This week was a busy week. I supose I could have made it busier if I wanted to go into Philadelphia to Holts for the Tatuaje events, but that just seemed like too much of a crowd and hassle for me. As it was, I made it to three events, sort of. I managed to smoke some pretty good cigars along the way too. Robert Caldwell of Caldwell Cigars happened to be at one of my favorite nearby shops, JM Cigars, in Exton, PA on Thursday. I hadn’t really met Robert before, and hadn’t really gotten around to smoking any of his cigars yet. I’ll be honest, as creative as Robert’s cigar naming conventions baffle me. I can never remember the names of the lines, or the size names within those lines. I don’t know if it’s a mental deficiency on my part or what. Anyway, I bought a sampling of Caldwell cigars to try them out, and lit up an Eastern Standard Euro Express, a 5½” x 44 corona and settled into the lounge or a bit. The make-up of this cigar is expressed this way on the company website:
Events with Caldwell, Island Jim and Goosefest!
Capa: Connecticut Hybrid Ecuadoriano – 2006
Banda: Habana Dominicano – 2005
Tripa: Criollo ’98 Viso Dominicano 30% – 2008
Tripa: Corojo Dominicano Ligero 30% – 2006
Tripa: Habano Seco Nicaraguense 40% – 2007
A quick geek point: it;s not unusual to see the spanish terms “capa” and “tripa” replacing “wrapper” and “filler”, but I’ve never seen the term “Banda” replacing “binder”, it usually “capote”. I went to the event right from work without eating dinner, so starting with the shade wrapped, milder cigar was an obvious choice. this was a great, smooth smoke, and there was a unique, sweet spice at the midway point, one of those flavors that interrupts conversation as it catches you by surprise. This is definitely a cigar I will smoke again. A note about JM’s is that I’ve been shopping there for 20 years, back when it was the only cigar shop in the county to speak of. They have a good “classic” selection with excellent prices. I’m reasonably sure I could pick up a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur No. 1 for not too much more than the $5 I paid 15 years ago. The lounge isn’t big but comfortable and friendly. Once in a while you hear a complaint but overall it’s a good shop. I don’t get in there as often as I’d like but always run into someone I know there.
I left the Caldwell event to go up the street to another event at the Cigar Cigars store in Luswigs
Filed under Review
LARS?!? You actually saw LARS?!?
Its a shame that there are never any events like these in the town where I live. Sounds like you had fun and also had some good cigars. The closest town to have such shows is a 1 1-2 hour drive. I guess I’m just stuck with that.
Very busy week indeed. The Caldwell line has some great smokes – personally I think The King is Dead is best of the bunch.
The King is Dead is great, but so is Long Live the King. I’m not sure which one I actually like more.
Robert is a character and puts together great events! I am really looking forward to those Leaf Lanceros!