Tag Archives: cohiba

by Craig Vanderslice | April 26, 2020 · 12:08 pm

Cohiba Royale, Providencia Barrel Aged Old Fashion Cigars

I had a busy week working on a side project, and I slacked of on original content and made up for it with a bunch of news pieces through the week. So I had the luxury of smoking some old favorites, some older than others. One notable cigar was a Fuente Hemingway Classic. For along time I preferred the Signature over the Classic, it seemed like the Classics I smoked all had a metallic flavor to them I didn’t like. Granted, this was in the ’90s, and several factors change. The box I’ve had in the humidor for the last three or four years has been spectacular. A La Sirena Trident (Churchill) from he first batch that La Zona made was equally enjoyable. Yesterday I smoked a Nica Rustica Belly from a bundle I bought at the release party in Louisville, KY in July of 2015 that was wonderful, and a Room 101 Uncle Lee from the end of Matt Booth’s Davidoff years. And then, there was the new stuff…

It seems like every blogger and his brother has been reviewing the new Cohiba Royale. I apologize for being another one of them. I suppose when General Cigar sends a bunch of folks samples in the mail, and people can’t get to stores to buy new cigars to review or talk about, this sort of redundancy, repetitiveness, repeating oneself, saying he same thing over and over, will happen. I know that my inventory of newer cigars is running low. Enough excuses. This new Cohiba is interesting. It’s also expensive. Granted, it’s less than one third the price of the Cohiba Spectre, but it’s still not a cheap date. The Royale runs from $23.99 to $28.99, which is much more than my usual cigar budget, so smoking this falls into “treat” territory. I suppose the special occasion is surviving another day of global pandemic madness. Anyhoo, this particular Cohiba hits a few milestones for the brand. It’s the first to be made at HATSA in Honduras. This factory makes Punch, Hoyo and the like. This is also the first to use a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper, and this is what really makes this cigar special in my opinion. The binder is Dominican Piloto Cubano and the fillers are from the Jamastran Valley in Honduras and Jalapa and Esteli in Nicaragua. I personally find the cigar to be quite delicious, and I can’t wait to see what some age does to this blend, even though they say that the tobaccos have five to six years age already. It has some sweetness and spice, but there is a little sour note here and there that makes it interesting. I smoked the toro, which is the largest size, and I would have liked a better burn and draw from a cigar in this price range, but that should come with some humidor time as these samples were only about a week off the truck. I look forward to the day when I can catch up with Sean Williams and smokes one of these with him.

The other new cigar I smoked was another one from Providencia Cigars. This one gave me pause, being a non-drinker. It’s the Barrel Aged Old Fashion, and had a pronounced “boozy” aroma to me. After almost thirty years of not drinking, it’s not like something like this is going to make me fal of the wagon, there’s nothing to worry about there. I actually have some liquor in the house for guests, it’s never a temptation. What it means is that I really have no frame of reference for booze related flavors. I don’t think I have ever had an Old Fashion, if I have it was over 30 years ago. I was more of a beer and shots guy than a cocktail guy when I drank. So this cigar was a toro sized cigar, wrapped in a San Andrés wrapper with an Indonesian binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan Ometepe in the filler blend. The magic happens when they age the cigars for four months in barrels that contained Old Fashion cocktail drink from the Little Water Distillery in Atlantic City, NJ. I was a little surprised that the cigars were in the barrel in cello, but that goes to show you that cello

is permeable, and I’m sure it reduces damage to the cigars. The cigar smoked beautifully, like every Providencia cigar I’ve ever smoked. There are a couple small Honduran cigar factories that are making exceptional cigars, and Providencia is one of them. I suppose an Old Fashioned has some sweetness, because there was a nice sweetness to this cigar. This is basically the Providencia Bloodshot blend, aged in the barrels, so the cocoa and dark chocolate are enhanced with the sweetness. I enjoyed it, even if I couldn’t relate to the liquor aspect of the cigar. I may have to root around and see if I have a Bloodshot to compare it to! Providencia Cigars never seem to disappoint, and I am so grateful to Ray for sharing his new blends with me.

