Today, we review the Stoic Equanimity cigar in the Justice (Toro) size from Stoic Cigars. Stoic Cigars is a relatively new company that launched late in 2024. Vance Taylor, a Utah-based entrepreneur with a passion for both cigars and philosophy, founded the line. He decided to combine the two and launch his own cigar line, Stoic Cigars. Stoic derives its name from the philosophy of Stoicism. To produce his cigar, Taylor works with Klaas Kelner at the Kelner Cigars SAS facility.
Equanimity is Stoic’s sophomore release. It aligns with the mantra of Stoic cigars. It draws on the Stoic ideal of maintaining inner peace, undisturbed by external circumstances. The company says Equanimity’s blend shows how the intensity and complexity of multiple tobaccos, much like life’s perceived problems, can actually foster tranquility when properly balanced.
Without further ado, let’s turn our attention to the actual cigar, the Equanimity Justice, and see what it brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
Equanimity features an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper over a Dominican Criollo ’98 binder. The filler boasts additional tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the U.S., and South America. Kelner Cigars SAS produces it at its facility in the Dominican Republic.
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
- Binder: Dominican Criollo ’98
- Filler: Dominican, Ecuadorian, U.S., South American
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Kelner Cigars SAS
Vitolas Available
Equanimity is available in four regular production vitolas. Each vitola symbolizes one of Stoicism’s four core virtues. The four names and sizes for Equanimity are the same as for the eponymous Stoic release. Each size comes in 20-count boxes.
- Courage: 5 x 50
- Justice: 6 x 52
- Wisdom: 7 x 48
- Moderation: 5 1/2 x 46
Appearance (*)
The Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper of the Equanimity Justice had a Colorado red color. The wrapper had a light amount of oil, and on closer inspection, some mottling was visible on the surface. The wrapper surface had visible veins and thin wrapper seams.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
Before lighting up the Equanimity Justice, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered a mix of mushroom, hay, and some fruit sweetness. Overall, I found this to be a very good pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the Equanimity Justice and see what the smoking phase would have in store.
Tasting Notes
The Equanimity Justice opened up with a wide assortment of flavors. It combined mixed pepper, fruit, mushroom, earth, and natural tobacco. There was no dominant flavor in the very early stages, but as the cigar reached the 3/4 ” inch point, the natural tobacco and fruit notes became primary. Meanwhile, the mushroom, earth, and pepper notes rounded this out from the background. The retrohale added another layer of pepper and more black-pepper varietal.
The second third of the Equanimity Justice opened up with the natural tobacco and fruit notes still primary. Slowly, the fruit sweetness diminished into the background. Meanwhile, the earthy notes from the background slowly increased. Just after the cigar crossed the midway point, the earth notes joined the natural tobacco. Meanwhile, the fruit became a secondary note, delivering flavors alongside the mushroom and pepper notes.
By the final third, the natural tobacco and earth notes remained primary. The pepper notes slightly increased in intensity. These pepper notes remained in the background with the mushroom and fruit notes. This is the way the Equanimity Justice came to a close. The cigar closed out with a soft and cool nub.
Burn
The Equanimity Justice did require multiple touchups to keep the burn on a straight path. While the touchups did the trick, I needed more touch-ups than I preferred. Meanwhile, the burn line was mostly wavy. As for the ash, it was skewed toward the looser side. This ash had a mix of light and dark gray. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.
Draw
The draw of the Equanimity Justice had a touch of resistance. As I have said countless times, a slight resistance is right in my sweet spot. There also were no issues deriving flavor from this cigar.
Strength and Body
The Equanimity Justice started out with medium strength and medium to full-bodied flavors. Along the way, the intensity increased slightly. While the strength and body were higher at the end of the smoking experience than at the beginning, the strength stayed in the medium range while the body stayed in the medium-to-full range.
In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained an edge over the strength.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
The Stoic Equanimity features both a primary and secondary band. The bands are mostly greenish/blue with gold trim. While I would categorize the secondary band as contemporary, the primary band mixes contemporary and classic elements.
Much like the eponymous line, each box and band is specific to the vitola. The band features four medallions, each representing one of the four virtues, which are also the vitola names. The medallion that matches the cigar vitola name is in gold. Additionally, the same virtue logo appears on the box.
When I removed the primary band from the cigar, a white secondary band was revealed. This simple band featured what appears to be a blend code in black ink.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
This sophomore offering is an impressive follow-up to the eponymous Stoic release. Much like the eponymous line, I found the Equanimity Justice to shine in the most important category – flavor. The flavors are robust, balanced, and make you want to come back for more. It’s a completely different cigar from the eponymous cigar. If you asked me to choose between the two, I still would reach for the eponymous Stoic first. However, that’s not a knock on the Equanimity Justice, as it is still a very good cigar. This is a cigar I would recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast, but I wouldn’t hesitate to give it to a novice. As for me, this is a cigar I would buy and smoke again. I’ll also try it in other sizes.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Earth, Fruit, Mushroom, Pepper
- Burn: Very Good
- Draw: Excellent
- Complexity: Medium
- Strength: Medium
- Body: Medium to Full
- Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Buy Multiples
Score: 89
REFERENCES
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
