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Gas station cigars are far more popular than cigar purists will give them credit for. Sure, they lack the refinement and luxurious aesthetics of a well-made, premium cigar, but many are not bad at all. This is especially true when it comes to Backwoods.
They are certainly not the prettiest cigars in the world. They often look like they were wrapped by a drunk chicken with very little interest in the task. But that’s not what sets Backwoods cigars apart. The best Backwoods flavors are numerous, varied, and excellent.
It’s one of those cases where you simply cannot judge a book by its cover. Despite the rugged, ugly cover, otherwise known as a Backwoods cigar, they are fine cigars and affordable to boot. With that being said, here are the best nine flavors Backwoods has to offer.
Best Backwoods Flavors
Why bother brainstorming over single flavors when you can try several in the same purchase? The Backwoods Sampler Pack comes with five, distinct flavors with each flavor in two cigars. You get honey, original, honey bourbon, honeyberry, and sweet aromatic.
If you don’t like strong flavors and prefer a mellow smoke, Backwoods cigars are all mellow. Regardless of flavor. Of course, the pack only comes with five flavors so that leaves several more flavors still on the table. The sampler pack is a good idea if this is your first foray into small cigars and you want to discover new flavors.
2. Honey Bourbon Backwoods
Honey Bourbon is often confused with Honey Berry, especially by those who have never tried bourbon and are unfamiliar with the bourbon-drinking lifestyle. However, if you start smoking cigars, bourbon and Scotch are two whiskies that should be on your list.
The Honey Bourbon Backwoods is a creamy flavor with a surprisingly modest balance between the acid kick of bourbon and the sweetness of the honey. One thing is for sure, this Backwoods flavor belongs with a good bourbon. Try Angel’s Envy or Buffalo Trace to get you started.
3. Backwoods Banana
A cigar with a banana flavor? You bet. If there’s a popular flavor out there, the odds are good that Backwoods has it or is at least considering it in a future line of cigars. Backwoods Banana is a fairly popular flavor in its own right, mostly because it has a great, mellow flavor, and the aroma is very nice as well.
The banana flavor is, like all flavors in Backwoods cigars, mellow, but the aroma is pretty nice, and it will happily fill a room up like a banana harvest, even if the room is well-ventilated. Backwoods puts out fairly sensible cigars, and though the Banana flavor is a little off the wall, it’s about as laid-back a flavor as you can get.
4. Backwoods Honey
Backwoods loves honey, and it’s easy to see why with most of the flavor ratio leaning toward honey flavor variations throughout the Backwoods line. Like all Backwoods cigars, it’s a very mellow, laid-back flavor. When it comes to honey, that’s a good thing as there is a such thing as too much honey.
The wrapper is broadleaf and mildly flavored with honey as well. You’ll come away from smoking one of these licking your lips out of instinct more than anything else. It’s hard to argue with honey on anything. It’s one of those natural sweeteners that often beats out the artificial garbage we find on store shelves too often these days.
5. Backwoods Honey Berry
Honey Berry is one of the flavors included in the above-mentioned sampler pack. If you’re interested in the Honey Berry flavor but don’t want to go with the full 5-pack, you can try it out in the sampler pack before making the leap.
The Caribbean Basin seed tobacco used in Backwoods Honey Berry Cigars is the catalyst for everything that follows. Honey is the primary flavor with notes of berries floating around in the background, both in terms of aroma and taste. It will fill up a room quickly, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
6. Backwoods Sweet Aromatic
Sure, it sounds like one of those air freshener sprays you can find on any Dollar General store shelf, but it’s a lot more than that. Most cigar smokers that don’t mind a good Backwoods gas station cigar will tell you that the sweet aromatic version is best around a campfire.
You don’t need an expensive bourbon or a Scotch to enjoy one of these. It’s just relaxing and, for lack of a more detailed description, aromatic. Like all Backwoods cigars, the flavor is very mellow and it’s an excellent cigar for laying on the hammock in the backyard or out on a camping trip.
7. Backwoods Black Russian 8/5
The Backwoods Black Russian is not a bad flavor per se, however, it’s an “acquired” taste. These are considered “masculine” flavors and are probably the boldest flavors in the entire Backwoods lineup. It’s still qualified as a “mellow” cigar, however.
The flavor is certainly a rich one, but more on the side of drinking black coffee from premium coffee beans, freshly harvested from the field. This is not a cigar you want to smoke on a significant basis, but it’s an excellent smoke when paired with heavy, carnivorous dinners.
8. Backwoods Russian Cream
Russian Cream might sound like a very sweet cigar. The reality is, the sweetness in one of these is very, very subtle. The creamy flavor is definitely there, but it’s more along the lines of heavy whipping cream, minus any sugar or a Half and Half Original flavor.
For that reason, this cigar goes very well with coffee and only with coffee that is prepped to extremes. For instance, it goes best with dark roast, black coffee, or coffee with a heavy amount of sweetened creamer. If you’re not a fan of heavy sweets but enjoy a treat here and there, Backwoods Russian Cream is probably in your ballpark.
9. Backwoods Dark Stout 8/5
If you enjoy Backwoods Dark Stout, you’ll probably enjoy thick, dark German beers to go along with them. They wouldn’t taste right if you paired them with anything else. Backwoods went for a careful balance between semi-sweet and bitter, and they hit the nail on the head with Dark Stout.
This is an excellent little cigar to have with you in an Irish Pub or if you happen to be in Germany for the week. It’s a great counter to creamy alcohol or desserts and an excellent accommodation with dark, rich beers that you typically only find in specialty liquor stores or at local beer festivals.
Bottom Line
Backwoods is an interesting gas station cigar. There’s no doubting its popularity as Backwoods cigars are easily as dominant on gas station shelves as Black & Milds and other convenience store cigars.
The thing that Backwoods has going for it that no other affordable cigar can match is the abundance of flavors. It’s a great beginner cigar for a couple of reasons. First, it’s an introduction to the world of cigar smoking. Second, cigars are often an acquired taste, and Backwoods are good for starting the process.
There’s a flavor for just about any newbie cigar enthusiast and even for the more experienced cigar smokers out there. Backwoods doesn’t make a garbage cigar. While it won’t compare to premium, $20+ cigars, they’re worth it for the long commute or a cheap, relaxing evening.
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