The Particulars

Prolegomenon and Other Random Thoughts

So, you may have noticed everything is undisclosed in the blend. As I usually do, I start with the manufacturer’s website, in this case, Principle. Browsing around, all I can find from the Cocktail Collection is The Tiki; nothing about The Count. So I start scouring the internet and come up with a big fat nothing. How does a cigar just not exist on the internet? Especially when it’s a brand like Principle that has a fantastic, well-maintained website and marketing material?

Let’s try the Hail Mary and use the contact form on their website. And holy shit, Darren Cioffi himself emails me back on Sunday morning.

“Sean,

Was it a 6×44 pyramide or a parejo with a pigtail?

Darren”

I quickly respond back, saying it’s the pyramid. I honestly don’t expect to get another response. But then this rolls in:

“Sean,

Thanks for the clarification.

Unfortunately, that cigar goes back far enough that I don’t really have reliable blend records for it anymore. There are only a couple hundred of those left floating around, and they were produced several years ago. I’d honestly be guessing if I tried to give you specific details on the blend at this point.

I can tell you that it was not produced at KBF. It was actually made outside of the Free Zones at a small factory that no longer exists. The cigar itself is probably four or five years old now.

Originally, the Cocktail Collection was conceived as a set of five cigars intended to pair with classic cocktails from five different time periods (‘The Count’ being the Negroni Companion from what we call the ‘European Era,’ circa 1920s-30s). The project kept getting pushed back as other commitments took priority, and eventually we decided to keep Cocktail Collection as more of a banner for occasional small, experimental releases rather than a fixed five-cigar lineup.

There is a more recent version of ‘The Count’ that did come from KBF and for that one I still have the blend, lol!

 So what you’re seeing now are essentially a few remaining stragglers from that earlier project.

 I’m sorry I can’t give you better technical details on the blend, but I appreciate you reaching out and taking an interest in it.

 Best,

Darren”

And now you know why we don’t have the info. But this is a way fucking better story. So yes, it’s rude that I’m reviewing a cigar you probably won’t ever have. But FYI, Kyle at LACC did buy all the remaining stock, so maybe, just maybe… if you’re reading this soon after publishing, you can grab some.  But at a certain point, you’ll be totally out of luck to ever get this cigar.

The Review

This review for the Principle Cigars The Count - Pyramid (6 x 44) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-03-19

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

The Count comes off slender, elegant, tailored, and classy—kind of like David Bowie in his “The Thin White Duke” phase from Station to Station. The wrapper is likely a sun-grown Ecuadorian Habano or shade-grown Nicaraguan, but my gut says Ecuadorian without even lighting it up. It’s a warm, medium brown that has a slight Rosado to it. There’s a strong oily sheen, heavy mottling, and a lot of very fine tooth giving it a rough texture. There are a lot of fine and medium-thickness veins, and the seams are visible, but everything is clean and tight.

My only gripe is the halftone printing on the band as it makes things a little fuzzy, but this could’ve been a prototype and non-final banding. Actually, scratch that—my only real gripe is the wrapper is a little fragile and started to crack at the foot, so it got cigar glue right off the bat before light-up. The band still looks cool as hell with the art deco style. Principle has some of the best stylistic themes.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Average (2)

I love the V-cut on the figurado so I go with that. I had a second one in my humidor so I gave that a 45-degree cut just to keep them straight. The draw is good, but the burn is a little janky to start. I used a dual-flame lighter that points the jets so the flames converge. It creates a very controlled and tight flame, and the heat still scorched the wrapper up the shaft. But now that it’s burning, it’s self-correcting.

