Drew Estate - Problems in Paradise?

rover17

Hey Gang,
I have taken up enjoying cigars again after a long six year drought and I have been trying everything that Drew Estate creates. The flavors are awesome but the craftsmanship I have been experiencing is terrible construction with fillers w/open areas in the cigar, wrappers tearing apart, super short ashes falling off in my lap time and time again. Great flavorsr but is anyone else experiencing these types of problems.
thx

betasynn

Yeah, I solved the problem by smoking other cigars. Just kidding, seriously though, I have heard a lot of issues with the construction. They are renowned for being 'different,' but since they sort of corner the flavor market, they don't need to keep quality up.

alienmisprint

betasynn:

Yeah, I solved the problem by smoking other cigars. Just kidding, seriously though, I have heard a lot of issues with the construction. They are renowned for being 'different,' but since they sort of corner the flavor market, they don't need to keep quality up.

I'd have to argue that point. All the Liga Privadas and Chateau Reals I have smoked had excellent construction. The LVH's have suprisingly good construction for the price ($1.50-2.00 a cigar). The Javas, Tabak Especials, and all the Naturals I have had all have top-notch construction as well. I haven't had too many Acids, and the ones I have had I don't really remember that well other than my dislike of them. And I haven't had any of their Ambrosia line or the Etique Azuls, so I can't really comment there.

gmill880

Well I have probably smoked more Drew Estate cigars than anyone on here. The Java , Tabak Especial , the old Kaluha , Chateau Real , Ambrosia , Natural and so on. Have never had any construction or burn problems EVER. I did have a couple of boxes of Java Wafes that tasted funky but even then Drew Estates President Steve Saka sent me 3 boxes of replacement cigars -2 boxes Java Maduros and One box Tabak Especial plus a crystal Chateau Real Cigar ashtray and a ball cap. Also a lot of people don't realize their not just about infused cigars. Their Chateau Real and LVH's are dang good cigars and never had a construction issue with any of those I had and the Liga Privada has a following on here that seems pretty good. I'm kinda ramblin a bit but I seriously doubt DE doesn't have top notch quality control ...can something happen ...sure can ...just like with the bitter box I got...but the point is it can happen with any mfg ...and their customer service is second to no one ...

jihiggs

could be a problem with the cigars being too dry.

brsmith21

Well, I am exactly the opposite as I've never tried one. How exactly can you tell which ones are infused? The descriptions can be confusing at times. Are all the Naturals non-infused? Any others?

kent1146

I've had 2 Drew Estates cigars before, to try them.  Both of them had burn and construction problems (one was plugged, the other tunneled pretty badly).  I don't necessarily want to attribute that to Drew Estates, since many cigars can have their construction problems.

And not to hijack the thread, but has anyone had a brand of cigar that they have NEVER had a construction problem with?  For me, I can easily say that any Arturo Fuente Hemingway, any Ashton, or any Cigar.com house brand cigar has always been 100% perfect in burn and construction every time.

cabinetmaker

I have two boxes of naturals, plus the 2 boxes I'd purchased from the local shop b4 i found this place, and have smoked several of each with no problems whatsoever. Smoked a few acids, just to try something different and did not like them, but they burned fine. Ash falling short sounds too dry.

rover17

Thanks gang for the input.
I can see perhaps that the shortened ash falling off asap may be that the cigar is a little too dry even though my humidor is well established, however that still does not answer for the missing filler in the cigar. I can stick two wooden match sticks side by side, and sometimes even three stacked up into the middle area when I see this cave like hole being sometimes 1/2 and inch deep without a problem..so that is normal and to be expected from this company? I have bought them all from 3 different premium stores here in PHX.

rover17

Could you send me the email or mailing address if you still have it to this gentleman so that I can send him pictures of these voided areas in the middle of my cigars? I would love to here his input as well.
Thx

Wafflebob

I've never had any issues with the construction on anything by Drew Estate either. I did have a Blondie once that was quite bitter but other than that absolutely no complaints. I've never had any construction issues with the excalibur line by Hoyo or with anything made by Punch. Issues have been rare with CAO. I've been unlucky with some of the more popular brands though. Both my first Gurkha and my first Rocky Patel came apart on me.

Krieg

I have had 2 Acid Kuba Kuba's, and a Java. I think the Java was over humidified, but I never had a construction problem with the cigars.

zoom6zoom

I've never had any issues with their sticks. I'm just trying to figure out what the flavor in the Pimp Sticks is supposed to be - just got a few and can't really decide if I like them (love the shape, though!)