Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4

A while back, I was having a cigar with a friend of mine, and we got on the topic of cigar names: how they come about, what they mean, what they try to imply about the cigar and ones we like for a certain reason or another. He asked if there were any I particularly liked for one reason or another, and while a handful came to mind, there was one that kept rising to the top of the list: Sin Compromiso.

The Sin Compromiso line is part of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s portfolio. The name means without compromise in Spanish, and it is a reference to the approach that company founder Steve Saka says he took in creating the cigar.

“Sin Compromiso is the result of over three years’ of experimental black tobacco harvests in Mexico, Ecuador and Nicaragua and the culmination of my experiences as a cigar blender,” said Saka in a press release when the line was announced. “The marquee’s name translates to ‘no compromise’ and that is the exact approach I took when creating this cigar. This blend is a direct reflection of all the skills I have learned and developed over the last twenty-plus years and I am genuinely excited to share it with my fellow cigar smokers.”

The blend uses a Mexican San Andrés negro “Cultivo Tonto” wrapper, an Ecuadorian habano-seed binder, and filler tobaccos grown in Nicaragua. As often happens with certain sizes, the blend of the Selección No. 4 needed to be tweaked a bit to accommodate this specific size.

The arrival of the Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4 in May 2024 brought the line to nine sizes, though production of the Selección Espada Estoque vitola, later renamed the Varita Májica, was halted in August 2023.

As for why it took so long for a robusto size to join the lineup, Saka said he just couldn’t get to a point where he was satisfied with how the blend smoked in the vitola. Finally, he reached a point where said the blend had become “perfectly tailored for its format and to suit its namesake.”

That was seemingly the case, as it went on to claim the #3 spot on halfwheel’s Top 25 Cigars of 2024, as well as the #4 spot on The Consensus 2024

Here’s what I said about the Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4 when I reviewed it in September 2024:

I don’t smoke enough of the Sin Compromiso line to give an accurate comparison to the other sizes, but I can say that the No. 4 vitola leaves little to be desired. It’s an interesting and enjoyable profile rooted in a dry earth, but the profile never gets too dry, something that plagued a cigar recently reviewed on this site. The blend does a great job balancing its individual components, which complement and play off each other quite well. On the short list of things I might have wanted from the cigar, the creaminess in the early going seemed like it could have been a bit more of a player, and my sweet tooth wanted the chocolate to come through just a bit more, but neither are shortcomings of the cigar. If anything, my biggest request is a more durable ash, simply so I didn’t have to vacuum up most of the ash. Whether the Sin Compromiso line is in your rotation or you’ve yet to try it, the Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4 is a solid option for your next cigar.

• Cigar Reviewed: Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés Negro Cultivo Tonto)
• Binder: Ecuador (Habano)
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Pressed
• MSRP: $17.95 (Box of 13, $233.35)
• Release Date: May 21, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

The cellophane has certainly started to yellow a bit, but what catches my eye more is the band, which also looks like the white parts have begun turning yellowish-brown. The cigar itself looks good, with an even, dark brown color to the wrapper, nearly invisible seams, and hardly any veins. The wrapper leans to the dry side of the spectrum, providing just a bit of smooth texture for my fingers. It’s a firm cigar but it still has some give—stop me if you’ve heard this from me before—kind of a firm pillow density. The foot doesn’t have much of an aroma; I get a touch of sweet chocolate, but it takes a few sniffs to get to them. The cold draw has a touch of resistance and an equally mellow chocolate flavor.

I’m a bit surprised by how mildly the Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4 starts; there is some earth and pepper with just a touch of chocolate, but it’s far from dominating my palate. Given that the cigar has been in the humidor for two years, I’m not totally caught off guard, but I was expecting a touch more flavor. Retrohales are a little more lively with the pepper and add a touch of simple syrup sweetness, but even then, are on the mellower side. There’s not much development in the first inch, but the profile slowly starts to fill out and come alive, turning into a richer version of what it offered earlier. By the midpoint, the smoke’s texture is creamier, though its contribution to the flavor is more restrained. Right at the midpoint, the flavor finally reaches a point where I’m getting notes that spark memories of what I think of this cigar offering when it was new, or if I were to go pick up one in a cigar shop today, making me excited for what the second half might hold. Flavor starts medium-minus and reaches medium-full; the body of the smoke makes a similar journey, while strength remains consistently mild. Construction is solid and I have no issues in the first half of the cigar.

The second half of the Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4 starts in a pretty solid spot: while the flavor still feels a bit tight, I can pick up layers of rich earth, thick chocolate, and slightly charred black pepper that lingers on my tongue after each puff. Somewhat surprisingly, the retrohales feel lighter than they were earlier and lighter than the flavor, with a very light, thin creaminess setting the stage for a bit of earth and pepper to come along next, but neither brings a boom to my nostrils. As the final third gets going, I’m beginning to wonder if the flavor is going to open up any further; it doesn’t feel like it, and if anything seems like a smooth finish has been put on the flavor. It’s still earthy, and now a bit more robust and dry than it has been before, changes that manifest more on the finish than the initial puff, and almost become a bit gritty in the process. Somewhere along the way, the creaminess departs, and I can feel the cigar turning to a dry flavor. As the burn line reaches the final two inches, I am inclined to think the proximity of the core is only intensifying that sensation, and I decide to wrap up the cigar after about an hour and 45 minutes. Almost mirroring the first half, the flavor and body both go from medium-full back to medium, while the strength has picked up a touch, and I’d put it just in medium-territory based on what I’m suddenly feeling with those final puffs. Construction-wise, it does feel like the draw firms up a little bit at times, though if I give the head of the cigar a gentle squeeze—either with my fingers or teeth—it seems to remedy the situation and open the draw up for a bit. The combustion, burn line and smoke production are all good.

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
Nicaragua
Robusto Gordo
Sin Compromiso
Sin Compromiso Selección No. 4