Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Rebuilds StillWell Star With Three Revamped Blends

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust is giving StillWell Star a significant reset.

In a new video, company founder Steve Saka detailed a complete revamp of the pipe-tobacco-infused cigar line, reducing the permanent portfolio to three blends, increasing the amount of pipe tobacco used in the cigars, improving the sweetened tips, and adding a second regular-production size.

The new StillWell Star lineup consists of Aromatic Dulce Dark, Aromatic Dulce Clara, and English Dulce, each offered in 6 x 52 and 5 x 48 formats and packaged in 13-count boxes.

Four Years of StillWell Star

Dunbarton launched StillWell Star approximately four years ago with an unusual premise: combine premium handmade cigar construction with custom premium pipe-tobacco blends.

Working with Cornell & Diehl, Dunbarton developed proprietary pipe blends that could be incorporated into handmade cigars while maintaining the combustion, draw, and construction expected from a traditional premium cigar.

The original lineup included four 6 x 52 cigars: Aromatic No. 1, Bayou, English, and Navy.

According to Saka, all four initially performed at roughly comparable levels. After approximately 18 months, however, consumer preferences became much clearer.

Aromatic No. 1 continued gaining sales while the more traditional pipe-oriented Bayou, English, and Navy blends gradually declined.

At the same time, Dunbarton’s annual StillWell Star Holiday releases became increasingly popular, with demand strong enough that some Holiday blends were produced again under the “Christmas in July” name.

Those sales patterns ultimately drove the redesign.

More Pipe Tobacco and a New Sweetened Tip

One of the most significant changes involves the actual blend construction.

Saka says Dunbarton increased the concentration of pipe tobacco in the revamped cigars by approximately 15 percent, which he described as roughly the maximum currently possible without compromising combustion or draw.

The company has also introduced a redesigned sweetened tip across the entire StillWell Star line.

The new formulation originated from development work on another upcoming Dunbarton project called Lucky Postman, which Saka says is planned for next year.

According to Saka, the goal was to develop a sweeter and more natural-tasting treatment while reducing the slightly synthetic characteristic he occasionally perceived in previous sweet-tip formulas.

StillWell Star smokers will effectively get the first look at that new formulation before Lucky Postman arrives.

Aromatic Dulce Dark

StillWell Star Aromatic Dulce Dark is the successor to Aromatic No. 1, the strongest-performing cigar from the original StillWell portfolio.

The underlying blend remains essentially unchanged, according to Saka, aside from the increased aromatic pipe-tobacco concentration and new sweetened tip.

The cigar retains the royal-blue color identification associated with Aromatic No. 1.

The new name is intended to make the cigar easier to understand: “Aromatic” describes the pipe-tobacco component, “Dulce” identifies the sweetened head, and “Dark” identifies the cigar’s darker presentation.

Aromatic Dulce Dark will be offered in:

• 6 x 52
• 5 x 48

Aromatic Dulce Clara

The second regular-production blend takes its inspiration from one of StillWell Star’s biggest seasonal successes.

Aromatic Dulce Clara evolves from the Connecticut-shade versions of the company’s Holiday releases, bringing that style into the permanent portfolio rather than limiting it to an annual release.

Saka describes Aromatic Dulce Clara as the mildest and arguably sweetest cigar in the revamped StillWell Star lineup.

It will be identified by a robin’s-egg-blue band and offered in:

• 6 x 52
• 5 x 48

For smokers who particularly enjoyed the StillWell Holiday cigars, this is effectively the year-round answer.

English Dulce

The third cigar represents a more substantial reworking of one of the original StillWell concepts.

StillWell Star English Dulce is based on the original English blend, but Dunbarton has softened the pipe-tobacco profile.

Saka says the company reduced the Latakia and Turkish components and incorporated bright Virginia tobacco, creating what he considers a more approachable English-style blend.

Like the two aromatics, English Dulce now incorporates the redesigned sweetened head.

The cigar will be identified by a dark British-racing-green band and offered in:

• 6 x 52
• 5 x 48

Saka specifically encouraged smokers who tried StillWell Star previously but did not connect with the line to give English Dulce another look, suggesting the revised profile could surprise those who found the original version too assertive.

A Second Permanent Size

The original StillWell Star lineup was built entirely around the 6 x 52 format.

The revamped portfolio adds a 5 x 48 alongside the 6 x 52 for all three blends.

That smaller vitola is the same size Dunbarton used for the popular 2025 Holiday release and will now become a permanent StillWell Star option.

Old StillWell Inventory Is Gone

For smokers looking for the previous versions of StillWell Star, Saka had a fairly definitive answer: Dunbarton has no remaining inventory.

Any surviving Aromatic No. 1, Bayou, English, or Navy cigars would only be leftover stock at individual retailers.

The company’s focus has now shifted entirely to the redesigned portfolio.

Why It Matters

StillWell Star has always occupied an unusual position in the premium cigar market.

Rather than simply flavoring a cigar or incorporating conventional aromatic tobacco, Dunbarton’s concept has been to blend premium handmade cigars with purpose-built pipe-tobacco mixtures while maintaining traditional premium-cigar construction.

This revamp appears to be less about changing that concept than concentrating it.

Dunbarton is keeping the characteristics consumers responded to most strongly — aromatic profiles, sweetened tips, the Holiday-style Connecticut expression, and the smaller 5 x 48 format — while dropping the portions of the original portfolio that did not maintain comparable demand.

It is a substantially tighter lineup, and probably a clearer expression of what StillWell Star has ultimately become.