Year of the Duque Review — Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Year of the Duque 2025

Today, we review a cigar from Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) known as the Year of the Duque. The story of this cigar is a play on the many Chinese Zodiac “Year of the” limited edition cigars that have flooded the cigar market over the past few years and instead of releasing a Chinese Zodiac cigar that pays homage to an animal representing a year, master ligador Steve Saka decided to use the series to pay tribute to the supporters of his brand. This year, the Year of the Duque pays homage to a gentleman by the name of Chris Duque.

Chris Duque is a long-time loyal fan of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. If you have visited the Dunbarton booth, chances are you have run into Chris. Chris volunteers his time to work exclusively at the Dunbarton booth. For this blend, Saka decided to blend something with Chris in mind. Year of the Duque is described as a mashup between two of Chris’s favorite blends: Sobremesa Solita and Todos Las Dias. The cigar was blended to the size that Chris likes (a 5 x 48 parejo).

Saka has said there will be more of the “Year of” cigars with a similar theme to the many supporters of the brand. He has not been specific about what future releases will be.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Year of the Duque and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Year of the Duque 2025 – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Year of the Duque features an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper over a San Andres Mexican binder. The fillers are a combination of Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania tobaccos. Production originates from Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: San Andres Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan, Pennsylvania
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The cigar comes in one size – a 5 x 48 parejo. A total of 2,000 14-count boxes were produced.

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper had a medium roast coffee bean color and, of course, had the reddish rosado tint. There was a light coating of oil on the surface of the cigar. The cigar had some visible veins. Any visible wrapper seams were minimal. The head of the cigar is finished with a coiled pig-tail.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

As opposed to pulling the pig-tail off of the Year of the Duque, a straight cut was used to remove both the cap and the pig-tail at the same time. From that point, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered notes of cedar, dusty earth, natural tobacco, and a slight amount of anise. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Year of the Duque and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Year of the Duque opened up with more notes of natural tobacco, anise, and cedar. There were also notes of earth and a charred note on the finish. Early on, the natural tobacco and anise moved into the forefront. Meanwhile, the earth, cedar, and charred notes were secondary. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the natural tobacco and anise developed a fusion. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered an extra layer of cedar.

The second third of the Year of the Duque saw the natural tobacco and anise eventually fold together. The cigar took on more natural tobacco sweetness and less of the anise sweetness. Meanwhile, the cedar and earth remained secondary. The charred note was now fully present as a secondary note. In addition, notes of grain and white pepper also entered the equation as secondary notes. The retro-hale now had both cedar and white pepper qualities.

During the final third, the natural tobacco remained primary and delivered a good balance of sweet and bitter notes. Meanwhile, the earth, cedar, grain, pepper, and charred notes rounded out the flavor profile. This is the way the Year of the Duque came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Overall, the Year of the Duque had a low maintenance burn. The cigar required minimal touchups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash that was mostly silver-gray. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal – meaning the burn was at a perfect rate, and the temperature was neither too hot nor too cool.

Draw

The Year of the Duque had a touch of resistance. It had what Ben Lee of The Smoking Syndicate refers to as “the milkshake draw.” In my book, this is an ideal draw. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Year of the Duque started with medium strength and medium-bodied notes. As the cigar progressed, the intensity increased. Around the 60% mark, the flavors moved into medium to full-bodied territory. The strength level was higher in the later stages of the smoke, but still in the medium range of the spectrum.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge throughout the whole smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

Keeping to the tradition of most Chinese Zodiac release cigars, the banding and packing are red with gold font. There are two noteworthy things on the packaging. First, the band and the box have the text “公爵年” – this translates to “Year of the Duke” (this was probably a cleaner translation for Duque). Second, the box has the text “我的兄弟” which translates to “My Brother.” Overall, it’s an excellent presentation. While my guess is retailers probably didn’t care for the elongated boxes, I can also say many didn’t stay on the shelves very long.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As I have reviewed more and more cigars, I have gotten increasingly critical of the limited edition cigar market. In most cases, I no longer think limited edition cigars are special simply because not enough effort goes into the project. When it comes to Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and Steve Saka’s limited edition releases, this never applies. Saka seems to put a 1000% effort into these types of projects. The result is something special. Year of the Duque is a cigar that has complexity, balance, and most importantly, a very nice flavor. If there is one negative about it, it’s that Saka said it will be one and done. In the end, this is a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again, and buy multiples (if I can find them) to keep in my humidor. Coming in at 90 points, the Year of the Duque earns a Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence designation.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Anise, Grain, Char, Earth, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st 3/5), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Excellent