by | April 14, 2024 · 9:54 am

A Couple Nestor Miranda Cigars and a Couple Panacea Cigars

For the last three weeks I’ve been smoking the Boneshaker cigars, this week I smoked a few Nestor Miranda Special Selection cigars from Miami Cigar & Co.  These have been around for along time, and it’s been quite a while since I smoked one.  I don’t think I’ve written about these here at all over the last 14+ years.  I’ve smoked a bunch of the Nestor Miranda Collection cigars, but haven’t had that many of the Special Selection.  In a break from my normal routine, I started with the Connecticut version.  The “Toro” is a 5½” x 54, with a Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. I’m pretty sure it’s made in the My Father factory. Shade cigars aren’t my go-to, but this one was a surprise.  It started with some spice, and eventually got to some sweet cream in the second half.  I recall wishing this was longer, as I did with the Habano blend.  I feel like 5½” is a robusto extra rather than a toro, for some reason that half inch makes a big difference. 

 

I moved to the Habano to wrap up the work week. I had taken Monday and Tuesday off as we had planned to travel to view the eclipse, but the weather wasn’t favorable, so we stayed home and watched it on our deck.  I smoked a really nice Rocky Patel Sungrown maduro.  Now there’s a company that knows how to make a toro, theirs are 6½”!  Anyway, the Nestor Miranda Special Selection has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Criollo 98 Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Esteli, Jalapa, Condega. I don’t quite know how or why this cigar has eluded my notice for this long, I guess I just don’t see them around anyplace. I think maybe a local broker has recently taken on Miami Cigar & Co, so maybe I’ll see them more around.  This cigar, again, was too short!  It had that nice sugar cane sweetness that I enjoy so much, along with a little bit of spice.  Burn and draw were great on both examples.  I might dig into some old Nestor Miranda Collection cigars that have been in the humidor for several years. 

 

Last week I mentioned welcoming the Flatbed Cigar Co. to the CigarCraig family. This company is based right here in Pennsylvania, a county or two east of where I live. Panacea has been on the market since 2007, and is in a couple stores here and there, but mostly sells direct. It’s been a while since I smoked a Panacea, so I ordered a sampler  of the Classic Line from their site.  I would say that the process was simple, and I received the cigars the next day.  I just placed another order today, I expect it will get here Tuesday. I started with the Panacea Brown Label in the 6″ x 52 torpedo size.  This has a Brazilian maduro wrapper, a Dominican binder, and Cuban seed Seco, Ligero, Olor Dominicano, and Nicaraguan fillers. The cigars are made in the DR. This cigar had a dry cocoa flavor. It’s the same blend as the Connecticut, with just the wrapper changed, so I’m going to be really interested to smoke the Connecticut. There was some creaminess and spice too,   it was a very nice smoke.  

 

While watching some hockey on the porch last night, I lit up the Panacea Green Label Robusto.  This one has a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, Dominican Habano wrapper and Piloto Cubano, Olor Dominicano, and Nicaragua ligeros in the filler. Yes, that’s triple ligeros, should be strong, right?  It’s a full bodied cigar, there’s no doubt, but it’s not in any way overpowering.  The purchase I just made was a sampler of the Green Label in all the sizes, by the way.  The Robusto is 5″ x 50, and got me from the start of the second period, about half way through the third. I expect a Toro would be good for two periods of hockey.  I liked this a lot. It had some spicy cocoa flavors, and some earthiness.  This one was a winner for me (which is probably why I bought more).  So far I’m digging the Panacea line. It’s been practically a decade since I sampled any of their cigars, too long, I think.

 

That’s all for today, more Panacea cigars next week, among others.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | April 7, 2024 · 9:40 am

Some Boneshaker Boneyard Cigars from JR Cigars

This is the third and final instalment of the Boneshaker series.  JR Cigars sent these three 4-packs to me without prior warning, and it seemed like an interesting idea do a bit of a vertical tasting, I guess.  It was fun to try the same blends in different sizes, in some cases it made a big difference.   This week I smoked the Boneshaker Boneyard series.  The base Boneshaker line and the Boneshaker Full Body Cast lines came in the same sizes. The Boneyard has the same names, but the sizes are different, with the exception of the War Hammer, which is the cigar I started with in all three lines.  The War Hammer is the 6″ x 60.  When I looked at the Bonyard “flight”, I noticed that the wrapper on this one was darker and oilier.  It was very attractive, to me at least.  This line is a Nicaraguan puro, made in the NACSA factory.  This one started with some heat, spicy pepper.  It had a heavy molasses sweetness and was unique and enjoyable.  My only complaint with this one was that the ash fell off unexpectedly about a half in in and made a mess.  

