Tag Archives: Cigar Brothers

La Gloria, Marrero, Camacho, Joya de Nicaragua and Alec Bradley Cigars

LaGloriaCubana_SerieREsteli_64It’s October, ant the weather is crappy and everything’s starting to change. I finally got fed up enough with my 6-year-old laptop
Sunday after wasting a whole day waiting for webpages to load and writing my posts, that I ran out and bought a new one. So now I’m working on getting all my files copied off the old one and trying to get used to this Windows 10 nonsense as well as the new keyboard. I’m happy with it so far, I just have to find the graphics program I’m used to and install it and how it works, and generally get used to it. To celebrate, I grabbed a favorite cigar in a size I’ve never had. This 64 ring gauge La Gloria Cubana Serie R Esteli was a gift from Mark last week when we met up in Maryland.  I love the flavor of this cigar, and while I probably wouldn’t have chosen this size, it was a spectacular smoke and it was just what the doctor ordered after a hectic day.  I find the Brick & Mortar only Esteli a richer and more flavorful cigar when compared to the Serie R Black that came out at the same time and is only found in the mail order sites (and their B&Ms if you’re lucky enough to visit one). The 6¼” x 64 Serie R Esteli smoked very well for a god 2 hours.  I’m a LGC fan in general, but this line is my favorite of the bunch.

 

Marrero_TesoroMio_6x60Monday I learned a valuable lesson, don’t select a mild cigar to smoke after eating Cajun food. OK, this is something I already knew, and one of the pitfalls of smoking trade show samples that are unfamiliar. The Marrero Tesoro Mio 6×60  is an Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigar with an Indonesian binder and Costa Rican/”Proprietary” fillers. The second half seemed to cut through the damage done by the Cajun spices a bit better, either due to the cigar picking up strength or the spices from the food wearing off, but it turned out to be a very tasty mild cigar.  Marrero was a new brand to me this year, I never heard of them before, but there have been so many really great cigars being made in Costa Rica lately I wanted to give them a try. I’m impressed so far, I say give them a try if you come across them.

 

Camacho_AmericanBarrelAged_ToroSince I already smoked one cigar out of the sampler I got from Davidoff, I figured there’s no reason not to start smoking my way through it. The next cigar in there that sparked my curiosity was the new American Barrel Aged Toro from Camacho. This one got a lot of hype at the show, they had a large flaming display at the booth, I suppose having to do with aging the tobacco in charred bourbon barrels.  It took me a bit to make that connection, since I don’t drink and really don’t have the knowledge base in that area anymore. On a side note, did you know there was alcoholic ginger beer? We went out to eat yesterday at a local pub, the Flying Pig Saloon, which has hundreds of beers on the menu, but also has pretty great sandwiches.  I ordered a ginger beer since I knew they had it, and was brought an alcoholic  ginger beer which I, not knowing any better, poured and took a sip of before looking at the bottle.  Had I known, I would have been specific, but I suppose it being a bar and all I shouldn’t have been surprised the waitress jumped to the conclusion she did. They probably only keep the non-alcoholic ginger beer for mixers, and I’m probably one of the few who orders it as is.  Anyway, I had a great sandwich with all the food groups: chicken, beef and bacon.  Where was I?  The Camacho American Barrel Aged Toro.  This is a unique cigar in that it uses a  bunch of USA grown leaf, a Broadleaf wrapper and binder (noted as “American” in the literature, but one can assume Connecticut), more American Broadleaf in the filer, as well as Pennsylvania Maduro (probably more broadleaf) and the Corojo that they age in the bourbon barrels. I really enjoyed the cigar, it would have been a better choice to follow the spicy Cajun dinner, it was a bold, full flavored cigar. I don’t have the frame of reference to pick out any bourbon flavor as it’s probably been 30 years since I had a sip of whisky (or whiskey, I know there’s a difference, I just don’t know what it is), and then it was something like Old Granddad.  I enjoyed it, I’d smoke it again, and I’d certainly keep some on hand, it was quite enjoyable and a bit different from what I expect from a Camacho. A cigar that lives up to the hype.

