ANOTHER Steve Saka Thread

[TommyBB]

Steve has been really busy, and he just posted a list of 12 questions and answers he has been getting from his customers, mostly tobacconists, but likely smokers, too. Some of these blends as he calls them in the parlance "ligas" are things many of us have never heard of. Sorry for the long post, but it IS informative.

Originally Posted by Steve Saka

Question Overload so I am going to answer a bunch of them here:

[Note: added answer #11 about the Sin Compromiso El Amsterdammer crafted for Cigaragua - and I added a Q12 also to end.]

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Q1. What is Dondurma?

A1. Dondurma is a liga I created back in 2015 - it features what today has become a relative rare tobacco in handmade cigars, a variation of Wisconsin Comstock. I tabled the liga because IMO while it was solid, it really is only extra special when you retrohale it and then it is magnificent. But there is no way I am ever going to get Retailers to explain this, heck I can't get them to explain Umbagog correctly... anyhow I made a about 1,000 of these cigars. I promised Cigaragua 60 of these for our event this week. After that I just sent a few to Ronnie Haisha of Secreto Cigar Bar a few to sample because he is a retrohaling fiend. Turns out he loved them and asked if he could sell the rest to his customers and I figured heck if anyone can represent or explain this cigar to folks it is him. There are only about 90 10ct boxes - I will be in Detroit at the end of the month to drink The Balvenie US and smoke Dondurma. I can make more, but it will always be in tiny batches like this, I simply do not have enough Comstock, nor do I plan on ever having a lot of Comstock.

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Q2: What is Mi Querida Triqui Traca?

A2: It is a variation of the core Mi Querida liga that I so love that I developed for the Mi Querida Firecracker project for our friends at Two Guys Smoke Shop - we produced this for two years in a row for them and both times they sold out very quickly. So I wanted to make it in larger formats, so this year we introduced the No. 552 and No. 648 - frontmarks = sizes. I utilize No. 1 Darks Broadleaf as the capa and have incorporate a special ligero from the DR - it is actually the Dominican leaf that amps up the power. It is definitely stronger, but really not more peppery - it is more like a density, a body, the just feel heavier when you smoke them . They can be easily identified as they have a RED band vs the blue one. We just started shipping these, we are backordered, but strongly recommend Retailers place followup orders to ensure they get some additional ones over the next few months - as always, we fill orders in the order in which we receive them.

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Q3: Are you ever going to ship more Sobremesa Brülée?

A3: Yes, like Triqui Traca it is continually being crafted, it is just sales are way out pacing production currently, but the supply will begin flowing again within the next 30 days or so.

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Q4: Is Sobremesa Brülée sweet tipped?

A4: No, but yes there is a natural sweetness - once you smoke a few of them you will notice that slight initial sweetness is variable, this would not be the case if they were sweet tipped. I knew the blend was sweet, I blended it to be sweet and I named it Brülée because it does have that note. For those who think I am lying, oh well, wtf can I do to prove a negative? And honestly I don't care if people think it is or isn't, the question for me is do people like it. Sidebar: All of this discussion prompted me to make a few of these sweet tipped because now I am curious what it will taste like - I will be smoking these in October/November and no, I wont send you one.

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Q5: Will you be making _____ size of Sobremesa Brülee and/or Mi Querida Triqui Traca?

A5: Maybe - today I just want to get the current sizes production levels to where they need to be before I worry about tweaking the ligas for the other sizes... I need another project now like I need a hole in the head.

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Q6: What is the deal with the Famous 80th?

A6: Nicaraguan Puro, box pressed, crafted at NACSA - we are really stepping up our game there - there are only 250 10ct boxes - they will sell on Oct 26th - again I will be on hand for the launch event. It is f'ing great and no, there are no current plans to craft more.

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Q7: When will there be more #NLMTHA Lanceros?

A7: I can't believe I even got to answer this one... stunned that the first one SOLD OUT, but I am even more stunned that we actually received orders for more of these that exceeds their March 2019 release - all the cigars are made, expect to ship to Retailers in October 2019. And NO, I have zero plans to make any of my other ligas into a lancero - just because people are willing to buy something, doesn't mean it is good. It took me forever to make the #NLMTHA, over 70 variations, just stupid... no way will I endure that misery again. That being said, maybe I will make in 2020 a 7ct Sampler from the 70+ variation I made, try to make some of that work pay... maybe call it the "Lanceros Suck Sampler"! <snicker>

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Q8: Are you making more Red Meat Lovers?

A8: I did, they are done, resting in the aging rooms and will be packed and shipped to Smoke Inn in mid-November 2019. Same great liga, dense, heavy, earthy, medium plus in the same format - actually the identical tobacco from the very same crops, I knew this was a winner so I set aside the materials needed to make more when we released them last year. Again, it is limited.

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Q9: Where can I buy the Muestra de Saka UnStolen Valor?

A9: No where yet, this will be our 2020 Muestra de Saka release - it is actually a liga developed by Raul Disla - it is awesome, I love it and want to share it with folks. I am doing this for 2 reasons: 1) It is great, 2) Raul runs NACSA and is a very good cigar maker, but they do not currently produce any brands for themselves so this will provide a means for people to get a taste of his work. It is named "Unstolen Valor" because I want to ensure he receives the credit for the cigar. I think folks who smoke on the stronger side are going to really like it. We will start accepting orders on this in November, with March 2020 being the ETA.

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Q10: Where can I buy a Unicorn?

A10: No clue, there are just 1,000 of these each year and there is no way I can keep track of this. That being said, the warehouse just began shipping out the 2018 production - any Retailers that want more are ordering in advance for the 2019 production that will ship in 2020. And no, I won't just make more, it defeats the whole concept of what a Unicorn is... DTT's success or failure is not ever going to be determined by Unicorn sales.

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Q11: What is the deal with the Sin Compromiso El Amsterdammer?

A11: It is a 6x60 with a Cuban 109 Style Bullet head we crafted for our friends at Cigaragua. Sasja Van Horssen is such a big supporter of Nicaraguan cigars in the EU and I wanted to make him something special for his market. I assumed he would want something corona or lonsdale like, but he specifically asked for this format - he says his Dutch customers love big cigars. It is currently an exclusive to him, I do not even have any in the US to sell - the first one I will smoke since its development will be in the Netherlands this Friday at our Launch Event!

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Q12: You do know that every cigar you talked about above you referred to as "great", "magnificient", "awesome", etc?

A12: Yeah, that is because they f'ng are... if my name is on it, it means I developed the blend, selected the tobacco, etc. etc. and I don't do "ok" when it comes to cigars. My putting my seal of approval on Unstolen Valor is a radical departure for me, but even on this project I will be personally warranting the quality of the blend and the cigars, so I will be very involved. Since day one, our mantra has been was "Puros Sin Compromiso" and it is just not a tag line for us. We take it very seriously.

Thanks!

"Retrohale" take a shot.