A company that likes to keep its cigars under wraps (quite literally), Esteban Carreras Cigars has a knack for unveiling new releases at trade shows without any prior alert.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of trade shows, but this didn’t stop the company from covertly placing a new smoke on store shelves. This smoke was the Esteban Carreras Cashmere — a rare Connecticut shade offering from this enormously popular boutique cigar manufacturer.
When it debuted, there were four vitolas in the Cashmere line — Boolit, Churchill, Sixty, and Toro. A 6.5 x 54 Torpedo has since been added, and it is this size we will look at in our Esteban Carreras Cashmere review.
Brand Overview
Named after a prominent Cuban freedom fighter that helped people emigrate as Fidel Castro came into power, Esteban Carreras Cigars are rolled at the prestigious Tabacaleras Carreras factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Each stick is painstakingly assembled in small batches to ensure premium consistency, quality, and taste.
The company’s portfolio showcases incredible depth, with various wrappers, shapes, and sizes to satisfy seasoned stogie enthusiasts. Esteban Carreras Cigars’ Nicaraguan heritage burns brightly throughout its line-up, with many blends showcasing Nicaraguan tobacco's bold, complex, and fiery nuances.
Another fascinating element of Esteban Carreras Cigars is the unusual names chosen for their top-notch smokes. These include Mr. Brownstone (a slang term for heroin) — a Nicaraguan puro that brims with chocolate, cocoa, and spice flavors. Another is The Devil’s Hand, inspired by the premium Corojo seeds that were smuggled out of Cuba.
The Esteban Carreras Cashmere Torpedo is silky smooth to the touch with its light tan wrapper and two bands (both with a dashing brown, gold, and white color combination). Let’s put flame to foot and find out what this cigar brings to the table.
Cigar Specs
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Strength: Full
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Sizes Available:
Cold Draw
A quick sniff of the Esteban Carreras Cashmere delivers aromatic notes of barnyard and creamy nuts from the wrapper while the toastier foot trickles out light raisin. The barnyard is especially prominent, as I detected this while removing the cigar from the cellophane.
With the cap successfully removed, it’s time for some pre-light puffs. The cold draw is similar to the wrapper’s sweet-smelling aromas with a mix of cedar, hay, and nuts, although a tingly white pepper note also pulls through.
First Third
Cashmere is famously soft and luxurious wool obtained from a particular species of goat native to northern Asia. Thankfully, there’s no sign of the wool being pulled over my eyes. This hearty blend opens with intense cinnamon and toasted cedar, with touches of espresso and dry earth giving an underlying cultured bitterness to the flavor profile.
An additional layer of cedar is detectable on the nose, albeit much more velvety than that on the palate. Both the burn and draw are impeccable so far as I enter the halfway mark.
Second Third
The cigar continues to taste potent, with black pepper, musty cedar, and roasted nuts joining the cinnamon at the forefront. However, I’m still experiencing those cedar and creamy qualities as hazelnut, brown sugar, and white pepper flit in and out of the smoke to enrich its complexity and character.
More spice is present in the second third, but most can be found in the retrohale, which brings forth a zing of red pepper spice and citrus zest. Like the opening bonanza, the strength and body of the Esteban Carreras Cashmere sit at medium.
Final Third
A nuttiness still orchestrates the flavor profile, while the black pepper has lightened. The secondary notes that make up the mellow aspects haven’t changed much. But a distinctive popcorn note adds a salty, toasted twist to the creamy hits of cedar, leather, and sweet hay receding in the background.
Another noticeable change in the final third is the dramatic fading of the spice. I can still taste salt on my lips, but the pronounced dried nut note on the palate is the chief instigator.
As I approach the nub, there’s the slightest hint of heat through some lightly charred red peppers, but the creamy, aromatic finish teems with cedar and hay as my smoke draws to a close.
Conclusion
Connecticut shade wrapper cigars are usually light and mellow, so enjoying a flavor profile not typically associated with Connecticut seed wrappers was nice. While there were rich, velvety charms of cedar, nuts, and sweet hay, other notes like the red pepper spice and intense cinnamon tingled the palate and watered the mouth.
Suppose your tastebuds gravitate towards the flavor profile of Connecticut Shade, but you want to try a cigar with body featuring flavors that are distinct and enjoyable. In that case, you won’t go wrong with Esteban Carreras Cashmere cigars. Easy to smoke and challenging to the palate, order your box of 20 from cigars.com today.
