Kristoff Guardrail review by Don José
Hey team, Don José here back with another review.
Today we have the
Guardrail
by Kristoff
If this is your first time here, my reviews rate each cigar on 10 factors and each factor gets a rating out of 10 giving me an overall out of 100. The 10 factors are: Construction, Draw, Burn, Flavour, 1/3 overall, 2/3 overall, 3/3 overall, Journey (how well it flows), Complexity & Value for money.
Overview
The Kristoff Guardrail pays homage to a serious motorcycle accident that involved Glen Case, founder of Kristoff Cigars.
Case was out on a motorcycle when the back tire gave way, causing the bike to crash into a guardrail. His injuries were extensive enough to require him to be in the hospital for eight days, followed by time in a wheelchair and extensive physical therapy.
The Guardrail cigar, is a medium-full bodied cigar, blended with tobacco from Brazil, Dominican and Nicaragua. It also features a rare and unique tobacco from Zimbabwe, thats right, Zimbabwe Africa. Case has declined to go into specifics about the leaves other than to say he was excited to use them in this new line. Zimbabwe is know to have around 28,000 hectares of Tobacco growing seasonally, which is roughly 8% of the tobacco that is produced in Africa. But very little of Africa's tobacco is usually used in Cigars, apart form 'Cameroon' produced from Sumatra-seed tobaccos introduced to the local farmers by Dutch colonists in the early 1900s
Details:
Brand: Kristoff
Size: Matador (6 1/2 x 56)
Wrapper: Brazil
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe
Factory: Tabacalera von Eicken - Formerly the Charles Fairmorn Factory.
About the wrapper.
Well, not a lot of detail is released about the wrapper exactly, other than it is from Brazil. It's very dark to look at, so Maduro / Double Maduro or Oscuro
So let's dive in to a bunch of speculation.
In the Reconcavo Basin in Brazil’s eastern state of Bahia, three main tobaccos are cultivated. They are all variations of Mata Fina, which translates to thin forest
The three primary Mata Fina tobaccos are:
Mata Sul tobacco comes from the southern area of Mata Fina. Abundant rainfall and fertile soil contribute to the tobacco’s mild body and flavour, but it is tough to harvest because much of the crop is grown on steep hillsides.
Mata Săo Gonçal is an excellent wrapper crop because neighbouring cocoa farmers fertilise the soil with natural compost that imparts much flavour to the tobacco.
Mata Norte is grown in the north of Reconcavo in an arid climate where the tobacco is cured in open air, imparting a particularly vigorous flavour. This crop makes for an ideal filler and is characterised by notes of coffee beans and nuts.
You’ll encounter two additional Brazilian tobaccos used for wrapper:
Arapiraca is milder than traditional Mata Fina tobacco, but is great for adding subtle and complex taste to a mellow cigar. The leaves are larger and darker than Mata Fina.
Brazilian Sumatra refers to crops grown from Indonesian seeds in Brazil. These Shade Grown wrappers are not known for possessing much flavour.
So... I can't be sure, but I would put my money on either Mata Săo Gonçal Oscuro or Arapiraca personally. The advertised Mid strength leaning me towards Arapiraca but hey, I expect we will never know for sure.
let's get into the review.
First thoughts
This is the type of cigar I get excited about before I've even lit it. The look just screams enjoyment to me. The super dark, almost black in parts wrapper, toothy as hell, with a closed foot and pigtail head - all things present on some of my favourite cigars ever.
Aside from the look, Brazilian wrappers have always been a drawcard for me too.
The Cold Draw gives off very little due to the closed foot, but there are some hints of chocolate and earth.
Construction
Very good construction. Wrapper leaf is quite thick, not unusual for a Oscuro, but you can almost see the difficulty in rolling it. Its 'lumpy' but in a good way.
Burn & Draw Exceptional burn and draw. Maybe starting off a little tight but working out the kinks well before the end of the first 1/3.
Flavour & Complexity Earth and black pepper with periods of Chocolate, vanilla and Coffee... The holy grail of flavours IMO. Complexity is good, the slightly mellower body letting a lot of subtile notes come through.
Strength 65% - Mid | Even tho this was advertised I still thought it would be stronger having looked at it.
Enjoyment / Journey This cigar ticks all the boxes for me.
Overall An amazing cigar, possibly the best Kristoff I've smoked!? - Shit thats a big call.. not sure I can say that.. haha, top 3 for sure.
I rate this cigar 93 points!
A look at the numbers.
Construction -- 9/10
Burn -- 10/10
Draw -- 8/10
Flavour -- 10/10
Complexity -- 8/10
First 1/3 -- 9/10
Second 1/3 -- 10/10
Third 1/3 -- 10/10
Journey -- 10/10
Value -- 9/10
About the author
Joe Murdie aka Don José has been reviewing cigars in New Zealand for over 10 years now, originally as a writer for NZBlokes, a mens magazine.
Outside of Cigars Joe is an international award winning film-maker based in Wānaka, OTA.
