Скачать или смотреть Cigar Review Alec and Bradley Kintsugi

Cigar Review – Alec & Bradley Kintsugi

When Smoked: February, 2025
Obtained from: Local cigar retailer
Size: Toro (6 inches x 52)
Approximate cost: US$11.00
See ratings below

First thing, let’s talk about the Alec AND Bradley name, as opposed to the Alec Bradley brand cigars. Alan Rubin, who created Alec Bradley cigars in 1996, named Alec Bradley after his two sons, by no means coincidentally named Alec and Bradley.

You can probably see where this is heading. Fast forward to 2017, by then Alan Rubin’s two sons were all grown and looking to make their own mark in the cigar world. To differentiate their brand (but not really) they named their cigars “Alec & Bradley.” The two sons developed their own blends, but Alec & Bradley cigars operated under the umbrella of the original Alec Bradley company, they are made in the same factory (Raices Cubanas in Honduras) and sold through the same distribution network.

Do you see the difference between the two brands? I don’t either. In any event the whole shootin’ match got bought by Scandinavian Tobacco Group in early 2023. As I mention in the video, I haven’t noticed any change in the quality or flavor or Alec Bradley cigars since the buyout, whether you think no change is good or bad I’ll let you decide.

Alec & Bradley’s first venture was Blind Faith in 2017, the second was called called “Gatekeeper,” which was a very good early effort that won acclaim from Cigar Aficionado and other publications. They followed up with this cigar, Kintsugi. The name is derived from a Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold lacquer, which the brothers say is symbolic of repairing the fractures in the premium cigar industry (I can picture Humphrey Bogart saying, “Out of all the back stories of all the cigars in the world and you picked that story.”).

Okay, let’s forget that rather lame cigar backstory and talk about the cigar. We’ve got a Habano wrapper grown in Honduras, with the rest of the tobacco from Nicaragua and Honduras. Supposedly there are two binder leafs – that certainly came in handy as far as holding this cigar together.

As I detail in the video, the construction on this stick was a roller-coaster ride. The first half I found myself waiting for the other shoe to drop and the thing to fall apart. But like a mid-winter, post Valentines Day miracle all the various issues corrected themselves and by the last third, the wrapper looked perfectly innocent of the many crimes it had committed earlier.

Flavor-wise, it had a pleasant wood with a bit of earth base, and that wood stayed nicely on the finish. Add to that some cashew and red pepper which was pretty strong in the first half but dissipated to being hardly noticeable by around the 40% mark.

Overall impression, given that I think they are killing themselves with that name and marketing story, I didn’t want to like this cigar. As I mentioned in the video, I’ve smoked a few of these and earlier ones I would have rated a 9/10. This one was still good, bordering on very good, but not as wonderful as I remember – so I’ll give it a 8.0/10, still worthy of consideration, especially if you are looking for a little extra zing beyond a Connecticut but not full body.