 

I’m not sure if it was the wrapper or not, but the other three cigars in this line were different, and not just the sizes.  Next up was the toro, the Maul. In the other lines it was a 6″ x 54, this one it was a 6″ x 50. The Nicaraguan wrapper was lighter than the War Hammer, and while it still stated spicy, it never fully developed that dark molasses sweetness. It was good, burned well, and I kept an eye on the ash. I think it was more woody tasting, with the molasses sneaking in during the second half. It’s funny how thin a 50 ring gauge cigar feels nowadays.  

 

The Mace in this line is 5″ x 52, as opposed to the 4½” x 60 0f the other two lines.  This one was oddly drying to my palate, and had a sourness throughout.  It also had a bit of a tight draw, which could have led to the flavor differences.  This was my least favorite of the bunch.  One wonders why the sizes for these were different when they came from the same factory. I think the other two lines were more consistent in flavor across the sizes. One would think that maybe this blend didn’t work in the other sizes? I wish the secondary band actually had the name of the line on it, it took me a while to get the stylized headstones and make the connection. 

 

The Morning Star had the biggest difference in size, with the Boneyard version being a 6½” x 52 torpedo as opposed to the 5″ x 56 belicoso.  I like a longer cigar, so this was OK with me, and I hoped that it would be as good as the gordo was.  This one reminded me of dark bread.  When I was a kid my mom would buy this date nut bread in a can, which we would slice up and eat with cream cheese.  Imagine bread in the shape of canned cranberry sauce.  I wonder if this is still around?  I’ll have to look.  Anyway, there was a dark molasses component to this one as well, and the burn and draw were spot on.  JR’s sells this line with the largest size coming in around $4 a cigar by the box, with is a great bargain.  If it were me, I’d go big in this line. I think the original Boneshaker line was my favorite of the bunch, but all of them were interesting, not your run of the mill bargain cigar by any stretch.  You can get an even better price if you go through this affiliate link!  Thanks to JR Cigars for allowing my to sample through the range of these three lines.  

 

We were going to head to the north-western part of the state today to catch tomorrow’s eclipse, but decided to stay home because the weather didn’t look favorable.  I’ll have to stop at a few local shops to see if any of them have any of the Ashton VSG Eclipse size, if not I have other VSGs on hand, as well as other sungrown cigars.  Hopefully the weather holds out here. I’d also like to welcome Flatbed Cigar Co. to the CigarCraig family. They make the Panacea brand and are based here in PA.  Look for some Panacea cigars featured in the near future as I bought a sampler (and the purchase experience was exceptional!). That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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by | March 31, 2024 · 10:05 am

Some Boneshaker Full Body Cast Cigars from JR Cigars

This is the second of a three part series on the Boneshaker line of cigars from JR Cigars. This time I went through the Boneshaker Full Body Cast range, which is offerent in the same sizes as the regular Boneshaker line, a 6″ x 60 War Hammer, a 6″ x 54 Maul, a 4½ x 60 Mace and the 5″ x 56 Morning Star. This line has an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. I smoked them in the same order as I did last week, starting with the War Hammer.  This is a 6″ x 60 Gordo.  The sizes are all named after medieval weapons, perhaps because the cigars are powerful, which I suppose they are.  The cigar starts with a strong pepper and some sweetness, which continues throughout.  Good burn and draw, nice cigar. 

 

Next was the Boneshaker Full Body Cast Maul.  This is the 6″ x 54 toro, me favorite size cigar. I have a Maul I use to split wood, although I don’t have a fireplace any more, and don’t cut down any trees.  Mainly I use it in place of a sledge hammer these days.  This cigar might have been a little more straight forward than the gordo, but not much.  I didn’t really note any difference, starts with a strong pepper and the Habano wrapper over the broadleaf binder gives it some sweetness.  Good smoke.  These all come out of the NACSA factory in Esteli.  

 

Saturday afternoon we had my daughter and her family visiting, so I did something I normally wouldn’t do, and smoked the Mace and the Morning Star back to back after they had left. I wouldn’t ever do this if I were evaluating different cigars, but I figured it would be OK with the same blend in different sizes.  I started with the Mace, the 4½ x 60.  One might call this a Nub, but that’s a brand, so is it a petitt gordo?  Gordo minor?  I have to say that it’s not a bad size for a cigar.  Sometimes one needs a four or four and a half inch cigar, and 60 seems to be the new 50.  Nothing overly different in the flavor profile.  I was watching hockey on the porch, so I followed the Mace with the Morning Star.  When I first looked at the size names I thought Morning Star seemed out of place, then I did a little research and see that it fits in with the rest. A Morning Star is a mace with a spiky ball, a pretty nasty looking weapon.  This is a 5 x 56 torpedo. Same profile, slightly different experience because of the shape. One interesting thing, not sure if it’s coincidental or not, but the last few nights after having smoked this line, I had some really weird dreams.  Maybe these have more nicotine than I think?  I didn’t have trouble falling asleep, except for after waking from the dreams and lying awake thinking WTF?  These are good smokes if you like them strong.  Personally I liked the regular line more, and I look forward to trying the Boneyard line extension next.  

