Stolen Throne Castle 919 Prelight
Stolen Throne, formed in 2018, is a collaborative effort by Lee Marsh, John Stephens, and Phil Hartnett. Their home base is Yorktown, Virginia, with most of their cigars coming from Noel Rojas’ Rojas Cigar Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Stolen Throne released their Castle 919 in June of 2025. The 919 refers to the street address of Stolen Throne founder Lee Marsh’s childhood home in Baltimore. Furthermore, the castle on the band resembles the castle in Essex, England – Marsh grew up in the area of Baltimore referred to as Essex. The Castle 919 blend is available in two vitolas: a 5 x 54 Belicoso and a 5 x 50 Robusto. The blend is composed of an Ecuadorian Habano Claro wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder, and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Peru. The Rojas Cigar Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, handles production of the Castle 919.
The wrapper is a light brown, mottled with some darker spots. The wrapper has a few large prominent veins. The cigar is finished with a partially closed foot and a triple cap. The aromas on the wrapper and foot are of maple wood and hay. The draw is perfect with notes of vanilla and grass.
Stolen Throne Castle 919 First Third
The Castle 919 starts with some strong smoke output. The palate notes are crusty bread, caraway seeds, earth, and black pepper. The retrohale reveals sweet, creamy coffee, vanilla, and a generous dose of red chili flakes. The strength of flavor is just under full. The finish is medium with notes of crusty bread and black pepper. The overall profile is deeply bready with some sweet coffee and spicy flavors interplaying in the background. The burn line is slightly wavy, but the ash and construction are holding up great otherwise.
Stolen Throne Castle 919 Second Third
I’m seeing fresh bread, caraway, oak, and grass on the palate. The retrohale notes are coffee with cream, vanilla, and white pepper. The strength of flavor has calmed down to a medium. The smoke output remains excellent. The finish is medium with notes of coffee and white pepper. The overall profile is significantly less spicy and a touch less sweet. The fresh bread is the backbone of the flavor with some savory caraway notes. The burn line is suffering due to the veins in the wrapper. It’s not impacting the smoke, as the ash and draw are still holding up.
Stolen Throne Castle 919 Final Third
The palate notes are grilled bread, cumin, earth, and some leather. The retrohale has tones of light roast coffee, oak, and vanilla. The strength of flavor remains at medium. The smoke output remains excellent. The finish remains medium with notes of oak and earth. The overall profile is deeply bready with some notes of savory spices. The sweetness continues to diminish. The cigar needed a touch-up to get past some of the thicker veins in the wrapper. Past the band, the profile continued to dry with the bready and woody tones taking over. I put the Castle 919 down with an inch left.
Stolen Throne Castle 919 Conclusions
Stolen Throne’s Castle 919 had a profile that felt like you were walking past a bakery. Heaps and heaps of freshly baked bread were the core of the cigar’s flavor profile. There was a heavy dose of spice in the first third, which then mellowed in the second and final thirds, accompanied by sweet coffee and some savory spices. The caraway and cumin notes were especially noteworthy. There were some minor burn issues with the wrapper, but the draw and smoke output were top-notch. At $11, these cigars pack a ton of flavor. If you can appreciate a bready Habano blend with a generous dose of spice, the Castle 919 is a strong pick.
