Tag Archives: Protocol

Some Tatuaje Cigars and a Visit to Legacy Cigar Lounge

This week was a week of events, I didn’t necessarily smoke any new cigars, but some that were new to me.  Nothing in my contract says I have to write about new to the market cigars every week, although I do try to stay current. Fortunately, due to the generosity of a long time reader, I have some new stuff coming up, so stay tuned!  This week was the tenth anniversary of Cigar Mojo, a local shop which I have been friendly with since the beginning.  I was there for the soft launch and have watched their progression from their first shop and lounge, to their current location, to a second location.  I really wanted to make the trip to the flagship location, only 10 miles down the road in King of Prussia, PA, but I had a physically exhausting day, and didn’t have it in me to deal with the traffic, and, honestly, be social.  I just wanted to relax at home and watch hockey. So I went to the new location (which is a mile from my house), and picked up a couple of Tatuaje 10th Anniversary cigars, which seemed appropriate. I got the Bon Chasseur size, because the 5 3/8″ x 52 shape appeals to me, in both the original and the Tuxtla blends, and smoked one Thursday and one Friday.  I started with the original. I should have adjusted my expectations going into this cigar. I was rather expecting a heavier cigar, but it was much more subtle, refined, I guess with a name like Bon Chasseur, it’s going to be a little hoity-toity. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper over Nicaragua binder and filler.  They have a closed foot, and the wrapper has a lot of citrus tang in it, so that is apparent on lighting. It remains citrusy and sweet throughout,  and was a really delicious cigar.  I suppose I always grab the broadleaf Tatuajes, so this one surprised me, it was quite different.

 

Maybe the citrus wasn’t all in the Ecuador Habano wrapper of original Bon Chasseur,  because I sensed it in the Tuxtla version as well. This is the same size and blend, with the difference being the Mexican San Andrés wrapper. Again, I had a preconceived notion going into this one, having smoked tons of Mexican wrapped cigars over the years.  Oddly, the wrapper didn’t overwhelm the rest of the blend, it literally was like smoking the same cigar I had smoked the night before with a subtle difference.  What was that difference, you ask?  Oddly, it was an almost cloying earthy sweetness, not unpleasant, but noticeable. Oddly, as much of a fan I am of the San Andrés, I’d probably give the nod to the Ecuador Habano in this match up, for me. I liked the balance and elegance of the original blend, adding the Tuxtla wrapper while interesting, detracted from the sophistication a little for me.  But that’s just me, I’ve enjoyed the other Tuxtla versions, I guess my next back to back experiment will have to be the Belle Encre.  I look forward to walking over to the Cigar Mojo shop by me in ten years to celebrate that anniversary!

 

Last night my wife and I took a ride to Reading, PA (think Reading Railroad in your Monopoly game), and visited the new Legacy CIgar Lounge in West Reading. Rick and Adrean, a husband and wife team, opened in August and have a really nice spot. A lot of places in the country have full service cigar bar setups, PA isn’t really one of them, in my experience. There are cigar stores with lounges all over the place, but there aren’t a lot of full bar, kitchen, humidor establishments around.  Legacy fits that niche.  It was a 45 minute drive, and I know I just balked about going 10 miles to an event Thursday, let me explain.  It could literally take me the same 45 minutes to make the ten mile trip to Mojo at 5:30 on a Thursday as it did to go 40 miles to Legacy on a Saturday at the same time. Combine that with the Saturday afternoon nap, and I think you see my point.  We had been reading about Legacy for a few weeks, they have been active on social media promoting the business with videos, and seemed engaging enough, so we figured a visit was in order. I’m not a bar guy, but they appeared to have a well appointed bar, and we had seen something on the menu on the website and were disappointed when it wasn’t on the printed menu we were given. We asked, and they were happy to make us the Bacon Jams Grilled Cheese, which was delicious. 

 

It didn’t hurt that they were having a Protocol Cigars cut and light event there, so there would be at least one familiar face present! Kevin Keithan was there, with a selection, and I got the impression that this was a trial for the brand and they were thinking about bringing them into the humidor. I bought some Protocol cigars and enjoyed a Cyber Crimes unit. This is a box pressed Churchill, with a Nicaraguan Rosado Habano wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler, made at the La Zona Factory. This cigar was on the cedary side with some spice and a creamy quality, quite different from the Blue and Red label Protocol cigars. We did miss seeing Juan, I wonder if he took part in the Karaoke, that might have been worth staying for!

 

 Obviously, it takes time (and money) to stock up the humidor, but they had a reasonable selection.  My wife, who hasn’t had a cigar in years, decided to have a Tatiana of some sort, which she enjoyed. Rick told us that they already had over 80 members signed up for their members lounge, and are working on a rooftop area, and downstairs event space as well. They have a nice setup, have live music quite frequently, and diverse collection of events, including Karaoke and Chess.  We exited before the Karaoke started, I wanted to get home in time for the hockey game, where I enjoyed a Protocol Probable Cause Corona Gorda, perhaps my favorite in the line. We had noticed several billboards for Legacy along the highway  so they are promoting this bigtime, and if they continue to provide a quality product, they will be successful. I suspect we’ll be paying a visit again.

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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Protocol, La Gloria Cubana and Oz Family Cigars

I attempted to do something interesting for today’s post, but that didn’t work out, more on that later.  My first cigar today is the Tenure by Protocol Cigars.  This was made for the Cigar Dojo‘s tenth anniversary last year.  Please note that in September of this year CigarCraig.com will celebrate it’s 14th year.  There are a couple of independent blog sites that have been around longer, but not many.  Anyway, Dojo has built a community, and has sold a bunch of exclusive cigar brands, and Protocol has been one of their partners on several of them.  This sample was generously gifted to me by me Secret Santa, Mitch, who was overly generous and sent all cigar I wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to try.  Remember this when Secret Santa comes around next year, it’s a good time!  The Tenure is a 6″ x 52 box pressed toro, it has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Corojo binder, and Nicaraguan fillers from Estelí and Condega. This was a neat tasting cigar.  It had some earth and coffee notes like you’d imagine, along with some tanic sort of flavor.  It was quite a good cigar, I liked it, besides yesterday’s Fratello Pennsylvanian, it was the highlight of the week.

 

I’ve been sampling some new La Gloria Cubana cigars and have made mention of my disappointment with the Serie S, but the La Gloria Cubana Society Cigar was pretty good. This, like the Punch “The People’s Champ” was made with input from the La Gloria Cubana Society, of which I’m a member (no. 631 on my card). I don’t recall being asked for my input, but that’s OK, I admit that I don’t participate in the club.  Apparently 2000 members gave input on the cigar, which is a 6¼” x 54 box pressed toro.  These are made in the El Credito factory (within the General Cigars factory) in Santiago, DR.  Oddly, it’s Honduran puro, with the Olancho San Augustine wrapper, a Jamastran binder and fillers from Jamastran and La Entrada. General must get really good yields on this OSA leaf, because it comes up everywhere. The fist time I saw it was on their first CAO release, the OSA Sol, which was a good cigar (especially in the little torpedo they had), but was a commercial flop, although it was no CAO Concert!  I seem to recall seeing the OSA leaf on Partagas, Cohiba and other La Gloria cigars. I find it generally neutral in flavor, but that’s just me.  This La Gloria Cubana Society Cigar had some hard candy sweetness, some coffee and nuts, and was quite enjoyable to smoke. It was far superior to the Serie S, which might be the least San Andrés tasting San Andrés wrapped cigar I’ve ever smoked. 

 

Yesterday I tried to go to Tobaccology in Manassas, VA for the launch event for Fratello‘s Vice Versa cigar.  I sampled this cigar last May, or should I say, “these” cigars, because one has to try the cigar both ways to understand it.  Kevin from Cigar Prop somehow convinced Omar to make this cigar, and Omar spent the better part of two years working with the La Aurora factory to bring this to fruition.  Anyway, I left in plenty of time to make the 2½ hour drive, but less than an hour in I hit traffic on I-95 just into Maryland. It turns out a tractor-trailer overturned and blocked all three lanes, and both shoulders, closing the highway (story here). After about 2+ hours I finally got turned around and aborted my mission. I was disappointed, because I wanted to be among the first to buy some of these, and hanging out with Omar is always a good time. I’ll buy some when they become available, I know TrashPandaCigars.com will have them. I “wasted” a good hour of that time smoking a delicious Fratello Pennsylvanian.

 

I had come across the Oz Family Cigars Pi Synesthesia in a local shop a few weeks ago and picked one up.  This one was a 6″ x 52 toro with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper, an Ecuadorian Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, made at the Pichardo factory. I have a few questions. The UPC sticker on the cigar has the Crowned Heads logo on it. I know they have a partnership, but I thought Oz Family cigars was its own thing and not a subsidiary, although Tim Ozgener’s financial involvement in CH has recently been confirmed. The other wildcard here, and one that makes anything I have to say about this particular example moot, is CH’s split from Pichardo. Unless this particular Pi Synesthesia is a one-and-done limited, it will have to find a new factory in which to be made. Whatever, it’s a $15 cigar, but, to me, there wasn’t anything to distinguish it from so many other Ecuador shade wrapped cigars. There are plenty available for less money that are just as good, or better.  It was a good smoke, just not too much different or special to me, not that I have a great palate. Standard bread, some nuts, and creamy.  I have smoke a lot worse!

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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Protocol, Hoyo de Monterrey and Diesel Cigars

A few weeks back I bought a five pack of Protocol Churchills from Discount Cigar Warehouse.  From what I know, this was exclusive to them and Churchills aren’t available in all the blends regularly.  I happen to be a big fan of the Churchill size, although these are only 6½” x 48, not quite the 7″ x 47 that is truly a Churchill. Call it what you will, it’s still a great size in my book. I’m pretty happy with anything from 5½” to 7″ and 46 to 60 ring.  I’m pretty happy with a lot of cigars to be honest.  Anyway, of the five blends in the sampler, I hadn’t smoked two of them, the aforementioned Cyber Crimes Unit, and the Official Misconduct. The Official Misconduct has been around since 2018, not sure how I haven’t smoked it yet, but I really quite enjoyed it. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made in the La Zona factory. Two of my favorite cigar brands make (or made, as in the case of the latter) cigars in this factory, La Sirena and Cornelius and Anthony. I enjoy many of the Espinosa cigars too, I just don’t seem to smoke as many of them as I should, I guess. Arandoza is another defunct brand that I really liked that was made there.  Anyway, this cigar made me happy. It was a nice, spicy Habano that hit the spot for me. I toy with the notion of ordering another five pack, these “Churchills” were very good. 

 

I made a stop on the way home from work the other day and picked up a couple new-to-me cigars that looked interesting.  First of which was the Diesel Atonement, a TAA exclusive.  This is a fairly priced cigar at $10 (in PA), has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  It’s made in the AJ Fernandez factory, as I believe all Diesel cigars to be. It’s a 6″ x 52 which made it an easy sell for me. It’s a nice looking cigar, smooth and dark with some oiliness to the wrapper. It was loaded with pepper from the light.  It reminded me a lot of the Puro Esteli, which I found to be fairly strong. I have a pair of those set aside, now that I think about it, one I took the cedar sleeve off, one I left it on, with the intention of seeing how the cedar sleeve affects the flavor after aging, a project for warmer weather.  The Atonement remained strong, the pepper remained throughout, although it deadened my palate after a while.  I’ve smoked my share of Diesel Cigars, and this was a pretty good one.  I have a hankering for a Whiskey Row Sherry Cask now, which is probably my favorite Diesel.

 

The other cigar I picked up was the Hoyo de Monterrey El Torcedor.  I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this one, apparently released in 2019. I searched my archive of press releases and came up with nuthin.  This is a rustic 6½” x 49 Figurado, very much like the Cuban Partagas Presidente (the vitola de galera on that one is Taco, by the way). It seems like I smoked another cigar in a similar shape, but I’ll be darned if I can remember what it was. I dig the size and shape.  It lit easily, the foot has a small surface area, not a formed “nipple” like a Hemingway. it burned perfectly and had a pleasing flavor.  It had some sweet spice and wood. I bought the last one the shop had in this size, I may stop for a couple of the larger size one day.  It’s a wonder I hadn’t heard about this one before.  I still need to try the Illusione/Excalibur cigar, anyone know where I can buy a couple?  I just looked, and Fox Cigars sells singles, but they are no cheap date!

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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Cubao, Wunderlust and Protocol Cigars and Gigantar!

I was poking around one of the humidors and realized I’d smoked a few Cubao Cameroon Churchills from Ortega Cigars and never mentioned them here.  Eddie is still making some great cigars, he’s using the TACASA S.A. factory.  This cigar has a Cameroon wrapper, like the name suggests, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  It smoked well and had a pleasing flavor. There was the nutty Cammerooniness that is inherent in the wrapper.  Well worth $20 for a five pack, as all of the cigar I’ve smoked from Ortega seem to be.  Shop Ortega Cigars and sign up for his email list, great bargains and cigars! I am especially fond of the Serie D Maduros!

 

I smoked another cigar from my Secret Santa this year, a Wunder|lust Fiorella, from RomaCraft.  This is a brand that’s only sold in Germany, from what I can tell.  The cigar is a corona gorda, 5 5/8″ x 46, has a Mata Fina wrapper from Brazil, Indonesian binder and, one would suspect, although it’s not disclosed, Nicaraguan fillers.  The Europeans seem to like Brazilian tobacco, brands like Villiger actually make cigars there for the European market.  For those who don’t know, this size is named for Skip Martin’s youngest daughter.  I love the size, always been one of my favorites after the toro.  Clearly, this cigar has Manbacco and Tastoterone, like it’s sibling blends, with a bold punch to start out.  It continues to be a full bodied cigar for me, surprised the Europeans like this so much.  I love the coffee notes and heavy tobacco.  This is probably hard to get, but definitely worthwhile!

 

Photo by Jennifer V.Yesterday I had a chance to talk to someone I featured in my “Celebrity Cigar Chats” back in 2010, Jim Babjak, guitar player and founding member of The Smithereens. We went to the unveiling of the Illinois Rock And Roll Museum‘s newest piece, which will be on their Rt 66 building. It’s a 24’ guitar sculpture, Gigantar, which was made by Shannon, world famous for her airbrush paintings.  This is an impressive sculpture which will be making its way to it’s new home from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, which is where the unveiling took place.  Jim and Dennis Diken, the drummer for the Smithereens, were there for the unveiling, and Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick (another cigar guy), will be in Joliet, IL for the dedication.  It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Jim an Dennis, and while it was too cold and windy outside for us to smoke, I gifted Jim a couple cigars. I’ve been a fan of the Smithereens since the ’80s and it was really cool to talk to Jim about cigars!  

 

Last night I grabbed another Churchill, the Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit, from a Protocol Churchill sampler I bought from Discount Cigar Warehouse, and I think some of these may be exclusive to that store. Anyway, I’ve been rather looking forward to smoking this cigar, it’s a Nicaraguan puro with a Rosado Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, which smoked much darker than that, if that makes sense.  I absolutely loved this cigar. It has a creaminess, but with heavy cocoa flavors.  Bittersweet chocolate came to mind.  I thought it was great and have to get some more.  Good stuff!

 

That’s enough for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reinado Grand Apex, JTrain, Fosforo and Rocky Patel Cigars

First week of 2023 is in the books.  I managed to smoke a few new-to-me cigars this week!  First off was the Fosforo Toro, a 6″x 50 cigar with a Ecuadorian habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Condego and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.  This is a creation of Jeff Mouttet of Riverside Cigars, and is distributed by Pospiech Inc., Mike Szczepankiewicz’s distribution company.  Ironically, I also smoked a Guaimaro yesterday, also distributed by Pospiech.  This cigar, while it looks like it could come out of Nica Sueno (RoMaCraft), it’s actually made at Garmendia, the factory which makes West Tampa Cigar Co.’s cigars.  The cigar is tasty, some earthiness, some espresso and cocoa, very much up my alley.  Burn and draw were perfect, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Thanks to my Secret Santa, once again, for sharing this with me!

 

I may be going out of order, but I’m probably the only one bothered by that! I also smoked the Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary, which I picked up on a recent visit to Goose’s Montecristo Lounge.  I’m probably one of the few people who haven’t smoked a whole lot of RP Edge cigars, I’ve probably only smoked a couple, to be honest.  Not sure why, just is.  I felt like I wanted to give this anniversary cigar a try, and it’s a little pricier than the regular Edge line.  It’s advertised as having 10 year aged tobaccos, although exactly which tobaccos are aged isn’t clear.  The wrapper is an Ecuador Sumatra, with Nicaraguan and Honduran files and binder.  I’m used to Sumatra having a unique sweetness, and this one started out with a cloying pepper spice that I wasn’t ready for. it was tongue coating.  Eventually it smoothed out, and was a very nice smoke.  I’d smoke this again, and I suppose I should samply my way through the Edge line, I think there’s 23 different cigars in that line? 🙂

 

Almost a year ago I saw John Remer at the TPE and he gave me his JTrain cigar, made at La Zona by Protocol Cigars. It has the Protocol logo in the band at least.  John has a web show called Johnny Smokes Uncut, and a facebook group of the same name. I’m not sure what’s up with the “uncut” part of the name.  Obviously one can’t smoke a cigar uncut, I have to assume it refers to the videos being unedited. This Robusto is 5″ x 50 and has a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper,with  Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers.  There are several cigars from this factory which are among my favorites, the La Sirena, and most of the no longer produced Cornelius and Anthony line (Someone recently compared the C&A Meridian to the new Knuckle Sandwich, the y may be similar, but all of the C&A cigars had some Virginia tobacco in them that I don’t think is available to La Zona any more).  The JTrain cigar hit me with a really different flavor, it was almost acidic, with an odd spice. It must have turned out OK because I stopped taking notes, a sure sign I am enjoying a cigar.  I have an FTrain that John gave me at the PCA show on deck, anymore I am not satisfied by a robusto, I save them to fit certain times, and I have a crapload of robustos in my stock.  

 

Finally, I smoked a Reinado Grand Apex Gordo this week. This is a 6″ x 60 cigar that has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers and is made at Aganorsa’s TABSA factory.  I’ve known Antonio Lam, the owner of Reinado Cigars, for a very long time.  When I met him he was making cigars with Yadi Gonzalez, maker of Flor de Gonzalez cigars.  We had some amusing times trying to record pieces at the IPCPR show a few years back. Antonio is a Jersey guy, and the Grand Apex has an altruistic side to it, as some proceeds go to Dementia Society of America.  Anyone who’s been reading here for any period of time will know that this cigar is my kind of cigar.  Maybe not so obvious is that many cigars that come out of Aganorsa aren’t particularly interesting to me.  I try, of course, but I haven’t found one that hits me just right. This one, however, does.  It’s got my espresso, along with some dark fruits, and I really dig it.  It’s definitely on my “buy” list, even in this size.  Great job Antonio and Aganorsa!  

 

That’s all for today. I was hoping to get to a shop today, but it looks like the grandkids are coming by, so that will have to wait, some things are more important!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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