This Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athenee Robusto Extra cigar is made in the Dominican Republic. Outside, you'll find a Habano wrapper. Inside, the binder is, and the filler is Dominican, Nicaraguan. This is a Robusto cigar with a length of 5.25 and a ring gauge of 52.

Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athénée cigars are a new take on something people have been happily puffing for a few years: Caldwell’s Eastern Standard blend. It’s one of the company’s best, notching a 92-point rating from Cigar Aficionado in the toro size. The blend really shines in that format, but now we’re taking things slightly differently.

It’s all part of the Crafted and Curated series, built to allow Robert Caldwell a bit of creative freedom in short-run blends. While the main core lines are designed to appeal to a specific segment of the smoking population, these are less obligated to serve the broad palate of the market. Instead, if these tickle the right spots, they’ll be offered purely for the enjoyment of those adventurous fans who want to continue taking the journey with the well-traveled Caldwell team.

As we said, Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athénée cigars are based on the Eastern Standard blend foundation. This means that the long-fillers are Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco, the binder is Dominican Habano, and then we take a left turn. Instead of the Eastern Standard’s much-loved Connecticut hybrid wrapper, we’ve got a tasty Ecuadorian Habano this time.

The smoke is quite close to the initial release. There isn’t a ton different about the cigar, after all. If we had to put our finger on something, we might describe the core flavors of chocolate and bread as more peppery than before. It’s got a little kick that it didn’t have initially. But much of what people loved is still there. Drawing on the Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athénée is like sipping a creamy mocha latté and enjoying it with a croissant or some other bready basic pastry. It’s fitting, given the name, which is reminiscent of a famous historic luxury hotel in Paris.

Vive la différence!

Please browse our selection of Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athénée cigars at your leisure.

• What are the flavors like?
o Pepper, creamy mocha latte, bread.

• What’s the strength level?
o Medium-full.

• Who is this cigar for?
o Caldwell Crafted and Curated Athénée cigars are for people who love Eastern Standard’s Dominican blend but want a dash of pepper.

• Will I want to smoke it to the nub?
o All those lovely flavors are still there.

• What’s a good pairing with it?
o A cocktail: Dominican mamajuana with rum. It takes some planning to steep the botanicals, but if you’ve got the patience, you can make a glorious jug of booze that will send you straight to the islands.

• What’s the best time/place to smoke this cigar?
o When you need an earthy cigar that is balanced.

• Any flaws/downsides?
o Like other blends in the C&C series, it will be compared to a beloved original, and we don’t know what people will ultimately think.

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