Tag Archives: East India Trading Co.

by CigarCraig | November 6, 2015 · 9:13 pm

First Wednesday Contest Two Days Late, and a Kilo Cigar

I missed the Wednesday post, it’s been a hellish week at work, so I blew it off. I asked on the Cigarcraig.com Facebook page if anyone minded if I posted it late and the sentiment was positive. It seems people love the chance to score some freebies! So I rummaged through the humidor and pulled out about 10 cigars and found some other odds and ends. More on that later, I have a couple of cigars I want to talk about first!

I signed up for The Cigar Authority Care Package, which is a monthly care package of cigars that they are going to smoke on the show during the course of the month, so I dropped the folks at 2 Guys a note asking to include a couple of the new Kilo cigar (and charge me for them) that is the creation of Barry Stein. Barry created a version of this cigar when he was working for Miami Cigar and Co., and it’s been re-imagined through the United Cigar Group and made by Noel Rojas who makes the Guayacan line. I received the care package along with the Kilo cigars last week and smoked a robusto this week. The cigar is made up of an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, with Nicaraguan Corojo 2006 binder and three ligero fillers from Aganorsa and Rojas’ farms. This is a strong cigar, with lots of flavor. It burned perfectly, much like the Guayacan toro I smoked later in the week to compare. Kudos to Barry for realizing a dream and bringing a very nice cigar to market. Good smoke, but not for the feint of heart. The idea behind the care package is to smoke the cigar that corresponds with the show, preferably while watching The Cigar Authority show live on Saturdays. I generally find myself listening to the podcast version during the week, so I try to remember to smoke the cigar while listening. there have been some spectacular cigar included in the packages I’ve received. It’s an entertaining show and is in my regular rotation.

Contest

I pulled some favorites out of the humidor, as well as a sampler of Southern Draw cigars, and a Stage V Cigar Clinger. The Southern Draw sampler includes a Kudzu, a Firethorn and a Quick Draw Pennsylvania, all tasty smokes from the A.J. Fernandez factory. Also included is a Nica Rustica Belly, an Arandoza White Robusto, a Classic Cigar Habano Blend from East India Trading Co., a Tortuga Reserva Cedro Belicoso, a Buena Vista Short Churchill, a Six-Sixty Robolo and a Black Abyss Toro (the last two from the factory that makes Aging Room and Señoreal). All cigars I like to smoke. It’s hard to say what else might fall into the shipping box when it goes out. Usual rules apply, if you’ve won in the past few months you’re out, just leave a comment here to enter. I’ll pick a winner next Wednesday (maybe), November 11, 2015.

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

CigarCraig

78 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as Arandoza, cigar, cigars, Contest, East India Trading Co., Kilo, Nica Rustica, Southern Draw, The Cigar Authority, Tortuga

by CigarCraig | January 21, 2015 · 9:07 pm

Ezra Zion, East India Trading Co. Classic Cigar and an Orchant Seleccion by Oliva

With all the talk of the lifting of Cuban Embargo, and all the speculation that goes along with it, it got me thinking about what happens when the embargo is actually lifted and Cuban cigars make their way to US retailers shelves. Of course, there will be a huge number of people who want to try what was the forbidden fruit, and the Cuban cigar industry will be struggling to meet the demand. It seems to me that opening the US market will effectively double that demand. One point I never hear discussed is that Cuba struggles now to meet the global demand, and Cuban cigars, as they are now, need to rest for a good couple of years before they reach their potential. I can see the initial deliveries of cigars being fresh, and potentially turning off the new smokers out to try that which hasn’t been available for the last 50 plus years, due to the cigars not being ready. This theory of mine also supposes that Cuban cigars will come in at the same quality that they are at now, not that they will be rushing poorly grown and processed leaf to the factories to crank out an additional several million cigars to meet the demand. If the embargo is a few years from being lifted, the cigars will be another few years until they are really ready to be smoked! Just a few thoughts that roll around my head as I’m listening to speculation being bandied about!

So Monday, after struggling mightily with a migraine on Sunday, I reached for an Ezra Zion FHK in the Truth size. This is a 7″ x 44 cigar, a long lonsdale, or fat lancero, I’m not sure which. This cigar is in their Honor series, and the FHK stands for Fathers of Hoover and Kelly, a tribute to the forefathers of the founders of Ezra Zion cigars (who, incidentally, also founded The Cigar Federation website, Kyle and Chris, not their forefathers). It’s a beautiful box pressed cigar with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Brazil, made at the Placencia factory in Esteli. This was a very enjoyable cigar, smooth with a nice espresso flavor, lacking the rough edges I generally associate with the Mexican leaf. I’m sure the Brazilian leaf helps to temper that some, and while I’m not a fan of Indonesian tobacco, it’s pretty neutral and doesn’t detract from the blend. It’s a very nice smoke, like most of the cigars I’ve smoked from the Ezra Zion line.

