Smoke Rings Caldwell 10th Anniversary Cigars

December 3, 2024 by Alan Britt in Cigar Certified

In this edition of Smoke Rings, I had the pleasure of speaking with Robert Caldwell of Caldwell Cigars about the 10th Anniversary cigars, available on-site now in highly limited quantities. Learn more about the blend and the story behind its creation in this episode, and be sure to try out this dynamic smoke from Caldwell in celebration of a decade of daring cigars.

Note: The following transcription has been edited for clarity and brevity.

[Alan Britt]: I'm here today with cigar maker extraordinaire, Mr. Robert Caldwell to talk about something special: the Caldwell 10th Anniversary Anejado. What does this cigar mean to you and why did you choose this blend to signify such a monumental occasion?

[Robert Caldwell]: We were planning this cigar for a very long time. We actually started with something very different. We wanted to do something showing our pathway over the last 10 years, how we've explored different tobaccos as well as different flavor profiles. Throughout the last couple of years, we've started to produce cigars that are far different from those that we produced our first few years. The wrapper on this is a San Andrés Rosado over a Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Colombian filler blend all wrapped in tobacco leaf from the Dominican Republic.

We've always used very aged tobacco. There was about three and a half years of age at the time of production on these wrappers, and then we aged the cigar for about a year after that. You'll notice that Colombian tobacco is a little bit exotic. It's not something that's used that often and when it is utilized, it's normally found in binders. The reason that we chose Colombian tobacco is because my two prior business partners were both Colombian and they were always mentioning that there was tobacco grown in Colombia, so we wanted to incorporate that into our 10th anniversary blend.

These cigars are medium plus, leaning to full for me. They have the balance and kind of a refined nature that I think that all of our cigars have. It gives you a very interesting flavor experience that really encapsulates everything that we've done the last 10 years.

[AB]: I am on the more mild end of the spectrum usually when it comes to cigars. Eastern Standard is my go to and I think long-time fans of the brand have appreciated that transition. I think if they've loved the portfolio so far, they will enjoy this cigar as well. Not only is the cigar amazing, but this packaging is absolutely beautiful. They come in a lacquer box with the coffin presentation.

[RC]: Sure. We made a very small production, just over a hundred 10-count boxes. They're 5.75" x 52 Anejado, so it's effectively a Toro size with a little bit off the top.

[AB]: Who produced these?

[RC]: We produced these at Tabacalera William Ventura. We've been producing cigars there our whole time. That being said, I do have to admit that my boy Henderson helped me out a little bit with the blending.

When we started working with Tabacalera William Ventura, the cigars that they made were very light classic Dominican style. Everything that was produced there was very light and we came in with a different approach to Dominican tobacco. We wanted more full-flavored and a little bit more full-bodied than was being made there at the time, and Henderson was very young and he just fell in love with the darker leaves and the stronger tobaccos and obviously went on to do his own thing. He really took an affinity to the stronger tobacco. So when we were going to source tobacco for this project, he was my first call.

[AB]: Yeah. I think it was a good call.

[RC]: I agree.

[AB]: Alright, well, you heard it from the man himself, the Caldwell 10th Anniversary cigars are on-site now. If you've been a long-time fan like myself, you don't wanna miss it. Enjoy.