2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List): #10: Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 448 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

“Very simply, this small little size is loaded with flavor and it delivers the boldness you would expect from Triqui Traca.”

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA)
448: 4 x 48
Price: $8.95

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (7/4/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 8 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Coming in at #10 is the Mi Querida Triqui Traca No. 448 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. The story of the Mi Querida Triqui Traca can be traced back to a cigar known as the Mi Querida Firecracker. This is a project that Steve Saka did for New Hampshire-based retailer Two Guys Smoke Shop in 2018. The Mi Querida Firecracker was a 3 1/2 x 50 size featuring a long fuse much like a Firecracker. For that project, Saka released the Mi Querida Firecracker using an alternative blend that was stronger than the Mi Querida that was out at the time, the Mi Querida Blue. With Mi Querida Trique Traca (which is a name that refers to a large firecracker almost resembling a stick of dynamite), Saka worked with that alternate blend and tweaked it to be released in other sizes (minus the long fuse). One of those sizes that were added was a 4 x 48 vitola that was released in 2021.

Like the original Mi Querida Blue, the Triqui Traca makes use of a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The remainder of the blend consists Nicaraguan binder and a combination of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. There are two notable differentiators with the Triqui Tracker when compared to the Blue. First, the wrapper of Triqui Traca was switched from the traditional Connecticut Broadleaf Mediums to the rarer No. 1 Dark corona leaves. Second, the filler incorporates what is described as a “high octane ligero” from the Dominican Republic. Production comes from the NACSA factory. The 4 x 48 size is one that has brought Saka success on the Cigar Coop Countdown in the past. In 2018, the Mi Querida Gordita in the Blue Blend finished as #7 Cigar of the Year. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time Triqui Traca has landed on the Countdown. In 2020, the 552 size finished at #16.

The Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 delivered a mix of mixed pepper, cocoa, blackberry, and earth. The cigar came in at medium to full strength and medium to full body. As I stated when I assessed this cigar, this small little size was loaded with flavor and it delivers plenty of boldness.

The Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 lands Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust on a Cigar Coop Countdown for an eighth consecutive year. If you have been keeping score at home Nicaragua has been dominating the 2022 Countdown. Of the 21 cigars unveiled thus far, the Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448 is the 15th to come out of Nicaragua.