BLACKENED by Drew Estate M81 Toro

BLACKENED M81 brings together three collaborators: Metallica’s James Hetfield, master distiller Rob Dietrich, and Drew Estate founder Jonathan Drew. Their shared interest in darker tobaccos resulted in an all-Maduro blend, with Maduro leaves used throughout the wrapper, binder, and filler. Handmade in Nicaragua, the 6 × 52 Toro wears a Mexican San Andrés Maduro wrapper over a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania Broadleaf fillers. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers dark chocolate, toasted wood, and black pepper, while the Toro’s published tasting notes also highlight earth, leather, nutmeg, and a mocha-like finish. There’s plenty of richness, but the combination offers more than a single heavy chocolate note. Pair it with an Old Fashioned made with BLACKENED American Whiskey. We’d use a restrained amount of sugar, aromatic bitters, and an orange twist, allowing the cocktail’s sweetness and citrus to contrast with the cigar’s darker tobacco flavors. The bitters should connect nicely with its spice, while the orange provides a brighter counterpoint to the chocolate and earth.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world.

The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.