 

As with last week, the links included in this are affiliate links. With the exception of one person making a large buy, I’m not getting much action from them. If you happen to buy from JR Cigars or Cigars.com, I could use a couple more dollars to buy cigars and you might get a discount!  If you celebrate, Happy Easter. I hope all your dried out cigars can be rehumidified and come back to life.  That’s all for today, until the next time. 

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 24, 2024 · 9:59 am

Some Boneshaker Cigars from JR Cigars

This post, and the next couple that follow, are something a little bit different for me.  The folks at JR Cigars shared line samplers of three of their Boneshaker brand cigars, and I have been looking forward to trying them.  I started out with the Boneshaker line, what I assume is the original.  These are made at NACSA, the factory that makes some really great cigars, Mi Querida, Patina and Dapper come immediately to mind.  They also crank out a ton of bundle cigars for JR, who I believe has an ownership interest, along with the Oliva tobacco company.  I’ve been a fan of this factory’s work, which is one reason I was looking forward to these.  The Boneshaker has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  These top out around $4 each, making them an exceptional bargain (five packs seems to be the way to buy, oddly enough). Any links included here are affiliate links, so I’ll get a little juice off of any sales (still waiting for this to happen!).  I started with the largest in the range, the Boneshaker War Hammer.  This is 6″ x 60.  They very nicely kept the vitola names standard across the various lines, more on that later.  This cigar starts with a strong pepper spice, and has a long finish. I think the larger ring tempered the strength a little, as this wasn’t as strong as I was led to believe. It’s still a powerhouse!  

 

Next I smoked the Boneshaker Maul, which is the 6″ x 54 toro.  This one might have been the strongest of the four, with the pepper tingle being nearly off putting.  Naturally, I soldiered on, and really enjoyed the cigar. These have a nice Broadleaf sweetness once you acclimate to the pepper. There’s also a tobacco in the blend that has a cloying effect, like when you eat licorice and it coats your tongue.  So far, this line has a unique flavor that I’m enjoying.  I’m oddly drawn to the band, I’m not generally a skull and bones fan, but it reminds me of another brand I’m fond of. 

 

Saturday afternoon I sat on the porch and watched the first period of the Flyers game with the 4½” x 60 Boneshaker Mace.  This started out with a hint of sourness, along with that licorice-like mouth coating feeling.  This might be the strongest in flavor of the bunch.  It’s amazing how an inch and a half difference changes the overall experience.  Still a powerhouse, loads of flavor.  Might be my favorite of the line.  I can’t help but draw some parallels to JR’s competitor’s house brand (which also has lines in national distribution). As I look a little further, it looks like the Boneshaker brand is available in distribution, so you might find them in your local shop.  

 

Finally, I smoked the Boneshaker Morning Star, with is a 5″ x 56 torpedo, or maybe belicoso. Let’s call it a figurado.  I enjoyed this cigar too! Again, these have a uniqueness to them. It’s almost like it’s enhanced in some way to make it stand out from others (thinking like pipe tobacco is cased, perhaps they use something in the water). I don’t think there’s anything more than tasty tobacco though, and I like it.  I wasn’t overwhelmed with nicotine strength on any of these,  they just hit me right.  I like this line and  look forward to trying the Full Body Cast and Boneyard versions.  In the Boneyard line, they seem to have strayed from the sizes, the Maul is a 6″ x50, and the Morning Star is a 6″ x 52 torpedo.  I find this interesting because they come from the same factory. I suppose I’ll smoke the Full Body Cast this week so when I mention the size thing with the Boneyard it won’t seem so repetitive.  To recap, I think my order of preference is Mace, Warhammer, Morning Star and Maul, which is weird because the Toro is my preferred size.

