Issue: Cigar Aficionado, Jan 01, 2016

Score: 93

These cigars may be whimsically named and the packaging might look a bit avant garde, but The King is Dead is an interesting brand that uses uncommon tobaccos—and uncommon imagery. The band features a surreal imprint of a split throne. If you look passed the artsiness, you'll find that brand owner Robert Caldwell has sourced some rare tobaccos in the blend, specifically a type called HVA 20/20. It's a Cuban hybrid developed by Dominican grower Leo Reyes and is rarely used. The wrapper is grown from another Dominican varietal called Negrito. When blended and rolled into a torpedo, one gets The Last Payday. The name is unorthodox and perhaps doesn't evoke visions of the everyday smoking experience, but this cigar combines the nuance of maple sweetness and the tonality of earth in unexpected ways.