Tuesday I found myself in one of my “I don’t know what I want to smoke” moods, so, after some rummaging around I decided to choose an East Indie Trading Company Classic Cigar Habano Blend Robusto from a box which was a recent gift from the folks at Gurkha (many thanks!). I’ve smoked a few of this cigar in the toro size, and it was a good smoke, but this one surprised me with a minty quality. It was quite refreshing and unusual. It’s another box pressed cigar, measuring 5½ x 52, and my main complaint was that it smoked a bit too fast for my liking. I suppose that was a good thing, since I wanted to watch the Flyers play the Penguins, which was a very entertaining game. So I had a full evening of entertainment, first with a cigar that was very refreshing, then with a great fight, where a hockey game broke out! I’m very interested to see if that cool, refreshing mintyness is present in more of these. If you’ve smoked this vitola, please let me know in the comments if you got the same sensation.

Tonight I knew exactly what I wanted to smoke, it was just a matter of choosing a size. Last week, Mitchell Orchant, of CGars Ltd. in the UK, released his Orchant Seleccion by Oliva in three sizes, Skinny (5 x 43), Short (5 x 50) and Chubby (4 x 60,). in boxes of 10 and limited to 500 boxes per size. Mitchell is the UK distributor for Oliva Cigars, and this series will only be available in the UK. I chose Chubby, it being a very American thing to do, I think, as I don’t imagine the 60 ring as as popular in jolly ole England as it is here. Word on the street is that this is based on the Serie V blend, although the wrapper is lighter in color and rather flawless in appearance. The wrapper is Ecuador Sumatra, like the Serie V Melanio, with Nicaraguan filler. It smoked very smooth and flavorful, really a delicious smoke that I feel bad about telling you about since it’s damn near impossible to get on this side of the pond. The construction was perfect, the draw was open as a non-plugged Havana cigar generally should be, and it was a very enjoyable smoke. I look forward to Mitch releasing his Inka line of Peruvian puros here in the US, but in the mean time, I will certainly enjoy smoking this exclusive Orchant Seleccion Oliva cigar, as I’m certain it will be a hit in the UK, especially at the modest price points comparatively (the most expensive in the line being around $15 USD, in the land of very expensive cigars). Thanks to Mitchell for sharing these fab smokes! Blimey, it was the dogs bollocks!

Please join me in welcoming Stogies World Class Cigars to the CigarCraig.com family! For as long as it appears on their ad on the left sidebar, there’s a 10% off coupon code, Craig10, you can use, and they also offer free shipping! They love lanceros there and have several shop exclusives, and will soon have the Fratello lancero to add to their portfolio.

That’s it for today’s installment! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

9 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cuban Embargo, East India Trading Co., Ezra Zion, Gurkha, oliva

by CigarCraig | October 8, 2014 · 9:00 pm

A Montecristo, a Gurkha and a Cohiba, and Some Cigar News

I’m sitting here watching the first Flyers game of the season, trying to write. Hockey is the only sport I have any interest in, so it’s nice that it’s back! Anyway, I stuck with some classic brands this week, starting off with a Montecristo which was given to me by Tom, our local Altadis rep a few weeks back at The Smokin Goose Festival. Goose’s Tobacco is a Montecristo Lounge, so they have the exclusive (and aptly named) Casa de Montecristo Exclusivo. Obviously, this cigar is only available at Montecristo lounges. This is a 6″ x 60 with an enormous band in addition to a black and silver Montecristo band. The wrapper is Ecuador Sumatra, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The cigar burned very nicely, and it had a reasonably sweet tobacco flavor. I enjoyed this cigar, I suspect I would smoke this again if I found myself in a Montecristo lounge and had $12 burning a hole in my pocket.

Tuesday I heard the news that Carlos Llaca Toraño is now the Director of Operations at Gurkha Cigars. He was previously the Operations Director at Toraño Family cigars until their recent acquisition by General Cigar Co. This prompted me to select the newest offering from Gurkha’s East India Trading Co., The Classic Cigar – Havana Blend in the XO size. The square press on this 6″ x 60 makes it feel smaller than it is. This is another nice smoking cigar which I found to have a pleasing flavor on the light side. Once I realized that this wasn’t a powerful cigar I really enjoyed the delicate flavor. At right around $8 each, this is a nice smoke. I only had to touch it up once or twice, otherwise it burned quite well. This would probably be a nice morning cigar with a cup of coffee.

Tonight I went with the new Cohiba Nicaragua in the N50 robusto size. The samples I received from General Cigar Co. are cellophaned 5″ x 50, which only appear to be available in glass tubes commercially. This is the first Cohiba to be blended and handcrafted in Nicaragua. The fillers are from Esteli and Jalapa and the wrapper is listed as Colorado Oscuro, no mention of country of origin. Obviously the Cohiba name comes with some expectations, whether positive or not, so I was interested to see what this new Nicaraguan blend brought to the table. It started out very sweet, and developed very nicely. It burned like a super premium cigar should, a nice flat and even burn with a perfect draw through a V-cut. I suspect these will age nicely, but they are smoking well now.

