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Punch vs. Hoyo de Monterrey – A Debate Finally Settled

You will find that my cigar smoking habits may be a little different than most of my contemporaries. I certainly do smoke a lot of different, new and unusual smokes, but I don’t generally go out of my way to get the newest and rarest. Much of this has to do with my frugal nature, I’m a cheap bastard. The thing is, I have always had a healthy regard for the big brands, as often seeing a “yellow box” Partagas is as much of a treat as something like a Tatuaje (which I have not smoked many of, save for the La Casita Criolla) or something of that ilk. I honestly enjoy the heck out of a plain old Macanudo Maduro, and lets face it, while Macanudo and Partagas are not outrageously priced, they aren’t cheap, and I know first hand that they have the same care and passion put into them as any other cigar. The same can be said for Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo, both are made by an enormous company, in massive quantities, but the quality of materials and construction cannot be disputed. Anyway, that’s a little bit off of today’s subject, but gives some background and basis for the subject of this article.

 

A few posts back, MoBarbq left a comment referring to the Punch London Club Maduro in comparison to the Hoyo de Monterrey Sabroso. These two cigars are made in the same factory in Honduras (HATSA), and are the same size. It brought to mind a seemingly endless discussion back in the 90s (and to this day) about the Punch and Hoyo lines. There was a conspiracy theory that the Rothschilds were the same cigars, just packaged in the different boxes (at the time the Rothschilds were un-banded). Both lines were available in natural, maduro and double maduro (oscuro or maduro maduro), were priced the same and were close enough in flavor to fuel this suspicion. Also, if you look at the two lines, there are quite a few parallels in sizes, the Sabroso and London Club being another. Just recently as I was shopping for some Punch and Hoyo examples, my local tobacconist told me that he witnessed with his own eyes Punch and Hoyo cigars being taking from the same rolling tables in the factory. The info from the CigarWorld.com website would make you think that there is some truth to this:

 

Hoyo de Monterrey

Wrapper: Ecuadoran Sumatra  (Natural) and Connecticut Broadleaf (Maduro)

Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican (Piloto Cubano)

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Country: Honduras

Factory: Honduras American Tabaco S. A., Cofradia, Honduras

 

Punch

Wrapper: Ecuadoran Sumatra  (Natural) and Connecticut Broadleaf (Maduro)

Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican (Piloto Cubano)

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Country: Honduras

Factory: Honduras American Tabaco S. A., Cofradia, Honduras

 

I’m on a constant quest for cigar knowledge, so, I will finally find an answer to the age old debate.

  • This controversy goes back at least to a 1984 article in Connoisseur Magazine where Frank Llaneza is quoted as saying, when asked about the difference: “The filler is pretty much the same, but we try to use binder leaf from the upper primings for Punch; they’re stronger-tasting. Hoyo uses the lower to middle leaf as binder. It is mellower and more aromatic.”
  • In a 1995 interview with Dan Blumenthal, Marvin Shanken asked the question “C.A.: How would you describe the difference in blend or style or taste between Hoyo and Punch?  Blumenthal: I think that Punch is a little heavier cigar than the Hoyo. There’s a little more flavor, to me, than in the Hoyo de Monterrey. There is a difference. The blends are made by Frank Llaneza”.
  • So, I inquired of Victoria McKee Jaworski, the Public Relations Director at General Cigar, about these two references and she got me some updated information. She said “they have different ratios of tobacco, so the blends are different. Punch is slightly fuller-bodied and uses more ligero. Its wrapper is closer to a Colorado color. And for Hoyo, the wrapper is a lighter shade of Ecuadoran Sumatra”. In the case of the maduro, Agustin Garcia, production manager at HATSA, the man responsible for tobacco processing and cigar production, tells us: “The wrapper for Punch Maduro and HDM Maduro is Connecticut Broadleaf for both of them. For Punch we use a darker color and little heavier wrapper than HdM”.

