From Steve Saka himself…

“ Muestra de Saka Krakatoa

Info and Tasting Notes

Krakatoa

6.00 x 48 Parejo w/ Volcano Colita

SBN Box w/ Coffins / 7ct

Basic Liga Details:

Capa: Ecuador Habano Grade A1 

Capote: Nicaraguan Sungrown 

Tripa: Nicaraguan Broadleaf, Criollo and Corojo

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As many of you know we have finally begun shipping our newest MDS out into the world.

The Krakatoa liga has been a thorn in my side for well over three years - my not being satisfied with the liga resulted in not only us skipping a year, but even for another MDS to be released, The Bewitched, in the interim... so it has been a long time coming.

Now I know almost every Purveyor is likely to advertise it as a STRONG liga given it's name, but it is actually not in the traditional way.

So I want to share -my- tasting notes and -my- impression of the liga so everyone has an informed baseline from which to approach the cigar.

As anyone that is familiar with my blending style, I have yet to release a liga that is that classic, uber-strong "pepper bomb" - it just is not my style. I love strong, full bodied cigars, but I still demand they are "smooth" - there is always an element of creaminess and balance with ALL my cigars.

And Krakatoa is no different.

Also, it is always important to me that any cigar added to the MDS portfolio be one that is significantly different than any of my core offerings. Some sort of material, liga or construction style that differs - to truly be a unique sample liga. Which means often the blends utilized within the line are ones that are intended to be one-off experiences.

So what is Krakatoa and what does it taste like?

My goal with the liga was to create a cigar that was quite strong in nicotine and flavor, but not bite. I wanted it to taste like something that was like a really strong cigar that had been aged for a decade in a Spanish Cedar trunk. A important element to make this so was for it to come across drier on the palate, because this is a key trait of really spicy cigars that have been aged for so long.

This desired intent proved to be very challenging and why the project took so long with me starting and stoping the blending process multiple times. In fact the last time I was so frustrated I actually set the project aside for about 8 months.

When I took what I promised myself would be my last stab at it, I decided I really needed to source some tobaccos I seldom use. One of which was a particular Criollo tripa from Aganorsa and it was this one ingredient that allowed me to get on track - to get that drier cedar note to shine the way I needed it to. Another experimental tripa for me was incorporating some Nicaraguan Grown Broadleaf tripa into the blend to add a bit of natural sweetness.

So I would describe the Krakatoa as full bodied, but in a very aged, epicurean way with flavor notes of sweet cedar, bright citrus, café with woodsy, gentler earth notes. Bold in flavor, yet smooth and deceptively complex and potent. 

On a 10 point scale I would rate the strength at a 7 out of 10, but would suggest to the smoker to give it a retrohale as this will show the strength that lays beneath the surface.

And that is the origin of the name - I called it Krakatoa because it is like the volcano whose strength laid beneath the surface and was very unexpected.

I hope this provides some details about this enigmatic liga and it delivers the interesting, unique smoking experience I intended.

Thank You!

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