Building the Renegade XVI: Breaking Down the Anniversary Blend
Brandon HayesWith our new anniversary blend releasing this Friday, I thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain a little and show you how Henderson and I approach building, and breaking down, a cigar blend.
We don't normally disclose our full blends, but for this one, we're making an exception.
The goal isn't to give you a recipe to recreate. It's to help you understand why each tobacco is there, what we expect it to contribute, and how we think about a cigar changing from the first third all the way through the finish.
One important disclaimer before we get started: the percentages below are for educational purposes and may not represent the exact final production blend. Blending is a process. You taste, adjust, smoke it again, make another adjustment, and keep going until everything comes together.
And I should give credit where it's due. Henderson did the heavy lifting on this blend.
A quick note on two terms you'll see below: viso and seco are leaf primings, meaning where on the plant the leaf grew. Viso grows higher and brings more flavor and strength. Seco grows lower and smokes lighter and more aromatic.
The Fillers
Condega Corojo - Nicaragua | Viso
Spicy and earthy, with cedar, black pepper and a slightly dry character.
This tobacco gives us some backbone. It brings flavor, structure and that Nicaraguan pepper we want in the blend. The key is using enough to make its presence known without letting it take over.
Dominican Corojo - Dominican Republic | Viso
Aromatic and flavorful, with earth, light spice, wood and some natural sweetness.
Think of this tobacco as a bridge. It gives us complexity and spice, but it also helps connect some of the stronger Nicaraguan characteristics with the softer Dominican tobacco in the blend.
Pennsylvania Broadleaf - USA | Viso | Half Leaf
Rich, dark, earthy and naturally sweet, with flavors that can remind you of molasses, cocoa, coffee and dried fruit.
I think of the Broadleaf as the dark seasoning in this blend.
And this is a good example of why blending isn't always about adding more of something you like. We use a half leaf because we want those darker, sweeter characteristics without allowing the Broadleaf to dominate the cigar.
Dominican HVA - Dominican Republic | Seco
Balanced and aromatic, with creamy tobacco, earth, nuts and mild spice.
This tobacco may not sound like the star of the show, but it has an important job.
The HVA gives the blend somewhere to breathe. It helps smooth out some of the stronger Viso tobaccos and keeps us from simply chasing strength.
The Binder
Dominican Corojo - Dominican Republic
The binder obviously holds the filler together, but its job goes beyond construction.
It contributes flavor too, with earth, cedar, mild spice and a little natural sweetness, and helps create a bridge between everything happening inside the cigar and the wrapper on the outside.
The Wrapper
Ecuador Habano - Ecuador
Aromatic and flavorful, with cedar, earth, baking spice and subtle sweetness.
The wrapper is an important part of what you're tasting and smelling, especially early in the cigar. Here, the Ecuador Habano gives us spice and richness, but still has a smooth, slightly creamy character and a clean finish.
It works well with the lighter HVA while still having enough character to stand up to the Corojo and Broadleaf underneath it.
Now, Let's Actually Build the Blend
For educational purposes, let's say we started somewhere around:
30% Condega Corojo Viso
This is the engine.
We want enough Nicaraguan Corojo to establish pepper, cedar and earth, but not so much that the entire cigar turns into a pepper bomb.
25% Dominican Corojo Viso
This is our bridge.
It adds aroma, spice and character while helping soften some of the harder edges of the Condega.
20% Pennsylvania Broadleaf Viso
This is our dark seasoning.
We're looking for cocoa, coffee, molasses, dried fruit and natural sweetness, but we don't want it burying the Ecuador Habano or overpowering the other fillers.
25% Dominican HVA Seco
This is where some of the balance comes from.
Instead of continuing to pile strength on top of strength, we're using the HVA to create some aromatic lift and give the stronger tobaccos room to work.
Now you can start to see that blending isn't simply about picking four tobaccos you like and putting them together.
Each one has a job.
Where Do We Want the Cigar to Go?
This is probably the most interesting part.
When Henderson and I work on a blend, we're not just thinking about how it tastes when you first light it.
We're thinking about where we want it to go.
First Third
We want the Ecuador Habano to take the lead.
Cedar, baking spice, light pepper and aromatic tobacco should establish the opening. You're getting introduced to the cigar.
Middle Third
Now we want the Dominican Corojo and Condega to start moving forward.
The cigar should begin developing more earth, pepper, wood, roasted flavors and some nuttier characteristics.
It's getting deeper, but it shouldn't suddenly become a completely different cigar.
Final Third
This is where we want that Pennsylvania Broadleaf to become more noticeable.
Cocoa, coffee, darker sweetness and deeper earthiness should start showing themselves as the cigar progresses.
That's the idea, anyway.
Tobacco doesn't always cooperate exactly the way you draw it up on paper, and that's part of the fun.
The Big Picture
The goal was never to create a cigar that hits you over the head with strength on the first puff and stays there for an hour.
I wanted a medium-full cigar that develops as you smoke it.
I want the flavors to build and evolve, with different tobaccos showing themselves at different points throughout the cigar.
That's one of the things I enjoy most about blending.
You're not just combining different tobaccos.
You're trying to create a conversation between them.
And this Friday, you'll get to see how this conversation turned out.
I'm really looking forward to hearing what you guys pick up when you smoke it.
Get the Renegade XVI
The Renegade XVI Anniversary Cigar goes on sale Friday, October 16 at 9:00 AM, in-store and online. No phone orders. It's $130 for a 10ct box, or $234 for two boxes.
The first chance to pick up your boxes is the Renegade XVI Anniversary Party on Friday, October 23 at 6:00 PM.