CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt

In 2023, RoMa Craft Tobac announced a new series named CRAFT Maquette, designed to give consumers a unique peek into its blending process by letting them taste the progress of a blend at a specific point in time, rather than just producing miniature versions of that blend.

Some of the cigars in the series are complete one-offs, while others have direct ties to regular production cigars. However, all of the cigars share similar packaging: craft paper bundles and colored ribbons on the foot of the cigars.

Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft Tobac, described the intent for the series:

A maquette, also known as a bozzetto, is an object made as a preparatory study for a full-scale project.
Artists use maquettes to explore shapes and figural poses of sculptures.
Architects use maquettes as an essential part of the iterative design process, developing ideas from a sketch into a physical object, to inform decisions involving materials, space and form without consuming the time and resources larger scale proofs require.
The use of maquettes to realize a concept allows the creator to evaluate and develop those ideas more efficiently.
In many ways, blending samples serve the same purpose for a cigar maker.
As a new cigar blend evolves from an idea into large scale production core line it goes through many iterations.
Individual tobaccos are selected, purchased and sampled. They are evaluated and classified based on flavor, aroma, combustion and other physical characteristics.
These tobaccos are blended with other tobaccos and, once again, the combined tobaccos are evaluated to determine how these individual tobaccos perform together. Once a blend concept is realized it is produced in small quantities and allowed to dry in an aging room.
Many times, as humidity and fermentation variances inherent in the cigar making process begin to normalize and the tobaccos begin to marry, new flavors, aromas and other attributes develop in the blend. Sometimes this brings the resulting blend closer to the intention of the maker, sometimes it sets them off onto a new path.
Craft maquette represents an exploration of that practice. Small batch releases with new and unique tobaccos blended and aged for you to join us in our blend evaluation and discovery process.

Earlier this year, during the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, RoMa Craft Tobac showed off the newest release in the CRAFT Maquette Series, a 4 7/8 x 48 short Churchill named Scuttlebutt. When the cigar was announced, Martin described it as a lighter version of the Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion 1794 line but Scuttlebutt’s blend had not been disclosed. In a text conversation, Martin told halfwheel that the cigar is made with an Ecuadorian habano wrapper covering an Indonesian binder and a filler blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco. On paper, that is the same as the Whiskey Rebellion.

Each cigar has an MSRP of $10 and production is limited to 1,800 bundles of 10, for a total of 18,000 cigars. Bundles of the CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt started shipping to retailers in August.

• Cigar Reviewed: CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Indonesia
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 4 5/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $10 (Box of 10, $100)
• Release Date: August 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,800 Bundles of 10 Cigars (18,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Small and unassuming—a look that is only accentuated by the lack of a normal band—the CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt cigars are covered in medium brown wrappers that each feature a small amount of oil. The wrappers are supple and smooth to the touch with virtually no tooth at all, and while there are some fairly long veins, they are mostly flat. All three cigars have some nice firmness to them when squeezed, which makes it easier to find a small soft spot located almost exactly in the middle of the third cigar. A sweet but generic nuttiness leads the aromas from the wrappers, followed by creamy leather, dry hay, barnyard and some earthiness. The nuttiness takes on a more distinct aroma when I smell the feet, reminiscent of freshly shelled peanuts, something I have not thought of in years—more on that in the Final Notes below—along with earth, coffee beans, sweet breadiness and light cinnamon. After straight cuts, the cold draws bring even more nuttiness—it reminds me of normal roasted peanuts now, albeit with some saltiness attached—along with gritty earth, vegetal, sweet bread, baker’s spices and some powdery cocoa nibs.

There is a significant amount of spice in the first few puffs after lighting the feet, along with some citrus peel and earthiness. I can already tell this is going to be a cigar with more smoke than normal, as the thick, billowy clouds are one of the first things I notice. Main flavors of roasted peanuts and creamy hay take over the profiles of all three cigars—more hay on the first and last cigar, more of the roasted peanuts on the second cigar—followed by secondary notes of oak, leather tack, wheat bread, mulch and dried tea leaves. About halfway through the first third, the first cigar develops an interesting coffee bean note on the finish, but it does not show in the other two cigars. The retrohale features a combination of maple syrup sweetness and red pepper, with neither note overwhelming the other, at least so far. Flavor ends the first third at full, the body is just under medium and the strength hits a solid medium. In terms of construction, the third cigar needs a quick burn correction to stay on track, but all three cigars feature a massive amount of dense smoke, and the draw resistance is excellent.

During the second third, the profiles diverge a bit: the first cigar continues to exhibit main flavors that mirror the first third—creamy hay and roasted peanuts—but the second and third cigars have switched to a combination of charred oak and powdery cocoa nibs. At various points, additional notes of gritty earth, rich espresso, cinnamon, leather and plain popcorn appear, but a new citrus peel note on the finish is consistent across all three cigars. The combination of maple syrup sweetness and red pepper continues to dominate the retrohales, but there is now a bit more red pepper on the last cigar compared to the other two. Flavor remains at full, the body increases to a solid medium and the strength bumps up to medium-plus. Once again, one of the cigars needs a quick touch-up with my lighter—the second cigar this time—but that is the only construction issue.

A new combination of charred oak and roasted peanuts takes over the profiles of all three cigars, but secondary flavors of creamy hay, leather tack, burnt bread, dark chocolate, and gritty earth are not far behind. There are no changes to the retrohales, which continue to exhibit a wonderful combination of red pepper and maple syrup sweetness, but the finish on all three cigars now features a similar coffee bean note, albeit slightly stronger on the last cigar. Flavor ends at full, the body ends at a solid medium, and the strength stays at medium-plus. This time, it is the first cigar that needs a minor burn correction, but the smoke production and draws continue to be problem-free.

Final Notes

• The CRAFT Maquette name is a reference to scale models that are used in sculpture, while Scuttlebutt is another name for gossip or a rumor.
• A cigar from the CRAFT Maquette Series finished #1 in halfwheel’s Top 25 for 2024, the CRAFT Maquette La Maestranza.
• During the PCA Convention & Trade Show, Martin told halfwheel that the Scuttlebutt is one of his favorite releases in the CRAFT Maquette series so far. In fact, he liked it so much that he bumped production up from the original 1,000 bundles to 1,800 bundles.
• The aroma emanating from the feet of these cigars reminded me of growing up in the 80s on my family’s farm in North Carolina, when I was tasked with shucking peanuts and vegetables.
• When the brand debuted, RoMaCraft did not have any bands its cigars. After consistently rejecting the idea, the company added bands to the CroMagnon line in 2013.
• Speaking of labels, I moved the foot ribbons—there are two of them, brown on top of cream—to a location nearer the cap to make the smoking photographs above (slightly) more interesting.
• Each cigar needed a burn correction, but interestingly, they occurred in different thirds for each cigar.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as being 4 7/8 x 48 vitolas. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them, and as you can see, they are extremely consistent.
• The final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 56 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt cigars, site sponsor Small Batch Cigar sells them on its website.

CRAFT Maquette
CRAFT Maquette Scuttlebutt
Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A.
Nicaragua
Petite Robusto
RoMa Craft Tobac