Tag Archives: bolivar

by | March 6, 2022 · 10:54 am

Perla Del Mar Connecticut, Bolivar Cofraida and Aganorsa Leaf Cigars and the Contest Winner

As I mentioned in my Friday news post, the last half of my week was disrupted with some unexpected drama. This has thrown me off my game a little, I missed my Friday night shift at Son’s Cigars just because I was exhausted from the previous evenings ordeal with the pain and the morphine and all, I was passed out at home well before the shop closed. I came home to some Chinese take-out, smoked a Punch Fu Manchu (which isn’t a bad inexpensive cigar, by the way! I ‘m not sure I get the marketing of  Punch line with the Chinese food, but they are good smokes at a great price) and crashed. Hard. For the sake of my CDO though, I’m going to rewind a bit to Tuesday when I smoked the Perla Del Mar Connecticut Toro. This is a relatively new rebranded Perla Del Mar Connecticut from J.C. Newman, made in Nicaragua. I really like this line, although I can’t say I’m a fan of the PDM on the band. I liked the old bands better, this new one could have been better. I get it, it’s a budget brand, it could easily be presented in a bundle insead of a box, so I’ll take it as it is. These are fantastic cigars. Even for someone who’s first choice isn’t a Connecticut shade, this is a solid cigar. It’s creamy, with a lot of flavor. There are a few shade cigars that make my “rotation”, this might sneak in there. It has a richness without being grassy. I like it. I like the Corojo and Maduro better, but this Connecticut is very good, I’d reach for it over a lot of other shade cigars.

 

Yesterday I got around to the Bolivar Cofraida Lost and Found EMS Toro that I had on deck for Thursday evening. I had picked this up, along with the Punch, when I stopped in to the CigarCigars store in Downingtown, PA to drop off a bag of cigars for OP:Cigar For Warriors, as they are a collection point. I’m not sure why I didn’t get the Oscuro, seems out of character for me, perhaps they only had the EMS, I really don’t remember. This line is a collaboration between Justin Andrews of Forged/Scandinavian Tobacco and Robert Caldwell, where the marketing materials say they blended the cigars from bales of tobacco that they came across in the HATSA factory in Honduras. So these aren’t “found” cigars, but “found” tobacco, in this case. This is another reasonably priced cigar, in the $7-7.50 range, I think. Ten years ago I’d find that to be a fairly pricey cigar. Now it’s cheap. Anyway, I remember the Bolivar Cofraida cigars that JR Cigars used to sell were on the strong side, this one not so much. It was well balanced, medium bodied, with some pleasant, fruit notes. Nice afternoon smoke while I refilled the hot tub and sat around waiting to see if my kidney stone was going to cause me trouble.  

 

Last night I took a look in the tray of cigars I put the cigars that I got at the TPE show that I hadn’t smoked yet, the “new to me” tray. I settled on the Aganorsa Leaf Aniversario Robusto that Terence Reilly gave me at the show. This is the 5″ x 52 box pressed Nicaraguan puro with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper. The paper sleeve isn’t there to hide anything, the wrapper is really pretty. This was another really tasty cigar. I was in one of my rare moods for a shorter smoke. I was tired, a hockey game was on during nap time! This cigar falls into the leather and nuts flavor category for me. It’s not a sweet coffee, cocoa cigar. It burned perfectly, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Smoking more of the Aganorsa cigars is on my todo list, oddly it’s one of the brands that I don’t get around to as much as I should. I’ll fix that. Good smoke, less of what I personally look for, but good nonetheless.

