Steve Saka, founder of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, is known to mention how busy he is with all of his cigar projects, which is understandable. But he is also known to find some time to relax, which occasionally involves fishing, specifically at Umbagog Lake State Park in Errol, N.H., which Saka has called his favorite lake for fishing.
So it should come as little surprise that Saka created a line of cigars named for his favorite fishing hole.
The Umbagog line debuted in early 2017, with Saka calling it “robust and durable, designed to endure the rigors of outside activity with its thick broadleaf capa and easy burning liga. This is a cigar that doesn’t pretend to be special or seek to elicit the ‘oohs or aahs’ of the cigar snobs. It is an honest, hardworking cigar that is meant to be smoked, chewed upon and lit however many times you wish. For me, it is the perfect cigar for mowing the yard, hiking, four wheelin’ and of course, fishing!”
In 2024, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust would release the Umbagog Bronzeback, a variation on the Umbagog named for the nickname of the smallmouth bass and using a different priming of the wrapper. While both cigars use a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and a Nicaraguan binder and filler, the original Umbagog uses what’s called a Medium/#1 Dark, the Bronzeback uses a 2LS.
The 2LS, which Saka said is a designation for the leaves typically situated between the 1/3 to 1/2 mark on the stalk, sit beneath what are called the “Mediums.”
“This section of the plant produces wrapper with a different hue and flavor profile,” Saka explained in a Facebook post, adding that they offer a slightly less sweet, but significantly more peppery smoking experience than the classic sweet, earthy and cocoa notes exhibited by broadleaf.
The Umbagog Bronzeback debuted in a lone 5 x 48 Rothschild vitola. Then, in June 2025, the line got its second size, a 5 x 52 robusto, which comes priced at $10.75 per cigar or $107.50 for a 10-count, paper-wrapped bundle. The Umbagog line is made at Nicaragua American Cigars S.A. (NACSA) in Estelí.
Note: The following shows the various Umbagog Bronzeback vitolas. Some of these cigars may have been released after this post was originally published. The list was last updated on Aug. 13, 2025.
91
Overall Score
When it comes to consistency, the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto is one of the more impressive cigars I’ve smoked recently. The three cigars offered little in the way of variance, playing the same song nearly note-for-note across the three cigars. But when it comes to the flavor, while very enjoyable, Saka’s description of the Umbagog was pretty spot on: this isn’t a cigar that elicits ooh and aahs. It is the background cigar, smoked while doing something else, whether it be mowing the yard, hiking, four wheeling, or fishing, all of which Saka suggested. This cigar is what its creator aspires it to be, something I’m quite alright with given how good it is.
Beyond the fishing reference, Saka created the Umbagog line as an homage to the cigars released under the Henry Clay brand in the 1980s and 1990s, as that cigar used a comes priced at $10.75 per cigar or $107.50 for a 10-count, paper-wrapped bundle.
- Cigar Reviewed: Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Nicaragua American Cigars S.A.
- Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf 2LS)
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Length: 5 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 52
- Shape: Round
- MSRP: $10.75 (Bundle of 10, $107.50)
- Release Date: June 2025
- Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
- Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3
The Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto looks much like any typical robusto; it has a simple band and is rolled well with no visible issues, finished off by rounded and nicely-capped heads. It’s not a rough-looking cigar, but a bit of mottling and a visible vein structure give the wrappers some character. The third cigar has some notable variance in the wrapper color at the head, with the strip of tobacco notably lighter than those on either side of it. I get a bit of a waxy texture from the wrappers, but not much oiliness, and the wrapper doesn’t have much sheen. All three cigars are firm but not hard, and impressively consistent both on a single-cigar level and across the three cigars. The foot has a pretty mellow aroma, but it tingles my nose with some pepper on the finish. On the way to that pepper, I get a bit of cereal dust, cool creaminess, and a bit of peach. On the first and second cigars, the cold draw is a little bit firm but closer to ideal on the third. There’s more sweetness than I was expecting; it’s not an overwhelming sweetness, but I generally do not expect to find notes of strawberries in a Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust cigar, which I do in two of the three. The third cigar is a bit drier and reminds me of the unsalted pretzel crumbs.
