In this week’s Friday Brand Feature we’re going to explore Drunk Chicken Cigars, a minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned cigar maker based out of the District of Columbia, USA.
As the brand states, they offer a variety of elegant smokes “built on passion, love, [and] with no compromise in quality or flavor.” The overall mission is to create lasting experiences through cigars that you can smoke and enjoy “anytime of the day.” I can get down with that. Every day is a great day to light up a cigar and so is anytime during the day, from morning to night.
As you might expect from the name, the brand’s lineup of cigars all relate to chickens, hens, and the like. See the Homicidal Hen or the Mother Clucker for some excellent examples. You might also recognize the name from my previous coverage of underrated cigar brands to watch.
Either way, put your feet up, grab your beverage, light your stogie, and let’s dive in.
Drunk Chicken has extremely humble beginnings, as do most excellent small and boutique brands. The origins hearken back to good times with family and friends in the birthplace of the business. As they tell it, “hanging out in the family backyard; living the dream, eating, drinking, and sharing cigars.” What a wonderful environment to build a product within a field that’s big on camaraderie.
The owner, Desiree Sylver, and her crew, eventually chose the name “Drunk Chicken” for their venture, as the chickens roaming the area appeared to be stumbling around drunk while returning to their roost. Using that same name, they hosted local events which were safe spaces to hang out for many. Rather than charge for entry or attendance, the “notional fee” was to bring a cigar for yourself and one to share with others. That evolved into a quest for seeking out unique cigars that everyone could try.
As most journeys like this do, it grew into blending and hand-rolling tobacco to create unique blends to share with family and friends — the first “Chicks” from the company. From there, the business was officially established in 2019 and the rest is history.
Today, Drunk Chicken offers a host of blends, including the DCO, Mother Clucker, Fat Hen, Living the Dream, Sweet Dream, Homicidal Hen and The Henchmen. These premium cigars also have a range of flavor profiles, from dark and toasty with coffee, earth, and dark chocolate, to vibrant, creamy and sweet.
Using a variety of tobaccos from Nicaragua, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic, among others, all Drunk Chicken Cigars are handmade in the U.S.A. at an undisclosed factory. Whether we know the factory or not, it’s always great to see cigars made here at home.
The brand’s most recent release was The Henchmen, which made an appearance at PCA 2025. It features a gorgeous Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers — Double Ligero fillers. It’s smooth, full-bodied, and bursting with flavor, especially thanks to the Ligero. You’ll taste baking spices, pepper, leather, as well as dark and toasty notes like espresso, roasted nuts and earth. The most alluring part is the explosive pepper kick that makes an appearance in the second or third portion. It doesn’t show its poker hand right away.
Of course, the true test of any cigar is the experience. Are they good? Do they taste good? How do you get your hands on some?
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Drunk Chicken Cigars
