry into the TAA series is known as the Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Exclusive. It’s a lancero offering – also marking Diesel’s first lancero since STG transitioned the brand into a brick and mortar offering. Today we take a closer look at the Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Exclusive.

TAA Exclusive Series consists of cigars made by leading manufacturers that are exclusively sold at TAA member retailers. The TAA is a small group of retailers. At press time the number of retailers is approximately 80. The TAA describes itself as:

The Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. is a trade organization established in 1968 by visionary retail tobacconists. By providing education, communication, research, advocacy, and member discount programs, The TAA works with our members and the industry they support to offer the tools and relationship building opportunities needed to maximize professionalism and success.

2021 TAA Exclusive Series

There are 15 cigars released for 2021 as a part of the TAA Exclusive Series:

The following is the list Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) TAA Exclusives

Without further ado, let’s break down the Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Exclusive and see what this brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Diesel Disciple is highlighted by a Mexican San Andres wrapper over an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan Habano fillers. Production is handled by Diesel’s manufacturing partner, AJ Fernandez.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Diesel Disciple comes in one size – a 7 x 38 lancero. The cigars were presented in ten-count boxes with a total production of 1,000 boxes.

Appearance

The San Andres wrapper of the Diesel Disciple had a chocolate bar-brown color to it. The surface of the wrapper was slightly toothy, there was a slight amount of mottling, and there also was a slight amount of oil on the surface. The wrapper had some visible veins, but the dark color of the wrapper did a good job of hiding the seams.

The band of the Diesel Disciple had a brown and silver color scheme. A the top of the band is the TAA logo in silver with brown. There is a large brown field covering most of the band. On the lower middle of the band is a silver Diesel Insignia logo with the text “disciple” in gothic silver font. The lower portion of the band has a silver stripe with the text “2021 TAA EXCLUSIVE” in brown font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Diesel Disciple. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered notes of earth and mocha (a fusion of chocolate and coffee). While this was a simple pre-light draw in terms of flavor, it was one of the best pre-light draws I have had on a Diesel cigar. At this point, it was time to light up the Diesel Disciple and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Diesel Disciple started out with notes of mocha, sweet dark cherry notes, and cedar. During the first third the mocha and cherry notes emerged as the primary notes. The cedar settled into the background and was joined by a combination of red and black pepper notes. The red and black pepper notes were also present on the retro-hale.

Late in the first third of the Diesel Disciple, the pepper notes started to slowly increase in intensity. This continued into the second third. During the second third, the mocha split into cocoa and coffee components. The coffee took over as the sole primary note. Both the cocoa and cherry components receded into the background and slowly decreased in intensity. There also were still some cedar notes in the forefront.

The final third of the Diesel Disciple saw the coffee notes remain in the forefront. The pepper notes were now the second most prominent. These flavors were rounded out by the cocoa, cherry, and cedar notes. This is the way the Diesel Disciple came to a close. The resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Diesel Disciple had an excellent burn for the most part. The burn was slightly wavy, but it did not stray from burning on a straight path.  The resulting ash wasn’t’ overly firm and had some minor flaking. This was an ash that was mostly near-white in color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Burn of the Diesel Disciple

Draw

The draw of the Diesel Disciple performed excellently too. The draw had a touch of resistance to it, yet at the same time was low maintenance when it came to deriving flavor.

Strength and Body

The Diesel Disciple started out as a medium strength, medium-bodied cigar. Throughout the smoking experience, the cigar didn’t have much in the way of variance in strength and body. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other out.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I was surprised that the TAA would accept a lancero as a part of the TAA Exclusives. I’ve heard many retailers, including several TAA ones, tell me that lanceros simply don’t sell. At the same time, I give Diesel credit for putting forward a lancero for the TAA Exclusive.

In the end, I’ll assess the Diesel Disciple on performance. The cigar delivered good flavor – particularly in the first half. At the same time, I didn’t find the flavors had any wow factor in their flavor profile. There was still enough going on where I could recommend this cigar to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would buy and smoke again. At 89 points, it’s a respectable score, but it underscores the point I have been saying for years – the TAA Exclusive Series is highly overrated as a collection.

Summary

Key Flavors:  Earth, Fruit, Natural Tobacco, Mineral, Wood, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent

Rating

Value: Buy One
Score: 89

References

News: Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Exclusive Details Announced
Price: $8.99
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Diesel

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted