Quesada Oktoberfest Dunkel

Wrapper: Broadleaf Maduro, Ecuadorian Connecticut (Footer)
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero
Toro: 6 x 54
Price: $8.95

We just assessed a pre-release cigar of the Oktobefest Dunkel on Cigar Coop this past week. The Dunkel marks Smoke Inn’s seventh installment of its retail exclusive, limited production MicroBlend series. This cigar makes some wrapper changes to the Quesada’s Oktoberfest blend. We described this cigar on Cigar Coop as follows:

With the Dunkel, the Dominican Cibao wrapper of the Oktoberfest is replaced by a Broadleaf maduro wrapper – except at the footer where there is an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper. Dunkel is the German word for a dark lager. The maduro wrapper represents the dark wrapper. The Connecticut Shade wrapper is meant to give the appearance of a foam head that is often seen on a Dunkel beverage.

In my opinion, the wrapper changes make this the best blend under the Oktoberfest line. With the Connecticut Shade portion, the Dunkel starts off with some cream, pepper, and citrus. Once it reaches the Broadleaf line, there is a significant yet smooth change. with otes of roasted coffee, classic maduro sweetness, and pepper taking over. There is still a creamy undertone that is present – providing nice continuity between the two sections. It has a nice smooth close on the “back nine” (end of the cigar). The cigar has some pop. I had it full-bodied and full strength – although this could mellow over time. The burn and draw were excellent.

It’s a philosophy of mine not to rate or score a cigar until its official release, but this cigar has all of the makings of being worth a box purchase.