Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Toro - Box of 24

Some blends never make it to market, quietly recorded in a notebook and set aside for reasons lost to time. Safe Keepings is one of those blends, rediscovered in Alec Bradley founder Alan Rubin's personal recipe book years after it was first written down, and finally rolled into a permanent cigar.

The story behind Safe Keepings is genuinely part of what makes it distinct within Alec Bradley's portfolio. Bradley Rubin, brand ambassador and son of founder Alan Rubin, has described the process of opening his father's old blend book and working through the recipes inside to find something worth bringing back. Safe Keepings was the first one selected, a nod to the brand's history built with the resources and access Alec Bradley has gained since those recipes were first written.

What emerged is a genuine Nicaraguan puro: a Habano-seed wrapper and binder, both grown in Nicaragua, wrapped around a filler blend of Criollo '98 tobacco sourced from three of the country's most respected growing regions, Jalapa, Condega, and Estelí. The cigar is handcrafted at Oliva's Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua facility, known in the industry as Tabolisa, a factory with a long-standing reputation for construction quality. At 6 x 52, this Toro delivers a medium to full-bodied smoke that opens with a confident, warming pepper spice before building through the core with layered intensity. Cocoa brings a subtle richness to the finish, while the wrapper's natural sweetness, notes of honey, oak, and salted earth also make regular appearances depending on the specific stick and how it's smoked.

Alec Bradley itself describes the ideal pairings for Safe Keepings as reflecting its dual character: cognac's smooth sweetness to balance the spice-forward profile, rye whiskey to accentuate the pepper with a firm backbone, or a creamy latte to soften the cigar's bolder edges. It's a blend built to reward patience, both in how long it took to finally reach smokers and in how its flavor unfolds across a full session.

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Flavor progression:

1. Opening: a confident, warming pepper spice leads the way, with hay, earth, and cedar notes settling in alongside a hint of natural sweetness
2. Mid-smoke: the spice builds through the core with layered intensity, joined by notes of oak, honey, and salted earth as the body shifts toward full
3. Close: cocoa brings a subtle richness to the finish, rounding out the profile as the spice and pepper continue through to the final draws

Key Features:

1. Brand: Alec Bradley
2. Line: Safe Keepings
3. Origin Story: Rediscovered from founder Alan Rubin's personal blend book
4. Factory: Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A. (Tabolisa), Estelí, Nicaragua
5. Country of Origin: Nicaragua (all-Nicaraguan puro)
6. Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano-seed
7. Binder: Nicaraguan Habano-seed
8. Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo '98 (Jalapa, Condega, Estelí)
9. Construction: Handmade
10. Vitola: Toro
11. Size: 6 inches x 52 ring gauge
12. Strength: Medium to Full
13. Flavor Profile: Pepper, spice, cocoa, honey, oak, salted earth, hay, cedar, leather
14. Rating: 88 points, Cigar Aficionado
15. Box Count: 24 cigars
16. Price per Cigar: approximately $13.89