Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Announces “Year of the Pausers”

From Steve Saka, owner of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust

“We are like many industries, whenever anything gains some success, other companies copy it. It is business, so we all get it, and we wouldn’t all do it if it weren’t commercially successful. Case in point, the plethora of cigars that are now released annually to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Some have been great, some have been “meh”, but it is a trend that is very likely to continue. So how does DTT get in on this gravy train??? But do it differently, something that is more in keeping with who we are as a company. No offense to others, but since we have very little sales in Asia, us making a” Year of the Whatever” just didn’t feel right to me; it felt disingenuous. So…
 
I present to you a totally out-of-left field idea, instead of doing the same as others I decided that every year, I would create a special cigar to celebrate someone special to us here at DTT and/or our industry. And not just in name, but also in the unique liga I would blend, a homage to their own palate.
 
Our debut release of this annual concept cigar was the “Year of the Duque,” which was a stellar success and a very tough act to follow, but I am very pleased to continue this new tradition with this year’s release.“

DTT 2026 “Year of the Pausers”
“Friends to Many”

6 x 48 Parejo w/ Finished Moña DTT Style Pig Tail 
14ct Box – 2 Different Ligas – 7 of Each
MSRP: $276.50 Cabinet / $19.75 Single
Handcrafted at JDN & NACSA – Esteli, Nicaragua
Limited Production – ~2,700 Boxes
Available Late March 2026

Basic Liga Info

“Michele”
Handcrafted at JDN – Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexicano Cultivo Tonto SAN – Grade 1
Binder:    Ecuador Habano Viso Rosado
Tripa:       Nicaraguan, Pennsylvania Seedleaf     
Forteleza –  Medium Plus
Notes       –  Cocoa, espresso, loam, sweet – very creamy
Inspiration Liga was our Sin Compromiso “Paladin de Saka”    

“Tom”
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Capa Camaleón
Binder:    Mexicano San Andrés Negro
Tripa:       Nicaraguan, Dominican
Forteleza –  Full
Notes       – Burnt Caramel, salty, dark chocolate, tangy – will age out beautifully.
Inspiration Ligas was our heavier-bodied blends like Triqui Traca and MQ Black
 

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This year, it is a great privilege to honor Michelle Pauser and Tom Pauser, aka The Alaskans. I decided it wasn’t as important where they are from as who they are as people; hence, the moniker I chose was “Friends to Many”.

Michele and Tom are a spectacular couple who are very active online, in particular the SI Social Group, and travel to the Lower 48 to attend multiple cigar events each year. They are two of the nicest people in the world, always positive, and not only big supporters of DTT but also of many other brands. From hosting cigar dinners in the tundra to sponsoring multiple charities through their passion for cigars, they are truly an inspiration to all and beloved by everyone who knows them!

Michele is as serious a cigar smoker as Tom, maybe even crazier, so doing a special Liga for them was not going to cut it. Therefore, I created 2 totally different blends, one for him, the other for her. 

For those of you not familiar with the process, these are not blends they have any involvement in creating. They will actually smoke them just before we ship to all of our Purveyors, so they may not even like them.

What I do is ask the Year of Honoree: what are some of their favorite DTT cigars, and what are their favorite vitola sizes to smoke. From that, I create an all-new liga based on this info.

This year, they both asked for the classic Saka format, our 6×48 parejo, but blend-wise, they had different asks. Both smoke many of our cigars, but I needed them to provide guidance. Michele told me she really loves our Sin Compromiso, whereas Tom said some of his favorite DTT cigars are our heavier, bolder blends like our MQ Black and Triqui Traca.

And with these “marching orders, I got to work.

For the liga honoring Michele, it is a variation of my beloved Sin Compromiso Paladin de Saka, now in a smaller format and with a modified filler blend that maintains the higher octane of the PDS while adding a beautiful, sweet, creamier note to its combination of cocoa and coffee notes. Overall, medium plus – this is a sublime cigar, many folks are going to love this one.

For the liga honoring Tom, I went into uncharted territory. It is the very first ever cigar blend featuring a totally NEW wrapper variety I dubbed “Capa Camaleón”. Grown in Esteli, it is a first-generation hybrid seed that crosses the classic H2000 Sungrown Cuban Seed with US Connecticut Broadleaf. Why “chameleon”? Because when the farmer initially showed it to me, at first blush, looking at the leaf structure, I thought it was Habana seed, but then I noticed some distinct markers in the vein and leaf shape structure that made me think it was some sort of Broadleaf. And then I smoked some samples, and I was blown away – it truly tastes different than anything I have ever had before. Almost a burnt-caramel, salty flavor with a distinct twang on the palate. Now I will admit this liga is a bit of a risk given its unique properties. But torpedos be damned, I just went for it. And while this is a fuller-bodied liga, that cross of the broadleaf tempers the bite I would normally expect from an Esteli sungrown Cuban seed capa. I think this liga is going to age out beautifully over time.

So folks, you are getting two great blends in a single box. Kinda’ like the Pausers themselves, both great people, but an even better couple!

Each of the rings is marked uniquely, so you can tell which liga is which. Originally, I was positioning Michele’s cigars on the left side of the box, as in “ladies first, but David Lafferty told me I had to put Michele’s cigar on the right.

Why? In his words: “Any happy couple knows that the wife is Always Right!”