As the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto gets underway, I’m greeted by a dry, slightly peppery flavor that has some flavors of Kashi cereal, touches of creaminess, and a slightly waxy aspect to the flavor. Given Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s track record, it’s not quite the start that I would expect from the company but it’s not unenjoyable. I also know that this is the company’s most wallet-friendly line, and while I don’t suspect that Steve Saka is skimping on the quality of the tobacco, I do appreciate that, as Saka said, this isn’t a cigar designed for the snobs. There’s decent pepper through the nose, and after my first two retrohales, I wonder just how many I’ll be taking, as it seems slightly more enjoyable than the flavor. Around the one-inch mark, there’s the flavor and aroma of warm nuts, with just a touch of light, dry earthiness in the mix as well. The Umbagog gets surprisingly creamy at the end of this section, almost reminding a bit of something marshmallow-like, but with some pepper, particularly through the nose, where retrohales still offer a really nice expression of the profile. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-minus. Construction is very good thus far with no issues.
The second third of the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto carries on with the combination of nuttiness and creaminess that gets accented by some black pepper. Retrohales remain very good, and I appreciate how consistent and dialed-in they are, with a more pronounced black pepper component that delivers both a more intense initial sensation and a longer-lasting finish. I get some touches of a fresh-baked pretzel with a swipe of butter on it, which, when combined with the pepper mellowing, softens the flavor just a touch. That clears the way for a touch of creaminess, though it’s a mild accent. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-minus. Construction remains very good with nothing to complain about.
By the time the final third of the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto gets underway, the cigar has made what I would call its first real shift in flavor, picking up a more pronounced earthiness that nudges itself into the lead flavor. There’s still a dryness to the profile, and that translates to the earthiness as well as the crisp black pepper hitting the front part of my tongue. The final inches see some more defined earthiness and a bit more lively pepper, not an increase in the quantity or intensity, but rather, it spreads out across my tongue and nose and stimulates more surface area than before. The flavor finishes up at medium-full, the body at medium-plus and the strength at medium-minus. The burn line can be a bit uneven, but otherwise, I don’t have any complaints about the construction or combustion in this section.
Final Notes
- Few people in the cigar industry give the kind of details about blends that Steve Saka does, and even then, it’s still just scratching the surface of the specifics of the tobacco being used.
- Saka isn’t the only person to create a cigar as a tribute to the Henry Clay brand. In 2015, Pete Johnson of Tatuaje teamed up with Altadis U.S.A., which owns the Henry Clay brand, for the Henry Clay Tattoo.
- The original Umbagog Bronzeback finished #1 on The Consensus 2024 and #2 on halfwheel’s Readers’ Choice Award for cigars in 2024.
- If you’re not sure which Umbagog you’ve got, the original version has white text on the band, while the Bronzeback has bronze text on its band.
- While the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto teases nicotine strength almost from the get-go, it never really delivers.
- Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust advertises on halfwheel.
- The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
91
Overall Score
When it comes to consistency, the Umbagog Bronzeback Robusto is one of the more impressive cigars I’ve smoked recently. The three cigars offered little in the way of variance, playing the same song nearly note-for-note across the three cigars. But when it comes to the flavor, while very enjoyable, Saka’s description of the Umbagog was pretty spot on: this isn’t a cigar that elicits ooh and aahs. It is the background cigar, smoked while doing something else, whether it be mowing the yard, hiking, four wheeling, or fishing, all of which Saka suggested. This cigar is what its creator aspires it to be, something I’m quite alright with given how good it is.
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G-League’s Valley Suns. I was previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League, and Goodyear Ballpark, spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I’m a voiceover artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