 

JoyadeNicaragua_CuatroCibco_ReservaEspecialThursday I grabbed the new Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco Reserva Especial.  It’s no longer the company’s 45 anniversary, and the Cuatro Cinco that they came out with last year (or the year before? I lost track), was spectacular. I went into this year Reserva Especial with expectations of a better version of the original, as unreasonable as that seemed.  This is another cigar that employs barrel aging, and the major difference between this cigar and the original seems to be that they used a Dominican binder where as the original release was a Nicaraguan Puro.  One geek note here, I find it interesting that they refer to the binder as “a carefully selected volado Dominican binder”. The term “volado” sticks out to me. In Nicaragua, the primings are generally referred to as Seco, Viso and Ligero, going from the bottom of the plant to the top. In the DR, they use the terms Volado, Seco and Ligero, which really goofed me up the time I took part in a blending session in the DR.  So to translate from DR to Nicaragua, Volado=Seco, Seco=Viso and Ligero=Ligero. I guess my point is that a lower priming Dominican binder technically shouldn’t have a lot of flavor, and maybe that what I found missing from this cigar, at least in comparison to the original Cuatro Cinco.  If the Cuatro Cinco was a more refined version of the Antaño Dark Corojo (which is my impression), then this Reserva Especial is a more refined version of the Cuatro Cinco.  It was smooth, elegant with a rich, but never overpowering flavor. I enjoyed it once I got past my preconceived notion of what I thought it would be.

 

AlecBradleySanctumI wrapped up the week with a visit to a newer local shop, Cigar Brothers in Berwyn, PA.  Jon Lipson from Alec Bradley was there doing an event, so I dropped in for a smoke. It was too rainy and crappy for a walk anyway.  I picked up a couple of the new Sanctum in Toro and Gordo which I had yet to try. I was looking for Coyol, which I’ve heard good things about, but they didn’t have any.  The Sanctum has a Costa Rican binder and fillers from Columbia as well as Honduras and Nicaragua, which give it a little different flavor.  It’s got a nice looking Honduran Corojo wrapper as well.  Both Cigar Brothers were there, Craig and Chuck, and I enjoyed a pleasant evening smoking a tasty cigar and chatting with these fine gentlemen.  It would have been nice to have seen more people there, and as much as I like the set up of this store, with a large, fully humidified sales floor downstairs, and small, intimate lounge areas upstairs, it doesn’t lend itself to events too much. If the weather is nice and they put up a tent in the parking lot it’s great, and if you want to meet s couple people for a quiet smoke and conversation, this place is  great. The selection is very good too. I enjoyed the heck out of the Sanctum, as I do many of the Alec Bradley offerings. I missed visiting the booth at the show, they were busy whenever I walked by, but I came home with a couple of the new offerings too which I look forward to trying.

 

The Monte Pascoal brand from Brazil is once again being distributed in the US by Multiverse Commerce in the Boston Area. I have a couple Double Coronas on deck that you will hear about soon, and they will be announcing some specials that will allow my readers to get some great discounts and specials in the near future. I’ve wondered what became of this line, as I have been a fan for several years now, but I think the Double Corona is about the only size I never smoked so there won’t be any comparisons. Monte Pascoal was rather known for blending each size a little differently too, with the larger vitolas being a good bit milder than the smaller. I’m looking forward to revisiting this old favorite anyway, so stay tuned for more info and some discount codes.  Also, The Smoking’ Goose multi-vendor event which was supposed to have been yesterday in Limerick, PA was postponed until Saturday, October 17, so there’s still time to get tickets at TheSmokinGoose.com.

 

That’s about it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

3 Comments

Filed under Review

Cigar Brothers, Wooden Indian, Cigar Mojo and the Fratello Bianco Toro

I had a pretty busy week this week, visiting cigar store and hanging out with some great folks, smoking great cigars!  I was actually planning to stop in to Smoke Cigar Lounge in Manyunk, PA, just outside Philadelphia, but traffic was backed up, and it sounded like they were having a street festival on the main street there, so we gave up on that idea and stopped at a new shop only a few miles from home called Cigar Brothers in Berwyn, PA. This shop is an old house, and the downstairs part is the store, all humidified with the cigars out on  shelves. The selection was very good,lots of boutiques as well as old standards. I grabbed a few CAO Flathead Sparkplugs CAOFlatheadSparkplugand some Rocky Patel Super Ligeros and chatted with the properly named co-owner, Craig. The lounge is upstairs, basically two rooms and a hall with a bathroom. It’s not a great space for an event, as there’s no one large gathering area, but it’s nice for just hanging out with a few people. It’s bright and comfortable and well ventilated. I smoked the CAO Sparkplug there, as we had spent the afternoon in traffic and Craig was closing in an hour. I love the Flathead line, and really like this little cigar.  It’s rich, full-bodied and burns right.  We had a great afternoon talking to Craig and hanging out in this new shop that I think will do well.

