For those unfamiliar with their nomenclature, Drew Estate’s Papas Fritas cigars are those with fillers that make use of the tobacco trimmings created during the production of other long-filler cigars — in this case, Drew Estate’s H99s.
Drew Estate’s H99 blend utilizes a much sought-after Connecticut Corojo-and-stalk-cut Habano wrapper over a Mexican San Andrés Otapan Negro Último Corte binder and fillers cultivated in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Pennsylvania. In the latter case, the filler used is the storied Green River One Sucker, renowned for its potent, air-cured flavor. Indeed, the medium-to-full-bodied, medium-strength, four-and-a-half-inch, 44-ring gauge Petite Corona-shaped H99 Papas Fritas is a veritable “flavor bomb,” in the words of Willy Herrera, Drew Estate’s famed master blender.
Experienced smokers should readily perceive rich notes of black pepper spice, oak, almonds, earth, and leather, as well as nuances of salt, citrus, cocoa, nougat, and a honey-like sweetness throughout the consumption of these well-constructed, evenly burning sticks.
Available in boxes of 25, these eagerly anticipated Nicaraguan-made smokes are Drew Estate’s first new Papas Fritas release in more than 10 years. With a burn time of about an hour each, they’re an ideal way to unhurriedly enjoy Drew Estate’s bountiful “surplus.”