After a month of anticipation leading up to Drew Estate’s latest Freestyle Live unveil, the cigar was announced last night as BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate.
The cigar is billed as a three-part collaboration between Jonathan Drew, James Hetfield (of Metallica fame), and Rob Dietrich (Master Distiller and Blender of BLACKENED American Whiskey).
“It is really a fun social thing for me, a fellowship, to have a few buddies sit around with a few sticks,” Hetfield says. “My buddy, Rob Dietrich, BLACKENED’s Master Distiller, and I frequently enjoy cigars together and he introduced me to Jonathan from Drew Estate. The three of us connected and shared each other’s vision and story about where we’ve been, what we like to see and what is important to us now, and we all came up with what a BLACKENED ‘M81’ Cigar would look and taste like. I love the Maduro leaf and I’m super excited for everyone to try this.”
The cigar takes its name from both BLACKENED American Whiskey and Metallica’s founding year (i.e. “M” for Metallica and 1981). The former is a unique whiskey brand produced out of Sweet Amber Distilling Co., originally envisioned by the late whiskey luminary Dave Pickerell and rock icons Metallica. The whiskey is a blend of North American bourbon & rye whiskeys, though it is the unique finishing process (dubbed BLACK NOISE) that is perhaps most interesting. Reportedly, the whiskey is “blasted with its very own Metallica playlist, curated by the band themselves.” Low-frequency sound waves from the band are used, with the intended effect of helping the spirit to penetrate deeper into the barrel and “[extract] more caramel, honey and vanilla flavors from the wood.”
“This was a project that was purely born from passion …for music, for fellowship, for life, and all the in-between moments within,” says Dietrich. “James, Jonathan and I worked together to create what we feel like is the perfect cigar. The result is truly a monster of flavor—all-maduro, designed with definitive depth for darker and bolder palates.”
Meant to complement the unique taste and sound of BLACKENED and Metallica, the cigar’s blend was chosen after two years of sampling and critiquing by Hetfield and Dietrich. Tying into the black theme, an all-maduro blend was chosen. This includes a San Andrés maduro wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf maduro binder, and fillers of Nicaragua and Pennsylvania Broadleaf maduro. The latter is said to be “the boldest Pennsylvania Broadleaf ligero in Drew Estate’s vast tobacco inventory.”
“Hetfield, Dietrich, and the DE team have dedicated an immense amount of time into this historic brand,” adds Drew. “BLACKENED Cigars ‘M81’ by Drew Estate reveals layer-after-layer of Maduro’s deepest, darkest, most magical, and mysterious character that narrates a defining story of just one thing … passion!!!”
BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate is set to debut in four sizes: Robusto (5? x 50), Toro (6? x 52), Corona Doble (7? x 50), and Corona (5? x 43). The cigars are a regular production, though offered exclusively through Drew Diplomat-authorized retailers. They are packaged in 20-count boxes, with prices ranging from $9.15 to $10.35 per cigar MSRP. The cigars are listed as available starting today.
BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate Breakdown Breakdown
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaragua | Pennsylvania Broadleaf Ligero
Factory: La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate (Nicaragua)
Production: Regular Production
Packaging: 20-ct boxes
Vitolas: 4
Price: $9.15–$10.35 (MSRP)
Release: Sep. 29, 2022
Corona: 5? x 43 | $9.15 ($183/box of 20)
Robusto: 5? x 50 | $9.45 ($189/box of 20)
Toro: 6? x 52 | $9.85 ($197/box of 20)
Corona Doble: 7? x 50 | $10.35 ($207/box of 20)
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Originally posted on September 29, 2022 @ 12:19 pm