Initial Thoughts
This Arrington Vineyard Double-W has been out for awhile now. It was released in October of 2014. This particular smoke was created to pair with the vineyard southeast of Nashville. The Double W stands for Whiskey and Wine which makes perfect sense, and is obviously right up my alley. The blend of this cigar was created to complement the pairing of Arrington’s latest wine at the time Antebellum which is aged in both wine & whiskey barrels. It’s all starting to make sense now. This cigar is only available locally at the vineyard and a partner shop of the vineyard, Franklin Cigar. That’s where I picked up this cigar for review. So let’s dive on into it.
Looks
The wrapper on this Arrington Vineyard Double-W looks flawless. The Ecuadorian Habano is a nice dark rich brown. Hardly even notice the seams. Veins are minimal and it appears to have a perfectly positioned triple cap on the head of the cigar.
The band is a dark bold red color. That has a logo in the middle that is a play on the Arrington logo AV. Instead of the V, it looks like 3 Vs stacked side by side to form two Ws. It’s simple and gets the point across perfectly. There are no hidden meanings behind any of it. Just a great looking cigar.
Function
Rolling this Arrington Vineyard Double-W between my fingers I wasn’t able to notice any soft spots. There was a nice bounce back throughout the entire stick. As I said above, the seams were barely noticeable.
I used my punch to cut this cigar and tested the dry draw. It was nice and open and provided a good dose of the flavors to come.
Smoking
After all the pre light rituals were over I put some fire to the foot of this Arrington Vineyard Double-W. It took off without any hesitation and began puffing and delivering flavor right out of the gate. Throughout the entire cigar I never noticed any hiccups, it was a superb smoking experience from start to finish. Enough jib jab about all this, let’s actually dive down into the flavors.
Flavor
On the pre light inspection I picked up a good dose of earth notes and quite a bit of pepper. There were a few hidden notes of cherry and some chocolate as well.
Once I got the Arrington Vineyard Double-W lit the spice really took off. I didn’t notice the earthy notes that much until the retrohale. On the retro I also get that slight chocolate note and some hints of dark fruit. I’m sticking with the ideas of cherries for now, it may change though.
During the second third the body is starting to build with this cigar. I’m getting some new coffee notes, those have probably developed from the earthy notes up front. The spice is starting to develop as well, I’m picking up on something that triggers the thought of black pepper with more red pepper on the retrohale. A subtle note on the retrohale is this rich molasses flavor. It’s thick and sweet, but not overpowering.
Those flavors carry this Arrington Vineyard Double-W to the finish. The spice does mellow out towards the end while the body has built up to a medium-full range. You can imagine having this cigar with some Wine or Whiskey and it could cause ole stumbly legs to appear. Overall, a great smoke though, very unique to the Crowned Heads line. I don’t think I’ve ever picked up on that cherry note from one of their blends before. It’s really enticing me to go find some different bourbons to pair this cigar with and see how those develop.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Yes, I would smoke this everyday, but at $10 a smoke it could get expensive throughout the year!
Would I Buy a Box?
Without a doubt, probably smarter to do this because they’re only available at two locations right now. Well worth the box investment though.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a great medium-full bodied cigar to pair with wine or whiskey then this Arrington Vineyard Double-W should be right up your alley. In fact, I went out to Arrington one day and had this cigar with the Antebellum wine, and I have to tell ya it doesn’t get much better! Great flavors, great construction, and an effortless smoking experience what else can you ask for in a cigar?
