Muestra de Saka Krakatoa by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

Today, we review Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s Muestra de Saka Krakatoa. Krakatoa is the name of a volcano in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa is one of the largest and deadliest volcanic events in modern history. Krakatoa was initially slated to be a 2021 release, but Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Master Ligador/Owner Steve Saka was not satisfied with the blend. Krakatoa would make it to the shelves late in 2023.

Saka has described the Muestra de Saka series as follows:

“Muestra is the humble, common word for ‘sample’ in Spanish, however it takes on much more important, sometimes reverential, meaning when used in a handmade cigar factory. A muestra is the vision of the ligador and torcedor realized, it is the promise of a new experience and possibly the key to financial success for the fabrica. Muestras are hoarded and coveted by not only their makers, but by the cigar smokers who seek to catch a glimpse into the cigarmaker’s soul within their smoke. Muestra de Saka is just that. A line of unique blends and vitolas made in extremely limited quantities that reflect the blending machinations of myself. To smoke a Muestra de Saka is to embark upon a journey with me in which I greatly welcome your companionship.”

The following are the seven nationally released Muestra de Saka cigars to date

Muestra de Saka Exclusivo
Muestra de Saka Nacatamale
Muestra de Saka Unicorn
Muestra de Saka #NLMTHA
Muestra de Saka Unstolen Valor (blended by Raul Disla)
Muestra de Saka – The Bewitched
Muestra de Saka Krakatoa

Without further ado, let’s break down the Muestra de Saka Krakatoa and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Muestra de Saka Krakatoa by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Krakatoa blend consists of a Grade A1 Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Nicaraguan sun-grown binder and fillers that include Nicaraguan-grown broadleaf, Cuban Seed Criollo, and what is described as a potent Corojo Ligero. Production for Krakatoa comes from the Joya de Nicaragua factory, which also produces the other national Muestra de Saka releases except for Unstolen Valor.

Wrapper: Grade A1 Ecuador Habano Seed
Binder: Nicaraguan Sungrown
Filler: Nicaraguan Broadleaf, Criollo, Corojo Ligero
County of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua, S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Krakatoa comes in a 6 x 48 parejo. Each cigar is housed in an individual coffin. The coffins come in seven-count boxes.

Muestra de Saka Krakatoa Coffin

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper of the Krakatoa was a medium to dark roasted coffee bean color. It was slightly toothy and mottled. There were some thin veins and thin wrapper seams, but overall, this was a smooth wrapper. Finally, the cap is finished with a spiral colita (pigtail) that is meant to resemble a volcano.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

As opposed to pulling off the pigtail cap, a straight cut was used to remove both the cap and the tail of the Krakatoa simultaneously. From then on, it was time to pull the footer ribbon off and commence the pre-light draw. The dry draw brought a combination of coffee beans, mixed fruit, and some earth. This was an excellent pre-light draw. With the pre-light draw completed, it was time to toast up the Krakatoa and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Krakatoa opened up with coffee, earth, fruit, cedar, and red pepper notes. Early on, the coffee and the fruit were the primary notes. The earth, cedar, and red pepper settled into the background. As the cigar burned through the first third, the coffee notes moved into the forefront, with the fruit becoming secondary. At the same time, some chocolate notes surfaced in the background. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of red pepper on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Krakatoa saw the earth notes join the coffee notes in the forefront. As the cigar progressed through the middle stages, the fruit and chocolate notes both morphed into a natural tobacco sweetness in the background. Just past midway, the earth took over as the primary note. In addition, there were additional notes of coffee, cedar, and pepper in the background.

There was not much change in the final third, though the cedar and pepper spices ramped up. The profile was quite earthy in the forefront. The cedar and pepper were now close secondary notes, and notes of natural tobacco and coffee rounded out the flavor profile. The Krakatoa finished out with a slight soft and cool nub.

Burn

The Krakatoa required several touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and burn line. While the touch-ups did the trick, more touch-ups were needed than I preferred. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, but it wasn’t loose or flakey either. It was a light to medium gray color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Burn of the Muestra de Saka Krakatoa

Draw

The draw to the Krakatoa performed extremely well. It had a touch of resistance – making it ideal in my book. At the same time, there was no problem deriving flavor from this cigar.

Strength and Body

The Krakatoa started out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors. Both intensity levels increased gradually. The strength level was pushed into medium to full territory by the second half. There was more body in the second half than in the first half, but it was still very much in the medium range.

In terms of strength versus body, the strength had a slight edge in the second half.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

I’m a fan of the coffin packaging and the seven-count boxes. I like how each Muestra de Saka has a simple icon on the slide top related to that specific Muestra de Saka. For instance, the Krakatoa has a volcano icon. I also like that the boxes and coffins do not have heavy varnish on them. However, I’m not fond of the footer ribbons on the Muestra de Saka and would prefer to see a band on them instead.

Packaging of the Muestra de Saka Krakatoa

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I found the Krakatoa really delivered great flavors in the first half. The second half wasn’t quite as impressive as the first half, but it was still satisfying. There was also enough complexity to keep me interested in this cigar. The retro-hale is key on this cigar as it adds more complexity and strength to the smoking experience. In the end, I’m most inclined to recommend this cigar to a more seasoned cigar smoker.

While it’s not as expensive as a Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Unicorn release, the Krakatoa is still one of the company’s pricier offerings at $20.75. In the case of the Krakatoa, it’s probably right at the upper limit for what I would pay for this blend, but it’s still one I would buy and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Earth, Fruit, Chocolate, Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (Second Half)
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good