Tag Archives: Kentucky Fire Cured

Cohiba HVC Black Friday, Reinado and Iron Pigs, Bacon and Flying Pig Cigars

We went to a baseball game last night, but more on that later, lets recap a few cigars I smoked earlier in the week. At the Atlantic City Cigar Festival I saw an old friend, Sean Williams, who was handing out Cohiba Rivieras at his booth.  I met Sean back around 2011, I think, at the Delaware Cigar Festival, or the IPCPR show, I forget which. I do remember seeing him at the IPCPR show and he introduced me to his friend Willy Herrera, who was helping him blend some of his cigars at the time. I hadn’t tried this Cohiba Riviera, so Thursday seemed like a good enough day to smoke one.  This is the first Box pressed “red dot” Cohiba, and the first that doesn’t have any Dominican tobacco. It has a San Andrés wrapper (another Cohiba first), Honduran Connecticut binder (broadleaf?) and fillers from Jamastran, and La Entrada in Honduras and Condega and Esteli in Nicaragua. The Robusto I had is 5″ x 52, the box press makes it feel small, which is probably why it took me awhile to get around to smoking it. This smoked very well, as one would expect a $20 cigar to smoke. It tasted much like one would expect a Honduran/Nicaraguan blend with a Mexican wrapper to taste, which, to me, was quite good, with rich, earthy coffee, cocoa, espresso, etc. notes.  I rather enjoyed it. As with most things in the “luxury” segment, be it food, cars, watches, I’m not the target audience. I’m a low frills kind of guy, but I do appreciate it, there’s just more affordable luxuries I appreciate as much. 

 

I had picked up a HVC Black Friday 2022 a few weeks ago, I had smoked the Firecracker and maybe one other iteration of the Black Friday series ( I think the 2021) and enjoyed it. This is the first of the series that is made in Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo as opposed to Aganorsa, although I can’t say I noticed any quality difference.  I would have liked it if my example had been a tad drier, which is the fault of my humidors, I guess. The tobaccos in this may need to be stored with less humidity, or dry boxed, I don’t know, most cigars burn fine out of my humidors, every now and then one is weird. My fault for not being as diligent with my Humidimeter as I should be!  The Black Friday has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and the rest is from Jalapa and Esteli with, apparently, no ligero.  It was on the medium side, with nice, nutty flavors and some syrupy sweetness.  It was a hot and humid evening, which may have added to my issues, also not a great time for a nicotine-heavy cigar for me! I’ll try again with some dry down time. 

 

I was up obnoxiously early yesterday morning so I pretty much went from bed, to the coffeemaker to the porch and lit up a Reinado Connecticut C29 that Antonio Lam had given me when I saw him at the aforementioned AC Cigar Fest. Before I go on, I’d like to mention that as I type I’m smoking an El Güegüense that was from the original release (probably a 2016 trade show sample) that is simply divine. I don’t think I appreciated this blend as much then as I do at this very moment, whether it’s the age on this cigar, the beautiful morning, or what. It’s creamy, it’s got a hint of light spice, it’s just perfection.  What made my think about that, besides being distracted by the smoke, was that I had the same thought yesterday morning as I sat in the dawning hours of the day, as the sun came up, enjoying the Reinado C29. The details of this. cigar are veiled in secrecy, obviously it has a Connecticut wrapper, Ecuadoran would be my guess, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s made at Aganorsa, like his Grand Apex (which is also exceptional). I have trouble loving a lot of Aganorsa cigars, however, Antonio’s cigars I do love, and if the C29 is made there, it’s one more I really loved.  It was creamy, plenty of flavor, and burned perfectly. It was a great cigar to smoke on a quiet morning unencumbered by distractions. 

 

Last night some friends treated up to a baseball game in Allentown, PA.  The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are the Philadelphia Phillies Triple A farm team, and the upside is that they have a heavy bacon-centric theme.  We snacked on chocolate covered bacon and skewered candied bacon, but sadly they were out of the bacon cannolis. Between innings they had races with people dressed as various pork based meats, and the players uniforms had Bacon emblazoned across the front.  Fred Rewey would have been severely overstimulated. I misunderstood the team name and wore a Flying Pig shirt, and smoked a Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pig on the ride home, as Coca Cola Stadium is non-smoking. When I first smoked the KFC at Cigar Safari 10 years ago I didn’t like it at all, it was too “campfire” for me. This Flying Pig, and I don’t remember where I got them, or how long I’ve had them, was very good, it had some nice sweet woodiness. I can’t recommend smoking a 4″ x 60 in a dark, stick shift car, though, that was less than ideal, but it was a good smoke, and it was a really fun game, with fireworks after the game. I’m not a baseball fan, and I’m confused by some of the new rules,  but it’s nostalgic, I went to a lot of games as a kid, and I always enjoyed minor league games for the entertainment value. 

 

There’s a lot coming up this week.  Tonight, if you are in the Limerick, PA area, stop by Goose’s and see my friend Mike Kropp perform at the Goose Pond.  Next Saturday, August 5, at the Leaf Cigar Bar in Easton, PA celebrate Jerry Garcia’s Birthday with live music at 3. Delaware Cigar Week kicks off on Thursday, August 3th with a schedule of events running through Sunday.  Could be a busy weekend!

 

That’s all for today! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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News: Drew Estate’s Flying Pigs Set for Spring Release

 

The site has been down for a couple days for maintenance, but I’m back and catching up! Here’s some news from Drew Estate. They aren’t going to mention it, but the FLying Pig vitola was Steve Saka’s idea when he was president of Drew Estate.  It’s a cool size, I have a few floating around one of my humidors someplace, maybe I’ll pull one out this weekend!

 

Drew Estate’s Flying Pigs have been cleared for take-off for their annual Spring release!!! One of Drew Estate’s most popular vitolas, the Flying Pigs (100mm x 60) are now available.

 

Based on a photograph in an 1895 cigar salesman’s size selection catalog, the Flying Pig vitola’s unique size and signature pigtail requires specialized training for buncheros and rolleras at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua. Only a few of La Gran Fabrica’s employees are certified to make the cigars, limiting Flying Pigs to two annual seasonal releases in the Spring and the Fall. Kentucky Fire Cured, Undercrown Maduro, Undercrown Shade and Undercrown Sun Grown Flying Pigs will be available to all premium cigar retailers. Liga Privada No. 9 and Liga Privada T52 Flying Pigs will only be available at participating Drew Diplomat Program partners.

 

 

Featuring a double wrapper of a fire-cured Tapa Negra leaf at the head and a Mexican San Andres Maduro leaf at the foot, the Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pig is a smoky and savory treat with a filler tobacco blend of Kentucky seed tobacco, grown and fire-cured in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and rich Nicaraguan and Brazilian tobaccos. Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pigs are presented in 12-count boxes and have an MSRP of $131.40 per box.

 

“Born on the Factory Floor” at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, Undercrown has been the peoples’ champion for more than a decade, and the Undercrown Flying Pig vitola is available in three expressions: Maduro, Shade and Sun Grown. The original Undercrown cigar, Undercrown Maduro boldly showcases the deep, rich complexity of the famed San Andres Maduro leaf. With an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Undercrown Shade is more mellow but offers an equally expressive flavor profile that’s lush, smooth and creamy. Undercrown Sun Grown adds a touch of spice that grabs the palate’s attention without masking the underlying Nicaraguan tobacco’s zesty and earthy characteristics. All Undercrown Flying Pigs are packaged in 12-count boxes and have an MSRP of $171.60 per box.

 

The famed wrapper leaves cultivated in the Connecticut River Valley breathe life into the Liga Privada No. 9 and Liga Privada T52 Flying Pigs, which will be available exclusively to Drew Diplomat Program participants. A broadleaf bully with a dark, rugged and flavorful wrapper, Liga Privada No. 9 is dense, hearty and intense, yet surprisingly smooth. Utilizing a Connecticut Habano stalk-cut and stalk-cured seed variety that’s grown exclusively for Drew Estate for its capa, Liga Privada T52 is full-bodied, spicy and bold with notes of leather, caramel, earth and gritty black pepper. Both Liga Privada Flying Pig expressions are packaged in 12-count boxes with an MSRP of $198 per box.

