It was on this day in 2009 that CigarCraig.com was born, a birthday present from my wife. As I’ve told the story before, I had no idea what I would do with the URL, really didn’t much know what a blog or blogger was, so I had to figure something out. I had spent time on USENET, and the thought of trying to build yet another informational site seemed daunting and redundant. So there was this blog thing. I never was much of a writer, so it started pretty abysmally, but I figured I’d just start writing about some cigars I smoked and places I went and stuff I did, just like I used to do on USENET. Eventually I got off of the free WordPress blog, figured out how to use the technology better and booked myself a trip to Cigar Safari. It seems like my travelogue from that trip legitimized my site and my numbers increased exponentially. I joined the IPCPR as a media member and started going to the trade shows. I’ve seen a lot of stuff over twelve years, some people don’t know, or maybe forget, some of the stuff I was involved in with the IPCPR early on for internet media, fighting for certain things whether we won or not. I like to think I am one of the few blog purist left, Casasfumando.com is another that comes to mind. We stick to our strengths. So to all those who’ve been around longer than I have, congrats and thanks for the inspiration, to those who’ve been around as long, or almost as long, thanks for the friendship and camaraderie, and to the newer generation who are killing it with different platforms, keep up the great work!
Last week I wrote about the great experience I had at the Humidour Cigar Shoppe in Cockeysville, MD. While there, I picked up one of their exclusive cigars, the Zeus in the Churchill size. After smoking it, I’m kicking 
myself for not getting more. More on that in a bit. When I saw the name of this cigar I was a little confused, you see, my friend Kosta, who owns SMōKE Manayunk in the Philadelphia area, has (or had, it’s been a bit) his own house brand called Zeus. I’ve included. picture of me smoking one several years ago in the store in front of a mural of Zeus, which has, sadly, been remodeled out of existence. I still have a Lancero in the humidor. It turns out that Chris Helmuth, one of the owners, is friends with Kosta, and the conspired to share the Zeus blend and name, which connected the dots. So the Zeus is a nice looking cigar with an Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper (I’m either making that up or I read that somewhere, but I just tried to fact 
check it and can’t find a reference, perhaps someone will correct me). The filler blend is four different Ligeros, so it’s a bit of a powerhouse. These are made by Rocky Patel, although I’m uncertain whether its made in Nicaragua or Honduras. Like I said, I should have bought a couple more, but I think Kosta might sell these at SMōKE so I might not have to drive an hour and a half after all, and I owe Kosta a visit. This isn’t the strongest cigar I’ve smoked, but it’s no slouch (Don’t sell yourself short, Judge, you’re a tremendous slouch!). It was a very much to my liking when it comes to strong cigars, espresso, rich tobacco, some spice, but not too much. It’s been too long since I smoked the lancero, and it would be silly to compare it to the aged lancero I have on hand, so I wasn’t going to try. If you find yourself at The Humidour (or SMōKE, I imagine), give these a try if you like a stronger smoke.
As I write this I’m smoking a La Gloria Cubana Retro Especiale Cubano, the 6½” x 58, which is 
10 years old. This came from a box that came back with me from my visit to the factory in 2011. I selected it for the ring gauge, which is significant today. It’s aged remarkably well, it’s outstanding actually. I wish I had the foresight to save more than the two I had left in the humidor. It makes me think of one more thing before I wrap this up. Yesterday I posted a few news items, and I omitted one from General Cigar Co., I got sidetracked and didn’t get to it. It was about the new Partagas Cortado, I’m sure other outlets have posted about it, I encourage you to check it out elsewhere. The Partagas Cortado is a Connecticut shade wrapped Partagas, and I just have to wonder why we needed that? With the exception of the Black, which is Broadleaf, and awesome, Partagas has been Cameroon wrapped, and Cameroon is pretty hot right now. Why deviate from that? Why not let Macanudo be the flagship Connecticut? I just wonder why dilute the brand? Is a Connecticut CAO Flathead next? I realize there are Macanudos in all wrapper varieties, maybe that screws up my argument, what do I know? Anyway, that’s all for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
“It’s been a pleasure to harness the Society’s passion for La Gloria and it’s an honor to provide them with a cigar that reflects what the brand represents to them. We look forward to collaborating with this great group of tenured smokers on future releases,” said Steve Abbot, director of marketing for La Gloria Cubana.
