Today’s cigar review of the Councilman Junior is more about a slice of history. This weekend The Cigar Authority celebrated its 6th Anniversary and we broadcasted live with a studio audience present. During the course of the day I was gifted with a few items from our listeners.
There were two items that stood out. The first was a patch from the US Border Patrol which is pretty awesome because I collect police and fire department patches. Something I got into with my business partner in my former line of work. He was a retired New York detective and when we traveled around the globe we would trade NYPD patches with departments we interacted with.
The other item is a cigar from the 1920’s. The story goes that this gentlemen who gifted me the stick worked for a cigar company in Las Vegas that bought old cigars and when needed they would restore them back to life. This gentleman brought some cigars with him and gave me one.
According to a Retail Tobacconist newspaper from 1921, the cigar was made by Martin Sachs and Rush Manufacturing Co. which was founded on August 22, 1907 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The cigar was also in the 25-cent class of cigars according to old reports.
Cigar: Councilman Junior
Size: Perfecto
Factory: Rush Manufacturing Co.
Tobacco: Unknown
Age: Almost 100 Years
So the question is does a cigar from the 1920’s have any flavor left to it and how would it burn. Before lighting up the perfecto I was doubtful it would be any good but tried to keep an open mind going into it. The cigar had a pin-hole in the top that served as a pre-cut that was part of the original construction.
The cold draw is very earthy and reminiscent of a cigar that could have been blended by Henke Kelner. There is barn yard notes and a hint of dew. Once the cigar is lit with a wooden match as butane lighters didn’t exist back at the time this cigar was for sale I was quite surprised at least to begin with.
Initially there was some sweetness with some earth mixed in, but the cigar quickly changed from something that felt premium to a cigar that felt like something that would be mass-produced today and available at the local bodega. Despite the negative I had a hard time putting it down because there were glimpses of a cigar that was totally enjoyable.
So to answer the question posed earlier, a cigar from the 1920s is best served as a collector’s piece. The days of it being thoroughly enjoyable have long left the building. The burn was slightly off, and to top things off, I took the cigar apart in the last third and this was no long-filler cigar. In fact as the cigar smoldered in the ashtray it reminded me of pipe tobacco.
In completing this piece of history there was a sense of sadness as this was probably one of the last remaining things linking a group of people who were no longer with us.
via Google
