Cigar Review: Sardell Originals American Eagle Robusto

Fellow cigar enthusiasts, never before have I smoked a cigar whose purpose I have never endorsed more: The American Eagle by Sardell Originals! A clever design that is the original camouflaged cigar--followed by Davidoff's Recon--created entirely by hand in the Dominican Republic by cigar maker Hendrik Kelner, Jr. Portion of the sales for American Eagle cigars goes to the Semper Fi Fund (semperfifund.org) which provides financial relief for injured or critically ill veterans of our Armed Forces.

Now, at first, this cigar may strike you as something of a novelty cigar and I can assure you, I thought something very similar. The reason being is because that clever design is that the cigar wrapper appears in Woodland camouflage. This was done by taking an Ecuadorian Connecticut Natural wrapper and taking hand-cut, hand-placed pieces of Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro and CA Candela over the Natural wrapper to create the camouflaged effect.

The rest of the cigar is crafted using a Dominican binder and Dominican long-filler. Along with the superbly striking wrapper, the cigar itself is constructed quite well providing an appropriate firmness with no discernible malformations. After using my Cigar Spike to create the perfect punch, I light my cigar and once it's sufficiently going, notice that the draw is damn near close to perfect, not too hard, not too airy. As I puff away, I notice that the ash has a pretty consistent bright white ash with only a little bit of mottling; however, the ash will only cling for about an inch or so and then drops.

Truth be told, flavor-wise, I was not expecting too much out of this cigar, but it was for a good cause so I figured "what the hell!" I was, however, pleasantly surprised. The aroma of the cigar's smoke gave off something of a cedar scent with a hint of chocolate. When it came to this unique wrapper, I wanted to know if it changed the flavor as it reached different parts of the wrapper. Throughout most of the cigar, it had a spiced cedar flavor with a subtle creamy finish. I did notice on occasion as the cigar burned nearer one of the Candela wrapper portions, it became a slight bit spicier, but only ever-so-slightly. The overall flavor profile of the cigar is not complex and varies only subtly as it burns. It is not too overpowering and remained consistent throughout the whole cigar.

Overall, I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. It was the perfect balance of a medium, light woody, and creamy flavor with a very unique wrapper design that made this cigar fun. I could easily see myself smoking this cigar while taking time off from patrols or latrine duty. To all my friends still stationed overseas and to all our proud and brave service members fighting abroad: thank you for all of your service and doing what many cannot. Come home safe!