CigarCraig's Blog

by Craig Vanderslice | May 12, 2024 · 10:13 am

Blackbird, Sobremesa, Cohiba and Brickhouse Cigars

First off, I’m really looking forward to going to the Smokonos event at Best Cigar Prices in Drums, PA next Saturday. There’s going to be a lot of the A-list cigar celebrities there, and a bunch of friends I haven’t seen in a long time. Unfortunately it’s sold out, but I hope to see some of you there! It’s a shame that it’s the same day as the Atlantic City Cigar Social, we had a nice time at that event last year. If you happen to be attending that event, say hello to my friend Dan at Bucksco Barrels! Wednesday evening we went to Parings Cigar Bar in Media, PA to visit with Jonas Santana of Blackbird Cigars, and his area broker Mark Weissenburger. We didn’t stay around for it, but he was hosting a tasting session with puritos and rum. I picked up some of my favorite Blackbird cigars, the Crow, and some of the new Superb in toro. I smoked a Supurb there, and had one Thursday night at home. This is a 6″ x 52 toro, where most of their toros are 54 ring gauge. It has a Habano wrapper and undisclosed binder and fillers. Jonas is very tight lipped about the blend, claiming he forgets, which I don’t buy for a minute. I speculated that it had Dominican Olor, and got nothing…I find it has a dryness that I associate with that tobacco. It also has some sweet spice, and was a very nice cigar. I generally don’t smoke the same cigar twice in a row unless it’s really good. It’s always nice to see Jonas and Mark, and the staff at Pairings is top notch. It’s one of the few cigar bars around the area, so if having a drink with your cigar is something you enjoy, check this place out if you’re in the Philadelphia area.

Friday evening came around and I decided it was the right time to smoke the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Brûlée Wagashi that was a generous Secret Santa gift from a fellow Craig. This is from the original CigarDojo release, not the new regular production. If I have to smoke a shade wrapped cigar, there are a short list of ones I’m attracted to, and the Brulee blend is one of them. I’ve had the Brulee and Brulee Blue, and I’d heard this was milder. Maybe so, but it was packed with sweet, nutty tobacco flavor right off the start. This is a box pressed, 6″ x 50 with a bun type pigtail cap. I think I liked this better than the previous two iterations of Brulee, and I like them a lot. Highly recommended.

I noticed that my friends at CigarMojo’s The Grove location (the one close to me) decided to use one of my pictures in an Instagram reel. I don’t mind, but a photo credit would be nice. Remember people, when you use someone’s intellectual property, it’s the right thing to do to give them credit. I left a snarky comment, but I might have to stop in and have a talk with them! Anyway, yesterday afternoon I watched some TV on the porch with a Cohiba Riviera Lancero, which, admittedly, had just arrived the day before. I let it rest overnight, it seemed fine, and I gave it the old Humidimeter test, but the prongs on the meter are ever so slightly narrower than the cigar, so it was really only reading from between the binder and wrapper. This is a box pressed 7″ x 38 with a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran grown Connecticut shade binder, and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua, made at STG’s factory in Esteli. The box press makes it seems slimmer than 38 ring gauge. I really liked the Robusto size in this line, so I felt compelled to smoke this lancero. I really liked it. It has dark chocolate and espresso, and since I figured out that dark chocolate gives me migraines, I seek it out in cigars. The Lancero is actually the most affordable in the Riviera line at $15, the rest of them are in the $20 range, which means I won’t be smoking them. $15 I can handle and it’s a very nice smoke. It surprises me that it took this long for General to make a Cohiba in the Lancero size, considering how iconic the Cuban Cohiba Lancero. is.

I wanted to include a fourth cigar today, and I was hunting around the humidors for something I hadn’t written about yet, and it occured to me that I hadn’t talked about the Brickhouse Crystal Churchill from J.C.Newman. I’ve had a box in the humidor for a year or so and have smoked half a dozen. This is the 7¼” x 50 Habano wrapped Brickhouse in a glass tube. They come ten per box and run just under $10 each. I quite enjoy the Brickhouse line, they are Nicaraguan cigars that aren’t terribly expensive, but provide a good smoking experience. It’s on the leathery side, but I like it anyway! The tube doesn’t do much for me, although it’s a nice presentation, I worry about carrying glass around in my pocket, so would prefer aluminum tubes for portability. I like Churchills, and this is a good one (although it’s a couple rings oversized!).

