Tag Archives: Take A Cigar For A Walk

Some Stronger Cigars: Joya de Nicaragua, Cain, Ortega, a Cusano and a Contest!

I found myself smoking more powerhouse cigars lately for some reason.  Maybe it was the need for a satisfying smoking experience, or just the luck of the draw, I don’t know.  I do know that Wednesday evening I wanted a sure thing, no gambling on a new cigar, something tried and true.  I had actually wanted to drive up to Easton to see Jonathan Drew at the Drew Estate event at Leaf cigar bar, but after a long day at work spending three and a half more hours in the car didn’t appeal to me.  I’ll see JD at the IPCPR show. So I went for a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo that I had picked up a few months ago when I visited a little shop in Kutztown, PA.  The El Martillo is a 5 ½” x 54 over sized robusto and has a beautiful dark wrapper.  This is a strong cigar.  I remember smoking one of these in Nicaragua while touring the Joya de Nicaragua factory and having to put it down before the strength of the cigar and the heat and humidity in the factory got the better of me.  This one was similar, I really needed some sugar when I was done to offset the nicotine effects.  A tremendous cigar, maybe less suitable for sultry weather than some other cigars though!

 

Thursday was the exception to the rule, I had a Cusano 18 Double Connecticut that a business associate had sent me because he came across it and wanted me to try it, unaware that I have smoked these in the past.  Of course, I appreciate the sentiment and I do give him a cigar when he visits from the west coast.  These are a nice, mellow, flavorful Connecticut wrapped cigar.  They were exceptional when Cusano was privately owned, and are no less exceptional under the wing of Davidoff.  Pretty, well made and tasty.  Gave me an hour and a half or so of pleasure.

 

Friday I took the day off to visit Monmouth Park in New Jersey with my wife’s family.  My Father-in-Law likes to go there, so we celebrate his birthday at the park every year.  I took a pocket full of cigars, and spent a few races outside enjoying the heck out of a Cain F Tubed Lancero.  I love the Cain line of cigars, I just usually find them too powerful.  The beauty of the Lancero is the format forces one to smoke slowly, which keeps the strength from really being a liability.  I love the elegance of the Lancero, and this one was perfectly built, loaded with spicy, deliciousness.  Like a fine steak, when you take the last bite you’re sad that it’s gone, this cigar made me forget that every darned horse I bet on, whether he led the whole race or not, came in in the bottom three.  I strayed from my usual system at the track, yeah….that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

 

Upon arrival home, I took the dog and an Ortega Series D No. 6 for a walk to the local convenience store to pick up a lottery ticket.  I’m starting to sound like a real gambler, no wonder I get offers from poker sites for paid links.  I’m really a light weight, 2 dollar bets at the track and a dollar twice a week in the Mega Millions isn’t really too bad. I’ve seen people drop thousands on the tables in Vegas.  Back to the cigar.  Did I mention that the temps were pushing 100° F yesterday?  Hot stuff!  The No. 6 is a perfect sized cigar, 4½” x 48 and had a beautiful and oily San Andreas Maduro wrapper.  Lately, when I know I want a great smoke, I choose one with this wrapper.  It just suits me, what can I say.  The Series D has a really smooth, refined flavor.  No rough edges at all, you could pop these in your mouth all day long like Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses, so it’s not really strong, but very rich and satisfying. Gotta get me some more of these!  Well done Eddie!

 

Contest!

 

General Cigar Co. has been having a contest on their HoyoDeMonterreyCigar.com site where they are giving away a box of their Reposado en Cedros cigars every day so head over there and try to win a box!  These are really tasty smokes!  From the press release:

After being handcrafted by a handpicked team of artisans, each Reposado en Cedros cigar undergoes Inmersión, an innovative method of aging created at HATSA, General Cigar’s Honduran cigar factory. With this technique, each cigar is enveloped in fragrant cedar and left to rest for an extended period of time. The cigar matures to a complex, medium-bodied smoke that has won the brand stellar ratings and praise from the premium cigar category’s most discerning experts. 

In honor of that, I will give away two (2) Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros 3-packs courtesy of General CigarCo.  to a lucky reader for the next four weeks!  Please leave a comment to enter. Usual rules apply, and I’ll stress that if you enter, and are chosen as the winner, please contact me with your mailing address so I can send your winnings!  A new contest will start each Sunday and the winner will be announced the following Wednesday. If you’ve tried these, you know how good they are, and if you haven’t, here’s a great opportunity to try them!

 

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

CigarCraig

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Accessory/Website Review, Flor de Gonzales, San Lotano, KMA, Alec Bradley and Partagas

Last week I received an e-mail from CigarBargains.com about a Combo Cigar Cutter/Knife w/ Belt/Money Clip.  CigarBargains.com is a site run by CheapHumidors.com which allows one to negotiate with “Suzy” and work the price down.  I thought it would be a neat experiment and always kinda wanted a knife like this, knowing full well it would be crap for properly cutting a cigar (more on that later).  I buy stuff for a living, Buyer is actually my job title, so I know how this works.  I start out looking at the shipping and deciding how much I’m willing to pay. In this case, the farther under $10 the better.  Their starting offer for this item was $10.99, so my opening offer was $3.  “Suzy” replied with “I might have peed myself a little at your offer of $3.50. You need to be closer to $9.68.”.  This went on for a while, with various comments about needing a new purse, feeding the kids and such.  When all was said and done, I ended up getting this for $9.05 delivered, which met my requirements.  Shipping from Florida was reasonably quick as I received it on  Thursday after completing the transaction last Friday.  As anticipated, the knife does a reasonably good job of mangling a cigar, I had the strangest cut, but I have to admit it cut cleanly and I ended up having an excellent smoking experience.  I think it would work better using the blade to make a V cut, or, and I haven’t tried this yet, putting the cigar in the hole, putting the blade up to the cigar with a little pressure, and rotating the cigar, then pealing off the cap.  It was a worthwhile experiment, and there are some decent deals to be had with enough patience to follow through with the negotiating.

 

The cigar I cut with the new knife was a Flor de Gonzales 90 Miles Robusto, the last of a 5 pack I won well over 2 years ago.  I’ve enjoyed smoking these cigars, the construction was flawless and the flavors agreeable.  The poor cut, while offensive to my CDO (OCD in alphabetical order as it should be)  addled brain, was not a factor and didn’t take away from the experience.  It was a smooth, flavorful medium bodied smoke which I enjoyed to the fullest. The two years or so of age didn’t hurt this cigar either.

 

Friday evening calls for a little bit of a special cigar, so I selected a San Lotano Habano Lancero for my evening walk.  I had picked this up at a San Lotano event at Olde World Tobacco in Lancaster, PA several months ago.  This is a beautiful 7″ x 38 lancero, with a nice little pigtail cap.  I went back to my regular cutter for this one, no reason to risk mangling this cigar.  Burn was perfect.  I love it when a cigar burns with a nice flat ember, not pointy, all the tobaccos burning at exactly the same rate.  It’s a miracle that this can be accomplished and I always appreciate it it when I see it.  AJ Fernandez makes some terrific cigars, this was no different.  I love the lancero format.

 

Saturday morning I had the great pleasure of being the guest on Kiss My Ash Radio‘s Bloggers Corner segment.  I was nervous as hell, and there were some things I planned on mentioning but missed. Fortunately, Abe had done a piece on pairing root beers with cigars, which I’ve been doing for years.  I wanted to suggest Victory Brewery‘s root beer, as it is exceptional and made right here in my home town.  I even had notes and in my nervousness I didn’t look at them!  Oh well, I hope I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself, I appreciate being invited on the show.   Saturday afternoon I stopped by JM Cigars in Exton, PA to say hello to Jon Lipson, the Alec Bradley rep, who was having an event there.  I picked up a few American Classic Blends in Corona and Robusto and smoked a Corona while catching up with Jon and the folks at the shop.  For an absolutely stunning day I was surprised at the traffic in the store.  I guess I figure people have better things to do on a stunning Saturday, I know I did.  I enjoyed the American Classic Corona very much and went home to change the oil in the scooter and mow the lawn.

 

To finish up the day I fired up a Partagas 1845 Gigante that I received in a sample pack from General Cigar.  It’s a 6 x 60 that feels much bigger for some reason.  I took my son’s dog for a nice walk and enjoyed the heck out of this cigar. So far I think I liked the Robusto better, but this monster was very good, burned well and lasted for quite a while.  So far I’m impressed by this line, although I really can’t think of a Partagas cigar I really haven’t enjoyed, General Cigar Co. or otherwise.  Dirty little secret: Havana Partagas Presidente is one of my all time favorite cigars.  Give the Partagas 1845 a try, it’s a very tasty smoke.

 

I’m off today to Whippany, NJ to meet up with ACigarSmoker.com‘s Peter Glad at JR Cigars‘ store and lounge.  It’s always fun going to the store there and having a nice lunch and cigars, and I’m looking forward to meeting Peter.  Of course, stop on by if you’re in the area and say hello and join us for a smoke!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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A Gurkha, An E-Doble, a Romeo and Some More News

Sunday my wife and I decided to take nice long walk before the heat of the day kicked in.  We needed to tire out the son’s dog, so she came along.  I grabbed a Gurkha Cellar Reserve Churchill since I wanted something reasonably mild for an early cigar, yet big enough to last the entire walk.  For some reason I have trouble walking now without a cigar!  Anyway, this is a nice enough cigar, it’s pretty big at 7″ x 54, and it’s well made.  The dog got a kick out of running into the creek, and we managed a 3 mile walk (through the park with the “no dogs” signs….oops!  what’s next, no smoking”)  I’m not a huge fan of Criollo wrappers, but I like this one enough for it to hold my interest through out the smoke.

