CigarsLover Magazine: THE BEST CIGARS OF 2022
THE BEST CIGARS OF 2022 – CigarsLover Magazine
The month of December closes the year and brings with it the list of the best cigars: the 2022 AWARDS. Cigars in the 2022 awards have been selected over the past 12 months. The products that registered the highest scores in blind tastings and reviews were re-selected and retested in a new blind tasting. A particular focus is given to the new releases recently introduced to the market.
Since the launch of the AWARDS, CigarsLover Magazine has always divided the cigars into five categories: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Rest of the World (which includes all the remaining producing countries). This is to give the correct relevance to each producing country. For each terroir, the five best cigars, those that have had the highest scores in the tastings by delivering exceptional smokes, will be chosen and named the best of 2022. The complete 2022 Awards will be published in the CigarsLover Magazine Winter 2022 issue, which will also include the TOP50 list and the categories Best Brand, Best Buy, and Best Boutique Cigars.
STRENGTH: ••••
SIZE: 38 x 191mm (7½”)
PRICE: $ 11.5 | € –
TIME: 1h 30 min
COUNTRY: U.S.A.
WRAPPER: Mexico
BINDER: Ecuador
FILLER: Nicaragua
Drunk Chicken Cigars started its venture into the cigar industry in 2019, and the blend that started it all was this one, the Drunk Chicken Original, also known as the DCO. The elegant Lancero size is a flavor bomb and reveals a bold and complex smoke with a sustained strength level from start to finish while still being well-balanced.
Charred oak, black pepper, and leather are the undisputed prominent aromas throughout the smoke and are supported by a mix of flavors like earth, coffee, and cocoa along the way, with a hint of creamy sweetness.
RATING: 90
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Cigar Pals: Drunk Chicken Original DCO – Cigar Review
July 26, 2021 by Chuck Wimer Leave a Comment
Drunk Chicken Original DCO – Cigar Review – Cigar Pals
Hey Hey Cigar Pals: Today I get to do a cigar review of the Drunk Chicken Original, or (DCO) as they call it. I have been following Drunk Chicken Cigars on Instagram for months and really didn’t get it. However, at the PCA (Premium Cigar Association) trade show, I got to meet these fine folks and get a better understanding of what their all about.
They are a fun bunch of folks and their booth was always hoppin, from day one! I believe they made quite a splash at the event and I’m looking forward to watching them grow in the coming years.
They did tell me a little about how they came up with their name, but not the whole story. They do raise chickens, however the part about them being drunk or the chickens getting drunk or whatever, I wasn’t able to ascertain.
In Their Words
(This is what they say about this cigar on their site) https://drunkchickencigars.com/product/dco/
Our signature hand-rolled powerhouse Maduro that launched the company. DCO is an exquisite combination inspired by “Dirty Rico’s” flavor profile. Using only the finest tobacco leaves from Nicaragua, Mexico and Ecuador, this complex cigar provides a powerful and amazing velvety smoke with prominent tones of earthiness and black pepper. This is an enjoyable, strong, robust, full-body smoke.
What’s Under the Hood
Size: 5 1/2 x 50
Strength: Full
Wrapper: Mexican
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitola: Robusto
How’d She Run
Start: 9:45 am End: 11:30 Burn Time: 1:45
Aroma: Earthy with a sweet dark chocolate and hazelnut.
Cold Draw: Forgot to do it
Construction: Toothy dark Oscuro colored wrapper, rugged with tight seams, open foot and double cap
Burn: Pretty even, ash builds to 1 1/2 inch chunks, becomes a little soft and warm late in the final third
Draw: Open
Flavor Profile:
Light Up: Barnyard, with dark chocolate and hazelnut
First Third: Earthy, dark chocolate and buttered popcorn
Second Third: Starts to get really interesting, along with the barnyard, dark chocolate and buttered popcorn, starts to take on some red pepper notes that I feel on my tongue, throat and retro, also bold espresso flavor develops
Final Third: All the previous flavors continue to build into a crescendo of mouth watering tastes and at the very end we have a sweet honey
Notes: This stick seemed to be one dimensional until about the half, when it just exploded with some nice red pepper and espresso notes, the barnyard and dark chocolate also became more pronounced.