That’s all for now, happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate. Don’t forget the Smokin Tabacco Raffle for The CFCF! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Blackbird Cigar Co., Brickhouse, Brulee, cigar, cigars, cohiba, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, J.C.Newman, lancero, Pairings, Riviera, Sobremesa, Supurb, Wagashi

by Craig Vanderslice | May 5, 2024 · 9:06 am

An Ozgerner Family Cigar, a Tatuaje and a Pair of CAOs

I picked up some new-to-me cigars this week at a couple different shops. I started out with the Ozgener Family Cigars Aramas in the A60 size. Funny enough, when I bought this, along with a West Tampa Red, I was sure I was getting toros, but when I got home I noticed I picked out the 6″ x 60 sizes in both. Not a big deal, I like a 60 ring. For those who don’t know, Tim Ozgener, owner of the brand, sold his family’s last brand, CAO, to Scandinavian Tobacco ten or twelve years back. The Aramas has been around for about a year, so I’m a little slow on the uptake on this one. The name Aramas is a combination of the names of Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano located near the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. In Armenian, the name of the volcano is Masis. These are made at what was then Tabacalera La Alianza S.A., now Casa Carillo, in the D.R.. The blend is a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Connecticut broadleaf. I found this to be a fairly strong cigar with a peppery start. It settled a little, with dark espresso and bitter chocolate notes. It was right up my alley, although I don’t buy a lot of $15 cigars. It was a special treat and was relaxing after a tiring Thursday.

I stopped in another shop on my way home Friday and picked up a few more new cigars, and smoked the Tatuaje PCA Exclusive 2023, which I believe, despite the date on the box, recently hit stores. I’m fortunate to have two very different shops within a two mile radius of home. This is a 6 3/8″ x 54 with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, a Nicaraguan double binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s made at My Father Cigars S.A. in Esteli. I think this was another $15 cigar, and another cigar I would smoke more often if not for the price. This started out with a bright cane sugar sweetness that I really enjoyed. It built some spice as it went on, and was a really exceptional smoke. I was enamoured with it start to finish. No regrets.

I also picked up a couple of the new CAO FASA, the Sol and the Noche, both in the Gigante size. It was a Gordo week for me this week. I started with the Sol while watching some Star Wars movies on the porch. I usually start with the maduro, but it seemed more appropriate to smoke the Sol in the afternoon and the Noche in the evening. First off, the Gigantes in this line are around $8 (I’m in no cigar tax PA remember, your mileage may vary), quite reasonable these days. The Sol has an Olancho San Augustine wrapper. The first cigar GEneral put out under the CAO banner, with Rick Rodriguez doing the blend, was the OSA Sol, not commercially successful, but was a tasty smoke in some sizes. They use this OSA wrapper on a lot of cigars now, they must grow tons of it in Honduras. The binder on the FASA Sol is Cameroon, with fillers from the D.R. (Piloto Cubano, and Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega and Esteli). This stares with some pepper, then some sweetness started less than in inch in. This was a really good cigar to me, I’m going to have to go back and try some of the other sizes. The spice and sweetness combined with some nutiness, it was a really nice afternoon smoke, rivalling the Tatuaje at nearly half the price.

Naturally I had high hopes for the CAO FASA Noche, also in the 6″ x 60 Gigante size. I actually did purposely buy these two in this size, I like a theme, and the CAO and Ozgener connection wasn’t enough (and I bought and smoked the West Tampa Red, which has another CAO connection). The FASA Noche has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Cameroon binder and the same filler combo as the Sol, Dominican (Piloto Cubano, and Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega and Esteli). Once again, I had high hopes. It started with what I would optimistically call espresso, but was more along the lines of the coffee that’s been sitting in the pot on the burner for about 4 hours. I expected different from the combination of Broadleaf and Cameroon. It didn’t draw as well as the Sol, so I might have to revisit it, in the Toro size, probably, because this is a blend I should love, and I loved the Sol version. These cigars are a great illustration of how much the wrapper has to do with the flavor, as the wrapper is the only difference. I was unable to find where the name FASA comes from or what it’s significance is. I want to say this was the first post Rick Rodriguez CAO cigar too, but I might be wrong about that.

Here’s a couple links for you:

Smokin Tabacco Raffle for The CFCF

https://www.smokeonos.com/

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

CigarCraig

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Two More Panacea Cigars, a Room 101 and a Diesel Vintage

I finished off the sampler of Panacea Classic line cigars I bought from them a couple weeks back. I’m to understand there are a few shops that carry the Flatbed Cigar Co. line, but they mostly are selling direct via the website. I’ve placed a couple orders and both were easy transactions and the cigars came well packaged, presented well and in a timely manner. Of course, the company is located barely an hour from me, which helps with the shipping. I’m going ot have to arange a visit one of these days! I had the Blue Label and Black Label left, and smoked the Panacea Blue Label on Thursday. This was the Toro size, a 6″ x 52, with a Cameroon wrapper. I had thought that the Green Label was my favorite, bt I might have to amend that after smoking this Blue Label. This was a delicious cigar, it had a nice white sugar sweetness, along with the nuttiness I get from Cameroon. This was a fine, medium bodied cigar that I really enjoyed. I might have to see if they offer a sampler of these like the Green Label sampler I got!

The Panacea Black Label, which I keep wanting to call the White, I guess because I associate Connecticut wrapped cigars with white. Probably something Davidoff and Montecristo put into my head. The Black Label was their first line launched in 2007, If I’m not mistaken. Like I mentioned, it has an Ecuador Connecticut shade wrapper, and the rest is Dominican and Nicaraguan. I had the Perfecto shape, which is 6″ x 51. I was impressed with the flavor, it had a hint of that white sugar I got with the Blue Label, along with some of the classic shade grass and nuts. I wish this had a better draw, I thought it would open up after the tapered foot burned down, but it really didn’t. This would have been an outstanding cigar otherwise, certainly a Connecticut I’d smoke again. After smoking thought the line, I think I’m most looking forward to sampling the Green and Blue Labels again, or maybe I’ll explore their Panacea Grande line. Good stuff.

Yesterday I got some yard work and errands done, and spent a little time i the afternoon with a Room 101 Hit & Run Redux Robusto. This 5″ x 50 has aSan Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder, and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania fillers. This is made at the William Ventura factory in Tamboril, DR. I have to start out saying two things: Is it weird that a 5″ x 50 seems like a small cigar now days? It used to be y go to size, now I avoid them because they seem to smoke too quickly. I suppose an hour isn’t that quick, but I guess I like to spend a little more time smoking now than I used to. Second, I have not historically cared for a lot of cigars from William Ventura. I’m not entirely sure why that is, they seem to smoke well and have a large following, I just can’t seem to get into them. Given the blend, I should have really liked this cigar, and I did like it, just found it a little underwhelming. It had a nice toasty cocoa, almost a dark chocolate flavor. The presentation is nice, and I’ll give another one a try after a while.

Finally, I smoked the Diesel Vintage Series Natural in the Robusto Gordo size. This is 5″ x 56, made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua, with an Ecuador wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder and five to seven year old Nicaraguan Jalapa fillers. I’ve smoked a lot of Diesel cigars over the years, And I really liked the original Diesel Vintage, which had a San Andrés wrapper. I have a rather basic palate, I got some saltiness, along with some citrus and nuts. Burn and draw were exceptional, it was a pleasurable smoke. I would suggest you read my buddy Kaplowitz’ review of this if you would like a more colorful description. I hit the basics, Kap digs deep into the flavors. This probably falls near the bottom of my list of favorite Diesel cigars through no fault of the cigar, it is a more refined Diesel, which misses the point of the brand in my eye. I think there’s some 13 year old Unholy Cocktails in the humidor, I might have to smoke one later.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black Label, Blue Label, cigar, cigars, diesel, Diesel Vintage, Flatbed Cigar Co., Hit & Run, Panacea, Redux, Room 101

by Craig Vanderslice | April 21, 2024 · 10:00 am

More Panacea Cigars and a New Los Statos Deluxe

I smoked a few more Panacea cigars from Flatbed Cigar Co. this week. I had bought a sampler when they signed up to advertise with me. I subsequently bought a Green Label sampler and that transaction went as smoothly as the first. Since Paul Bush, the owner of the company, wrote a note on the packing slip asking me to tell my friends, I’m doing just that. This week I started with the Panacea White Label in a toro. They call the toro in this line the “Hitch Pin”, and list it as 6½” x 54, I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention, because it seemed like a 6″ x 52 to me. This has a Corojo wrapper, a “Cuban Seed” binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan Ligero, Dominican Seco fillers. To me, this started out with some tannins, and worked itself into a citrus tang. I found it to be a well made cigar, perfect burn and draw. It had some earthiness and nuts perhaps. Nice smoke.

Next up was the Panacea Red Label, which was a really pretty looking cigar. The red band and the Habano wrapper work very well together visually. This was the company’s third cigar, released in 2009. In addition to the Habano wrapper, this has Seco Cubano, Piloto Cubano, Olor Dominicano, and Nicaraguan Ligeros. The website description may have a copy/past error. This is a really nice, medium bodied cigar, with a sweetness that I generally get from Habano wrappers. The blend description makes it sound like a heavy cigar, but it’s solidly medium for some reason. I’ll get to the Black and Blue labels next week. I think it’s funny that the Connecticut is the Black Label, I imagine in 2007 when this came out all of the Connecticut wrapped cigars had white bands and this made it stand out.

Yesterday I gave the new Los Statos Deluxe Limited Edition from Forged Cigar Co. a shot. This cigar is packaged like Matt Booth’s Johnny Tabacconaut, Uncle Lee, Chief Cool Arrow cigars, with tissue paper and a full length sleeve. Matt had a hand in the blend, along with Justin Andrews and William Ventura. It’s made in William Ventura’s factory in the DR. The cigar is a rather rustic looking 5½” x 50 figurado. Full disclosure, I don’t have a track record of really liking cigars from this factory for some reason. I should love the cigar, it has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder, and Connecticut Broadleaf and Nicaraguan Corojo fillers. On paper, it sounds delicious. I found the profile to be leathery and earthy, seems to me there should have been some sweetness in there, but I didn’t get it. I will certainly give this another try after some humidor time, although I don’t know that I was a big fan of the last Los Statos iteration either. Everyone can’t like everything! I imagine some people with love this, maybe I will too, although they only made 3000 boxes, so I hope I don’t fall in love with it sometime next year when they will be impossible to find!

Yesterday I should have taken a drive up to Bethlehem, apparently CI was having an event at their Superstore (newly renovated, I believe). I came across references to it around 2PM, which was too late to do anything about it. OK, I could have gotten there by 3:30, and I think it was over at 6, that’s a lot of driving, gas and tolls. I’ll see most of the people that were there at the Smokeonos event in a couple weeks, which I’m really looking forward to attending. Also, don’t forget to check out the 2024 Smokin Tabacco x CFCF Fundraiser. which goes live tomorrow, Monday, April 22.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Flatbed Cigar Co., Forged, Los Statos Deluxe, Panacea, Red Label, STG, White Label

by Craig Vanderslice | April 18, 2024 · 8:52 pm

News: 2024 Smokin Tabacco x CFCF Fundraiser

Here’s some news from my friends at SmokinTabacco.com, it’s time for their annual Cigar Family Charitable Foundation raffle. Please read on , follow the links, and make a donation. The raffle goes live on Monday, April 24, 2024. This is a great charity and the Tabaccos and their team have helped to raise a lot of money over the past couple years.

It is time once again for the fundraiser many of you have gotten so excited for, the 2024 Smokin Tabacco x CFCF Fundraiser. We are starting a littler later this year due to the timing of the PCA trade show. We felt it would be best to wait until the show was over to promote and run this event. As always, there are amazing prizes up for grabs from Arturo Fuente, J.C. Newman, Tatuaje, Rabbit Air, La Flor Dominicana, S.T. Dupont, Drew Estate and more. The raffle site can be visited here. You can also text ‘SMKTAB’ to 33100 to get the link on your phone.

In 2021, Matthew and Nicole decided they wanted to do something ‘different’ to celebrate their first full year of the Smokin Tabacco Show podcast. Instead of more traditional methods of marking an anniversary, they decided to use their media platform to host a raffle that would benefit a cause they both felt strongly about. While going through many different foundations and causes, they ultimately decided upon hosting a raffle that would benefit The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. What better way to celebrate being involved in the cigar community than fundraising for a cause that benefits the families and communities of cigar rollers and workers in the Dominican Republic?

In year one in 2021, Smokin Tabacco raised $7,000. In year two, Smokin Tabacco raised $25,500 before Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. called to say he would match the final total bringing it to $51,000. Last year, Smokin Tabacco exceed the total from 2022 and set a new bar for how far the community can go to raise money for such an amazing cause with a total of $52,840. To date, the Smokin Tabacco CFCF Fundraiser has helped raised over $110,000 for the children who call Bonao home.

In November 2022, Matt and Nicole traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit the Cigar Family campus and met all of the amazing kids, teachers, personnel and even some former students who return to the school to give back. It was a life changing experience and gives you a new sense of how important this organization is once you see how far this money goes.

Over the last three years, all of you have helped us raise over $110,000 overall for the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. For 2024, the show must go on. The raffle begins Monday April 22nd, 2024 at 9AM EST and will conclude Friday May 24th, 2024 at 3PM EST. Click here to preview the raffle site. Thank you

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