San Cristobal Cigars Quintessence

San Cristobal Quintessence Churchill

Cigar Aficionado · Jan 1, 2022

There are five different lines in the San Cristobal series, all with different wrappers and flavor profiles, but the one that stood out this year was the San Cristobal Quintessence Churchill. The Quintessence is made with a fifth-priming wrapper from Ecuador, meaning that the leaf grows fairly high on the plant. In terms of strength, it’s more powerful than the San Cristobal Revelation line, but not quite as strong as core San Cristobal cigars. Quintessence was blended to register as medium-to-full and does so splendidly with the Churchill. All San Cristobals are made in Nicaragua by My Father Cigars for Ashton Distributors, owned by the Levin family. The brand started in 2007 when Ashton diversified and released its first Nicaraguan cigar. Since then, Ashton has been bringing different versions of San Cristobal to the market every few years. While plenty of cigars are made with Ecuador Havana wrapper and Nicaraguan tobacco, few are as successful, dynamic or interesting as the San Cristobal Quintessence Churchill. Much of the credit goes to the Garcia family of My Father Cigars and their profound understanding of Nicaraguan tobacco. Everything came together quite harmoniously with the large Churchill. It’s rich, nutty and complex conveying an earthy foundation of coffee bean character, a mid-palate of baking spices and a charming, cappuccino finish.

Churchill · 7.00″ × 49 · Medium-Full · Nicaragua

Paradiso (US: San Cristóbal) Quintessence Robusto

Cigar Journal · Feb 15, 2017 · Review All of Cigar Journal’s Best Buy Cigars in 2016

Robusto

San Cristobal Quintessence Robusto (5 1/2 x 50)

Tiny Tim's Cigar Blog · Nov 19, 2017

5.50″ × 50

San Cristobal Quintessence Belicoso

Halfwheel · Feb 11, 2017 · August 2016

I have to admit that I don't smoke many of the San Cristobal blends these days, something largely attributable to the big ring gauges that have dominated many of the most recent releases. With the Quintessence, the blend takes on a fairly robust and pepper-driven profile that can get a bit rough at times though also finds itself redeemed by thick sweetness that range from fig to lighter dried fruits. Other than the touches of sourness and metals that plagued one sample, I can't say there's much to complain about with this blend assuming you're not shy about spending some time with a pepper-forward, medium-full blend.

Belicoso · 6.50″ × 54 · Nicaragua