That’s al for today, be safe out there, support your local retailers so you have somplace to go when things open up again, and enjoy your day. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Barrel Aged Old Fashioned, cigar, cigars, cohiba, Hemingway, La Sirena, Nica Rustica, Providencia, Room 101, Royale, Uncle Lee

by Craig Vanderslice | April 6, 2020 · 5:30 pm

News: General Cigar Co. Announces Cohiba Royale

Here’s some news from the folks at General Cigar. There hasn’t been a lot of news coming out recently. I find it interesting that this is being made in Honduras. I’m not sure why this is significant, or if it is. Maybe it’s a matter of factory capacity, I’m not sure. It kind of looks like a (ahem) “budget” Spectre. I smoked a Spectre on the first day of my last job, I hope I get to smoke another one soon!

The artisans of Cohiba are proud to present COHIBA ROYALE, a super-premium collection that joins the Cohiba portfolio as the brand’s fullest-bodied expression to date. Cohiba Royale also marks another important milestone for the brand, as it is the first Cohiba line to be handcrafted in Honduras.

Cohiba Brand Ambassador Sean Williams said, “Cohiba Royale was created with the cigar connoisseur in mind, bringing to life the microclimates and fertile soils of the Caribbean and Central America in a way that is unique to the brand. All of the tobaccos that comprise Cohiba Royale are hand-selected and deeply aged, representing the best of the best tobacco growing regions in the world. The result is a cigar that is as bold as it is refined, befitting of the Cohiba name.”

A dimensional, multi-country blend with tobaccos from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, Cohiba Royale provides the most profound smoking experience of the renowned Cohiba brand.

Cohiba Royale begins with a lustrous, sun-grown wrapper from Nicaragua’s celebrated Jalapa Valley. In a nod to Cohiba’s Dominican roots, the Jalapa wrapper crowns a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder which sits atop a quintessential selection of tobacco from Honduras’ Jamastran valley and the Nicaraguan valleys of Jalapa and Esteli. Each leaf of the blend has undergone intensive aging for five to six years before being deemed worthy of inclusion in Cohiba Royale.

The result is a balanced cigar that is best described as sublime, as notes of leather and spice mingle with nuances of earth and cedar.

Cohiba Royale is handcrafted at General Cigar’s HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras, where a special team of artisan cigar makers was selected to produce this full-time addition to the Cohiba portfolio.

Available in these three sizes, Cohiba Royale will ship to retailers in April. The line will be available in both 5-count and 10-count boxes.

Gran Royale (4.5” x 52): SRP per cigar $23.99

Robusto Royale (5.5” x 54); SPR per cigar $25.99

Toro Royale (6” x 50); SPR per cigar $28.99

In support of Cohiba Royale, Sean Williams will visit fine cigar shops nationwide to share the blend with discerning cigar smokers.

For more information about Cohiba, please visit www.cohiba.com.

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, cohiba, General Cigar Co., Royale

by Craig Vanderslice | December 1, 2019 · 12:07 pm

An Epic Maduro, A Cohiba and a Couple of Joyas and a Rant

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and had plenty to eat and adequate cigars! I took some along to the feast I attended, but it was too windy and cold to enjoy one, so I waited until I got home and enjoyed an Ashton VSG on the porch. I usually reach for a classic cigar of some sort on days such as this, and after spending over five hours in the car and a long day of eating, the VSG was a delightful end to a long day. Because of the holiday it was a slow news week, and I was lazy about a midweek post, so I slacked off this week. Let’s make up for it today. Early in the week I dug deep in the humidor and pulled out one of the original Epic Maduro Double Coronas from my stash of Epic cigars. I knew it was an old one because it only had the Epic band, no second band with the “maduro” designation. Oddly, the website incorrectly lists the Double Corona as 5″ x 54, when it’s clearly 6″, Dean will need to look into that. This maduro is a Brazilian Arapiraca, over a Cameroon binder with Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers made in the Charles Fairmorn Factory in the DR, the same factory that makes Kristoff cigars. I think the Cameroon binder is one of the things that makes me love this cigar, I’m drawn to maduros with a Cameroon binder, Cro-Magnon immediately comes to mind. Age has been kind to this cigar, it was smooth, rich, with coffee and sweetness and some earthiness. According to Dean Parsons, Epic Cigars have been in “10x production” and have something new planned for 2020. I’m excited as I’ve never met an Epic cigar I didn’t enjoy!