 

A lot of my friends and colleagues are in Vegas right now for the PCA show. I hope to make it back next year when it’s in New Orleans and in April. This year it just didn’t make sense.  Please use my affiliate links if you shop at JR or Cigars.com so that I can stay in a hotel when I go!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 17, 2024 · 10:33 am

Knuckle Sandwich, Julius Caeser, Postanie and Aganorsa Cigars

I smoked a good variety of cigars this week, the next couple weeks will probably be featuring some retailer exclusive cigars, so I figured I’d mix it up.  I had picked up the Knuckle Sandwich 56 Maduro on a recent visit to the Wooden Indian, it was on the high side of what I like to spend, but I wanted to try it.  This cigar is made by Espinosa, at the A.J.Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, for Guy Fieri’s 56th birthday. Obviously, it has a 56 ring gauge, and looks to be made using the San Lotano Oval molds.  I like a 6″ x 56, and I liked the Oval shape.  It has a San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  Can anyone tell me why the word “Sandwich” sounds like “Sangwich” when persons of Cuban descent say it?  I went through a phase of smoking cigars with the ring gauge of my age for a while, now that I’m 60 I’m over that. I loved this cigar, which is a shame because it’s limited and expensive.  It started with a nice spice over cocoa, and mellowed into a chocolaty treat, with a hint of the spice.  I dug it, even though when I met Guy at the PCA show a few years ago he really could have cared less and my request for Erik Espinosa to get in the picture with us was ignored. I don’t get starstruck and fawn over celebs, some of them don’t like that.  Anyway, I don’t regret the purchase at all, it wa sa really good smoke, probably the best I had all week.  It was my Pi Day treat.

 

We are in the midst of a string of March holidays, so on Friday I was compelled to smoke a Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Toro.  We all know that March 15 marks the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC.  We know the exact date because he invented the calendar we use.  He instituted that just a year before his death.   Anyway, he was a heck of an Emperor, but I guess his friends thought he was a dick, so they stabbed him. I may be oversimplifying things a little. A few millennia later some Hungarian folks named their son after him, and US immigration screwed up the spelling on his paperwork and Julius Caeser Newman started a cigar company that makes some great cigars.  The Diamond Crown Julius Caeser is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, has an Ecuador Havana wrapper, Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. They could just say Dominican, Nicaraguan and/or Honduran fillers, but they can be vague if they want. I enjoy Diamond Crown cigars, from the mild Diamond Crown, to the bolder Maximus and Black Diamond, and this falls in between.  I find the flavor to be largely sweet wood, which is a nice change of pace for me.  I like this cigar a lot, I remember smoking one of these a long time ago with a shop owner who has since passed, before a big celebrity cigar launch dinner.  It didn’t give me any stabbing back pain either.

 

Saturday ended up being a Connecticut Shade day, which isn’t normal for me, but I had a couple shade cigars I hadn’t smoked yet, so I figured I’d give them a go.  The first one I have smoked, but there’s a new size launching at the PCA show that I had a chance to smoke.  It was the Powstanie Connecticut Justice, a 5½ x 46 Corona Gorda which Mike Szczepankiewicz blended nine years ago for the birth of his son.  This is made at the Nica Sueño factory like the rest of the Powstanie cigars.  I really like the Robusto that Mitch shared with me late last year.  This shape seemed different, it didn’t have the character that the larger ring had, although I still found it to be exceptional. This was a really good shade cigar with some body, which I think must come from the PA Broadleaf binder in large part.  For someone who doesn’t gravitate to shade wrapped cigars, this is a really good one, and worth a shot, but I don’t even think it’s due to be released until next month, some additional age won’t hurt this one. If you come across any Postanie cigars, try them, they are all really quite good.

 

Finally, I smoked an Aganorsa La Validacion Connecticut Robusto that I got at the Wooden Indian a few weeks ago when Fabien and Mike King were there doing an event. Aganorsa is a brand I struggle to find a favorite in. There’s a few I like, and some I don’t, and I can’t seem to remember which is what.  So I buy them and smoke them and enjoy them or not and start the cycle over again. I don’t care for Criollo ’99 too much, so that probably has something to do with it.  I think this series is one I like, and I definitely liked this Connecticut. It was medium bodied, nutty with some wood and spice and really a nice cigar.  I’m going to remember that I really like the La Validacion line (I just went back and checked and I did like the Maduro and Corojo!).  

 

Today is Green Cigar Day, or as some call it, St. Patrick’s Day, so pick out a nice Candela and drive the snakes out of your country!  Why have none of these companies made a Candela Culebra in honor of St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland?  Because it would suck and it wouldn’t sell, that’s why. I’ll suggest it to Saka. I mentioned him making a Candela Lancero on my last Podcast episode with him and he poopoo’d it, now he’s making a lancero box featuring the candela. I’d write more today but I used a lot of letters on Mike Szczepankiewicz name. Anyway, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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