 

After a day spent doing something other than what we had planned, I finished the day with an E-Doble from Smoke Inn.  This is such a beautiful cigar, burned perfectly even, has a terrific flavor, it’s hard to believe it’s a $50 per bundle cigar.  I can’t even begin to recall how many cigars I’ve smoked that have cost two or three times the price of this and was dissapointed by them.  Eric Espinosa (of EO Brands, 601, Murcialago, etc.) has a winner with this one.  I can see myself getting a bundle of these at some point, and I want to turn my brother-in-law on to them as well.  This is a cigar that he will enjoy, as will just about anyone especially if you don’t have a lot of cash to drop on cigars.  Really, really good. Thanks to Abe at Smoke Inn for sending me samples, I’m super impressed.

 

Monday evening my hand came out of the humidor holding a Romeo, the new offering from Altadis and Romeo y Julieta.   There are a few in the Romeo y Julieta range that I like, but most of them don’t do it for me.  This was a good cigar, the ash held for nearly half of it’s 5″ length, which I found to be impressive.  I suppose it was stronger than many cigars in the range, it wasn’t unpleasant at all, it just wasn’t really my cup of tea.  No fault to the cigar, it’s just me.  Technically it held up it’s end of the deal, it burned perfectly, and produced mouthfuls of smoke, and the wrapper was very pretty.  Try it if you get the chance, never rely on my tastes, I like Hamburger Helper for crying out loud!

 

News

 

Lot’s of news coming out recently!  Emilio Cigars had the Draig K leaving the factory at the end of the month.  The Draig K is a terrific cigar if you like a good maduro.  Gary also has the AF Suave hitting the shelves by the end of this month.  I haven’t had the opportunity to smoke this one, but it’s an Ecuadoran Connecticut wrapped cigar reportedly on the milder end of the Emilio range.

 

General Cigar has the Hoyo Reposado Box a Day Giveaway going on, the CAO Last Stick Standing promotion, as well as a Father’s Day contest on the La Gloria Cubana site.  I’ll have more on the Hoyo de Monterrey contest in the near future.  Follow the links for information on these promos.

 

Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium in Connecticut will be hosting what’s belived to be the first Virtual Cigar Workshop with José Blanco of Joya de Nicaragua on Thursday June 21.  José does an excellent presentation on cigar blending that’s a real eye opener.  He has cigars made with 4 different wrappers so one can taste how the wrapper effects the flavor of a cigar.  There’s some video and my impressions on my post from last year’s IPCPR show where I caught his blending session.  It’s a pretty cool experience and I recommend it highly. there is info available on the Butthead’s Tobacco Emporium site.

 

That’s about all I have for now, except to announce that if the winner of this month’s contest doesn’t contact me by Sunday, I may have to select another winner! I e-mailed directly, I shouldn’t have to work this hard to give stuff away!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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CAO Last Stick Standing Cigar Reviews and News

I think this is a really cool way to select the next CAO blend.  There is a promotion currently running where when you purchase six CAO cigars at your local retailer, you receive a tin containing three cigars.  The idea is to smoke the three cigars and go to the CAO Website and vote for your favorite of the three.  The cigar with the most votes is the next CAO cigar.   When I received the samples, I was asked to submit a video for inclusion on their website, which is something I’ve never done before.  I’m not sure how it will go over, and I suppose I’ll do more in the future if it’s not utterly repulsive.

 

I smoked the three cigars over the course of  four days. The cigars were banded with “C”, “A” and “O”.  Since I’m borderline CDO (that’s OCD in alphabetical order, as it should be) I smoked them in order.   I found that they were three distinctly different cigars, “C” was a leathery Honduran tasting cigar, “A” was a milder, sweeter, almost Dominican flavored cigar and “O” was a heavy Nicaraguan style.  Obviously, these are just my opinions, I have no clue what the blend is on any of them.  I kind of liked the “A” the best, I don’t know if it’s because I thought it was a little different from the other cigars in the CAO stable, or that it’s bright, almost citrus sweetness surprised and delighted me.  Whatever my thoughts were, don’t miss the chance to have a say in the next CAO cigar, hunt down a Last Stick Standing tin and decide for yourself.  I will say that all three cigars were perfectly constructed and smoked really well.  Let me know what you think of the video!

httpv://youtu.be/Ja8eBMl4wBI

 

News

I reported on this event last year, and they broke last year’s record this time.  I always appreciate when those of us who are maligned for doing such socially unacceptable things as enjoying the occasional cigar do wonderful things for society.  Here’s the press release:

G&G Golf Outing Raises $14,800 for Cancer Research

When long time friends and West Chester business partners, Pete Garzia and Doug Gianforte, both lost parents to cancer a few years ago they decided to do something to support cancer research. The men, owners of G&G Cigar Company, decided to hold a benefit golf tournament with all proceeds supporting Fox Chase Cancer Center’s research. The just concluded Third Annual G&G Golf Outing raised $14,800 for Fox Chase. This brings G& G’s total donations to over $57,000 to various charities the past 6 years with Fox Chase being the chief beneficiary. Doug’s mother was treated at Fox Chase for 2 years and Pete lost both parents to cancer. The partners, also well known members of the construction industry, rallied their friends, clients, business associates, and suppliers for a good time at Downingtown Golf Club for golf, lunch, dinner, prizes and a congenial cigar. The event has been sold out annually.

Another great job by Doug and company up at G&G Cigars in West Chester, PA!

Also, please join me in welcoming our newest advertiser, Smoke Inn.  These folks have a bunch of retail stores inn Florida and a really great web store.  I met Abe several years ago through a mutual friend, and he’s a heck of a guy.  Give them a look when you get a chance, they have some awesome stuff!

That’s more than enough for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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An Emilio Draig K, a Diamondback, and a San Lotano

Thursday had turned into a stressful day, and when my wife suggested a walk into town, I knew I wanted a terrific cigar to take along.  So many choices, so I came across a pre-release sample of the new cigar from Emilio Cigars and Gary Griffith, the Draig K.  This dark, oily toro just looked like it was the cigar I was looking for. I had actually just about settled on a Liga Privada T52 when I was distracted by the Draig.  Made in the Placencia factory, the only details I recall are that it features some Colombian tobacco in the filler.  I love a maduro, and I loved this cigar.  It was exactly the rich, satisfying smoking experience I had hoped for.  There were a couple points where it stopped wanting to burn and needed a relight, and there was a small tunnel about 4 inches in, but the flavor and texture of the smoke kept me relighting it down to a ¾” nub.  Yummy cigar. Yet another cigar I’m going to have to get my hands on when they hit the streets!  Thank you, Gary, for the opportunity to sample this fine cigar.

 

Friday night finally rolled around and I was in an experimental mood, so I reached for the IPCPR show sample of the Diamondback robusto from Altadis.  First, from the department of cynicism, one can’t help but draw a comparison between this cigar and another 5″ x 54 shade wrapped cigar with “diamond” in it’s name.  Pre-conceived notions aside, this was a very nice cigar.  It was solidly constructed, burned even and cut cleanly.  If you like shade wrapped cigars, you may want to try these out, considering you can get them by the box for under $50.  Not a bad cigar at all. My only complaint was that the draw was a little tighter than I’d prefer, making me have to work a little harder than I’d like.

 

Saturday was another beautiful spring day.  Showers were in the forecast for later, so I hit the back deck with a San Lotano Maduro lancero.  I’ve very much enjoyed past San Lotano maduros, so expectations were high, as I love  lancero format as well.  This was a terrific cigar, although comparing it with its fatter brethren is a little unfair.  Certainly, smoking the lancero is a little different experience,  one cannot expect the same flavors as a toro or robusto due to the difference in the filler proportions.  Where I find the larger ring gauges in this line to be rich and creamy like smoking a chocolate bar, the lancero was more like bittersweet chocolate.  In no way do I mean to imply that this is a bad thing, as the lancero was a fantastic smoke.  I spent nearly 2 hours nursing every last bit of tasty smoke from it, awfully sad to put it down when it decided it’s time had come. I had picked this up several months ago when I visited Gary Griffith at his People’s Plaza Cigar-ette City store.

 

News

 

I’m sure most of you have already done this, but if you haven’t, please head over the the White House website and sign the petition that’s there.  Here’s a terrific video from Bill Spann outlining the importance of this fight to keep the FDA out of our humidors.

httpv://youtu.be/7bfqIFGu9WM

It looks like there should be no problem getting to 25,000 signatures, but I think we often over-estimate the number of internet cigar nuts out there.  If cigar smokers are a small subset of the general population, and PREMIUM cigar smokers represent a very small subset of those, then those of us who carry our passion for cigars onto the internet are a VERY small part.  It’s important to spread the word and get others on board with this.  It will not be a happy day if the FDA is allowed to regulate premium cigars!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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