Bentley White — The Unsung Hero of Cigars

Remember when I told you that my reviews aren’t full of bullshit?

Well, they still aren’t, and that’s especially true for the Bentley White that I’ve fallen in love with. With no relation to the Continental GT that (doesn’t) sit in my driveway, the name Bentley makes you think this may be a novelty smoke from the luxury car brand. You’d be wrong.

But still, smoking one of these cigars might make you feel like you’re cool enough to smoke one of those $200,000 cars. Or maybe it won’t. I’m not sure how cigar smoking in general makes you feel, but I do know that these are good smokes.

As you can see in the above picture listing the vitals, this was on the north side of what I would consider a ‘comfortable’ amount to spend on a stick. My daily drivers don’t come close to this price, but I also don’t have an issue dropping this on a smoke.

If you can’t see the image, here’s the list of the vitals for what should be a staple in everyone’s rotation:

• Price: $14
• Strength: Mild-Medium
• Vitola: Corona
• Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
• Filler & Binder: Blend of aged tobacco from Jalapa Valley and Condega, Nicaragua

How I got here

Now, like the lot of you, I primarily smoke darker cigars. Give me some Maduro and Ligero all day.

Well, not quite all day, it turns out.

In my old age, I’ve found that sitting on the front porch (where I always smoke) on a Saturday or Sunday morning with a hot cup of coffee and good Connecticut can be beaten by few things in life, so I’ve come to appreciate the lighter side of my favorite hobby, especially in the winter months (as winter as it can get in North Carolina, I guess).

I’ve smoked fewer maduros in the past couple of months in favor of these lighter sticks. That’s not a bad thing, per se, but it is different. I’ve reached for the creamy tan color over the dark and oily once or twice extra.

So when I was visiting my dad in Ohio for Thanksgiving, we took a trip to his local spot (which is one of my favorite lounges I’ve ever been to {and I’ve been to plenty of those across the country}) to catch THE Ohio State Buckeyes take on the *ichigan Wolverines. Jam-packed with fellow Buckeye fans, I grabbed a stick out of the vault (no, literally, this shop is in an old Chase bank and the humidor is in the vault) and smoking one of these cigars might make you feel like you’re cool enough to smoke one of those $200,000 cars. Or maybe it won’t. I’m not sure how cigar smoking in general makes you feel, but I do know that these are good smokes.fired one up with Pops. At one point, he handed me a couple of these Bentley cigars and told me they were phenomenal.

Now I trust my dad’s opinion on cigars more than Andy Reid trusts his belt to keep his britches up. If there’s one person that I know will give me his honest take on a stick, it’s him. He’s been doing this longer than I’ve been born (in fact, he had a Fuente 8-5-8 on the day I was born).

“Aren’t this just novelty cigars?” I asked him, in the rare time that I second-guess the guy who got me into this hobby. “Anything but.” or something to that effect was his answer.

Jesus Christ, get on with the smoke already

TL;DR yeah, my dad knows what the hell he’s talking about when it comes to cigars still.

I thought it was a novelty smoke, I really did. I thought it was something you’d get a box of when you bought a Continental (I didn’t on my purchase, but I’m sure I can reach out to my dealership and be reimbursed). I couldn’t have been more wrong.

From the construction to the flavor, this is an all-around great cigar that punches above its weight class. This quickly goes from ‘Shit, this is just another junk novelty smoke’ to ‘Where can I procure a box?’

And that last question is keeping me up at night. I can’t find them at many retailers online, so I think I’m going to have to make the trip back to Ohio (much to my daughter’s chagrin) and snag a box — they’re seriously that good.

I flaunt myself as someone who doesn’t do over-the-top, hoity-toity, back-patting tasting notes, and you still won’t find those here. In fact, this is a much longer review than I’m planning to do from here on out for two reasons: one, it’s my first; and two, I had to tell the story of how I stumbled across this brand.

The first Bentley I smoked was their green label and it was incredible. I knew I was in for a treat. Maybe that was just the beers I had that day that were talking, but I didn’t think so. I knew this was a good smoke.

I even went and posted this in huge cigar Facebook group (now THAT may have been the beers talking). But you can see from the two images, these are well-made smokes.

The history of the company is probably better told by them than me, so I’ll let you read that for yourself. I don’t know the exact origins, but I do know that they make really good smokes.

If you’re ever out and about and see one, don’t hesitate. Grab one and thank me later. I promise it’s well worth it. Hell, it’s worth even more than the sticker price.