Also this week I smoked a Cohiba Connecticut again. I had listened to Sean Williams on a podcast and he talked about this cigar and I realized I hadn’t smoked it in a long time, so I thought I’d smoke one. Funny thing is I had hung out with both Sean and Dean at a shop in Philly a few years back, before Sean was with General Cigars, I hadn’t made that connection until just now. Anyway, I like their idea of a Robusto, it’s 5½” x 50, and it has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, San Andrés binder and the fillers are Brazilian Matafina, Jalapa, Nicaragua and Piloto Cubano and Olor from the DR. I actually found this to be almost off-puttingly strong to start! Maybe my expectation of a mild cigar was the problem, but it just seemed overly powerful. It settled down, and was very good. It isn’t a mild cigar, it has some oomph, but it does have the creamy, grassy flavor of the Ecuador Connecticut. Overall it was a very good, satisfying cigar and, of course, the construction was spot on, and for a $16 stick, it certainly should be, heck, and $8 cigar should be constructed right, or a $4 cigar for that matter. If it isn’t made right, what’s the point? In another website gripe, Cohiba needs to update their website.

Let’s take a break and let me get something off my chest. Long time reader Bob L. brought up a great point on a Facebook group yesterday regarding the etiquette behind using a product I’ve promoted here on my site. I feel that since I’ve used the product and endorsed it, I should weigh in here in more detail than I did in response to his post. Bob’s question was, more or less (I was going to quote it verbatim, but the post must have been deleted from the facebook group because I can’t find any reference to it!), is it appropriate to use the Cigarmedics HumidiMeter on a cigar in a store before you buy it? The short answer is “NO”, but I think some common sense reasoning and explanation is in order. After you buy the cigar it’s yours to do with as you please, but once you stick the probes of the Cigarmedics HumidiMeter in the cigar it belongs to you in my opinion. You’ve “broken the seal” by penetrating the cigar, no different from licking it or cutting it. In that thread there was some discussion of the utility of the tool in general, bruoght up by Skip Martin, who made some valid points. It’s important to know that this tool should be used to set a baseline. Different blends will smoke better at different moisture contents. It takes a while to get to know the acceptable range where generally cigars can be expected to perform well. Too wet and too dry should stick out like a sore thumb. Remember, as nice a tool as the HumidiMeter is, it’s a consumer item and is inexpensive, it’s not a lab grade instrument like Saka has, and Saka knows what absolute moisture level each one of his blends (he would say “ligas”), should be to smoke right. Also keep in mind that the HumidiMeter converts the absolute moisture number to a Relative Humidity equivalent number that we can relate to our humidors. This is all going a long way to say not to use the HumidiMeter in a store before you buy a cigar!

OK, The last two cigars I smoked were, once again, from my friends at Joya de Nicaragua. It seems like just last week I included a pair of Joyas in my Sunday Post, in actuality, it was. For some reason, some Joya de Nicaragua Numero Uno L’Ambassadeur ended up in my humidor, and I really needed to smoke one. This was originally the Number 1, only available as an event only cigar, or, before that, as a diplomatic gift for ambassadors from Nicaragua. It’s a Lonsdale with a fantail cap, measuring 6 5/8″ x 44, and has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers, just like the Joya de Nicaragua Classico. These are not a cheap date either, and come in a beautiful blue lacquer box. Like the above mentioned Cohiba, also not inexpensive, this is a Connecticut cigar with some strength and loads of flavor. Skip the narrow ring gauge, wrapper to filler ration BS, smoked slower, this was a smooth as silk smoke, creamy, elegant with enough spice to keep it interesting. Super yummy, and deserving of the accolades it’s received, and many thanks to my friends at JdN for sharing these with me!