 

“Flying Pigs are distinctly Drew Estate,” says Jonathan Drew, Founder and President of Drew Estate. “There are very few things in life more satisfying than cracking a fresh box of Drew Estate’s piggies and being hit with that aroma and the visuals. You can’t help but immediately, desperately, spark one up. Ya’ll know it’s the truth!!!”

 

 

About Drew Estate

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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News: Drew Estate’s Flying Pigs Soar for Seasonal Release

Drew Estate’s Flying Pigs Soar for Seasonal Release

Drew Estate announces the Spring Seasonal Release of their infamous Flying Pig vitola, including Liga Privada No. 9 and T52, Undercrown Maduro, Shade and Sun Grown, as well as Kentucky Fire Cured.

 

The Flying Pig is one of the most desired vitolas in the company’s portfolio, presented in a 100mm x 60 ring gauge and is a favorite amongst cigar enthusiasts worldwide. The shape is based on a photograph of an 1895 cigar salesman’s size selection case. It is one of the most complicated vitolas to manufacture due to the unique size and signature pig-tail, which required specialized training of the buncheros and rolleras at La Gran Fabrica in Esteli.

 

From the Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew Founder and President of Drew Estate notes, “It is such a challenging time in the world right now, incredibly difficult for everyone in every corner of the world.  To those who have lost loved ones, we especially feel your pain.  To the first responders and their families, nurses, doctors, police, fireman, hospital staff, truck drivers, and others who are fighting the good fight – we are with you and love you.  We spark up a Flying Pig in your honor and salute you!!!”

 

This seasonal release commences with the Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pig, featuring a Kentucky seed tobacco, grown and fire cured in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, accompanied with Nicaraguan and Brazilian fillers. The cigar is wrapped with a Mexican San Andres cover leaf that adds depth and balance to the blend profile. The Kentucky Fire Cured Pigs are presented in 12 count boxes and have an MSRP of $115.17.

 

The Undercrown Maduro, Undercrown Shade, and Undercrown Sun Grown Flying pigs are packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $153.17, with Undercrown Shade and Undercrown Sun Grown Flying Pigs exclusive to Drew Diplomat Retailers. The Undercrown Maduro features a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper, Connecticut Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano binder, and Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano filler leaves. The Undercrown Shade Flying Pig features an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Sumatra binder with Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The Undercrown Sun Grown features a Sun Grown Sumatra wrapper with a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano binder with fillers exclusively from Nicaragua.

 

Rounding out the release, the Liga Privada No. 9 and Liga Privada T52 Flying Pigs are packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $181.17 and available exclusively to Drew Diplomat retailers – shipping in May. The No. 9 features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Honduras. The Liga Privada T52 features a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano Wrapper, Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Honduras.

 

 

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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News: Drew Estate Unveils A Variety of Cigars in Tubos

Drew Estate Unveils A Variety of Tubos with Merchandising Solutions for National Release

Drew Estate Unveils A Variety of Tubos with Merchandising Solutions for National Release

Drew Estate announces the national release of Tubos of their most popular brands including ACID Kuba Deluxe, Undercrown Maduro, Undercrown Shade, Undercrown Sun Grown, Tabak Especial Dulce, Tabak Especial Negra, as well as Kentucky Fire Cured and Kentucky Fire Cured Sweets. The Drew Estate Tubos will be displayed in Drew Estate’s Booth at the IPCPR Convention and Tradeshow, held June 29-July 2, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The released Tubos are shipping alongside a retail counter merchandising solution and are packaged in 25 count bundles. These solutions are designed to prominently display these cigars to the retail customer, effective both in the humidor and on the counter.

From Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew President and Founder of Drew Estate notes, “The Tubo collection serves our brick & mortar Retailers with on-the-run options for their increasingly mobile customers.  These days, dudes and dudettes are jumpin on a CityBike with their Go-Pro and Yeti, ready for wild ass Instagramming. We built our Tubos to withstand small, curbside accidents and other unanticipated mobile risks. Drew Estate cares.”

