This week was a bit of a blur, welcome to summer, the fastest season of the year! I guess I just love the hot weather, spending time in the pool with a nice cigar, or jumping in the pool and taking a walk with a cigar afterwards. That’s why the summer is gone before I know it. It’s a much more pleasant time than winter when you can’t get enough clothes on to keep warm! Case in point, I got home from work Thursday and jumped in the pool, then took a Arandoza Blue Label Robusto for a walk. This is a newer cigar that’s made in the La Zona factory in Esteli by Erik Espinosa for a gentleman named Robert Arango. I’ve smoked a few of these and enjoyed them. It’s a tasty, medium to full bodied cigar that is well made. I haven’t smoked much out of the LA Zona factory, but what I have smoked I’ve enjoyed. This is priced in the $6-7 range which is pretty good for a small boutique brand. I’ll have to look for Arandoza Cigars at the IPCPR show.
Friday I got around to smoking my traditional new grandchild cigar. A little back story: a little over two years ago our first granddaughter was born, and on that particular day Guillermo Leon was spending the day at The Wooden Indian in Havertown, ironically the town where my daughter lives. Also important to note that my daughter’s name is Aurora. So I went there for a smoke and Chris Lenzo, our area Miami Cigar and Co. Rep gave me a La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003 as a new grandpa gift. I ran across a good deal on some of these some time later and grabbed a few for just such an occasion. I only have two left, so one of these days the tradition will end, and when my sons get around to procreating I’ll find another traditional cigar to smoke, and I’m not anticipating my daughter and her husband having two more kids! Anyway, this is an enormous Salamone, measuring 7 ½ x 58, and took a long time to smoke. Barry Stein once told me this was the only cigar he’s ever had that tasted like sunflower seeds, and I always have that in my mind when I smoke these and can kinda get what he’s saying. There is a hint of that flavor there. It’s an interesting smoke that I enjoy as much for the memories it evokes than the flavor.
Saturday was a beautiful day and after running some errands and doing a little yard work I settled in to my chair on the patio with a H. Upmann Legacy robusto that I had picked up earlier in the week. This was a well packed 5″ x 54 robusto with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper that was quite nice looking. It was a little tighter on the draw than I prefer, but it smoked well and had an acceptable flavor. I can’t say that it lived up to some of the reviews I’ve read or heard, because I found it to be rather uncomplicated and average. Was it worth the $4.99 I paid for it? Sure, and I will let the other one I have rest for a while and see how it fares. It was a beautiful day to sit in the sun and relax with a smoke, so it certainly fit the need. I had to go to a retailers website for size information, it’s annoying when the sizes aren’t listed on the manufacturers website.
My Saturday evening smoke was a Tatuaje Monster Series Wolfman which was gifted to me some time ago by a work associate. I’ve had absolutely no experience with the Monsters, other than reading all of the reviews and hype when they are released every year. Heck, I barely have any experience with the Tatuaje line itself! I figured the time was right and pulled this 7½ x 52 box pressed torpedo with the last ¾” of the foot devoid of wrapper (just binder exposed) out and took it for a walk with the dog. This had a great draw, although I had to correct the draw every now and then. I rather enjoyed the flavor, although from what I can tell, I prefer the flavors in the Reserva line or the La Casita Criolla line over this one. All in all, it’s still not a cigar I’d stand in line for or really go out of my way to obtain, but it was a delicious and enjoyable smoke that I enjoyed to a finger-burning nub.
History
This “infographic” was created by the folks at Tobacco Specialists in the UK. It may not display well on some devices, clicking on the image will take you to their site where it may display better. I think it’s pretty interesting, however I think the last item about the e-cigarette could be omitted since it, by it’s very definition, isn’t tobacco. Enjoy!
That’s enough for today, time to get some things done around here so I can relax in the pool with a cigar again! Finally, please welcome CigarAdvisor.com to the CigarCraig family of advertisers! They recently re-launched with a cutting edge interface and contributions from all of the legends in the cigar biz in a magazine format. They’ve done a nice job presenting new and unique content in a new and unique way.
Until the next time,
CigarCraig