 

Contest

OK, it’s time to select a contest winner! To recap, the giveaway this time was for a cool Drew Estate 20 Acre Farm case with five (5) 20 Acre Farm toro cigars. It’s possible some other goodies could fall into the box before it leaves the CigarCraig.com offices! It’s been known to happen! The winner is Xolotal! Send me your coordinates so I can get this out to you. As always, thanks to the folks at Drew Estate for their support! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | February 10, 2019 · 10:53 am

Nothing New This Week! Some News and “Comfort Food” Cigars

I was a slug this week, I just grabbed cigars I felt compelled to smoke because I wanted to smoke them. I went back to the Bolivar Heritage 550, an Ecuador Sumatra wrapped cigar that was a Michael Giannini creation when he was still with  General Cigar Co. They did a thing with Bolivar and Ramon Allones under the Foundry line, which they recently sold to Ventura, obviously without those two trademarks, and I loved the Bolivar, but the Ramon Allones was distasteful to me. The packaging was creative, but I don’t know that it was embraced by the traditionalists. Like I said, I love the Bolivar Heritage, it’s a full-bodied smoke that I find rich and satisfying, and it’s very reasonably priced.

 

Speaking of Ventura, I received the following news item from them this week:

         

Kretek International, Inc. Now Exclusive Importer of Gawith Hoggarth Pipe Tobacco Products

Kretek’s specialized subsidiaries to be utilized for expanding reach of the historic premium pipe tobacco brand.

Effective immediately, Kretek International, Inc., the United States’ largest importer, marketer, and distributor of specialty tobacco products, is pleased to announce their new role with the legendary Gawith Hoggarth brands. Established in Kendal, England, in the mid-1800s, Gawith Hoggarth has a longstanding tradition of excellence within the pipe tobacco industry, offering a line of products that are highly sought-after by both tobacconists and consumers. Kretek International, Inc. already imports and distributes its related brand, Samuel Gawith, and aims to increase the reach and accessibility of Gawith Hoggarth through the well-established sales channels of their subsidiaries.

Gawith Hoggarth has maintained their top-shelf foothold in the tobacco business for almost two centuries with the time-honored techniques of pressing and twisting tobaccos to bring out their robust flavors. They are especially known for creating small-batch tobacco blends that carry unique, old-fashioned essences, like licorice, geranium, and rose.

Kretek International, Inc. will be utilizing the sales forces of Ventura Cigar Company and Phillips & King to distribute about 30 tobacco blends from Gawith Hoggarth. The Ventura Cigar Company sales team will focus their efforts on the premium tobacconist channel, and the Phillips & King sales team will offer the products to smoke shops and other pipe retailers.

The Gawith Hoggarth products join 4th Generation, Comoy’s of London, and Samuel Gawith as another high-quality pipe tobacco offering in the Ventura Cigar Company and Phillips & King portfolios.

“Gawith Hoggarth is a natural fit for Kretek,” says Erik Stokkebye, Brand Manager at Kretek of pipes and pipe tobacco. “As a fourth-generation master crafter at 4th Generation, I know a thing or two about pipe tobacco. Gawith Hoggarth is a brand my family has long-admired for its traditions and its quality. It has the values of a Kretek product, and using its distribution arm will only strengthen the brand even further. I’m very pleased to welcome them to the Kretek family.”

“We’ve been going through a lot of changes at Ventura Cigar,” says Michael Giannini, General Manager at Ventura Cigar Company. “As a newly-formed standalone subsidiary of Kretek, we’ve been building a sales team that is hyper-focused on reaching and growing the tobacconist channel. Gawith Hoggarth has a long history of performance for retailers and is a top draw for consumers. It’s a brand that we are proud to present to our retail customers.”

Ventura Cigar Company plans to begin shipping the Gawith Hoggarth products in late spring/early summer 2019. For more information about Gawith Hoggarth, please visit venturacigar.com.

# # #

About Kretek International, Inc

Kretek International Canada was founded in 2000, as a branch of Kretek International, Inc, which is the United States’ number one importer, marketer, and distributor of specialty tobacco products to convenience, mass, and national retailers. For over 30 years, Kretek has enjoyed a strong reputation for providing exceptional customer relationships and top quality goods. Kretek International Canada has followed in the path of its parent company, offering the same outstanding service and specialty tobacco products to the Canadian market.