 

Nica Rustica_El BrujitoThis weekend was Famous Smoke Shop’s Cigarnival event, which I’ve attended in the past, so there have been a bunch of “cigarlebrities” in the general vicinity.  Wednesday my oldest son and I went down to the Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA where they were having a Drew Estate event with Chris Stone and Pedro Gomez.  Pedro runs the Cigar Safari and tours the US doing events in the off-season.  My son hadn’t seen him since we were in Nicaragua in 2011, so it was a nice reunion and it was nice to go out and have a cigar with the kid for a change. I went with another favorite, the Nica Rustica. It looks like it’s a Maduro week!  Great cigar, great friends, and a great shop. I even won an Acid Fat Tips t-shirt, who remembers those? I never smoked one, but it was supposed to be a mass market Acid with a plastic tip, but it never really caught on.  Anyway, if you haven’t met Pedro, don’t miss the chance, and if you have, well, you know why I’m recommending you meet him! I didn’t take one darned picture the whole evening dammit.

 

Mojo1Thursday found me at Cigar Mojo for a packed house. Earlier in the day they had visits from Nick Perdomo and Jesus Fuego, but the evening event featured Aging Room Cigars and Rafael Nodal, along with his sons Carlos and Rafael Jr.  I continued the maduro theme with an Aging Mojo2Room Maduro that was the free cigar with purchase, Rafael said the bundle came from his personal humidor and they were from the initial release. Once again, this was a nice smoke, very rich with a nice sweet mocha vibe, fortunately I picked up a few more, as well as some Mojo3Havao. I generally run into someone I know there and caught up with some old acquaintances from another shop I’ve been to. I had a nice time conversing with Rafael and his sons, Rafael is one of the nicest guys around.

 

Fratello_Bianco_IIFriday evening I was back in my routine of taking Macha for a walk and enjoying a cigar, and I selected a Fratello Bianco II Toro to celebrate the end of another week. Omar made this cigar with me specifically in mind! (I have an e-mail from him saying that, but I don’t really buy it…). The San Andreas wrapper is a beautiful dark brown with a sheen of oil, it’s dark, even though the cigar is named “White”. It has a Dominican binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Peru and Pennsylvania, my home state (maybe Omar wasn’t blowing smoke up my skirt after all! **now there’s a mental image for you!**).  If I knew nothing more than the composition of this cigar I’d figure it was a really good chance I’d love it, but I also know where it’s made and the guy behind it, there would have to be something monumentally wrong for me not to like this cigar.  As it turns out, all my preconceptions did not lead to disappointment.  The Fratello Bianco is a brilliant cigar. It has the similarity to strong, bitter black coffee that I like, as well as a solid core of savory flavor and perhaps a hint of sweetness. This is an after dinner espresso (double, it was a 6″x 50 toro after all).  I dig it, I can’t wait to smoke the 5″ x 56 III and the corona that Omar so generously sent to me, and buy some of these when they hit the stores. I may even put the mooch on Omar at the trade show in a few weeks (naw, I’ll leave the samples for the retailers…). This is a winner, hands down.  Molto buon sigaro!

 

So ends another week. It did nothing but rain yesterday, so I got nothing done save for smoking a nice Inca Secret Blend Imperio after dinner on the back porch, breaking my maduro binge.  If you happen to find yourself in Easton, PA today (Sunday June 28), Rafael Nodal is going to be playing piano at Leaf, the great restaurant at Famous Smokeshop.  Going to events at shops is a great way to increase your appreciation for cigars, as well as add some new stock to your humidors. Support your local retailers, and Cigar Rights of America while you’re at it!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

2 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores