CigarCraig's Blog

August 2, 2026 · 9:25 am

Artista, PDR and Española Cigars

I’m struggling with it being August already! I want summer to be year round. I have this Frontier Airlines Go-Wild pass that I haven’t used yet this year, so at least when the weather starts to cool off here I can get to someplace warm. I’m still itching to take a day trip. Anyone want to meet up at your local lounge for a smoke or two? Anyway, I was going through the cigars from the Smoke-onos festival and pulled out a few I haven’t smoked for todays edition. First up was the Artista Harvest Sumatra in Robusto that Kevin of Artista handed me. This 5″ x 54 box pressed beauty has a Sumatra wrapper, a Cameroon binder and a proprietary filler blend of Dominican tobaccos. I feel like I must have smoked this before, I know I’ve smoked the Falu and Midnight from Artista, but I can’t find the Harvest in my notes anywhere. I like the presentation, the bands are sharp. This had a great burn and draw, it’s a cigar I definitely would not hesitate to buy and smoke again. It had that bright, citrus tang, but lacked the sweetness I associate with Sumatra. It was a very good cigar.

Next up was the PDR 1878 Recordando a Santiago Edicíon Capa Sungrown. I had no idea the name was so long, I just called it the 1878 Capa Sungrown. I got a late start on this one as we had gone to see the new Spiderman movie. I don’t know about you, but movie prices are wild. We get $5 tickets every now and then through T-Mobile, which helps, but a bucket of soda and a pail of popcorn are over $20. Sure they have free refills, but how much popcorn and soda can one consume? Makes waiting to watch movies at home attractive but there’s something about the big screen. I was watching Close Encounters last night and thought back to seeing it on the big screen and how much more spectacular it was. The theater is just more immersive. Anyway, this PDR cigar was quite tasty. It was a robusto, 5″ x 52 with a curled pigtail. It has an Ecuadorian Sun Grown Claro wrapper, Dominican Criollo 98 binder and the filler is Dominican Corojo Seco and Ligero. Again, this was a bright blend, with that citrus tang. Very nice.

If it seems like I’ve been smoking more robustos lately, it’s true. In some cases it’s because they work into the available time better, and in some cases it’s because it’s what I have. Right now, for instance, I’m smoking a Camacho Connecticut Robusto because I like a shade cigar in the morning, and I prefer a shorter smoke in the morning. I’ll take a toro or larger in the afternoon and evening most times, and If I want a certain cigar and only have a robusto, maybe I’ll have two. Yesterday morning, before getting on with my day, I had a cigar that I am unfamiliar with, an Española 1996 Connecticut Robusto. This is the premium line from JM Tobacco, who I’ve seen at past trade shows, but, since they are a west coast company, never saw around here. When doing some research, I typed in espanolacigars.com and found the domain to be available, while their website is españolacigars.com. I think if it were me, I’d register both domains. Anyway, this 5″ x 50 robusto has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, San Andrés binder and Dominican fillers. It was a nice medium mild morning cigar, with some nuts and wood flavors. It got my day started off on a positive note. I am not averse to trying the Maduro and Corojo in this line.

I was worried that I might not find enough to talk about in this post, but I managed to get some words out, all in less than a robusto time! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Micallef Red, La Aurora Fuerte Sol and Mr. Sinistro Cigars

I’m super late to the party on this first cigar. In the past I’ve only had the Micallef Black and Blue, with the Black being my favorite of the two. I found a Micallef Red toro in the humidor and it piqued my interest. This 6″ x 52 toro has a Mexican San Andrés Habano wrapper, a Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan, Mexican fillers, it’s right up my alley! I really liked this cigar, maybe more than the Micallef Black, but I think the most noteworthy to me was that it was different, there was a cinnamon sensation in the beginning, along with the nice Habano sweetness that I like. I can see myself smoking more of these, and they are attractively priced. I have a lot of work to do sampling the rest of the Micallef color series.

