3 Regular Guys Review: Acid Krush Classic Red

ACID cigars is a great story of uncovering and defining identity. Drew Estate produces ACID cigars. Jonathan Drew is one of the two guys who created Drew Estate –makers of Kahlua, Natural, Chateau Real, La Vieja Habana, etc., etc. The other man responsible is Marvin Samel. However Jonathan Drew’s surname is not actually Drew. It’s actually Sann. But his enthusiasm and passion for the company Drew Estate basically has transformed him into Jonathan Drew. Despite Drew most often being credited as the sole founder of Drew Estate, it was actually Jonathan and Marvin –who were fraternity brothers back at SUNY-Oneonta.

Well, neither is ACID cigars named after any rendition of acid that any lay person is familiar with be it in the chemistry lab, substances in your citrus fruit, or hazy but pleasant memories from your college years. Actually it’s named after another guy who adopted a pseudonym. Scott Chester is a NYC artist and a neighbor to the boys at Drew Estate’s Manhattan headquarters. Scott Chester is better known as “ACID” and incidentally so is his studio –Arielle Chester Industrial Design (named after Scott’s daughter). Chester’s lifestyle, creativity and intensity made him the close-to-home logical answer of what to call these cigars.

And now, the cigars. ACID cigars are flavored cigars. ACID cigars are not your standard incarnation of a flavored cigar however. Instead they’re a new-agey conglomeration of how you probably should go about flavoring tobacco if one was to feel the need to flavor tobacco. The tobacco leaf –which begins life as some pretty darn decent Nicaraguan tobacco- is laid out in a room in which the air is infused with the botanicals, oils and natural fragrances that will nuance the tobacco once it absorbs it.

Then, you make it all into a cigar and put a flashy mod-art motorcyclist on the box. With stark lack of ceremony, that’s basically how the tins of ACID Krush Classic Red Cameroon cigarillos found their way to the 3 Regular Guys to smoke.

Colm was an easy sell early on because he basically likes anything related to motorcycles. Scott and Dave were a tad more skeptical because their primary interest was the cigar itself. Everyone was in agreement that this was a really well made cigarillo, from cap to draw. It also smoked extremely pleasantly and mounted up a lengthy ash. The unfortunate tendency –almost to the point of being a fate- of small cigars is the burn can get a bit hot. If you are careful not to over smoke it, this little ACID doesn’t yield.

The aroma of this unlit cigar is intriguing and pretty nice. Scott found it to be citrusy and herbal, but not as floral as the wrapper smelled unlit. It had Dave harkening back to childhood memories of Thanksgiving at his grandma’s house. Then again, this didn’t smell like the cigars we usually smoke, so how was it going to taste?

We have to tell you that we were all a little bit overcome by the sugared tip. Being of the ranks of folks who actually rather like the taste of well-aged tobacco it was a turn from our norm to taste the sweetness. Generally we like to apply our own sweetener –straight from our glass of cognac or dram of single malt.

That aside, the ACID Krush Classic Red Cameroon was a rather nice but thoroughly mild smoke. The infused taste of this cigar yields about halfway through to just the underlying tobacco. However it does build up a bit of a residual flavor on your palate and isn’t as clean as when you first begin.

If you’re a new cigar smoker, an accomplished yet curious cigar smoker, or someone who prefers milder or flavored smokes then you should definitely check these out. Bold full-bodied cigar smokers should be advised to pay attention that you are smoking this cigar or it may be too gentle to really make an impression.

Click here to order the Acid Krush Classic Red.