Category Archives: Events

New El Rey Del Mundo and Diesel Cigars and a DBL Cigars Event

Thursday evening I went to the new Cigar Mojo location in Malvern, PA. which is about a mile closer to my house than the next nearest cigar store, which is two miles away.  Yes, I could walk there if I so chose. Wade and Trae have built a really nice shop and lounge in a small center with restaurants,  an Ax throwing venue, several other businesses, located adjacent to a huge corporate park in suburban Philly.  The humidor is massive, and will soon be impressively stocked, and the lounge is well appointed and comfortable.  I’ve been told that they are currently fully staffed ;-).  Anyway, they had an inaugural event there with Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars and I couldn’t manage to find an excuse not to make the one mile trek over there.  Francisco has a background with the Fuente and LFD factories, and went out on his own probably ten years ago or more.  I think it’s been at least that long since I first met him.  Super-nice dude, and very talented cigar roller. I smoked the DBL Extra Viejo Maduro while there.  It was pretty good, some coffee and espresso notes that I like, there’s something in DBL cigars across the board that I don’t get.  Friday evening I smoked the DBL Nicaraguan, which was initially called the La Union, but the Garcia’s had that trademark tied up with their upcoming anniversary project with Pete Johnson and asked for the name to be changed. I hoped that the Nicaraguan expression would suit my palate better, alas, it still had something that didn’t jive with me. I’ve said this before, as recently as a few weeks ago with Aganorsa, there are some lines that just don’t hit the palate, and that’s why there are so many different cigars. DBL makes good, quality cigars, and if you like a lot of different cigars than I tent to like, you’ll probably enjoy them!  They are very well priced, and certainly deserve a try, and if you find yourself at Cigar Mojo at The Grove, give me a holler, if I’m free, I’m like three minutes away. 

 

I’ve been fortunate to have come into a batch of new cigar samples, so I’ve been trying out some of the new releases lately.  One I smoked this week was the El Rey del Mundo Shade Grown.  El Rey del Mundo is a brand that’s been in my humidor on and off in some way for over the last 25 years, I can remember smoking many Rectangulares, Flor de Llanezas, and Robusto Largas over the years, and it was always a delicious, satisfying cigar.  In this case, they’ve put a Honduran grown Connecticut shade wrapper on it, over a Honduran Jamastran binder, with Copan and Jamastran fillers, making a Honduran puro.  If every line has to have a shade cigar (does it?), this cigar isn’t a bad fit with the brand.  It’s got the creaminess, and is on the milder end of medium, but still has plenty of flavor.  I rather enjoyed it, as I’ve been enjoying shade cigars lately, as long as they aren’t too mild and flavorless!  Not too bad! 

 

Last night after a heavy Italian meal out with friends, we retired to the sala fumatori at la mia casa for a digestif.  Earlier in the day I had finished watching “James May: Our Man in Italy” on Amazon Prime so I was all Italianed up.  I suppose a Toscano would have been more appropriate, but I had been eying up the new Diesel Vintage, and wanted to talk about it in today’s post. I’m also smoking one as I type this morning, on a fresh palate, because smoking one with company and conversation and alone without distraction can be two different experiences.  Turns out they were pretty close.  This is a cigar that is to my liking.  It has a San Andrés Negro Madoro wrapper, Esteli binder, and Jalapa fillers ranging from five to eight years old.  Like all Diesel cigars, it’s made by A.J. Fernandez for Forged Cigar Co. I’m smoking the 5″ x 56 Robusto Gordo, and it’s available in 4 other sizes, which I will eventually sample as I find them in the wild.  I can personally attest that this cigar is as good after a heavy meal as it is with a morning cup of coffee, although I did end up smoking too late and slept like crap last night…a function of my advancing years, I’m afraid, I’m in the final days of my 50’s.  I see an afternoon nap, and I’m talking right after noon…anyway, I really like this Diesel Vintage. It’s got a load of sweet spice, earth, coffee, cocoa, all the flavors I really like.  I want to smoke the Toro, it could become a go-to.  Great smoke.  