Finally, I decided to give the Joya Black another try. Since these came out I wanted to like them. It has a San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler, what’s not to like, right? It’s always perplexed me why I didn’t love this cigar. OK, the first few I smoked I struggled with poor draws, tight, either over-humidified, or over-filled, not sure which. I let them sit in the humidor for a long time, smoked some from different batches, couldn’t really get any flavor. I decided to give one another go, this time in the Double Robusto shape, 5″ x 56. Draw was perfect, burn was perfect, it was either very mild, or there just wasn’t a lot of flavor. I remain perplexed. There is a sour note when I do get some flavor, and it just doesn’t seem to be a cigar I enjoy very much. I don’t get it. This is a real scratcher for me. I should absolutely love this cigar, it’s from Joya, it’s got the right components, what the heck? I the “Joya” series, I really like the Silver and Cabinetta, and I’m pretty apathetic about the Red, and the one that should be at the top of my list based upon my overall likes, is at the bottom. Weird stuff, man.

That’s should about do it for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as cigar, CigarMedics, cigars, cohiba, connecticut, Epic, Humidimeter, Joya Black, joya de nicaragua, Numero Uno

by Craig Vanderslice | May 26, 2019 · 10:35 am

Henry Clay War Hawk, a Gurkha Ghost, a Hamlet Liberation and a Cohiba Connecticut Cigar

I had a visit to Goose’s shop in Limerick this week as my wife had a meeting with Goose to work on a super secret project, so I picked up a few cigars while there, and smoke the new addition to the Henry Clay line, the War Hawk. I’ve been looking forward to trying this new addition to a line I’ve long been fond of, going back to the days when they were ugly things. I really like the Stalk Cut, despite the silliness of the name (all the Connecticut Broadleaf and Habano tobacco in stalk cut anyway, so it’s really no big deal), it’s a poor man’s Henry Clay Tattoo, which is a spectacular cigar. The cigar is beautiful, with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper, Broadleaf binder and Honduran fillers, made at Altadis’ Flor de Copan factory in Honduras (which is for sale, by the way, a few billion and it could be yours). I really liked this cigar for what it was, as it bore no resemblance, in my opinion, to a Henry Clay that I could think of. It stood on it’s own as a really great tasting cigar with a nice nutty flavor with balanced nicely with the sweetness of the broadleaf binder and the earthiness of the Honduran fillers and was, overall, a really enjoyable medium bodied cigar!

A few months ago I was headed to the airport to pick up my son and stopped in Jacoub’s Cigars in Ridley Park, which is only about four miles from PHL. I didn’t have time for a cigar, but I bought a few, and one of the ones that caught my eye was a short, fat Gurkha Ghost perfecto. This cigar was about 4″ x 60, I guess, I neither took the time to note the size or name of the cigar when I bought it, and the little bit of research I did when I decided to smoke it turned up no information. To be honest, I didn’t look that hard. People tend to crap all over the Gurkha brand, I know they have a bunch of bundle-esque stuff in the catalogue market and they hype a lot of stuff too much, but there are a bunch of cigars in their portfolio that are worthy of mention, and the Ghost, to me, at least, is one of them. I got a late start and was looking for a shorter smoke, and this short perfecto was about what I needed. It’s just about the same size and shape of a Flying Pig, with a Brazilian, Arapiraca Maduro wrapper, Criollo ’98 binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It looks like they call this vitola the “Spook”, I just did a little more research. Anyway, it’s made in a major factory, Placencia or someone like that, and it burns well, has a great flavor and I was satisfied by the experience. Ghost, most of the Cellar Reserves and Seduction are all Gurkha cigars I enjoy.