Wow, That Really Popped
Ya know, I wasn’t sure I liked this cigar, until about the half-way point when it really came alive. This cigar really has a unique profile and some of the nuances I can’t even describe, but it’s very interesting.
I had Deb check it out and she was impressed!
I have another one of these and will be looking forward to smoking it and I have a different blend of theirs that I may review at some point.
So all said and done, I give the Drunk Chicken Original DCO a thumbs up and hope you have enjoyed this cigar review
Please check us out on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and feel free to leave comments, suggestions and questions in the section below
Until next time Cigar Pals
Smooth Smokin!Posted in: Cigar Review
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Blind Man’s Puff: Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo – Blind Cigar Review
Zane G.· October 19, 2022
Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo – Blind Cigar Review (blindmanspuff.com)
Cigar Info
Drunk Chicken Cigars is one of the newest cigar companies on the market. They are minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned, located in the District of Columbia, USA. (U.S.A). The company started, as many do, with a group of friends and family hanging out in the family backyard. There they would eating, drink, and share cigars. This particular backyard included over a dozen chickens, dogs and local wildlife that frequently visited. The name “Drunk Chicken” came about one evening while enjoying their typical Saturday festivities, the chickens were “going home to roost” and seemed to stumble as if they were drunk. The Drunk Chicken events grew, becoming the regular safe place to hang out. The ‘entry fee’ was to bring one cigar to smoke and one to share. This quickly evolved into a quest of finding unique cigars, and the formation of the company, Drunk Chicken Cigars. Today we will be reviewing the Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers’ scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Desiree Sylver is the Founder and CEO of Drunk Chicken Cigars. The company officially was founded back in 2019. She was born and raised in Maryland and has a PhD in Organizational Leadership.
The Fat Hen is named after the way it looks, “short and chubby.” The blend uses a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Ecuadorian and Dominican Fillers. It is described as medium to full-bodied. Fat Hen comes in three sizes: Torpedo Shorty (4 x 60), Gordo (6 X 60), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). All come in boxes of 20. The factory these are rolled at is undisclosed, but is located in Florida.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 6 1/2″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: U.S.A.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Ecuador, Dominican Republic
Factory: Undisclosed
Blender: Undisclosed
Number of reviewers: 5 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Price: $10.50
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: July 2021
Contributed by: Drunk Chicken Cigars
Initial Impressions – Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo
Appearance: 89
“The wrapper is mottled in places but it has a nice sheen to it from the oils. Leather-like in color and appearance.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Aroma: 89
“The body of this cigar has a bunch going on. Notes of barnyard, brown sugar, and green moss can be found. Sniffing the foot gives me notes of straw and a combo of spices. After a few cold draws I am left with a jam-like sweetness on the palate.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
First Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“This blend opens with a heavy earth and dirt taste. The draw is rather open for a torpedo and I’m getting a lot of smoke but not a ton of flavor.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
“The cigar opens with some earthy tone then quickly shifts to more of a richer profile. Notes of cacao, cedar, and baking spices can all be easily picked out. The retrohale is bright and playful, with notes from the entire spice cabinet. The smoke is silky smooth while the finish is medium in length.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Second Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“On the palate, the flavors have stayed the same. The change in profile has come in the retrohale. There is a mint note building in the sinuses. At about the halfway point of the third, the mint starts to build on the palate as well. The finish is still medium in length but the body and strength have jumped up a notch.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Pretty much unchanged from the beginning of the cigar, except the cedar notes are leaving a bitterness on the tongue that is not very pleasant. Burn and draw have continued to perform well, and the strength is very mellow. The retrohale is still full of mustiness and bakers spices.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Final Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The odd and harsh flavors of acidic floral notes have lessened even more however the cigar has just tasted bland now like simple tobacco. Retrohale is spicy black pepper with some off-mineral taste in the nose.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“The flavors in this cigar are very consistent even to the very end. The mixture of oak, leather, cocoa, and baking spices with hints of cinnamon and black pepper on the retro truly work well as a team to create an enjoyable finish to this cigar. It was a cigar that I had to burn down to about half an inch due to how much I liked it.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Overall Impressions – Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo
Draw: 96
“Almost too open of a draw which is shocking for a torpedo, especially since I only v- cut it.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Burn: 93
“Little wobbly at times but very consistent all the way through.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Construction: 93
“Although it looked a little rough, it goes to prove looks aren’t everything.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 90
“Overall there was something off with the flavors of this cigar. It was very mineral acidic floral flavors that did not rest well on the palette. The harsh flavors did lessen but did not help the overall smoking experience.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“I know that Belicoso, Torpedo, and Pyramid don’t get much love from the general cigar public but I love them. They always seem to showcase amazing flavor profiles. This cigar was so flavorful and checked every box for me. I highly recommend it to anyone that is seeking a cigar that showcases every aspect of cigar making. I will most definitely seek it out, when the review is published, and add it to my smoking rotation.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Consistency is the key word for this cigar. The flavors were bold and kept my palate interested from beginning to end. The cocoa, leather, oak, and baking spices enveloped my palate. It performed remarkably well. I would recommend this to just about any cigar Smoker and I would definitely smoke this cigar again.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“Start and finish were ok, the middle not so much. The flavors weren’t bad, it just was not a memorable smoking experience. I would maybe give it another shot just to see if it was me or the cigar. Regardless, it was a decent smoking experience.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)
“While this blend was smokable all the way through, there was a lack of flavor, possibly due to the multiple construction issues. Some earth and red pepper were really all I ever got out of this blend.
The cracking wrapper, terrible burn, and fast burn time made this overall a rough cigar to get through.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 81
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Chad M. | 85 | 88 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 85 |
| Estevan Z. | 92 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Kevin J. | 92 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 100 | 95 | 97 | 95 |
| Kevin A. | 88 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 95 | 92 | 93 | 88 |
| Lauren S. | 85 | 88 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 93 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Torpedo – Blind Cigar Review
DRUNK CHICKEN FAT HEN TORPEDO
SUMMARY”I know that Belicoso, Torpedo, and Pyramid don’t get much love from the general cigar public but I love them. They always seem to showcase amazing flavor profiles. This cigar was so flavorful and checked every box for me. I highly recommend it to anyone that is seeking a cigar that showcases every aspect of cigar making. I will most definitely seek it out, when the review is published, and add it to my smoking rotation.” -Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Overall RATING: 90
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Final Third Cigars: Drunk Chicken Cigars – Fat Hen: Shorty Torpedo
Apr 27 Written By Rob Boyland
Drunk Chicken Cigars – Fat Hen — Final Third Cigar
Hello, fellow cigar connoisseur! Welcome to my website. This site will house many cigar reviews and other information from the world of cigars! Please follow here as well as on Instagram – @FinalThirdCigar
If you have any other cigars you would like me to review, please send me a message from my Contact Page above or on Instagram messenger. I would love to connect your brand to as many people as possible as we share and grow our love of the leaf!
If you’d like to try this blend, click here to discover more about this cigar and where to purchase – use the code FTCigars2020 at checkout for a special discount – Drunk Chicken Cigars
Drunk Chicken Fat Hen Cigar Review:
I smoked the Torpedo Shorty (4 x 60). This is a Habano with a combination of Ecuador, Nicaragua and Dominican tobacco.Beautifully constructed with a nice oily and toothy wrapper with a solid triple cap!
Perfect burn from light up on! I used the Colibri Deep V-Cut and the cap held perfectly! V-Cut is my preferred cut on most torpedos. Nice draw with the perfect resistance.
Solid ash and good smoke output. Ash held on throughout the cigar (see pic) and I was able to smoke down to the nub before the ash fell.
