Cigar Extra: Nomad Vagabond

And my ties are severed clean
Less I have the more I gain
Off the beaten path I reign

Roamer, wanderer
Nomad, vagabondCall me what you will
"Anywhere I Roam" - Metallica

Vagabond, 4.624" x 54 ring gauge / MSRP ~$7
Another new comer to the cigar industry is Fred Rewey and his Nomad Cigar Company. Fred sent cigars and himself to Chattanooga for the Tweet-Up in August and I thought I would share some brief thoughts on one of the cigars he included for attendees, the Vagabond, a short figurado. The Nomad line has Dominican filler and binder with what is becoming a ubiquitous Ecuadorian Habano wrapper...don't mistake that I'm saying that is a bad thing...some of my favorite cigars in the past couple years use the same varietal and it is great. The Vagabond was short and well put together with a moderately oily wrapper that had a mild hay note; I didn't get much more from the foot, but it was fairly small so that's not a huge surprise.

The prelight draw was excellent for a figurado and it had a bit of that Davidoff foresty mushroomy tang going on (a flavor I've started to call the Davidoff Funk) along with a sweet note of berries. When lit, the sweetness came through even more strongly, leaving the Davidoff Funk as more of an interesting undercurrent along with some grassiness. There was more of a woodsy note on the retrohale along with the barest hint of pepper spice.

The flavors almost completely switched places as the Nomad Vagabond got into the thick part of the figurado, with the hay and foresty notes dominating and the sweeter notes downplayed. The flavors changed again as the ring gauge narrowed down again, with each getting a roughly equal role in the overall profile. All in all, an interesting and enjoyable smoke.

On a side note, Nomad Cigars began by selling their cigars online through their website, but several weeks ago they decided that the exposure that brought had opened doors enough. Company president, Fred Rewey, said in a statement that they want to make a commitment to B&M shops and are happy to see distribution get to a point where they can do so. Support your local B&M!