An Oliva, an Illusione, an Aging Room, a New Adorini Humidor and Elertus Monitor

Wow, it’s been a while since I put a real post together. As much work as it is putting the contest series together, it’s almost easier than droning on about this cigar and that accessory. But it’s fun, I can’t _not_ go on about cigars and their accouterments. It’s gotta come out somewhere, this is the logical place!  I’ve smoked a bunch of cigars over the past weeks.  It’s a little bit liberating to just be able to smoke whatever the heck I want without having to really write something about it. I revisited some old friends that I wouldn’t want to bore you with again, and took a few nights off here and there.  What follows are some new to me cigars that I found interesting, along with a couple new products that I’m evaluating.

 

OlivaMasterblend3_RobustoOne day around Christmas I enjoyed an Oliva Masterblend 3, they mysteriously call it a Dbl Robusto, but it’s 5″ x 50, which puts it squarely in the Robusto category in my book. This cigar had an almost oval box press, which I only have really seen on the San Lotano Oval.  It had a perfect burn with a nice, flat ember that I really appreciate. It gave me great flavor that left me wishing this IPCPR sample had been a Churchill. The website describes it this way: “Liga Maestra is specifically blended to deliver the richest characteristics of Nicaraguan ligero fillers and Broadleaf sun-grown wrappers. It is a complex cigar crafted for the most developed palate.” I liked it.

 

AFuente_DC4I also came across an old Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No.4 that a friend had sent me many moons ago.  This is a corona sized cigar with a torpedo style head.  It wouldn’t surprise me at all if it’s been a decade since I sampled from this line, but there was a time when the Don Carlos Robusto was my favorite cigar, along with the Hemingway Signature.  It’s a cigar that I associate with a some great memories. This one was well aged and tasty.  The Cameroon wrapper is flawless and it has that signature flavor that you only get from a well aged Cameroon cigar.  It was very nice Christmas Day smoke.

 

Adorini Carrara black L ClosedA few days before Christmas I took delivery on a new humidor from HumidorDiscount.com. They offered to allow me to evaluate their newest Adorini humidor, the Carrera Grande Deluxe in black laquer.  This is a huge 150 count humidor with a tray, humidifier and hygrometer. I have been really impressed with the Cedro Deluxe humidor from Adorini and this new Cerrera is built just as well. The walls are a good one inch thick and it’s solid as a rock. The lid closes with a nice, soft “whoosh”. It has the same magnetic plate hidden in the lid so the humidifier and hygrometer can be positioned however you like.  I’m a little CDO, so I have then centered nicely. This one also has the same ventilation ribs in the Spanish Cedar lining that accept dividers, and it also came with the label clips if you have that need. I suppose these would be handy for Adorini Carrara black L Openunbanded cigars or to record dates, I’m lazy, I just dumped a few boxes worth of cigars in after a generous seasoning period. I haven’t decided on a theme for this one yet. I think it’s going to be for cigars that I plan to feature here, but I feature most everything here anyway, don’t I?  Of course, this came a great time, as I had just mentioned the need to finally break down and get a 100+ quart cooler. This beauty will eliminate that “need” for the time being.  I’ll periodically mention how this humidor is performing, so far I’ve been impressed. I need check on the hygrometers though, in both this one and the Cedro, as they were a little off of the digital. I had them all in the humidor with a tray of water for a few days and there was about a 5 point swing between the four. I don’t suppose that’s too bad.

 

Elertus in Adorini CarraraI used another product I was sent to evaluate, the Elertus Smart Sensor, while setting up the new humidor. I mentioned this in a post a couple weeks ago (here). This is an impressive little gizmo and I’ll be sad to send this back.  It connects to your home WiFi router and you can download apps for iPad/Phone/Pod or Android device to monitor several different things. I get text messages on my dumb phone when there is physical movement or the temperature or humidity deviated from my pre-selected guidelines.  I can also check in on the website or the Apps to see what the temp and humidity are in real time.  There’s sensor I could attach to tell me if the lid was opened, but I didn’t feel a need for that.  This was the fourth humidity reading device I had in the new humidor while it was getting ready and it seemed to read about in the middle of the digital (which was on the low side) and the analog units. Point is, it seems to work well in humidors from what I can tell.

 

Friday afternoon my wife an I needed a relaxing day out of the house, so we ventured to Cigar Mojo in nearby King of Prussia to smoke some cigars and relax in their comfy leather chairs. Jenn wanted to get some reading done, so we parked in the seating area in the front of the store as opposed to going in the lounge with the TVs. There was a pretty good crowd in the lounge for a place that’s only been open for six weeks.  I bought some cigars and lit up an Illusione Rothchildes. I had actually asked Trae a few weeks ago if he was getting these in because I wanted to try them. He ordered them on the spot and got them in. He should have no problem moving these well priced and exceptionally good smokes. I will smoke more of these without hesitation. The size is great at 4½ x 50 and the San Andrés wrapper while not as pungent as I expect, was delicious.  For $4 and change this is a must try cigar.