Another cigar I found in the humidor this week that was new to me was the La Aurora Family Creed Series Fuerte Sol. This is the first of four cigars in this series, named for the León family creed, which is “I will always remember that: We are a proud family of rural origin, forged with persistent work under a strong sun. Humble and honest people. People who, along with cultivating the land, cultivate love, happiness and faith. For this I promise: To work for the common good, maintaining integrity, authenticity, frankness, perseverance, honesty and passion for excellence, which distinguishes us as a successful family. A family which values and loves its roots, and which yearns to preserve that legacy that, by the grace of God, we have received from our parents. This intangible inheritance is what we pass on to our children, with passion and conviction. That is our greatest wealth.” The Fuert Sol I smoked was a box pressed Robusto, 5″ x 50, with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. I absolutely loved this cigar. It had a dark dried fruit sort of sweetness, burn and draw were perfect, as they should be for a pricier cigar. The first box of cigars I bought back in 1996 was a box of La Aurora Bristol Especiales and it probably cost around $40 (I still have one left, and I think my daughter, named Aurora, still has the box!). As you can see, the La Aurora brand is sentimental to me. I can’t spend $300+ for a box of cigars, but if money were no object, I’d get more of these. I’m reminded of the Extreme series from a while ago.

The final cigar today was the Mr. Sinistro Robusto from Sinistro Cigars. I’ve talked to these guys a few times, and I know people who make their cigars, and people who have their cigars made by them, but I haven’t smoked a ton of their Sinistro branded stuff. I really should try to find some more of their cigars. I believe all three cigars today came from the Best Cigar Prices Smoke-onos event, by the way. This cigar has an interesting blend. It has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Pennsylvania Broadleaf binder and fillers from Paraguay and Dominican Republic (olor ligero, piloto cubano ligero, and corojo ligero). I smoked the Robusto size, which is a hefty 5½” x 54. The first note is that the wrapper burned like a Habano 2000 wrapper from the 90s, that is, not very well. It took some coaxing to get it to burn right. That said, the flavor was really nice. It was a heavy espresso shot, just right for a Saturday afternoon. I was slightly distracted, because we just brought home a new rescue dog, and we’re all feeling one another out. He’s a Pomsky, yes that’s Pomeranian and Husky mixed. He was a stud at a puppy mill not far from where the binder in this cigar was grown. He also has some vision impairment, which will be challenging. He’s super cool though, and while I was against getting another dog, my wife and I fell for this one. We always seem to end up with special needs dogs! We’ll call him Cicero. Anyway, Mr. Sinistro was good, I wish the wrapper had burned better. I’ll definitely sample another one.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Family Creed, Fuerte Sol, La Aurora, Micallef, Mr. Sinsitro, Red, Sinistro

July 19, 2026 · 7:00 am

Don Emmanuel Sun and Moon and Plasencia Triunfal Cigars

This week I smoked a few limited edition cigars that were sent to me by the folks at the folks at Don Emmanuel and Plasencia Cigars. Don Emmanuel is a cigars sommelier, who partnered with Eladia Diaz, formerly of Davidoff, to create the Don Emmanuel brand. I’ll be totally honest, the Annunaki wasn’t for me, and I still have a robusto and petite corona waiting for me to smoke, so I was concerned when these arrived. Would the Sun and Moon LEs suit me? I started with the Sun. The Don Emmanuel Sun has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and Dominican binder and filler. This is presented in a 6½” x 50 toro, and they produced 777 numbered boxes containing seven of each of the Sun and Moon cigars, which sells for somewhere around $315, making them $22+ cigars. The Sun was a really enjoyable cigar, it was creamy and nutty with some spice. Shade cigars aren’t the mild, flavorless cigar they used to me, this one was loaded with flavor, had a bit of a sweet spice in the second half. I found it to be very good.

I went into the Don Emmanuel Moon thinking that if I liked it half as much as the Sun I was going to be happy. The Moon, also a 6½” x 50, has an Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper, Mexican binder and Dominican fillers. I kinda dig the spacy thing Don Emmanuel has going one with the Annunaki, which translates roughly to “princely seed” or “offspring of An” (the sky god) and Ki (the earth goddess) in Sumerian theology, and Sun and Moon. I’m personally a big fan of the Sun and Moon, where would we be without them? I lit up the Moon after a long week and it was not disappointing. It started out very interesting, with a hint of cinnamon, espresso, and ending with some spice. I don’t know how one quantifies liking something half as much as something else, but I definitely liked it more than half as much as the Sun. I’ve changed my mind about cigars from Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera, based on a very limited sampling. The Sun and Moon are winners. I’ll revisit the Annunaki at some point.

I suppose today is the final of the FIFA World Cup tournament, with Spain and Argentina? I’ve never been able to watch soccer, I’m not really much of a sports fan with the exception of hockey, which I like very much. The folks at Plasencia apparently like soccer, because they have the Plasencia Triunfal to commemorate this event. They made 5000 boxes of this 6¼” x 54 toro, with a wrapper from Jamastrán, Honduras, binder from Olancho, Honduras, and organic fillers from Jalapa, Nicaragua & Jamastrán, Honduras. The wrapper is very light, looks like a shade grown wrapper, maybe it is? Perhaps I should have waited to smoke this while watching the final game, but I knew that I wasn’t going to watch it, so I smoked it yesterday afternoon. These come in boxes of ten that run around (cough) $600, making this a $60 cigar. I didn’t know that when I smoked it. I don’t know if that knowledge would have prevented me from firing it up, probably not. I don’t make a habit of smoking cigars that expensive. I’m to understand that ony two rollers made these cigars, and they did a great job. This cigar started out with an interesting tingle, it had some cocoa and wood, with some spice. It was a darned tasty cigar, I’m glad for the opportunity to smoke one, thank you Plasencia!

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

CigarCraig

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New England Cigar Militia 250 Years of Independence, Villiger 1888 and Room 101 Cigars

You know how sometimes I smoke with a theme in mind, and sometimes it just works out that way? This time it was cigars with numbers in the name I guess. Totally unintentional. I’m starting out with a cigar from the New England Cigar Militia, which is a facebook group founded by Kevin Parow. This cigars is the New England Cigar Militia 250 Years of Independence. There isn’t a lot of information about this cigar out there, and I was rather hoping to have more info before I wrote this. I suppose I’ll be updating a few things later. This is a perfecto, or salomon cigar, it’s 6″ x 54 by my measuring and, best I can tell, it’s made at American Caribbean Cigars S.A. in Esteli. This is the factory that makes Rock-A-Feller Cigars. I really should have smoked one of these last weekend, given the overall theme of the cigar. I think it’s probably good all year, right? Even with the nipple at the foot, it had a great draw. I got some sweet, nuttiness over the course of the smoke. The wrapper wasn’t the prettiest, and I suspect it was a Habano of some sort. I probably am safe saying this is a limited edition cigar, and, once again pending an update, I don’t know where one would purchase these cigars. This part of the article is pending updates. Update: * Size: 6 x 51 * Wrapper: Habano * Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra * Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic

Next up was the Villiger 1888 San Andrés toro. People seem to dump on Villiger as a brand, and I’ve never been able to figure out why. A lot of cigars aren’t widely available, and a lot of brands are on the market for years and don’t get a lot of traction. In the probably 15 years I’ve been smoking Villiger cigars, and I mean the premium ones, I haven’t had a bad one, and there’s quite a few I’ve really enjoyed a lot. Sure, they screwed up many years ago when they eliminated their sales staff, really screwed up (leaving people stranded away from home isn’t right). Since then Renè Castañeda has been leading the brand in the U.S. and making some excellent cigars. This 1888 San Andrés is one of the better ones. I smoked the 6″ x 50 toro, which is box pressed. I see they make a Churchill, I really want to get my hands on some of those! I like a traditional Churchill, even though this one is 7″ x 50, I’m willing to give it a shot. Anyway, this has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, and it’s made at Villiger de Nicaragua, which is a factory within the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The wrapper is beautiful, dark with some oils showing. I get some dark chocolate and espresso, without the earthiness that one sometimes get with Mexican tobacco. I’ve been a fan of the Mexican leaf since I started smoking Te-Amos back in the 90s, and this one is far more refined.

I came across a Room 101 Doomsayer toro in the humidor and realized I’d never smoked one, so I lit one up last night. This line has been around for a few years, if comes in two styles, the Passive and the Aggressive. I smoked the Passive, which has a Ecuador Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. It’s a 6″ x 55 toro. This line came out before Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired Room 101. It’s made in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera William Ventura. I think these came in a box of 55 for some reason, and they appear to be still available here and there. This cigar smoked very well for me, burn and draw were perfect. There was a nice spiced bread sort of flavor that was intriguing. the number 55 must have some significance, the ring gauge and box count both being 55, but I sure don’t get it! It was a good cigar, seems to be a value price, and I would recommend it.

Tonight we are attending a Diner en Blob, which is based on the Diner en Blanc, which is a pop-up white party we have attended in years past. This is in conjunction with Blobfest, which is held every year in nearby Phoenixville, PA. The 1958 classic “The Blob” was filmed at locations around our area. This dinner is being held at a secret location, we dress in red, bring our own food, and we’ll see how it goes. I have a selection of Red cigars picked out for the evening, if the opportunity present itself to smoke. Bariay 1492 Red, West Tampa Red, Macanudo Inspirado Red, Red Meat Lovers and Hoyo de Monterrey Rojo cigars will be in my pocket. We anticipate a good time. That’s all for today, until the next time, CigarCraig

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Tagged as 1888, 250 Years of Independence, cigar, cigars, Doomsayer, New England Cigar Militia, Passive, Room 101, San Andrés, Villiger

July 5, 2026 · 11:05 am

Some Firecracker Cigars and a Rocky Patel Thirtieth Anniversary

I hope everyone made it through the Independence Day holiday unscathed. We had some wicked thunder storms roll through right around sundown yesterday which knocked our power out until about 2am. In honor of the holiday, I smoked the range of United Cigars Firecracker cigars. These are little cigars, 3½” x 50, with a long “fuse” pigtail cap. These are all on the stronger side, I started with the Connecticut version with coffee Friday morning. It’s got the creamy/nutty flavor one would expect, with some added punch. It was a very good little cigars. Later in the day I fired up the Maduro, which was, once again, what one would expect, a strong, chocolaty smoke.

Yesterday I started my day with the Sungrown. I smoked this one in the car on my way to wander around Valley Forge National Park, and it fit in the twenty minute drive nicely. This definitely had the punch, with some wood, leather and spice. I was a little disappointed that the park was not showing the half-hourly film in their theater, but instead was holding some sort of court martial re-enactment. I wondered about this for a minute, then I decided to take a walk to one of the encampment areas, where they were demonstrating some musket drills. I can’t imagine the reenactors wearing wool uniforms in the near 100 degree heat. I didn’t hang out long, just long enough to soak up some of the history there. It was fairly crowded. I went there a lot as a kid, but particularly remember going there in ’76 when a bicentennial wagon train was traveling through. Anyway, the Firecrackers are good little cigars, but they are little, I wouldn’t have chosen such small cigars to smoke, but felt compelled due to the holiday.

United cigars did make a special Firecracker for this year, the Independence Firecracker. Usually they have an established company make a Firecracker, I’ve smoked a bunch over the years, many have been a treat. The Mi Querida Firecracker actually spun off a whole line (the Triqui Traca). This one, like the above three, I believe, is made at the Arnold André Dominicana S.R.L. factory. It’s strong off the bat, with earth and leather. It has a Mexican Habano wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan ligers in the filler. The 12 count tin box can be turned over and used as an ashtray. It’s neat, but why not make it 13 in a box? I’m sure they tried.

Yesterday was also my wedding anniversary, so I picked up something special to commemorate the occasion. I selected the Rocky Patel Thirtieth Anniversary in the gordo size, it was more than I would usually spend, but what the heck. This one has a San Andrés wrapper, double binder from Nicaragua (Aged 7+ years), and tobaccos from Honduras & Nicaragua (Aged 5+ years) in the filler. This is a box pressed cigar. The color scheme struck my eye, it has a Tiffany blue footband, which is personally significant. My wife and I have exchanged items from Tiffany for anniversaries over the years. I looks a lot like the Rocky Patel 60, which I really like. I would have liked this cigar to have been a little dryer, as it smoked a little on the steamy side, but it had a really nice. flavor. It was earthy, with some dark chocolate and espresso, right up my alley. I doubt I’ll spring for another, but this was a nice treat. I didn’t want to smoke the same old Padron 1964 Exclusivo that I usually smoke (I lie, I almost always want to smoke one of those!). I can’t help but draw some comparisons though. Thirtieth was the closest I could come, maybe next year someone will have a fortieth anniversary cigar that will be appropriate! That’s all for today, until the next time, CigarCraig