In 2022, Nelson Alfonso’s Selected Tobacco would introduce its fourth blend under its Byron Cigars brand, the Byron Seleccíon 1850. If you have followed the career of Selected Tobacco owner Nelson Alfonso, you will know when it comes to his cigars, he very much focuses on the aging process of not just the tobacco, but the cigars themselves once rolled. While Selected Tobacco ages its cigars in cedar-lined rooms, the Byron 1850 is also aged in French oak rooms after they are rolled. During that process, the humidity is raised and lowered to allow the cigars to breathe anywhere from two to five years. The concept of incorporating aging in French oak runs in addition to the cedar rooms was also used with the Alfonso Añejo – which also was released in 2022. Today we take a closer look at the Byron Seleccíon 1850 in the Grand Bouquet (perfecto) size.

The Byron brand traces its origins to Cuba in 1850 which is where the Byron Selección 1850 derives its name. It was in 1850 when the “Lord Byron” was created by Jose and Eusebio Alfonso – one of which was Alfonso’s great-great-great-grandfather. The original cigar was made in a small factory in Santiago de las Vegas in the Havana province of Cuba. The name Byron honors George Gordon Byron – who was better known as “Lord Byron” – a renowned English poet. The brand lasted for over 80 years before it folded during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The brand would be dormant until 1998 when Nelson Alfonso would recover the Byron brand name.

It should also be noted that the brands of Selected Tobacco are exclusively distributed in the U.S. market by United Cigars. Without further ado, let’s break down the Byron Selección 1850 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Byron Selección 1850 uses a four-country multi-national blend including a wrapper from Ecuador, a binder from Peru, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.  As with all Selected Tobacco cigars, production for the Byron Selección 1850 comes from Tabacos de Costa Rica in Santiago de Puriscal, Costa Rica.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Peruvian
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Factory: Tabacos de Costa Rica

Vitolas Offered

There are six vitolas in the Byron Selección 1850. These are regular-production cigars that are presented in 25-count boxes. A total of 200 boxes was produced in 2022.

No. 1: 8 x 54
No. 2: 7 x 56 (Torpedo)
No. 3: 6 x 52
No. 4: 5 x 50

There are also two limited production sizes that were offered to retailers when they hosted a Selected Tobacco event. They could be sold by retailers after the event as well. The Grand Bouquet is a 6 x 58 perfecto. A total of 150 25-count boxes was produced for each of these sizes.

Liricos: 9 1/4 x 55 (Salomon)
Grand Bouquet: 6 x 58 (Perfecto)

Appearance

The Ecuadorian wrapper of the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet had a milk chocolate color. This was very much a wrapper with a silky complexion to it. There were some visible veins. Any wrapper seams that were visible were thin and on the minimally visible side. The perfecto has a gentle taper that closes to a full tip at the head of the cigar. Toward the footer, the taper was slightly less gentle, but it only tapered part of the way, leaving an open footer.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove a portion of the tip of the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet. About half of the tip was removed in order to preserve some of the tapering of the cigar. Once the tip was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The cold draw delivered notes of bittersweet cocoa and earth. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet and await what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet began with notes of cocoa, earth, oak, and cedar. The earth notes moved into the forefront early on. The oak and cocoa notes started to alternate between the forefront and the background early on. Meanwhile, the cedar notes settled in the background. Both the cedar and oak notes were also present on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet, a natural tobacco note also emerged in the background. The earth notes remained grounded in the forefront. The oak continued to float between the forefront and the background. Meanwhile, the cocoa notes settled in the background with the cedar and natural tobacco. Progressing through the second third, the natural tobacco developed some sweetness, and now some black pepper emerged in the background.

By the final third, the oak notes joined the earth in the forefront. These flavors were rounded out by cedar, pepper, natural tobacco, and cocoa in the background. This is the way the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet would finish out the final third. The cigar finished up with a firm and cool nub.

Burn

On each of the samples smoked, the burn of the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet did require frequent touch-ups in order to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. While the touch-ups mostly did the trip, there was definitely an excessive amount needed for this cigar. The resulting ash was light gray and was prone to some minor flaking. In terms of the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Draw

In terms of the draw, the Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet performed flawlessly. This was a draw that had a touch of resistance – which is something that I like. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Byron Selección 1850 Grand Bouquet started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Along the way, there was a slight increase in the intensity level of both strength and body. In the end, the cigar had more strength and body toward the end of the cigar, but it still was in the medium range for both attributes. When comparing strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other very nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

The best way to summarize the packaging of the Byron Selección 1850 is simple yet elegant. The banding uses the gold-scripted Byron logo on a white band with gold trim. There is a secondary band that is gold with a black font that says “SELECCIÓN 1850.”  The boxes feature embossed hinges and a push-button clasp in the front. The top and sides feature golden print on a dark, glossy walnut exterior finish with soft felt on the bottom of the box. The inside vista contains an image of Lord Byron.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When it came to the flavor and the blend, my first reaction is “Selected Tobacco does it again!” They have delivered a cigar that really excels in the flavor category. There was also enough complexity to keep me interested in the cigar from start to finish. The only drawback was the burn was more high maintenance than I prefer. In the end, I thought the number of touch-ups was slightly more excessive than what should be on a $60.00 cigar, but it was still a satisfactory burn performance. When all is said and done, this cigar scored 90 points and earned a Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence. It’s still a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would still buy and smoke again. It’s also one that I look for in different sizes.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Oak, Cocoa, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent

Rating

Value: Buy One
Score: 90
Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence

REFERENCES

News: Byron 1850 to Make Debut at Byron Cigar Lounge in Schaumberg, IL
Price: $60.00
Source: Cigar Coop
Brand Reference: Byron

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop