Room 101 Death Bucket Pica Pollo EXCLUSIVE 6×54 (Rolled in 2017, Banded in 2018 Aged 2 Years 2 Months)

Room101 cigar that was once only available to members of the Privada Cigar Club is getting a wider release and will soon be offered in other retail cigar outlets.

The cigar has no official name, but Room101 fans refer to it as “Death Bucket” because of the band’s resemblance to a tub of fast-food fried chicken. It’s made in one size, a 6 inch by 52 ring gauge toro, and the blend is a combination of binder from Indonesia, a filler that was grown in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It’s covered in an oily Ecuador Habano wrapper.

According to brand owner Matt Booth, the cigar was actually one of the first ones he blended in the Dominican Republic after he momentarily left the cigar industry in 2017. He said the blend was the result of a collaboration between himself and Henderson Ventura of Tabacalera William Ventura, the factory in the Dominican Republic where the cigars are rolled.

“The blend and band were made strictly in fun for passion’s sake,” said Booth.

While the first release of Death Bucket totaled about 7,500 cigars, this one will be 10,000 cigars

Tasting Notes: There is a lavender soap like note on the body, the foot is more of the same but with rich tobacco aromas. The cold draw is dried peaches and more of the lavender note. The cigar starts out chocolatey with slight white pepper, herbal sweet earth, bakers spices and peanut butter. Later there is also the addition of sweet white toast, and a mushroom-like earthy mustiness. In the second third, I get a ramp up in peppers, from white to red and the mushroom note continues to linger. There’s also an overall vanilla sugared sweetness, some breads, charred cinnamon and a fudge like chocolate note. The cigar ends with floral notes, candied dried fruits (think candied orange) some ginger in place of the pepper and the musk is still there, reminding me of a Davidoff. Fantastic cigar with great complexity and dynamic range.

Pairing Notes: Wheat beers with an orange slice, Ice cold Pinot Grigio on a hot day, Aged dark rums, cognac on a cool evening, wheated bourbon. Medium roast coffee.White chocolate. Smores. Iced coffee with cream and sugar (medium to light roast). White Russian AKA a Caucasian cocktail. Brownies with or without vanilla ice cream.