About Ventura Cigar Company

Ventura Cigar Company (VCC) is a unique cigar brand born in sunny Southern California that is on a mission to create memorable, complex cigar blends that excite the senses and reward discriminating palates. Their flagship Archetype, Case Study, Project805, and PSyKo SEVEN brands offer multiple award-winning blends that earned 90+ ratings in Cigar Aficionado, Cigar & Spirits, and Cigar Snob. And Archetype’s Axis Mundi won #13 Cigar of the Year for 2017 from Cigar Aficionado. Ventura Cigar Company also distributes the 4th Generation and Comoy’s of London line of pipe tobacco products, extending its reach and tradition of offering top-quality tobacconist products. Pipes and blends under these brands are cultivated through generations of craftsmanship, making them longtime favorites of pipe tobacco enthusiasts.

About Phillips & King International

Phillips & King International, a division of Kretek International Inc., is the leading distributor of premium cigars, specialty tobacco, vapor, and alternative smoking products and accessories in the United States. Since 1906, the family-owned company has built a strong reputation by focusing on independent brick-and-mortar shops, priding itself on offering top products and the best service to their customers. Their highly experienced sales staff works with thousands of shops in all 50 states, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and globally to US military bases. The company distributes over 21,000 SKUs, warehoused in a 150,000 sq. ft. semi-automated facility. In addition, they have a portfolio of proprietary brands including Ventura Cigars, Ventura Vapor, Greenhouse, EZ Cig, FasFil, and more. Phillips & King also distributes the Price Kutter, a monthly buying guide that outlines best-selling products, deals, and information for the tobacco and tobacco-related industry. For more information, please visit phillipsandking.com.

 

Since I don’t really care about pipe tobacco, I didn’t give it it’s own post, and I really wasn’t going to post it here, but I didn’t have much to write about today.

 

I was in the mood for some Broadleaf, which is kinda normal, so I smoked a Foundation Cigar Co. Tabernacle Toro, the 6″ x 52 in the line. It drives me nuts when people get Foundation and Foundry confused, I hear it pretty often. I think if you’re going to the trouble of either writing about cigars, or talking about them on a podcast, you should have your facts straight and not mix easy facts like that up. The Tabernacle is a great smoke, it probably beats out Nick’s previous work on the Liga Privada No. 9, which I also smoked this week, and is right there with the Mi Querida (and Umbagog) as one of my favorite Broadleaf cigars these days. It reminds me that I need to get my hands on the Tabernacle Havana Seed CT #142.

 

Speaking of Drew Estate, I almost missed this because no matter how many times I’ve asked them to change e-mail addresses, they don’t listen. As I’ve said before, little cigars aren’t my thing anyway.  But, since they are friends of the site, here is the latest from DE:

ACID and Tabak Especial Release “Frenchies”, a New Quick Smoke

Drew Estate announces today the launch of a new series of quick smokes, the ACID and Tabak Especial “Frenchies.” These small cigars will be introduced at the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) held in Las Vegas, Nevada February 11-13th.

The ACID Frenchies are small cigars wrapped in a lush Sumatran wrapper with Nicaraguan fillers, producing a delightful, sweet smoke with a pleasing room note. The Tabak Especial Frenchies are wrapped in smooth Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade with Nicaraguan fillers that are perfect to pair with your cup of coffee in the morning.The ACID and Tabak Especial Frenchies are 3 1/4” x 20 small cigars. ACID Frenchies are packaged in both 5 and 10 count packs, while the Tabak Especial Frenchies are sold in 10 count packs only. Each is shipped in a shelf merchandising sleeve of 10 packs for retailer convenience, with each pack individually humidified with Boveda for placement both inside the humidor or at the register.

From the Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew, Founder and President of Drew Estate notes, “Frenchies are the mega start to kick off the 20th Anniversary of ACID, and a perfect way to enjoy ACID in any moment during your day. For you coffee freaks, we also have the Tabak Especial in this new mini size. Why Frenchies you ask? Well, French is the language of romance and people are going to LOVE these sticks.”