The ash itself is light gray on the exterior, but it’s feathering, turning up, and flaking so you see a lot of the darker medium gray below it. The ash is a little messy and fragile, so just ash early to avoid wearing it. Into the second third, the burn line has corrected quite nicely, with only a bit of wave and unevenness to it. A bit of the wrapper right at the seam trails just slightly with the burn. I do notice that trailing edge doesn’t seem to be burning fully, so I ash and give the first relight, and everything is beautiful with that correction.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Great (4)

Initial light-up is very cedary, light cashew nuttiness, a mix of baking spice and light pepper with bits of salt and mineral flavors. There’s a very thick, syrupy, but zesty citrus-like sweetness on the back end before it finishes off nice and creamy. I’m getting bits of orange and cream. When the nuttiness hits, there’s a savory quality that’s really carried by the orange and creamy quality.

But let’s back up for a second and consider this cigar is designed for pairing with a Negroni. According to the nice people at Beefeater (the gin, not your mother), a classic Negroni is a bittersweet, herbal cocktail containing equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. It features bold bitter-orange, juniper, and complex botanical flavors with a sweet, aromatic finish. Due to its high intensity, it pairs best with salty, rich, or fatty foods, including charcuterie, aged cheeses (Parmesan, Pecorino), and dark chocolate. So, while I don’t have a Negroni in hand, it does seem like what I’m getting from The Count’s blend would both coordinate and complement the Negroni’s flavor profile.

The second third picks up the cinnamon and pepper. Still very cedary, a little bit of peanut shell, light chocolate, and coffee. But the most dominant note outside of wood and pepper is the thick, orange citrus sweetness. It really drives right into the creamy finish, lingering like a creamsicle. I’m also getting bits of black licorice and aromatics—that anise and floral combo, but just mildly. It’s also getting a little more charred and earthy, but ever-so-slightly. There’s a lot of subtlety in this blend. But there’s no bitterness, no harshness; just smooth, light, and nuanced. This is a mellow-medium most of the time that gets to a full medium at others.

Getting into the final third, I haven’t experienced any new flavors, but I am getting a lot of back-and-forth transition between savory cashew flavors and more spice. Cedar, orange, and cream stay fairly constant as the base to the flavor profile. But this is a surprisingly pleasant blend that is nuanced and subtle, but quite enjoyable. If not being paired with a Negroni in the evening, it would be a great morning cigar.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Great (4)

Cigars designed for pairing can be hit or miss by themselves because, when properly blended, the flavor profile is designed to go with other flavors that are missing. But this was a pleasantly surprising blend that hit with cedar woodiness, nuttiness, spice, and an orange creaminess that stood on its own. Considering that Negroni mocktail recipes call for espresso, I could see how a bittersweet espresso or latte would work really well with this. Maybe even just a regular espresso or black coffee that is heavy on the bitter paired with The Count in the morning. I’m going to have to pair this with an Abbina next (Charlie recommended the Candlewood or Royale) to see if I can get a good pairing since I’m not a fan of gin.

And much like The Thin White Duke, The Count captures the Golden Years of ’20s and ’30s cocktails and styles. One to check out if you can, as you go Station to Station through the Principle lineup. 🔥

Review Base Rating (0-5):

4.00

Would I Buy It Again?

Signs point to yes (recommended)

Review Final Score (0-10):

8.17

Postscript

After smoking my first The Count this morning, I decided I wanted to pair an Abbina Sipping Soda with my second to see if I could get some of the Negroni pairing, as I’m not a gin drinker.

I asked Charlie at Abbina for his thoughts on which soda to go with, and these were his thoughts:

“Either Candlewood or Royale. Negroni is built around bitterness and sweetness. Royale does have a bit of bitterness from the coffee, and is sweeter than the others, though the combination and levels tend to cancel each other out. Candlewood for me has the most syrupy quality, which I’d liken to Campari, minus the bitterness of course. I will probably try it with Candlewood myself.”

I decided to go with Royale for the coffee bitterness and heavy sweetness. What I found was that the convincing coffee and sweetness the Royale has were not overpowering, but really accentuated the core flavors of The Count. The Royale’s sweetness did result in less orange, but more nuttiness and coffee with a richer creaminess. It goes perfectly with The Count’s spice, so there’s no drastic shift between the two. Very harmonious and a great pairing.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.