Tag Archives: CGars Ltd

My Father Connecticut, Oliva Orchant, a Little PDR, and a Toraño

imageSunday afternoon I took the two mile trip to the cigar shop since it was bitterly cold and windy.  I finally smoked the My Father Connecticut Toro.  This is a 6½” x 54 Ecuador wrapped beauty is made from tobacco grown on the Garcia’s farms in Nicaragua (except the wrapper) and cut and lit nicely. I was quite impressed with everything about this cigar. It burned perfectly, had a great draw and gave me a nice hour and a half or so of relaxation. I have been spending more time at this shop, but still haven’t wandered into the Montecristo Lounge, I just sat out in the front in a leather chair watching some golf, perusing some magazines and hanging out. I know the former owner, who still works there, but he wasn’t there. This Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is a winner, great smoking experience.

 

Oliva_Orchant Seleccion_SkinnyMonday was another cold night, so I went with a smaller cigar, the “Skinny” corona in Mitchell Orchant’s Oliva  Orchant Seleccion.  I smoked the 4″ x 60 Chubby a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it. This 5″ x 43 corona was excellent, although different from the Chubby. The flavor was more direct, less smooth and mellow than the larger ring.  Obviously the wrapper to filler ratio makes a very big difference, and I’m very interested in trying the robusto in this line to see if it falls in the middle.  I love all cigars, sometimes I like the sharper, more focussed flavors of a smaller ring gauge, other times I enjoy larger rings, they are generally a little cooler. Mostly I like a longer smoke though, as every cigar is  mini vacation.  It’s a shame these aren’t available on this side of the pond, I’m finding them to be a bit more refined than the already pretty refined Oliva Serie V.

 

AFlores_Gran Reserva_HalfCoronaTinTuesday I opted for a really short smoke, the A. Flores Gran Reserva Half Corona, a 2006 Dominican Corojo wrapped little flavor bomb from PDR Cigars. It has Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano filler, Dominican binder, and packs a lot of flavor into a 3½” x 46 cigar. This is a great half hour smoke, and gives a big cigar experience in a small package. These are available in neat tins that are very handy, and are really delicious little cigars.  Perfect for a frigid and busy evening.

 

Torano_Exodus50Years_RobustoWe’ve been furnace shopping, as ours is failing, and finally came to a decision. The new furnace and water heater goes in Friday. To celebrate I grabbed a favorite, the Toraño Exodus 1959 50 Year, with the copper colored bands.  This tasty 5″ x 50 robusto has a dark Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. I really love the flavor of this cigar, it has a unique toasty cocoa flavor that is very appealing. this one has been in the humidor for a while, and I hope that the change in ownership doesn’t change the flavor of this smoke. This is probably my favorite in the Exodus series.

 

That’s it for now, it’s been a wild week with the furnace and all. Fortunately we are getting it replaced before it fails completely, it’s really the wrong time of year fro that nonsense, and we’ve been unhappy with the hot water since we moved in. I really don’t want the water heater failing, that tends to get messy and we just had new carpet (and walls) in the room adjacent to the room with all the mechanicals. We are REALLY looking forward to spring!  That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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MBombay, La Sirena, EP Carillo, Inka Secret Blend and a Quesada Cigar

MBombay_Classic_ChurchillIt’s gotten darned cold here in PA, my enclosed porch is nice, but tonight I’m sitting in a Cigar Cigars store that’s two miles from home smoking a Quesada Oktoberfest that was on the half off table. Nice smoke, just getting it going. Sunday I smoked a couple Churchill sized cigars, a MBombay Classic with a Connecticut shade wrapper that was fantastic. It was creamy and well behaved and kept me company while I was on the phone holding for Verizon to no avail. Great afternoon cigar, ultra-premium well balanced and tasty. Not something you see everywhere, but worth finding. Later I had a La Sirena Trident Churchill from the original My Father made production and these are aging nicely. I look forward to comparing it to the new La Zone made line. Speaking of La Sirena, I wrote an article about the Oceano in the current issue of Prime Living magazine, which can be found on page 55 of the on-line version.  It’s nice to see a main stream magazine featuring a Cigar Notes piece in very issue. I’m proud to be a part of it.

 

EPCarillo_Core Maduro_EncatoMonday I lit up an EP Carillo Core Maduro Encanto that I brought back from the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. This cigar had a gnarly CoConnecticutroadleaf Maduro wrapper, very rustic. I usually find this to be a good sign! I was right, it was a really tasty cigar, loads with rich, dark flavors of espresso and dark cocoa. I haven’t smoked a great many EP Carrillo cigars over the past couple years.  Of course, I was a fan of the La Gloria Cubana line going back to the mid-90s, but I haven’t gotten around to sampling many of Ernie’s newer cigars. This one was a winner, right up my alley. The ugly broadleaf wrapper is really quite tasty and ads a nice sweetness.  Another great smoke with a great draw and burn.

 

InkaSecretBlend_coronaLast night I selected a cigar that’s due for its US launch in a couple weeks, but has been exclusively available at CGars Ltd in the UK. I’ve smoked a couple of these in various iterations over the years, and remember an interesting evening sitting at Casa Fuente in Vegas with Mitchell Orchant and his manufacturer in Peru, Genaro, testing prototypes. There was an ashtray loaded with cigars that only had an inch smoked, which brought questions from the waitstaff. Clearly they have improved the smokability of these as every one they lit up that night seemed to be plugged. I remember running into Genaro at the Draw Tester booth at the IPCPR sho and he was looking into the machines. Anyway, this is a Peruvian Puro and I like Peruvian tobacco. The cigar was 6″ x 46, had a roll reminiscent of a Havana, a bit on the loose side, but had a great burn and draw. There was a nice sweetness and it was a really great smoke. I have smoked the 6×60 size and think the 6×46 size is a better representation of the blend.

 

imageThis Quesada Oktoberfest is really good, even in the 6×60 size. Very rich and flavorful, but the shop closed at 7pm, so I had to take the rest of the cigar home to finish on the porch. I tried taking the dog for a walk, but the temps are in single digits and neither of us were happy about it. It’s a long burning cigar, well worth the $5 I paid for it from the discount rack.  I suppose the size didn’t sell well, but it was  a really tasty cigar, and I am quite glad I picked up a couple. It was very nice, with a savory flavor to it. The Cigar Cigars shop is only two miles from home, so I can see visiting it with some regularity.  It’s got a nice selection and a Montecristo Lounge that while I haven’t set foot in yet, looks comfortable. I’m happy sitting in the front of the store as it’s quite comfortable as well.

 

That’s about it for today.  I need to get it together and get Mark’s goodies shipped out to him. I need to find a big enough box to hold it all!  I’ve been slacking. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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