A Kingly Sized Broadleaf

Since its opening at the 2013 IPCPR Kings has been developing its offering of cigars. It now has 5 different series, each named for position of royalty to reflect their goal of providing a “taste of royalty” in each blend. I met with Pete Tyndale, King’s master blender, at the 2014 IPCPR where he discussed the how the different series offer tastes from mild to full bodied cigars. Quite a development for a recent entrant to the industry. Kings has a factory in Estelí, Nicaragua and Santiago, Dominican Republic where they perfect their cigars. I previously reviewed 3 other cigars from Kings and this one is the King of Kings Broadleaf, which comes in 5 sizes from a 5 X 53 Robusto to the 6 X 64 Cuadrado. This review is for the Cuadrado.

The Broadleaf Cuadrado (square or of stocky build) is soft box pressed with a very dark Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, darker than Maduro but not Oscuro . Pete said it looks like a chocolate bar good enough to bite into and I think he is onto something there. It was smooth and almost oily in appearance and was only firm near the cap. The rest was soft but not squishy at all. The binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is a proprietary blend. A 64 ring gauge can be a handful but the square box pressed shape allows it to just about be held between the first two fingers of one hand. It gets easier as the cigar gets smaller.

The Broadleaf started with a lot of sweetness that remained for the entire smoke. The mild taste grew stronger as the cigar got smaller and had an aftertaste of coffee and cocoa. The strength quickly developed into a medium bodied cigar with a strong flavor of vanilla and nuts. The cigar finally became quite bold for the last third. The draw was acceptable and the smoke volume was good, as was the ash. It never needed a re-light. It lasted for 1 hour and 15 minutes and has an SRP of $10 to $11. While I think this is a little bit pricey, the complex flavor and boldness of the cigar is worth it. This is my favorite Kings cigar and I rate it a 4.5 out of 5.