Ashton cigars come in a host of styles, from the considerably mild (Ashton Classic) to the seriously strong (Ashton Virgin Sun Grown). Closer in strength to the latter are Ashton Estate Sun Growns.The brand was originally conceived as a way to celebrate Ashton's 20th anniversary, which was in 2005. The first cigar came out a year late, due to limits on their production by Tabacalera A. Fuente. The cigar is made with a very rare wrapper, a sun-grown, Cuban-seed leaf from Chateau de la Fuente, the home of Fuente Fuente OpusX (which is made from leaves grown under shade). ESGs can have a mellow start but they typically pick up in strength, leading brand owner Robert Levin to dub them "the Velvet Hammer" due to their sneaky strength.ESG releases have been coming out at irregular intervals, and they often perform well in our blind taste tests. In a vertical brand tasting of the five sizes in the line, conducted in the September 23 Cigar Insider, the ESG 22-Year Salute emerged as the best. The nutty smoke had notes of cream, leather and earth, with a touch of almond on the finish.ESGs are cigars for special occasions, and priced accordingly. They aren't inexpensive, but this one is certainly worth the price.

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