While at Goose’s, Alex Kraft, the local Rocky Patel rep, happened to stop in with Dave Bullock, the VP of sales who was traveling with him. I had not met Dave before, and hadn’t seen Alex in some time, so it was nice to get aquatinted. Somehow or other a rather large Hamlet Liberation found its way into my pocket, Goose had something to do with it. This is a 6 ½ x 55 large toro with a tapered head and a shaggy foot. A very interesting looking cigar. I lit the unfinished foot and expected the flavor to change once it started burning the Habano wrapper, but, sadly, I never really noticed a difference. It was a good cigar, well behaved, and certainly good for about 2 hours of smoking time. there was never a real “wow” moment, but it was a solid, good tasting cigar. It has some spice and woody flavors and is and all-around good cigar. I enjoyed the size and shape of the cigar, the classic Cuban “109” style head is unique and interesting,

My last cigar to talk about today is the new Cohiba Connecticut. This cigar hit the shelves in March, and was a late addition to my sample humidor, but a welcomed one. I certainly don’t mind sampling new cigars, but I rarely (read: never) will splurge on a $20 cigar, and this starts at $19.99 for the Robusto, which is the vitola which was generously supplied to me by General Cigar Co. It’s 5½” x 50, which is a nice size, and has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper which is grown by an independent grower in the Los Rios Province in Ecuador. It has Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Piloto Cubana and Nicaraguan Jalapa in the filler blend, and,not unlike the classic Macanudo, it has a San Andrés binder. It got me thinking that I might have to revisit what I consider a miss in the Cohiba portfolio, the Blue, the OSA wrapped “budget” priced Cohiba, just to see if that’s gotten any better over time. This Connecticut was a good Connecticut cigar. It was on the high side of mild, with good flavor, some sweet notes to balance the bitterness of the shade leaf, and an over-all nice smoke. I kind of forgot I was smoking a high-end, luxury cigar for a while there as the burn was a bit funky. At this level, I rather expect perfection in the burn and draw, and the burn was wavy and required some correction. I expect a certain aesthetic, that I certainly forgive in a lower priced cigar. I seem to remember having the same complaint with the much more expensive Septre. Obviously, this is targeting a certain niche market, and I may not fit into that niche, but it’s a good smoke, if you have a chance to smoke one, don’t be afraid of being disappointed!

OK, that’s enough for today, time to get moving. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I’ll be working tomorrow, although I was lucky enough to have a rare weekend off. Remember why we celebrate. Enjoy some good cigars while remembering those who gave their lives so that you can enjoy yours. Also remember those family members who lost loved ones, they sacrificed too. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, cohiba, Ghost, Gurkha, Hamlet, Henry Clay, rocky patel, War Hawk

by CigarCraig | February 7, 2019 · 5:39 pm

News: General Cigar Announces Cohiba Connecticut

Here’s some news from General Cigar Co. about a new offering from Cohiba, their first Connecticut shade cigar. I gotta say, for an Ecuador Connecticut, it carries a pretty hefty price tag. I’m generally a fan of GCC and Sean Williams, but a cigar has to be pretty darned special to pry a $20 out of my wallet…and I’ve become a bit of a cigar snob of late.

The artisans of Cohiba are proud to unveil COHIBA CONNECTICUT, a super-premium release that marks an important milestone for the brand, as this is the first Cohiba to be wrapped in Connecticut Shade.

Cohiba Brand Ambassador Sean Williams said, “Our agronomists partnered with an independent grower in Ecuador’s Los Rios province to produce a silky and lustrous Ecuadoran Connecticut Shade wrapper. Unlike cloth-covered fields that shield the tobacco from the blistering sun in Connecticut, this special wrapper is grown beside Ecuador’s Vinces River and beneath the thick, natural cloud cover that blankets the region. The volcanic soil yielded a wrapper that was intentionally developed for its aesthetic qualities, with veins that are barely perceptible. Looks aside, the wrapper is ideal for blending, as it maximizes the filler and binder leaves.”

Brazilian Mata Fina and Dominican Piloto Cubano lend complexity to the blend, and Nicaraguan Jalapa enhances the strength of the cigar, while Dominican Olor adds depth to the smoke. A Mexican San Andrean binder complements the filler leaves and delivers optimal combustibility. This is a mild-to-medium-bodied smoke with a rich aroma and compelling notes of sweetness and spice.

Cohiba Connecticut is handcrafted by artisans at General Cigar Dominicana and is a full-time addition to the Cohiba portfolio. It will ship to retailers in early March and will be available in these four sizes: