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Xurvivor Americano and Galano Primero Cigars

Xurvivor Cigars is based in Ybor City in Florida and has been an advertiser here on CigarCraig.com for a couple of years, and I’ve featured their cigars before, but I came across a few in the humidor and figured a redux was in order. Ybor City had come up in conversation recently, and it had slipped my mind that Xurvivor was making cigars there. The Xurivor Americano 2018 has a Maduro wrapper from Nicaragua, with a binder from Ecuador, and a Nicaragua & Dominican filler blend. It’s available in one size, a 6″ x 52 toro. Their website store appears to be under construction, but I recall these being in the $10 range. I found this to be on the medium to full-bodied side, with a nice, balanced flavor, on the savory side, with very little sweetness. The construction was excellent, it burned perfectly. It was a nice companion on a cold winter evening.

 

Before Xurvivor Cigars was Xurvivor Cigars, they were called Galano Cigars, and were also made in Ybor City, but in the end of 2017 they underwent a complete rebranding to become Xurvivor. Tonight I smoked a Galano Primero from early 2017. This was a limited release, and had a hefty price tag, I think they ran around $25ish, it considering they only made 2500 of these and they were made in the US, I suppose that’s justifiable. This cigar is a 6 1/2″ x 52 with a pigtail cap, and a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, which, as I noted when I wrote about his almost two years ago, is fairly rustic and not particularly pretty. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and PA Broadleaf is a personal favorite wrapper variety. Like the Americano, construction was perfect, the burn and draw were exactly what one expects of a cigar of this price (to be honest, it’s what I expect of any cigar, but I’m often disappointed). The cigar has some strength, and the flavor has some savory and sour notes, in a good way, like the Americano, but there’s a sweet spice too.

 

Keep an eye on the website for when the store comes on-line, perhaps Joshua Candamo, the president of the company, will chime in with an update. That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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Galano Primero Cigars from Ybor City

Galano Cigars is a boutique manufacturer in Ybor City, Florida that makes handmade cigars in several varieties. They have a Classico line, with a Connecticut shade wrapped robusto and Toro and Torpedos with a natural wrapper. They have the Selecto line, same sizes with a Habano wrapper. Then at the top of the scale is the Primero, the extremely limited toro that’s 6½” x 52 or 54 with a pigtail and packaged in nifty clear plastic boxes. I was the fortunate recipient of some of the Primeros, and smoked one the other night. These are limited to 2500 cigars,  and have a very rustic Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper finished with a pigtail with, due to the way they are packaged, is squished flat, giving the appearance of a cigar that hasn’t had a cap applied. It pops up with a little coaxing. The PA wrapper is the only detail available, I did a lot of searching and didn’t find a lot out about this line at all, except what they present on their website. As a matter of fact, I searched cigar-coop.com and halfwheel.com for “Galano” and came up with nothing on either site. I must have the exclusive!

Galano_PrimeroI categorize the Galano Primero as a maduro cigar, which is a good cold-weather choice for me, and I love the PA Broadleaf. I have to assume the filler of this cigar is Nicaraguan, that’s the vibe I got anyway. For a super-premium cigar at a very high price, I wonder about using what many would say is an ugly wrapper, it certainly doesn’t look the part of a refined and elegant $20+ cigar. It is made in the US, and it is very limited,  which I’m sure plays into the price. I’ve come across other US-based boutiques with high price tags, the Marcus Daniel line comes to mind. I give full credit to the torcedors for the perfect construction and draw on this cigar, and it has loads of great flavor. Dark, lush flavors with a bunch of sweet spice, dark fruit, coffee and cocoa. I loved it, it was really quite good, and I’ll definitely smoke it again. I’m not sure I wouldn’t buy three Nica Rusticas, or a bunch of other mid-priced cigars, over one of these, but it’s certainly a cigar worth trying and enjoying.  I’m appreciative of the opportunity, this cigar is worthy of recognition. This factory is now on my list of places to visit the next time I find myself in Ybor City (which will be the first time!).

 

That’s all for now, I’m trying to decide if I want to go to a cigar event tomorrow night or not. I’ve got the winter blues I guess, and my back porch is quite comfortable with the propane heater, going out after a long day at work is something I really have to talk myself into. Anyway, that’s all for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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