The ACID and Tabak Especial Frenchies will be shown at TPE in February with Phillips and King taking pre-orders, and shipping to retailers in June. Kwik Trip will sell the ACID and Tabak Especial Frenchies in a first to market period of 60 days, starting March 1st, throughout their 650 locations. A full introduction of these small cigars will take place at the 2019 IPCPR for all customers and sales channels.

The ACID Frenchies are available as follows:

  • ACID Frenchies 5-Count pack MSRP $5.99/pack, shipped in shelf sleeves of 10
  • ACID Frenchies 10-Count pack MSRP $9.99/pack, shipped in shelf sleeves of 10

The Tabak Especial Frenchies are available as follows:

  • Tabak Especial Frenchies 10-Count pack with an MSRP of $9.99.
ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attracting new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

 

Honestly, there’s zero chance I’d smoke these. I’m not opposed to enjoying one of the tinned coronitas from time to time, the Undercrowns are tasty, but they seem too much like “catching a smoke” to me, when cigar smoking represents taking an hour or so to relax and unwind, a forced slow-down. But that’s just me, who am I to tell people how to enjoy their tobacco time! I’m in a curmudgeonly mood this morning!

 

That’s all I have today. I need to find something interesting to smoke for the next time. I have a fiver of cigars a neighbor sent me from Key West that look interesting, and if I get bored mid-week I might have to put a little contest together or something. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | October 1, 2017 · 11:03 am

Villiger, General Cigar, and Drew Estate Cigars

Since I posted the contest Wednesday (go enter if you haven’t already!), I have a fee more cigars than normal to post about. Bear with me, it was a pretty good week!  We’ll start off with Villiger‘s newest release, the La Flor de Ynclan. A couple of months ago a package arrived at my door that weighed about 12 pounds and I thought “what the heck is in here?” It turned out to be a little box with three La Flor de Ynclan cigars in Churchill, torpedo and robusto sizes, and a bottle of Zaffra Rum, a very generous gift, many thank to the folks at Villiger and Creativas! Most of my loyal readers know that I don’t drink, so one of these days (and I should have done it while the weather was warmer!), I’ll have to have some people over and have them sample this rum and put out a spread of Villiger cigars. From the Villiger website:

 

The La Flor De Ynclan is a special cigar, diligently crafted by Heinrich Villiger and master blender Jose Matias Maragoto of ABAM Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic.

Heinrich Villiger, chairman of the board of Villiger Soehne AG, came across a young ambitious Cuban native 22 years ago in the Dominican Republic. That Cuban, Jose Matias Maragoto was an unknown cigar maker, who was beginning a new life in a new country. Fast forward two decades, the once untested Matias Maragoto is the overseer of all Villiger made product made in the DR. The Flor de Ynclan cigar, is the fruition of a bond between two different men from different backgrounds, over the love of tobacco.

The La Flor De Ynclan is a cigar that presents a distinct full-flavor experience, due to the extended aging of the tobacco. Choice Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobacco, along with a true Indonesian binder, wrapped in a beautiful Ecuadorian wrapper make the La Flor De Ynclan a cigar that has been worth the wait.

FlordeYnclan

 

I started with the Churchill, a beautiful 7″ x 48 (close enough), with the above-mentioned components. I thought this was a terrific cigar. It was solid medium, and had a quality that I though would suite the European market well. It was complex with some citrus sweetness and a twinge of spice. There have been some Villiger cigars that I really liked, some were so-so, but this one stands apart, I think. It was very tasty, worth a try. I am disappointed that they discontinued the Trill line (made at Tabacalera Palma), although the name is kinda dumb, the cigar is good. I bought a box while I had the chance.

