2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List): #14 - Undercrown 10 Robusto by Drew Estate

“Last year, the Undercrown 10 Toro landed a spot on the Cigar Coop Countdown. While flavor-wise, the Robusto was in the wheelhouse of Toro, the flavors seemed slightly richer.”

Wrapper: High Priming Mexican San Andres
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate
Robusto: 5 x 50
Price: $11.75

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Undercrown 10 Robusto by Drew Estate (5/23/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 9 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)

Coming in at #14 is the Undercrown 10 Robusto by Drew Estate. The Undercrown 10 line made its debut back in 2021. As the name indicates, it was meant to commemorate ten years of the Undercrown brand. This is actually the second year in a row Undercrown 10 has landed on Countdown. Last year the Toro size of Undercrown 10 landed at #15.

Back in 2008, Drew Estate made a significant move into the traditional premium cigar-making space with Liga Privada, but the brand was always intended to be somewhat of a limited production offering. This is where the need for Undercrown came in. Drew Estate needed an offering that was not as constrained as Liga Privada. In any factory, it is common for rollers to smoke the cigar they are making. With Drew Estate’s popular Liga Privada, because there was high demand with limited tobacco, it was not possible for the rollers to smoke that cigar. Therefore, the rollers came up with a variation of the Liga Privada blend which would be dubbed Undercrown (now Undercrown Maduro). This basically involved using alternate primings from the same tobaccos that were acquired and used in the Liga Privada blend. In 2011, the Undercrown Maduro was released to the market. Eventually, other Undercrown blends were added, one of which is the all-new Undercrown 10.

Like the original the Undercrown Maduro, Undercrown 10 also uses a San Andres wrapper. The difference is the San Andres wrapper for the Undercrown 10 is a higher grade and priming. The remainder of the blend incorporates “the very finest Broadleaf binder from the Connecticut River Valley, and a tripa blend of select and rare Nicaraguan tobaccos.” Production is handled at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua. The Robusto measures 5 x 50.

Flavor-wise, the Undercrown 10 Robusto delivered notes of coffee, cocoa, baker’s spice, red licorice, pepper, and cream. For the most part, this delivered a cigar with medium strength and medium body, but it does kick up to medium to full in the final third. The Robusto is going to be very close to the Toro in terms of a flavor profile, but the flavors seemed to be on the richer side.

Drew Estate has been one of the most successful companies in the history of the Countdown. This is the ninth year the company has landed on the Countdown, including five years in a row. Nicaragua continues to dominate the 2022 Countdown as this is the 12th cigar to land on the Countdown from that country.