Flavors are similar to the other Habano’s from the Drunk Chicken line except they have married together and blended. Flavor is woodsy and earthy and lingers into a bit of spice (baking and a hint of black pepper). Black pepper picks up in the middle a bit and fades into the final third.
I was drinking iced tea with this and it was a nice pairing. This would also do very well with bourbon, scotch or coffee.
I have the Fat Hen a solid rating of 90.
Flavors are married a bit more than the Mother Clucker as this was more of a medium to medium/full stick that seems to have a little age to it! Very smooth!
If you like the Mother Clucker and want flavors melded more, give this one a try! I think you’ll love it too!
If you’d like to try this blend, head over to www.DrunkChickenCigars.com and use the code FTCigars2020 at checkout for a special discount!
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.Here is my scoring sheet for this cigar:
Overall RATING: 90
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Drunk Chicken Cigars – Sweet Dream
May 16 Written By
Drunk Chicken Cigars – Sweet Dream — Final Third Cigar
Hello, fellow cigar connoisseur! Welcome to my website. This site will house many cigar reviews and other information from the world of cigars! Please follow here as well as on Instagram – @FinalThirdCigar
For this review, I am having my beautiful wife Lisa join me since she is a sweet cigar girl! As you will see, she absolutely loves this cigar!
If you have any other cigars you would like me to review, please send me a message from my Contact Page above or on Instagram messenger. I would love to connect your brand to as many people as possible as we share and grow our love of the leaf!
If you’d like to try this blend, click here to discover more about this cigar and where to purchase – use the code FTCigars2020 at checkout for a special discount – Drunk Chicken Cigars
Drunk Chicken Sweet Dream Cigar Review:
The Sweet Dream is a U.S.A. hand-rolled cigar with a Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This one is a 7 1/2 X 38 Lancero with a twisted pigtail cap.
This cigar has a sweet tip that makes this cigar a very sweet smoke. I am not a fan of sweet cigars, so I had my wife smoke this one and help me rate it properly for those of you who enjoy the sweeter side of cigars!
Her thoughts were that it was very smooth, sweet and creamy, and great with her coffee and creamer!
First third she found notes of sweet caramel creaminess, mild tobacco, light wood and a hint of spice that lingered in the palette.
Into the second third a semi-sweet chocolate appeared along with the mild tobacco, stronger wood and a bit of spice.
The #finalthird stayed creamy with a lingering semi-sweet chocolate, mild spice and more of a campfire wood.
Lisa have this a solid Final Third Cigar rating of 90. I have to say I am impressed with Lisa’s ability to isolate flavors and bring them to a flavor memory.
Sweet Dreams is a mild to medium strength stick. The Lancero was a great size and shape for her to smoke. She enjoyed it down into the final stages of the final third. Construction was very nice, great burn line and lots of smoke!
Lisa absolutely loved the flavors she was getting, and wants me to get some for her in the future! So I guess I will be keeping these in the rotation for her! A couple that smokes together, grows together. Side note: my wife tells people all the time that me smoking cigars regularly over the past few years has been the best thing that has happened for our marriage and communication…best couples therapy available!
So if you are a fan of sweet sticks, you should give the Drunk Chicken Sweet Dreams a try and I would say you will love it!
If you’d like to try this blend, head over to www.DrunkChickenCigars.com and use the code FTCigars2020 at checkout for a special 10% Final Third Cigar discount!
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#finalthirdcigar #finalthirdcigarreview #cigaraficionado #botl #cigarlife #cigaroftheday #sotl #cigarlover #cigarlifestyle #cigarphotography #nowsmoking #cigarinfluencer #cigarsofinstagram
Here is Lisa’s scoring sheet for this cigar:
Overall RATING: 90
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Stogie Press: Cigar Review: Drunk Chicken Cigars Mother Clucker Box Pressed Robusto
Cigar Review: Drunk Chicken Cigars Mother Clucker Box Pressed Robusto – Rated 92 – Stogie Press
Today I offer a review of a new brand – Drunk Chicken Cigars – I came across at this years Tobacco Plus Expo and also the Cigar Heritage Festival. Desiree Sylver, owner of the company was also a guest on a recent episode of Taking It To The Nub, which you can view here.https://www.youtube.com/embed/isH-tUqUwg0?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
Drunk Chicken Cigars was established in 2019 and all their craft is hand made in the U.S.A. Their mission is to produce cigars that can be smoked any time of the day and describe their cigar as “Nubalicious“.