The following Tubos are packaged in 25 count bundles and shipping in September with a retail merchandising solution:

  • ACID Kuba Deluxe Toro Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $300.00/bundle of 25
  • Undercrown Maduro Toro Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $223.00/bundle of 25
  • Undercrown Shade Toro Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $223.00/bundle of 25
  • Undercrown Sun Grown Toro Tubo 6” x 52  MSRP $223.00/bundle of 25
  • Tabak Especial Dulce Toro Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $232.00/bundle of 25
  • Tabak Especial Negra Toro Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $232.00/bundle of 25
  • Kentucky Fire Cured Just a Friend Tubo 6” x 52 MSRP $187.50/bundle of 25
  • Kentucky Fire Cured Just a Friend Sweets Tubo 6” x 52  MSRP $187.50/bundle of 25

For full coverage of Drew Estate Tubos and all of Drew Estate’s IPCPR national releases check out our 2019 #DEIPCPR promotion at www.drewestate.com/IPCPR. If you are attending IPCPR stop by for a smoke at the Drew Estate Booth (Booth #3213), and a crafted ACID cocktail under the Water Tower.

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News: Drew Estate Flying Pigs Soar into Humidors for their Seasonal Release

Gotta love the Piggies!  There’s a pub in my town called the Flying Pig Saloon that is decorated with every kind of flying pig toy ot statue imaginable. I’m sure they have no idea what the Flying Pig cigar shape is, what Drew Estate has done with it, or what it’s place in history is.  This is another one of Steve Saka’s many contributions to the Drew Estate portfolio, part of his legacy with the company. 

 

Drew Estate announces today the seasonal release of their Flying Pig vitola, including Liga Privada No. 9 and T52, Undercrown Maduro, Shade and Sun Grown, as well as Kentucky Fire Cured.

The Flying Pig is one of the most desired vitolas in the company’s portfolio, presented in a 100mm x 60 ring gauge vitola, and is a favorite amongst cigar enthusiasts worldwide. The shape is based on  a photograph of an 1895 cigar salesman’s size selection case. It is one of the most complicated vitolas to manufacture due to the unique size and signature pig-tail, which requires specialized training of the buncheros and rolleras at the factory.

From the Wynwood Safehouse, Jonathan Drew President and Founder of Drew Estate notes, “The Flying Pig franchise has become an iconic Drew Estate vitola. In addition to the flavor, taste and aroma, there’s something unexplainably exciting about smoking a DE pig… it simply commands your attention when you open your humidor at home and makes your mouth water. It’s psychological warfare, the pig versus everybody. We are changing the distribution process to release piggies twice a year, Spring and Late Fall.”

Kicking off this seasonal release is the Kentucky Fire Cured Flying Pig, featuring a Kentucky seed tobacco, grown and fire cured in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, along with Nicaraguan and Brazilian fillers. The cigar is wrapped with a Mexican San Andres wrapper to round out the blend profile. Packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $115.17.

The Undercrown Maduro, Undercrown Shade, and Undercrown Sun Grown Flying pigs are packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $153.17, with Undercrown Shade and Undercrown Sun Grown Flying Pigs exclusive to Drew Diplomat Retailers. The Undercrown Maduro features a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper, Connecticut Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano binder, and Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano filler leaves. The Undercrown Shade Flying Pig features an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Sumatra binder with Dominican and Nicaraguan Filler leaves. The Undercrown Sun Grown features a Sun Grown Sumatra wrapper with a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano binder with fillers from Nicaragua.

Rounding out the release, the Liga Privada No. 9 and Liga Privada T52 Flying Pigs are packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $181.17 and are exclusive to Drew Diplomat retailers. The No. 9 features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Honduras. The Liga Privada T52 features a Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Sun Cured Habano Wrapper, Plantation Grown Brazilian Mata Fina Binder and filler leaves from Nicaragua and Honduras.

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