So there we have it. While the materials used in both lines of cigars are similar, and in some cases the same, there are differences. The Punch is blended to be a little more powerful and the Hoyo is supposed to be a little more refined. That puts that controversy to bed once and for all, and I can go back to my local shop and argue with them that they do not, in fact, take cigars from the same rolling table and box them in Punch or Hoyo boxes (of course, they go from the rolling tables into the aging rooms long before they are banded, wrapped and boxed!).

 

Since I’ve been smoking my way through a box of Hoyo Sabroso Maduro for the last year, and managed to get my hands on a box of Punch London Club Maduros, I figured I’d see for myself what the difference is.  I’m half way through the box Hoyo Sabrosos and I’ve really been enjoying them. They have the reasonably heavy,  dark maduro flavors I look for in the colder months.  Every one has been well made and most have been smoked down to a tiny nub.  I bought this box last year and it has been in my humidor ever since.  I just received a box of the Punch London Club Maduros this week, so they haven’t had the benefit of a year’s rest, but I smoked a couple of them anyway!  The cigars appear to have a darker, oilier wrapper than the Hoyos, they are gorgeous. To me, the Punch is a little stronger in flavor, consistent with all of the evidence provided above, so I have no reason to doubt that each line has it’s own distinctive blend, even if that difference is a matter of primings, leaf selections or proportions.  As far as I’m concerned, both are outstanding little smokes, although, admittedly, comparing year old cigars to new ones isn’t a very scientific way to do it!  I also managed to smoke an old favorite, the Punch Rothschild Maduro Maduro this week, and boy, was it good!  Savory and lush flavors and a long finish…another yummy smoke!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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A 601 La Bomba, a San Lotano Oval, News and a Contest Winner!

While perusing CigarEvents.com it came to my attention that Eddie Ortega of EO Brands was going to be making an appearance at my local shop, JM Cigars, in Exton, PA. After dinner my son and I made our way over there.  We promptly purchased some of the last 601 La Bombas that they had and fired one of these badboys up and visited with Eddie for a while. I have been patronizing this shop since the mid-90s and it’s one of the best around.  The shop was packed and the LA Bomba was awesome. I had only previously had a pre-release sample, which I loved.  These are terrific cigars with a little bit of strength.  It’s always a good time hanging out with Eddie, and I got to catch up with an old friend, Rob, after the shop cleared out.  Nice bunch of folks, and a fine way to spend a chilly Friday evening.

 

Saturday’s walk cigar was a San Lotano Oval which I received from Clay at AJ Fernandez a few months ago.  These cigars are unique in the fact that they, as the name implies, are oval shaped.  I smoked the 6 x 54 toro, which looks like it was squished.  The shape is very comfortable to smoke, and, like a box press, it doesn’t roll off the table when you set it down. there’s a bright flavor in this cigar that I enjoy but can’t put a finger on.  All I know is that this is a tasty, well made and interesting cigar! I look forward to a maduro version one day!

 

News

There were two new entries into the blogosphere recently that I think are notable.  First, Frank Seltzer, who you see writing in all the big cigar magazines and around the web, is now contributing to the JR Cigars blog.   Frank is a real journalist, and I’m proud to say he’s an old friend.  He has a couple articles in the latest JR catalog as well.  Also breaking into the blog world is Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars, with “From Seed To Smoke“.  Gary’s pretty prolific on Twitter and he’s making some outstanding cigars and is a heck of a nice guy who I’m also proud to call friend.  I look forward to reading what he has to say.  I HAVE to get down to Delaware and visit him at his shop one of these days!

 

Contest!

Let’s get to the part you’ve all been waiting for, the selection of this month’s contest winner.  The prize consists of the following: a Drew Estate cap and a Liga Privada cutter, a Stogieboys.com Cigar Journal, a C-Gars Ltd. ring gauge card, a Liga Privada T52 Belicoso, a Monte Pascoal Belicoso and a American Eagles Half Corona.   Thank you to all of the generous sponsors of this contest. As usual, I created a spreadsheet of the eligible entries and assigned them numbers based upon the time of the entry.  I consulted with the Random.Org True Random Number Generator for the winning number.  The number 19 came up, which corresponds to an entry via Twitter by @s5592c, aka Steve Christopher.  Congrats to Steve and thanks for reading!  Please e-mail me your contact info so I can ship this stuff out to you! Thanks to everyone for entering, and keep an eye out for next months contest!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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A Bunch of Cigars, A Shop Visit, and A Contest!

After a busy few weeks of chronicling my trip to General Cigar Dominicana, it’s time to try to get back into a normal routine. I haven’t smoked too many cigars since my return.  When I got back I had a terrible cold, so I didn’t waste too many cigars, and the ones that I optimistically tried tasted pretty bad.  I kept it to cigars that I knew pretty well to gauge my taste buds.  After a week or so, I was pretty well back to being able to enjoy a cigar.

 

One of the first cigars I had was a sample from the IPCPR show.  I ended up with a bunch of cigars from Brun Del Re, a cigar maker from Costa Rica.  This was a cigar from their Don Corazza line, which is a cigar made from Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos.  The size was a 4″ x 60 which isn’t listed on their website.  The cigar started with a nice, unique flavor, which turned a bit sour in the second half.  I have a robusto in this line yet, as well as robustos in three or four of the other lines.  Unfortunately, I have some pre-conceived notions about show samples from companies like this.  It’s not fair, I know, but there have been so many cigars I’ve smoked in the past that have just been “same old, same old”, and failed to impress. These are nice looking sticks and I’ll certainly smoke them with an open mind.  I may not get to the rest of the samples until spring, as I smoke fewer cigars in the colder weather, and tend to stronger ones.

 

I enjoyed a Monte Pascoal Robusto as well last week, courtesy of Wes Gensel, of Monte Pascoal cigars.  This is a Brazilian puro, was awarded the best Brazilian cigar by Cigar Journal Magazine at their awards ceremony last July in Vegas, and is a very nice smoke.  Perfectly constructed and a pretty cigar with a nice flavor.    This is the first larger vitola I’ve smoked and I actually liked it better than the petite corona. On the full side of medium, this is a cigar you should try if you get a chance.

 

Last weekend we had an unusual October snowstorm, which dumped about 4 inches of wet snow on our area.  We were fortunate to not lose power as many in the area did, nor did we have any limbs down on our property.  I took my usual Saturday walk with a Cuban Crafters Powerhouse.  I chose this because it was a cold and nasty day and I wanted something that would cut through the crappy weather.  I mentioned somewhere that if I’m going to have my cigar get wet while I’m smoking it, I prefer it’s on a 90 degree day in a pool.  As rotten as the weather was, this strong cigar was quite enjoyable.  Any cigar that can hold up to wet snow and still provide a satisfying experience must be OK.  This is a 6″ x 54 pigtailed toro that has a Nicaraguan Ligero binder, which strikes me as unusual.  This is probably the first Cuban Crafters branded cigar I’ve really liked, but certainly not the first from Tabacalera Estili and Don Kiki Berger.

 

Halloween is always a traditional stogie night for me, and this year I opted for one of the coronas that I blended at Cigar Safari.  The first one of these I smoked was at the 3 month mark, and it was spectacular.  This one, while really good, was not as good as the first.  I suppose as these age they will certainly change, I’m hoping that they will get better rather than worse.  I shared one of these with my son yesterday and he enjoyed it.  Seven left.

 

My mid-week walk got off to a late start so I stuck with a shorter smoke.  A Gran Habano Habano #3 that was sent to my by one of my readers, Lloyd Ladrillono.  I’ve been seeing these in catalogs, and they had a really interesting booth at the trade show which I never managed to visit, and the cigars look great and seem to be priced well.  Lloyd was kind enough to share these with me and I appreciate it.  I really enjoyed this robusto, it had a sweetness that I like a lot.  This cigar hit me just right, it worked the way it should and tasted great.

 

I finished off the work week with a Murcielago Toro Grande which I bought at the Delaware Cigar Festival from Eddie Ortega. I like Eddie a lot, and I like the Murcielago more.  The San Andreas maduro wrapper is beautiful and delicious.  This one went a little sour at the band, but I think some humidor time will solve that problem.  If I can keep my hands off the couple I have left, I’ll see if that’s the case, but this is a perfect cold weather cigar for me.