 

BolivarMoving on, I found myself at The Wooden Indian Tobacconist once again where Sean Williams, the Cohiba Brand Ambassador, was appearing for a meet and greet with the lounge membership. I first met Sean at the 2011 IPCPR show, in his El Primer Mundo booth. Ironically, Willie Herrera was hanging out in the booth with him at the same time, so it was also when I met Willie. I got there early and bought some General Cigar Co. cigars that I hadn’t smoked before, as well as a couple of the newer Sean_CohibaBolivars that I’ve enjoyed in the past. The only Cohibas that they had in stock were the Macasar, and I had a couple of those in the humidor already (and they are really pricey!). I was in the mood for Broadleaf, so the Bolivar 652 Toro was the smoke of choice. I know, I know, the Bolivar has a Connecticut Habano Maduro wrapper, not Broadleaf, but it was as close as I was going to get, OK?  This was released at the 2015 IPCPR show, and was Michael Giannini’s project re-imagining the Bolivar (and Ramon Allones). I like the box design, but I can’t say I love the band, it could have been classier, not Rami_Generalthat my opinion counts. I wonder what Mr. Giannini is up to? The Bolivar cigar is great, to my palate. I dig the closed foot and pigtail cap on these and they are very well priced. Anyway, it was a great evening at the Wooden Indian. Dave and his staff are top-notch and it was nice catching up with Sean ( and Rami, the area sales rep, another cool dude).  One last thing about this cigar. It’s neither on the Cigarworld.com or the Foundry websites, the only info I have is from the General Cigar Co. press info from the show.

 

LigaPrivadaSerieUnico_AI slipped back and forth between General Cigar Co. and Drew Estate this week, but I was probably heavier on the DE. I had to smoke another of the Florida Sun Grown toros since I bought a few more at the Wooden Indian charity event, and it was pretty darned tasty. Friday I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to smoke, and decided to go big and smoke a Liga Privada Serie Unico “A” that came from the Connecticut Barn Smoker. I probably should have swapped it for one from the 2014 two count box, but I was too lazy.  An “A” is a traditional Cuban size, it’s 9″ x 47, two notable examples being the Cuban Montecristo and the Sancho Panza Sancho. I took a walk with this cigar and when I got home an hour later I was just hitting the 6″ mark.  It was delicious, but due to its length, was on the milder side for a Liga Privada. It’s a good cigar, no doubt, and actually burned faster than I would have thought, I was finished in a little over two hours. From what I can tell, this is more of a T52 blend as it has the Connecticut stalk cut Habano wrapper, so I guess I’m still looking to satisfy my Broadleaf desire. I’ll find something today. These are only available at events, and are probably considered something of a unicorn in the Liga Privada world. I loved it, I thought it was delicious, but if I had ponied up a bunch of $ on the secondary market I’d have felt a little let down.

 

AcidKubaCandelaSince the current contest features a Drew Estate Acid KubaKuba Candela, I was kinda challenged to smoke one. Fortunately, I had one, as well as a couple of the little Blondie Candelas. I could have wimped out and went with the Blondie and gotten it over with, but why not just go for the gusto?  The regular KubaKuba is just distasteful to me, can’t even stand the smell.  I smoked a Kuba Maduro once in Nicaragua after about eight cigars and it was enjoyable. I entered this with as open a mind as I could muster, and, to lend credence to that, I didn’t take a spare cigar on my walk. I was committed (or should be). Happy to report that I enjoyed the cigar. The Candela wrapper has some bitterness that counters the sweet floweryness of the infusion. If one doesn’t like Candela cigars, I don’t imagine this one is going to change that opinion, because the grassy candellaness (my made up word for the day) is apparent. But, like it’s siblings in the Acid line, it’s well made with quality tobaccos. If you like the Acid line, try this, it’s probably going to be interesting. If you like Candela wrapped cigars, try this. If you don’t like either Candela or infused, I don’t know what to tell you…maybe this one would be a good change of pace, open your mind!