As I was getting a lighter out the other day I realized that I have a few of them laying around. One thing that stands out to me is that the lighters I have range from a couple dollars to around $60, and with the proper care, the cheaper ones generally work as well as the expensive ones. In this picture you’ll notice that none of the three Blazer torches I’ve had over the last 17 years or so have survived. The Zippo with the z-Plus insert has been the most impressive, as well as the Ronson. The newest addition is the Jetline triple torch (at about 9 oclock) which came from the Rocky Mountain Festival goodie bag. This is a very nice lighter. The yellow one will be recognized by some of my blogger bretheren, it actually has what is basically a Cricket lighter inside of it and I have had good luck taking it apart and spreading it out through my luggage when I travel. Only the white La Gloria lighter is a soft flame, hence it gets very little use. I have some other ones here and there, I hate not having a lighter handy!

News

The first big news relates to my mention of Carlos Llaca Toraño joining Gurkha, his cousin Jack Toraño, who was also displaced in the acquisition, has joined Roberto P. Duran Premium Cigars. Look for a press release in the coming days announcing this. Anyone who knows Jack knows what a great guy he is, and I’m very glad to hear he’s re-joining the workforce after a reasonably short hiatus.

In other news, The Charlotte Observer reports that the JR Statesville store will be closing at the end of the year. There are three stores in North Carolina, and they are all large outlet stores with all kinds of merchandise from Jeans and toys, to cigarettes and premium cigars. If you ever drove down I-95 through North Carolina you can’t miss the entertaining billboards. Apparently the owner of the property isn’t renewing their lease and has plans to re-develop the entire shopping center that is aging. Seventy-seven jobs will be lost, however JRs says they will open a cigar only store nearby in the future. The full story is here. This is the only North Carolina location I haven’t visited, I’ve stopped at the Selma store on the few trips I’ve made down I-95, and I had a tour of the massive distribution center in Burlington many years ago.

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

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under News, Review

Tagged as Casa de Montecristo, cigar, cigars, cohiba, East India Trading Co., general cigars, Gurkha, Lighter, Montecristo, Roberto Duran, Torch

by CigarCraig | October 20, 2013 · 11:11 am

Gurkha Cellar Reserve, East India Trading Co. and a Contest!

After receiving a wonderful package from the folks at Gurkha last week, I decided to dig into some of the samples from the last IPCPR show. As always, the folks at Gurkha have an enormous booth and always have some exciting offerings. I’m the first to admit that I’m intimidated by the huge array of products in the Gurkha portfolio. I haven’t smoked a tenth of the lines they produce, but the ones I have smoked have been pretty darned good! One of my recent favorites was my Friday, end of the week treat smokes, the new Cellar Reserve Maduro. This cigar replaces the Criollo 98 wrapper with Brazilian Arapiraca, and it’s a terrific smoke loaded with black coffee and cocoa. I was hoping to watch the lunar eclipse while smoking this, however I either missed it or it was far too subtle for my eye. The cigar, however, wasn’t a disappointment. I was sorry when it was finished. I’ll have to get my hands on more. I’ve enjoyed the heck out of the Gurkha Seduction (and one I had last week didn’t wow me like before, maybe they’ve aged out after only 2 years?), this Cellar Reserve Maduro (or it may be called the Limitada) may pass the Seduction as my favorite in the line.

Saturday I decided to plunge into Gurkha’s East India Trading Company‘s new offerings, first off, the Rogue Ruthless, which is a box pressed 6″ x 54 cigar with an Ecuador Habano wrapper. This was a loosely rolled cigar, and burned faster than I would have expected. It had some rich and peppery flavors and certainly held my attention. My biggest complaint is that the bands were so hard to get off! Other than that, the bands are fine and are quite eye catching. Nice cigar, I’d smoke it again for sure.

After dinner I selected the final cigar of the day, the Prize Fighter, also from Gurkha’s East India Trading Company. This is a budget offering packaged in Fresh-lock pouches. The cigar had a Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and was loosely rolled like it’s Rouge sibling. This is a mixed filler cigar as evidenced by the scraps of tobacco I had to keep picking out of my mouth. This, to me, is forgivable in a cigar that retails under $2. For a cigar in that price range, it was very tasty and mild. It had the grassyness you’d expect but pleasantly smooth. My example did have a significant tunnel at the midway point, but after it burned passed the void it was fine. I’ve definitely smoked more expensive cigars that I enjoyed less!

Here’s a few pictures of the booth from last July’s IPCPR show:

Contest!

On an related note, I’ve got some goodies laying around that I want to share with a lucky reader. This will probably be the last contest before things get crazy in December. Here’s the story: last week I received a very nice package from the folks at Gurkha. The package contained this really cool “can” containing one of their leatherette roll up pouches with five cigars, and a folding cigar scissors. This was a gift to me, but I have been the beneficiary of their generosity on too many occasions and I want to share this with my readers. I’d gladly smoke the cigars, trust me! If this wasn’t enough, I happen to have another of the roll up pouches from last summer’s trade show, as well as one from the 2012 show, both of which have been resting in my humidors. So there’s 15 very nice Gurkha cigars, and the really cool scissors (I’ve been really digging the Xikar MTX I got recently, this is a handy tool!). Just leave a comment here and I’ll select a winner at random on Wednesday. Usual contest rules apply. Thanks to Bianca at Gurkha for the gift and for allowing me to share it with my readers!