Let me start out by bitching a little about the USPS messing with my plans for this post a little. I had ordered some of the new Triqui Traca sizes because I was unable to find them locally, and they were supposed to have been delivered yesterday and they weren’t. How USPS manages to goof up Priority Mail that ships Tuesday and is scheduled to be delivered Saturday (already a stretch), is beyond me. A few weeks ago I sent a box to Washington state on a Saturday and it was delivered on Monday. Sure, it cost me more than $8, but c’mon. And I recently cashed in some rewards points for an Amazon gift card and they are mailing it….what sense does that make? OK, now I’m just bitching about stuff for for the sake of bitching…forget about that last part. Point is, I had to switch up my whole plan for this post at the last minute. Fortunately, it’s not hard for me to convince myself to smoke a great cigar, so I made other plans.
Last week when I was at Cigar Mojo, one of the cigars I picked up was the Foundation Cigar Co. Tabernacle Goliath. I probably should have gotten both the David and the Goliath, but I was trying to moderate my spending. In retrospect, it would have made this post easier, and perhaps, more interesting. Apologies. The David and Goliath are perfecto shaped cigars, both have a gorgeous Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. I would venture a guess that the blend is the same as the regular Tabernacle line. The Goliath is a 5” x 58 perfecto, it’s chubby. The David is 5” x 54 and is more of a pointy perfecto. This is where I regret not buying both and comparing the two, because the shape can make a big difference in the flavor. The Goliath was a wonderful cigar. Despite the fact that once it burns past the first quarter inch its basically a gordo or fat robusto, the burn was perfect. It was loaded with the rich espresso and cocoa that I love, with the spice and earth from the San Andrés and the fillers. This was such a good cigar, and burned nice and cool all the way down to the nub. Again, now I need to go get the David, because I can imagine that the smaller ring and the pointy shape would sharpen the flavors some and cause a different experience. Darn my frugality. So if you like the Foundation, you should love the Goliath!
As I alluded to above, I was hoping to receive some of the new sizes of the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca, the 652 and the 764. So I followed the Goliath (after dinner, of course, not immediately) with a Triqui Traca 552. I realized that I had never really featured that size on these pages, and I’ve smoked a few. I like the 648, it’s close to a Toro, and I’ve been looking forward to trying the 652, and I just figured “Why not” on the 764. It’s a ridiculous size, but people rave about the Mi Querida Gran Buffalo (same size, next on my list to try). The Triqui Traca is another Broadleaf wrapped cigar that is based off of the Mi Querida Firecracker blend (of which a third, and tweaked, release is imminent. Damn, that’s another order I’m going to have to place with 2 Guys…) which is an amped up version of the Mi Querida. I’ll be honest, I love them both. If the Mi Querida is a Hershey’s Special Dark bar, then the Triqui Traca is one of those dark chocolate bars with the hint of cayenne pepper. It’s got some extra kick, but not too much, just enough to keep things interesting. Of course, it burns perfectly, if it didn’t, Saka wouldn’t sell it. Here’s a secret, because I’ve known him as long as I have, and he’d kill me for revealing this: he makes each cigar a half an inch longer than advertised and personally smokes a little bit each one to make sure it’s right before the cap is applied and it’s banded and packaged. That’s how much he cares! :-). (Before someone believes this and Saka comes after me for defamation and slaps me with a cease and desist, it’s a joke. He only does it with about half). If you like the Broadleaf cigars, you can’t go wrong with either cigar mentioned in this post, and of course they share some common ancestry.
So far there is a tie for the CigarCraig Readers Poll Cigar of the Year, so get your votes in! Please e-mail me at craig@cigarcraig.com with your choice for the 2020 cigar of the year. I’ll compile the results and post them on December 31. Please be as specific as possible. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
Yes, I help retailers out by performing that same test. And this is why I have some buckshot in my leg.