 

I was going to add one more cigar in here, but it’s getting long, I’ll circle back to that cigar. It was good and came highly recommended, I want to smoke another one and pay a little more attention to it before writing about it. Also, I bought a ticket to a Meet and Greet with Ernesto Carillo at the CigarCigars King of Prussia Mall store (smoke while your wife shops!) on Wednesday, October 11 which seems like a good deal, $25 for three cigars, booze and hors d’oeuvres and the chance to talk to a legend in the cigar business. Interestingly, this is a General Cigar event, featuring the new La Gloria Cubana Colleccion Reserva.

 

That’s all for now, until the next time, when we’ll select a contest winner,

 

CigarCraig

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by | December 26, 2016 · 10:19 am

CigarCraig’s Holiday Contest Number Four: General Cigar Co. and the Tommy Bahama Winner

Davidoff GolfI hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. As JJO suggested in his comment on the last post, it turns out I did have better things to do yesterday than post the winner, including having a big breakfast at our daughter’s house with the granddaughters and our kids, then taking a drive to visit more family in New Jersey. While at my bro-in-law’s in Jersey I got to smoke a glorious Sobremesa Short Churchill, which was wonderful. Christmas Eve I managed to smoke a Davidoff Golf Scorecard Edition, a gorgeous 6″ x 55 toro. These are presented in a five pack, ostensibly four cigars for your golf foursome, and one with a gold secondary band for the winner. These carry a pretty hefty price-tag , $114 for 5 at CI, who starts off the description with “Some things Bolivarare matches made in heaven – like bacon and eggs, mac and cheese, and of course, golf and cigars. “, which I find to be a rather pedestrian way to start a paragraph about a pretty expensive cigar! Anyway, it was a spectacular smoke, even though I don’t golf. It had loads of creamy, spicy flavors that were quite entertaining. It turned out to be pretty hard to find something suitable to follow such a stellar smoke, so I went with a Bolivar Royal Corona that had been floating around the humidor for 5 years or so. It was up to the task and was a great smoke, on the milder side, on par with the Davidoff. It was a pretty great couple of cigars on a reasonably nice winter’s day.

 

Contest!

GCCLet’s keep it going! I have some goodies from General Cigar for today’s giveaway!  There’s a Punch Bobblehead, a tin CAO Flathead Steel Horse sign, a pair of very nice La Gloria Cubana Cigar Scissors, and a Macanudo Inspirado Colibri Grip cutter, which is rubberized with orange blades, very sharp-looking. It’s hard to say what else might fall into the shipping box while I’m packing it up too, it’s been known to happen. Anyway, usual rules apply, leave a comment to enter,  I’ll announce a winner on Wednesday!

 

Winner!

 

Island LifestyleI almost forgot to announce the winner fo the Tommy Bahama ashtray and travel humidor, and Island Lifestyle Cigars!  I wore my blue check Tommy Bahama shirt yesterday with my blue check Vans, it was quite the look.  Many thanks to Ryan at Island Lifestyle Importers for providing this wonderful present! I can’t say how much I like the Tommy Bahama branded stuff, my wife told me I was crazy to give it away! But, giving is so much fun, so it’s off to Random.org to find the winner!  I’m not sure how this happened, but the winner is Andy Klueber.  Every once in a while someone calls their shot, but Andy chose the opposite, pessimistically entering saying he wasn’t going to win, several times! His number came up this time, and I’ll be sending him some great stuff!

 

That’s all for now! I got some chicken harnesses for Christmas so I can try taking chickens for a walk instead of Macha, that should get the neighbors talking….until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 3, 2016 · 10:57 am

Welcome to 2016 with Sobremesa, CAO, Bolivar and Joya de Nicaragua and Tops of 2015

It’s 2016 already!  It’s hard to believe we’re now in the second half of the second decade of the 21st century! Hopefully everything remains status quo in the cigar industry with the pending FDA nonsense and all. Today wraps up an almost two-week vacation for me, I have to summon the will to get up and go to work tomorrow! But I managed to squeeze a lot of fun in that two weeks.  My wife and I celebrated New Year’s by ringodriving to Cleveland, OH to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame there.  We got there Wednesday afternoon after driving all day, wandered into the casino around the corner from our hotel, and it smelled funny. I expect casinos to have a smokey aroma, and this one smelled clean.  Very strange, apparently Ohio has a pretty strict indoor smoking law, so we didn’t spend very long there. It was damned cold there too, so smoking a cigar outside wasn’t happening either.  Luckily, on the way back from visiting the Hall of Fame, which was great, cousinsBolivar_550although it seems like the singers and guitar players get all the glory, very few drum sets on display, we visited Cousins Cigars.  This shop had a smoking area, was ringed with cabinet humidors, and had a very nice classic selection. I picked up some of the new Bolivars and lit one up, and it was very good.  Is still don’t care for the bands, but the cigar is right up my alley, rich, dark and full flavored. It was a great way to end 2015, and the gentlemen in the lounge were very friendly and welcoming, and Sam, the shopkeeper was excellent as well.  I’d say this is a place to visit if you find yourself in Cleveland.

 

Sobremesa_El AmericanoMy first couple cigars of 2016 were pretty great. I started off with a Sobremesa El Americano Friday after driving home, mostly through snow.  As I’ve come to expect, this is a complex and delicious cigar with subtle and nuanced flavors.  Definitely a special occasion cigar. I still want to try the Robusto Largo size, but so far this is my favorite of the sizes I’ve tried. Yesterday I took a nice walk with a CAO Flathead Steel Horse Apehanger, ironically, the subject of the last giveaway CAO Flathead Steel Horse Apehangerof 2015, the winner of which will be announced in a bit. I really like the Flathead line in general, and I like what they did changing the wrapper from the Connecticut Broadleaf on the box pressed line, to a Connecticut Habano Oscuro on the round Steel Horse line. I  can’t imagine whoever wins these will be unhappy as they are a really good smoke to my palate. I still can’t figure out why the Steel Horse line extension isn’t listed on their website though, JoyadeNicaragua_CuatroCincoReservaEspecial_Toroyet the fact that the 660 Carb was Cigar Aficionados number 3 is noted (as it should be).  I finished off the day with a Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco Reserva Especial Toro. This cigar was released at last year’s IPCPR show, a tweaked version of the 2013 Cuatro Cinco that celebrated the companies 45 year anniversary. I guess Cuatro Siete was awkward. To me, this is reminiscent of the Antaño Dark Corojo with the rough edges knocked off. Its much more refined and smooth.  This is another great smoke to wrap up the New Years holiday.

 

While everyone else in the blogosphere is posting their lists of favorite cigars of the year, It was a very weird year for me, and with everything that went on for me personally, I will continue my tradition of not making a list. It gets easier every year not to make a list!  There were a lot of great cigars, and everyone’s palate is different. Kudos to everyone else for putting forth the effort to complete these lists.  For me, once again the important thing is the interaction with the readers. I resolve to do a better job of responding to the comments here, I appreciate every one of them and will do better at following up.  So my top five list is my loyal commentors:

 

Top5Commenters2015

 

Somehow Dan missed  commenting on 28 posts this year, as I hit an even 100 posts in 2015. So there’s your goal for 2016, make the list! I really do appreciate everyone reading along with my nonsense, thank you!

 

SteelHorse_LROn the contest results! This one actually got more entries than any of the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways this year. Maybe I need to rethink the way I do the December contests!  I have a few months to think about it.  The random number generator gave me 38, which corresponds to Bob Langmaid!  Please send me your address Bob! Hopefully you’ll share some of these with the other Langmaids I’ve seen entries from in contests over the years!  🙂  Once again, many thanks to Victoria at General Cigar Co. for sending this great box along to give away, and to Ricky Rodriguez and Ed McKenna at CAO for making great cigars. Please don’t expect another contest for a while, I’m all giveaway’d out!

 

That’s it for today!  I’ve got a Prime Living article due this week that I have to finish up this week, and some Christmas cleanup yet to do around the house, and a lot of “last day of vacation” stuff to get to, including taking a nice cigar for a long walk!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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