Willy Herrera of Drew Estate cigars sat down with Nick Libretti to discuss the new cigar from Drew Estate, the NightShade! Willy Herrera heads all the Herrera Esteli cigars. Some of his most notable smokes under the Drew Estate and Herrera Esteli portfolio are Herrea Esteli Miami Edition, Herrera Esteli Norteno, the Herrera Esteli Broadleaf Lancero, and other delicious smokes. Drew Estate put Willy Herrera in charge of the NightShade for one simple fact, Willy is a master blender. He took a lot of different tobaccos from the U.S.A. and South America to create this rich, dark, oily Maduro smoke for all of us ot enjoy.

You can watch Willy’s full interview in the video above, but as you continue reading, Willy was gracious enough to answer some questions pertaining to his time he spent working on the NightShade, the concept behind the NightShade, and other fun questions. We hope you enjoyed the interview and make sure to stop by our website today and pick up the NightShade by Drew Estate!

There are so many differently typed private labels. We know JR for lack of a better term are “cigar nerds” and take pride in what you sell. I too love all different tobaccos so when the opportunity came up to create a cigar for other cigar enthusiasts, I jumped all over the chance to make something that I ended up loving when all is said and done.

The scientific name behind the name “NightShade” is that the tobaccos used in this smoke is a part of the “Night Shade plant family. When I first heard of the name it reminded me of a superhero who’d be a part of the X-Men, but luckily for us the name just came to us with the tobaccos we used to make this specific cigar.

In the blend, we have tobaccos from the Connecticut River Valley, which is used for our Connecticut Habano wrapper. For the first time, we used a blend of Dominican tobaccos as well as Connecticut Broadleaf in the fillers, which we only used that specific tobacco for wrappers in other projects under Drew Estate.  

For me personally, I’d have to say the flavor profile is the defining aspect for me when it comes to this cigar. With each puff, you can anticipate a medium to full-bodied range in tobacco strength.  You’re going to get some grittiness, spice, sweetness, and floral notes, which comes from the Habano wrapper and the Nicaraguan tobaccos within the NightShade.

If you’re a fan of any of our smokes in the medium-bodied wheelhouse and up you’ll enjoy. If you and yourself gravitating and enjoying cigars such as the Herrera Brazil, Undercrown, or Liga Privada, then I’d go out on a limb and say you’ll be gravitating towards the NightShade as well.

You know, that’s funny you ask me that because I’ve been approached twice with the same question and each time, I’m wondering to myself “Why did I give this up?” Right now, I can’t say if there will be a full line extension of the NightShade or not. As you know, we are Drew Estate so anything is possible. Only time will tell. Just say tuned!

The biggest thing I’m excited about is the 10 year anniversary of Undercrown. When that comes out, man you better be on the lookout for that. It’s just a ridiculous cigar in the best way possible. I truly wish we got the opportunity to release it sooner but COVID-19 slowed everything down with the artwork and packaging side. The Liga Privada 10th Anniversary is coming soon too. We just need everyone to be patient and stay tuned!