Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder Brimstone
Posted on April 11 2022
Vitola: 6x56
Smoking Time: 113 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 3
Body: Full
Wrapper: USA Broadleaf
Binder: USA Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican (Triple Ligero)
MSRP: $11.10
Southern Draw is a veteran, family owned company that strives to create unique blends. Each time I hear someone talk about the Jacobs Ladder, it is always followed by, “Wow, that's a strong cigar”. Immediately I was intrigued, then finding out about the brimstone blend, I had to give it a review.
Visual Inspection: The brimstone I am sampling is a beautiful perfecto, that is a very dark, oscuro color. Plenty of oil is present, which only adds to my anticipation. There are only slight veins along the wrapper leaf, and exhibiting minimal tooth, with only one mild soft spot underneath the band. I am very excited to “Melt my Face Off” as LCC Chris politely put it.
The aroma is rather flat, but has mild chocolate notes mixed with barnyard and sawdust. A cold draw brings muted notes of chocolate, coffee beans, and oddly enough, spinach. This was probably one of the easiest perfectos to light, normally it is quite a challenge.
First Third: Upon lighting the flavors were almost non-existent, due to the small area that was actually burning. However once I smoked past the small foot of the Salomon, flavors started pouring out of the cigar. Strong, and I mean strong, notes of charred wood, espresso beans, and the mouthfeel of peanut butter. For having Triple Ligero fillers the Brimstone is producing amazing smoke and is staying very well lit. I have not yet retrohaled, I will admit I'm afraid to!
This cigar is making me produce a lot of saliva, and that isn't for everyone, but then again the Brimstone is not for everyone. The burn line isn't amazing, but it is far from bad. Only wavering slightly in a few spots. The ash is off grey, rather dark, but firm and not flaking.
Second Third: The flavors of the brimstone are rather consistent, they haven't deepened in complexity much, but the saliva production has subsided. Notes of chocolate, charred wood, and whole wheat bread are very prevalent. There is quite a lot of mouthfeel to this cigar, peanut butter, and the chocky feeling of spinach are prevalent throughout. The spongy soft spot isn't there anymore, and the cigar firmed up very well. Normally when a cigar is lit it becomes spongy and has some give to it, but that is not the case with the Brimstone.
After becoming familiar with the strength of the Brimstone, I retrohale, which reveals a smooth black pepper and cayenne mix. However it did start making my nose run, so it isn't something I would recommend doing more than once or twice a third. The burn line is better than it was in the first third, only slightly dipping in one spot.
Last Third: Getting more full in body, the flavors are slightly subsiding. More chocolate forward, the char has taken the backseat but is still lingering. The peanut butter mouthfeel is still there, with only slight salvation. Chocolate is very prevalent is the retrohale and brings more of the familiar cayenne pepper.
The ash has weakened, it fell off a bit ago, but is not flaking. It has slightly lightened in color and is closer to white than grey. Overall this cigar has performed extremely well, with only ash problems in the last third, and a decent burn line the whole time.
Final Thoughts: The only cigar I can compare this to is the Wunder|Lust from RoMa Craft Tobac, while this is much more full, they have similar flavors. I truly love a heavy, full bodied stick, and I find it is hard to find one that performs like the Brimstone does. This is a box-worthy cigar. The flavors aren't deep and complex, but they are very full and blend well. This is not an everyday cigar but something that needs to be in a real aficionado’s humidor for when the need arrives.
I did not pair this cigar with anything other than sparkling water and normal water, I didn't want to take away any flavors that might come by drinking coffee, and I don't think I would recommend any spirits with it either.
-Sam