TheBuffalo Trace Special S takes the same unusual tobacco concept behind the Special L and expresses it through one of cigar making's most dramatic formats. The centerpiece remains aBrazilian Arapiraca binder aged for six months in spent Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels, surrounded by an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The barrel treatment isn't intended to turn the cigar into a bourbon-flavored smoke. Instead, it adds another layer to the naturally earthy, spicy tobacco—an approach that makes the Buffalo Trace collaboration considerably more interesting than simply putting a famous whiskey name on a cigar band.
At7¾" x 62, the Special S is an imposing Salomón whose tapered shape makes the first part of the cigar markedly different from what follows. The narrow opening concentrates the initial smoke before the burning line gradually reaches the cigar's much broader body, bringing progressively more of the filler blend into play. Cedar, earth, leather and baking spice provide the tobacco foundation, while the barrel-aged binder contributes complementary impressions of oak, caramel, vanilla and darker sweetness. It's a long-format cigar designed to develop rather than reveal everything in the first inch.
The Salomón also makes sense for a project built around aging and transformation. As its diameter changes, so does the relationship among wrapper, binder and filler, allowing different aspects of the blend to move forward over the course of the smoke. That makes theSpecial S less about sheer size than progression. For the smoker intrigued by what bourbon-barrel aging can contribute to premium tobacco without turning the cigar into an infused product, the Special S provides the most expansive—and visually impressive—way to explore the idea.