 

That’s all for today. I celebrate a couple milestones this week, one being the 14th anniversary of CigarCraig.com, the other being the 10th anniversary of my 50th birthday, so I’ll be smoking some special cigars here and there to mark the occasions.   Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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A Couple Black Label Trading Co. Cigars and a Visit to The Leaf in Easton, PA

Yesterday we took a drive up to Easton to the “Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash” at Famous Smoke Shop/Leaf Cigar Bar in Easton, PA. We wore our tie dye and got a 15% discount, so I picked up some new stuff from Black Label Trading Company that I have been looking forward to trying. I was a little surprised that they didn’t have more new stuff available, but it is what it is.  I also picked up some more West Tampa Red Toros, because, ya know, ya gotta support your friends and they are great cigars. I started out with the new La Madonna Negra in the 5½ x 50 size. I bought this in two sizes, the 5½ x 50 and the 5″ x 54, honestly thinking I was getting a robusto and a corona gorda, because they are box pressed and I really wasn’t paying that much attention.  This is Black Label’s 10th anniversary cigar, and it’s a good one.  It comes in three vitolas, all in the robusto family as far as I’m concerned (the third being a 4½” x 48), has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania.  I like a great many of the BLTC cigars, but I’m going to be very honest, there is a common theme throughout, again, one I like a lot.  It’s the dark, cocoa/coffee flavors that are in my wheelhouse that appeal to me, and I can really just pick up any Black Label cigar and enjoy it.  This was no different.  I really enjoyed it sitting outside the Leaf Cigar Bar at Famous Smoke Shop, watching the band Single Yesterday play their set. The La Madonna Negra was excellent, loads of flavor with a little extra special PA Seedleaf spice perhaps.  I dig it and have a few more to smoke, and I doubt I’ll have them around long.  It was nice to see Gary Korb there, a day after eye surgery! (best wishes with that Gary!), and Juan Cancel made an appearance as we were leaving. With the exception of my wife having trouble getting service at the bar, it wasn’t a bad time!  On the way home we stopped in to New Tobacco Village in Whitelhall, PA.  This is a very warm and inviting little shop with a very nice selection! I’d love to get back to have a smoke with John and Lina one of these days. 

 

When I got home I decided to smoke the new Black Label Trading Co. core line Santa Muerte in what they are incorrectly calling a Petite Lancero, but is more of a lonsdale at 6½” x 42.  If it had been a 38 ring gauge I would have bought the lancero name, but not at 42.  I think I’ve seen cigars this size called Corona Extra too, I guess technically a Lonsdale would be a 43 ring. A Lancero it ain’t.  A really good cigar, it is, for many of the same reasons stated in the paragraph above.  This one has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Ecuador binder, and a filler blend from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Mexico. I suppose it has a bit brighter flavor than the La Madona, however the signature is still there. BLTC cigars are like Roma craft and Tatuaje cigars to me. I’d smoke them all the time If I had a steady supply, at a really great price.  When I have them, I smoke them, and enjoy them.  I’d love to get back to Nicaragua one day and visit Oveja Negra (and Nica Sueño while I’m there), I think that would be a good time.  

 

I think that’s all I have for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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Cohiba HVC Black Friday, Reinado and Iron Pigs, Bacon and Flying Pig Cigars

We went to a baseball game last night, but more on that later, lets recap a few cigars I smoked earlier in the week. At the Atlantic City Cigar Festival I saw an old friend, Sean Williams, who was handing out Cohiba Rivieras at his booth.  I met Sean back around 2011, I think, at the Delaware Cigar Festival, or the IPCPR show, I forget which. I do remember seeing him at the IPCPR show and he introduced me to his friend Willy Herrera, who was helping him blend some of his cigars at the time. I hadn’t tried this Cohiba Riviera, so Thursday seemed like a good enough day to smoke one.  This is the first Box pressed “red dot” Cohiba, and the first that doesn’t have any Dominican tobacco. It has a San Andrés wrapper (another Cohiba first), Honduran Connecticut binder (broadleaf?) and fillers from Jamastran, and La Entrada in Honduras and Condega and Esteli in Nicaragua. The Robusto I had is 5″ x 52, the box press makes it feel small, which is probably why it took me awhile to get around to smoking it. This smoked very well, as one would expect a $20 cigar to smoke. It tasted much like one would expect a Honduran/Nicaraguan blend with a Mexican wrapper to taste, which, to me, was quite good, with rich, earthy coffee, cocoa, espresso, etc. notes.  I rather enjoyed it. As with most things in the “luxury” segment, be it food, cars, watches, I’m not the target audience. I’m a low frills kind of guy, but I do appreciate it, there’s just more affordable luxuries I appreciate as much. 

 

I had picked up a HVC Black Friday 2022 a few weeks ago, I had smoked the Firecracker and maybe one other iteration of the Black Friday series ( I think the 2021) and enjoyed it. This is the first of the series that is made in Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo as opposed to Aganorsa, although I can’t say I noticed any quality difference.  I would have liked it if my example had been a tad drier, which is the fault of my humidors, I guess. The tobaccos in this may need to be stored with less humidity, or dry boxed, I don’t know, most cigars burn fine out of my humidors, every now and then one is weird. My fault for not being as diligent with my Humidimeter as I should be!  The Black Friday has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and the rest is from Jalapa and Esteli with, apparently, no ligero.  It was on the medium side, with nice, nutty flavors and some syrupy sweetness.  It was a hot and humid evening, which may have added to my issues, also not a great time for a nicotine-heavy cigar for me! I’ll try again with some dry down time. 

 

I was up obnoxiously early yesterday morning so I pretty much went from bed, to the coffeemaker to the porch and lit up a Reinado Connecticut C29 that Antonio Lam had given me when I saw him at the aforementioned AC Cigar Fest. Before I go on, I’d like to mention that as I type I’m smoking an El Güegüense that was from the original release (probably a 2016 trade show sample) that is simply divine. I don’t think I appreciated this blend as much then as I do at this very moment, whether it’s the age on this cigar, the beautiful morning, or what. It’s creamy, it’s got a hint of light spice, it’s just perfection.  What made my think about that, besides being distracted by the smoke, was that I had the same thought yesterday morning as I sat in the dawning hours of the day, as the sun came up, enjoying the Reinado C29. The details of this. cigar are veiled in secrecy, obviously it has a Connecticut wrapper, Ecuadoran would be my guess, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s made at Aganorsa, like his Grand Apex (which is also exceptional). I have trouble loving a lot of Aganorsa cigars, however, Antonio’s cigars I do love, and if the C29 is made there, it’s one more I really loved.  It was creamy, plenty of flavor, and burned perfectly. It was a great cigar to smoke on a quiet morning unencumbered by distractions. 

 

Last night some friends treated up to a baseball game in Allentown, PA.  The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are the Philadelphia Phillies Triple A farm team, and the upside is that they have a heavy bacon-centric theme.  We snacked on chocolate covered bacon and skewered candied bacon, but sadly they were out of the bacon cannolis. Between innings they had races with people dressed as various pork based meats, and the players uniforms had Bacon emblazoned across the front.  Fred Rewey would have been severely overstimulated. I misunderstood the team name and wore a Flying Pig shirt, and smoked a Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pig on the ride home, as Coca Cola Stadium is non-smoking. When I first smoked the KFC at Cigar Safari 10 years ago I didn’t like it at all, it was too “campfire” for me. This Flying Pig, and I don’t remember where I got them, or how long I’ve had them, was very good, it had some nice sweet woodiness. I can’t recommend smoking a 4″ x 60 in a dark, stick shift car, though, that was less than ideal, but it was a good smoke, and it was a really fun game, with fireworks after the game. I’m not a baseball fan, and I’m confused by some of the new rules,  but it’s nostalgic, I went to a lot of games as a kid, and I always enjoyed minor league games for the entertainment value. 

 

There’s a lot coming up this week.  Tonight, if you are in the Limerick, PA area, stop by Goose’s and see my friend Mike Kropp perform at the Goose Pond.  Next Saturday, August 5, at the Leaf Cigar Bar in Easton, PA celebrate Jerry Garcia’s Birthday with live music at 3. Delaware Cigar Week kicks off on Thursday, August 3th with a schedule of events running through Sunday.  Could be a busy weekend!

 

That’s all for today! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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DBL, Aganorsa Cigars and a Battleship Beef Experience!

 

Yesterday had a lot going on, most of which wasn’t cigar related, with the day culminating in the Battleship Beef event on the New Jersey.  We’ll get to that in a bit, but first, I had a few new-to-me cigars this week.  Last month when we went to the Atlantic city event, Francisco Almonte gave me a DBL Amarillo Belicoso, which is the fancy, barber pole style cigar in the Connecticut Shade Amarillo line, 5 5/8″ x 54.  It’s a pretty cigar, it’s box pressed to, there’s not a lot of box pressed, barber pole, shaped cigars out there. Nice presentation, I liked it a lot.  It had a really nice flavor, mellow cream and nuts, I think the accent striping gave it some extra flavor. I don’t smoke a lot of DBL cigars, and I know there’s a shop or two in the area that have them, and I believe Francisco has his own shop in New Jersey someplace, which I’ll have to hunt down. 