For a young company, they have a full portfolio of offerings, each in multiple vitolas. The names are based on chicken references, which is a fun story to here Desiree explain. (See Video Above).
- Drunk Chicken Original (DCO)
- Homicidal Hen
- Fat Hen
- Living the Dream
- Sweet Dreams
- Mother Clucker
It is the last on the list, the Mother Clucker, that I will focus on today. We will have more reviews of the full line in the coming weeks.
The Mother Clucker
The Mother Clucker is described as the “Top of the Pecking Order”. Anyone who has ever had a chicken pen knows what’s up. The company notes that it is a rich, medium to full bodied cigars and has a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Nicaraguan Habano
- Binder – Ecuadorian
- Filler – Ecuadorian
The Mother Clucker is expressed in three vitolas and each come packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Gordo (6 x 60) – MSRP $12.50
- Robusto (5.5 x 50) – MSRP $10.00
- Box Pressed Robusto – MSRP $11.50
I sampled one of the box pressed Robustos for this review, which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Drunk Chicken Cigars – Mother Clucker Box Pressed Robusto, is a draped in an oily, marbled, dark. brown wrapper. The wrapper is a though smooth tot he touch does have some noticeable veins and a few bumps along the barrel. They is a just a little give when squeezed between the fingers but in no way would I describe it as underfilled. It has a well applied cap to finish the presentation.
A large band adorns the cigar that uses a gold and tan motif. When removed you will see that it is a large circle that has a colorful image of a clucker messing with a hen I suppose in the center. The name “Mother Clucker” imprinted in black on a gold scroll below. I will say it is a little hard to read the name. The left side of the band includes the statement “Drunk Chicken Cigars Hand Rolled in the USA”.
Running the Mother Clucker along the nose, I picked up a light spice note along the barrel while the foot exuded notes of fruit and sweet butter.
Using my double blade cutter, I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that I found to be nicely restricted and offered a growing white pepper that hit the throat and coated the lips. There was also a touch of fruity tanginess.
With the pre-light examination leaving me a bit intrigued, I used my double flame torch to warm the foot to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of pleasantly smooth smoke. Follow along as I burn this Clucker to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial puffs were smoother than I thought they would be – with no bite or heavy pepper burn
- After a few puffs I gave it a retro hale and which delivered just a slight peppery note on the nose
- Light grey ash forms on top of a thick wavy char line
- Pepper grows a tad and slowly moves to more of a red pepper note
- Mild fruity tang joins the mix
- Woody notes add the profile
- Floral notes replace the fruit
- Extreme solid ash finally fell revealing a decent and centered burn cone
- Dark cocoa notes appear midway through wrapped in growing cedar
- Off burn developed but no touch up was required
- Increased spice returns deep in second third
- Burns a tad hot in final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 40 minutes
Final Analysis
The Drunk Chicken Cigars Mother Clucker was an excellent cigar at a reasonable price considering they are made right here in the U.S.A. It started smooth and easy and slowly introducing the plate ot a evolving pepper notes and before greeting the palate with fruit, wood, and floral notes. The dark cocoa midway was a treat to plate but only lived for a few puffs before introducing a growing spice to close the experience. I have to agree that at least this one so far was Nubalicious. It had a terrific array of nuanced and balanced flavors from foot to nub and kept me interested throughout the journey. There were some minor burn issue but nothing that drastically effected the experience and the ash carried for a long time. It did burn a tad hot in the final. I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Burn in spots; (-1) Off Burn Deep in second third; (-2) Burned hot in final
Bonus Points: (+1) Extreme Solid Ash; (+1) Box Worthy