 

After the Illusione I lit up an Aging Room M356 Rondo. This is a 5″ x 50 robusto that is the little brother of the No. 2 Cigar Aficionado Cigar of the Year.  I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about.  This was a good tasting cigar that I had some trouble keeping lit. I found this to be an overly strong cigar, but it was subtle, it snuck up!  I had to stop for a Coke on the way home. Yeah, it was bad…but the cigar was tasty, and I have another one resting in the humidor that I’ll leave along for a while and try again when I work up the courage! I have a Quatro Fortissimo from the IPCPR show that I still have to get around to. I told Rafael Nodal Jr. it was too pretty to smoke in it’s little coffin box when he handed it to me, so he broke the seal on the box so I’d have to smoke it.  It still looks too nice to smoke!  I’ll get to it though, maybe it’ll help if I take it out of the coffin and put it on the top tray of the new humidor.  We had a great afternoon hanging out at Cigar Mojo, talking to Alan Price, who has been helping out in the shop, and Trae, one of the owners.  Certainly a great new shop in the Philly area that must be visited.

 

One other thing, real quick.  If the winners of the 12 Days of Cigar Giveaways that already haven’t can confirm that they’ve received their goodies in the comments, I’d appreciate it!  I want to make sure everyone is happy!  Many thanks again for everyone for making it such a success!

 

That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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13 Comments

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13 Responses to An Oliva, an Illusione, an Aging Room, a New Adorini Humidor and Elertus Monitor

  1. Agent 86

    The smart sensor sounds like a handy tool. I took a look at their page and they seem to have a sensor for everything.

    Of course if a person is tech savvy they could use a Raspberry Pi system to put together their own version for quite a bit less

    • Mmmmm….Pi….of course, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it sounds cool…there are less expensive units out there that accomplish the same goal, one I saw has a terminal that plugs into a port on your router to communicate with the remote. I love the interface on this one, and it wasn’t hard to set up at all. For someone with maybe a store or a collection worth thousands this would be a great thing to have.

      And yes, I’m experimenting with a new comments format!

  2. Michel Vigeant

    I’m happy just to know that some good sticks are in the post. I will let you know when delivered.

  3. John Hateley

    Haven’t received anything yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

  4. I agree the MB3 5’x50 should be a a Robusto.

    I’ve smoked all three sizes of the Oliva Master Blend 3. I’ve been a fan of all sizes since they began to be released in 2003. In the early stages of Master Blends, Oliva released sizes as MB1, MB2, MB3 they were supposed to release an MB4 however I never saw one and don’t think they were ever released.

    When the Master Blends were first released they didn’t have a paper label. Rather than paper Olivia used a machine to more or less tattoo the logo onto the cigar wrapper. I’m not sure how long this process was used. My understanding is the machine used for the tattoo labeling broke down and was too expensive to repair.

    Currently I have a box of MB3 Churchill’s which are 7×50.Typically I consider a 7×48 a classic Churchill, but a 50 ring is close enough for me.

    I feel regardless of size, the Master Blend’s are one of the most overlooked great cigars on the market.

  5. Dan McCallum

    Elertus Smart Sensor sounds awsome.

  6. jjo

    Actually, the MB3 Double Robusto is a 5×54. Never had it, but have had the 5×50 Robusto and 6×52 Torpedo. I suspect the oval press makes it look like a 5×50 and I don’t know why they don’t have the robusto mislabeled on the website. In any case, it’s a great smoke.

  7. Craig, Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you guys. I hope all went well, I need a new humi bad.. I will be following your updates. on a side note have you been to Smoke yet in Manyaunk? Also I made it to KTL in Kutztown nice place and he is opening up a second shop really local.

    • Corey, I haven’t been to Smoke in Manyunk yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. I visited KTL back before they renovated. He only had a cabinet with a few cigars at the time, it sounds like he’s doing pretty well there! Gotta get together for a smoke one of these days!

  8. Michel Vigeant

    Sticks delivered with nary an issue…very good quality. Shipped on Thursday the 26th from PA and delivered to Canada’s Capital at 1215pm on Monday the 30th. I put out some props with pictures in the Cigar Club Lounge FB site and I may ask Keith Garrison(Admin) to do a review on ‘El Capitan’…Cheers

    • Glad to hear they arrived without incident. Always dicey shipping to our neighbors to the north! Enjoy them and let us know how you like them. I honestly don’t know how many Villiger Premium Cigars are in Canada!

  9. Lloyd L.

    That smart sensor sounds badass!