 

Saturday I took a drive to Pottstown, Pa. and paid a visit to Cole’s Tobacco.  My wife had seen a picture of the store on one of the local radio station’s websites and did some research which led us to the visit.  They have been there for a century and it’s the first I’d heard of it.  In addition to a reasonable sized walk in humidor, they sell roll-your-own tobacco, candy, all kinds of stuff like an old fashioned news stand.  They had the largest selection of Lars Tetens cigars I’ve seen in 15 years, we picked up a bottle of Lars’ Steak Sauce for the heck of it, I certainly wasn’t going to smoke any of his cigars!  Anyway I walked out with a couple of Kristoffs that I hadn’t seen before, and had a nice chat with the proprietor, a young guy named Courtney.  No lounge that I saw, but not a bad place to get some cigars if you find yourself in downtown Pottstown, PA.

 

To wrap the week up I smoked a Oja Anniversary perfecto on my Saturday walk.  This is a semi-box pressed cigar with a Brazilian Samba wrapper that is rustic and oily.  It has a very dark, rich flavor and burned well, despite it’s rough appearance.  This was a sample sent to me by Luis Garcia, the brand owner.  This is one of the cigars made by Kiki Berger in Nicaragua that I alluded to earlier that I really like, the whole line is good, but this anniversary edition is really nice. It commemorates the brand’s first anniversary, which is a little odd, but the cigar works, so who cares?

 

I haven’t had a contest in a while, so I have a Drew Estate cap and a Liga Privada cutter to give away this time.  I might as well throw in a Stogieboys.com Cigar Journal along with it as well as a C-Gars Ltd. ring gauge card. I can’t be trusted NOT to include a cigar or two in a prize package. Leave a comment for a chance to win, and a Tweet with a link to this page (mentioning @cigarcraig so I see it) will get you an extra entry.  I’ll draw a name at random next Sunday, November 13, 2011.  Good luck!

 

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

CigarCraig

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Weekend Cigars: A CroMagnon, A La Casita Criolla, G&G Cigars, and a Marco V

First off, I’d like to welcome our latest sponsor, CigarChoice.com.  As with all of my sponsors, please pay them a visit and consider them when doing your online shopping!  You will find their ads in the right-hand sidebar, as well as on the CigarCraigsList and Links pages.  I appreciate their support, but my opinions or my content will never be effected by outside sources!

 

After the torrential rain subsided this week, I was in the mood for something special, so I grabbed a CroMagnon Cranium that Skip Martin handed me at  the IPCPR show.  I guess this makes me a cigar weasel, but I suppose I’m in good company (this is a bit of an inside joke among those who follow Skip on Twitter).  This line is a collaboration between Skip and Michael Rosales of Adrians Premium Costa Rican Cigars, however it’s manufactured in Esteli, Nicaragua with Nicaraguan tobaccos wrapped in a Cameroon binder and finished off with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.  The cigar is rustic looking, but solid.  I anticipated loving this cigar, and I was right, broadleaf AND Cameroon?  Lovely combination!.  It had just the right punch and deep, dark flavors that were the perfect ending to the week.  Highly recommended, although only available from Havacigarshop.com.

 

I had some time on my hands Saturday, so I paid a much overdue visit to G & G Cigars in West Chester, PA, just 10 miles down the road from home.  I run into the owner, Doug, at the IPCPR show more than I do in his store.  Why? I guess I just don’t get out much.  The shop is in the middle of a busy college town/county seat in part of what was once the Warner Theater. As a long time area resident, I can remember going to matinees in that theater, but it’s been closed for decades and is currently being renovated into a hotel.  The shop is well appointed, has a generous selection of cigars and was staffed by a very nice gentleman named Tony, who made me feel quite welcome. I picked up a couple of the new La Casita Criolla corona from Tatuaje Cigars, since I had read about these, and they sounded like something I’d like.  These are made entirely of Nicaraguan Broadleaf, which is quite unusual.  Again, I was right, I DID like it.  This corona burned great, and had tons of dark, rich flavors, which came as no surprise. While $6.50 is generally outside of my comfort zone for a corona, I really wanted to try this one.   I was invited to sit in their members only lounge, and enjoyed a good hour or so with a diverse and interesting group of gents.  The store has a membership program where for $50 per year you can use the lounge and attend monthly special events.  On the one hand, I find it odd to not have a place open to the regular (non-member) clientele to enjoy a cigar after purchasing it, as well as having events that aren’t open to the general public.  However, it is a small shop, and they’ve obviously found something that works for them.  Very nice shop, and a very nice cigar to go along with it.

