Saka Dondurma Prelight
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust was formed in 2015 by industry veteran Steve Saka. Saka served as the President and then CEO of Drew Estate from 2005 to 2013. Steve Saka stepped away in 2015 to start Dunbarton and has been at the helm ever since.
Dondurma, named after Turkish mastic ice cream, was blended initially in 2015 by Steve Saka. Saka shelved the blend because he believed it was not commercially viable and required retrohaling to enjoy it properly. Dondurma eventually found its home as a shop exclusive at Ronnie Haisha’s Secreto Cigar Bar in 2020. The four-country blend is made up of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a Mexican San Andrés binder, filler tobaccos from the USA (Wisconsin Comstock varietal), and Nicaragua (5-year-aged hybrid Criollo ligero, and Corojo 98 viso from Esteli, and a Criollo 99 seco from Jalapa). The Dondurma is manufactured at Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. by Artisto Torres and Josefa “Chepita” Perez, the same duo that rolls the Muestra de Saka Unicorns.
This cigar is stunning visually. The wrapper is dark chocolate, with thin veins and some visible tooth. It’s softly boxed pressed and finished with a short but pronounced pigtail on the cap. The aromas on the foot and wrapper are cocoa, earth, and soft barnyard. The draw is perfect and has notes of cocoa and earth.
Saka Dondurma First Third
The smoke output is exceptional right out of the gate. I immediately noticed a dense pack of sweet and spicy flavors on the retrohale. The notes on the palate are toasted cashews, earth, and brioche. I see vanilla cake batter, earthy dark chocolate, and crushed red chili flakes on the retrohale. The spice level is just a notch below that of being too aggressive, but I can already feel it beginning to calm down. The burn line is razor sharp, with slightly flaky ash. The construction and draw are perfect. The finish is medium with notes of brioche and vanilla.
Saka Dondurma Second Third
On the palate, there are notes of brioche, lightly toasted cashews, and some dry earth. The retrohale shows vanilla cake, butterscotch, earth, cocoa powder, and a sprinkle of crushed red peppers. The chili flakes have taken a step backward in the profile, revealing more confectionary flavors. Smoke output is exceptional. The ash, burn, and construction are flawless. The finish is medium with notes of earth and vanilla. I began to feel a decent hit of nicotine about halfway through the cigar.
Saka Dondurma Final Third
The notes on the palate are toasted brioche, earth, and some grass. For the retrohale, tones of vanilla cake, sweet pistachio butter, and just a hint of that crushed red chili flake. The smoke output remains fantastic. The ash, burn, and construction of the Dondurma are flawless. The finish is still medium, with notes of vanilla and earth. I still feel some of the nicotine, but it is not as strong as in the prior third. Past the band, the flavors continued to develop in a sweet and earthy direction, with the spicy notes falling off. I put this one down with just under an inch left.
Saka Dondurma Conclusions
Steve Saka’s Dondurma is exceptionally unique. The retrohale is a wild interplay of pastry flavors and some aggressive spice. Meanwhile, the notes on the palate were almost pedestrian. I understand entirely Saka’s decision not to bring this one to market. It’s niche, strong, and potentially offputting to some, but I had so much fun smoking the Dondurma. As I’ve come to expect with Dunbarton, the construction was flawless. At $16, this cigar is no daily driver, but if you want to try something extraordinary, stop by Ronnie Haisha’s Secreto Cigar Bar and let him tell you all about it.