 

Another cigar that came from the Atlantic City festival was an Aganorsa Rare Leaf that Mike King gifted me. Mike is a great broker who was there working the Aganorsa booth.  I was there on a media pass, so I didn’t get the cigar coupon book like a regular attendee, which is quite fine as I’m quite fortunate not to be in need of cigars (just ask my wife!). However, it’s nice to be presented with something I haven’t smoked, and, to be honest, many of Aganorsa Leaf’s cigars don’t excite me enough to hunt them down.  I’ll pick one up here and there if I can’t find anything else new and interesting, and there are a few that I’ve really enjoyed, and this Rare Leaf was one of them.  This was a corona or lonsdale size, I didn’t measure it, figuring (incorrectly) that I could do some research after the fact. Perhaps it’s a new size, I want to to say it was 6″ x 44. I’m not generally a Criollo fan, which is probably why the Aganorsa line is so hit or miss with me. This was a really nice smoke, a nice blend of spice and sweetness.  

 

Last night was the Battleship Beef event on the Battleship New Jersey, which is docked across the river from Philadelphia.  This event was a Red Meat Lovers Club event, put on by Evan Darnell, the Secretary of Steak, in partnership with Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Casa de Montecristo, and a few other folks.  I fear that this second annual feast may be the last.  While the Battleship invited the  RMLC back to put on this event, which raises money for the Battleship Museum, apparently there was a last minute scramble when it came out that smoking would be restricted to a small area. Obviously, this wasn’t going to be tolerated, as this was a cigar event. To Evan’s credit, I don’t think anyone would have known there had been a problem if they hadn’t been told, and there were some upsides to the change in setup, having everyone in one area. Shame on whoever changed the plan at the last minute and caused Evan all that stress, but he and his team made it work.  The food was amazing, Katz’s Deli from NY had the most incredible Pastrami, although the structural integrity of the rye bread didn’t hold up.  Saka and Lafferty were there, as well Tim and Travis from Altadis, Kevin from CigarProp, James from BL Luxuries, and other friends. We had a great time hanging out with my fellow Craig, Craig “the Breadman” Gilpin. Sadly, we passed on the after-herf at LouLigas Lounge, it had been a long day.  One bit of advice to the Casa de Montecristo folks: I think sales would be better if you sold smaller quantities, just selling boxes seems like a big ask at an event where people have already spent the cost of a box to get in, and are being hit up for auctions and raffles. Seems like people would buy a bunch of five packs more than boxes, but what do I know?  Great event, if it happens again next year it should be on your list, and if you see the Red Meat Lovers logo on an event, expect it to be first rate! 

 

Happy Father’s Day to everyone, whether you are one or have one. As I’ve been typing this I’ve been enjoying my traditional Father’s Day cigar, the Esperanza Para Los Niños, now 24 years old, and it’s really quite good, one of the best ones I’ve smoked in recent years.  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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The Atlantic City Cigar Social Recap

Saturday we had the great pleasure of attending the Atlantic City Cigar Social at the Borgata in, of course, Atlantic City, NJ.  This was the inaugural event, which ran from 1PM to 6PM.  The setting was the outdoor pool area at the Borgata, which also has bars and they had tented areas with seating because it drizzled off and on all day.  Attendance was just under 600 people, I’m not sure what the mix between the smoking and non-smoking tickets was, but I assume the majority were smoking.  There were a good number of cigar vendors there, the attendees received tickets to collect cigars from the manufacturers, and there were three retailers there where one could purchase cigars.  

 

 




 

 

There were other vendors besides cigars, some accessories and apparel, artwork, and several liquor vendors providing samples.  The appetizers being passed around were very good, although a little hard to come by! There was shrimp, chicken, and chocolate cigars filled with mousse that were delicious.  They also featured each cigar manufacturer on a “hot seat” where they talked about their brand, and burlesque dancers who captivated the crowd.  This was a really nice event, and an important event since New Jersey doesn’t  have any multi-vendor events or large cigar social events.  I saw a lot of familiar faces, and there were a lot of people being exposed to cigar brands that they may not have had a chance to try before.  I hope that the event can continue, plan to attend next year if you’re in the general vicinity! Many thanks to Jon Henderson and his staff, Cigar Snob Magazine, as well as all the vendors, for putting on a great event.  

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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