 

As I’m writing this, I’m enjoying a M. Vito x Marco V Cuban Perfecto Platinum Reserve, which was given to me by Marco V at the IPCPR show.  It’s a big, beautiful, dark perfecto wrapped in Brazilian Arapiraca.  I’m finding it to be on the lighter side of the medium that it says on the website, but it still has a nice flavor and is generally well behaved.  I selected this so that I could include a video from the show of Marco, as well as a video of a gentleman who was sharing his booth, Gunnar, who’s a very interesting German fellow.  Since it seems to be football season, it’s only appropriate to show off Gunnar’s creation, The Football Cigar, which is an actual premium cigar, despite it’s novelty appearance.  The Marco V is a nice cigar, the ash is a little flakey, but it’s pleasant and well made.   Both Marco and Gunnar are really nice folks and I thank them for taking their time with me at the show.

 

Here’s Marco telling us about his line of cigars:




And here’s Gunnar talking about his Football Cigar:




That’s it for now, don’t forget to write to your elected officials imploring them to co-sponsor the legislation that’s in both the House and the Senate to save Premium cigars from certain destruction at the hands of the FDA (right sidebar). Both Cigar Rights of America and the IPCPR have excellent tools on their sites to make writing to your legislators easy.  Also, only a few days left to enter the Macanudo Millionaire 4-pack contest where I’ll select two lucky winners on Wednesday, September 14!  Go HERE to enter!

 

CigarCraig

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Oja Cigar Contest Winner Announcement, and a Casa Fernandez Comparison

First, I’d like to thank Luis Garcia, owner of Oja Cigars, for generously providing this box of his Oja Mestizo Artefacto cigars for this contest.  I’d also like to thank everyone who voted for helping me select a winner.  There’s no way I could have decided on my own.  The poll says it all, winning with 42% of the vote is Lloyd Ladrillono!  Congrats Lloyd!  I know you will enjoy these cigars and thanks for being a loyal reader!

 

Earlier this week I decided to try a little experiment.  The Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Toro called to me, it just looked so good in the humidor that I had to smoke it.  I had picked this cigar up on my Father’s Day cigar ride, and I usual don’t smoke a cigar so soon after purchase, but, as I said, it looked too good.  It WAS good!  It was a little looser than I prefer and burned faster than I would have liked, but it was definitely a cigar I would smoke again in a heartbeat. It was rich and satisfying with a pleasing flavor.

 

The following evening I grabbed the Casa Fernandez CRA edition which had come with my membership renewal.  The cigar looked just like the Aganorsa Leaf, same size, same shade, the only difference being the secondary band.  I was hopeful that I’d have the same, if not better, experience as the previous cigar.  Sadly, that was not the case.  I wrestled with lighting this cigar, had to make frequent corrections to the burn, and the draw was not as free as it’s sibling.  It took a little more effort to get it to give up the smoke.  I didn’t find the flavor to be as rich as the other cigar either.  It’s very strange  to me that these should be SO different, but such is the way of cigars, I suppose.

 

I’m quite sad to announce the passing of one of my family’s cherished pets, our eldest cat Molson. He had served on the contest judging committee, starring in a selection video featuring balloons. He had severe diabetes and kidney problems.  We gave him 14 years worth of love, and he returned it and will be missed, by us, as well as by our other feline family members. He was as loyal as a cat is likely to be.  I reached for one of the best cigars in my humidor last night, a 7 year old Trinidad Reyes, to smoke in his memory.

 

That’s about it for now.  My next post should be from the IPCPR show in Las Vegas.  Stay tuned for updates from the show here and via twitter (@cigarcraig).

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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