Category Archives: Review

by | May 26, 2024 · 8:39 am

Villiger 1888, Diesel Whiskey Row and Jaime Garcia Cigars

I’m going to preface this post with the following disclaimer:  ignore any tasting notes I might write this week.  I had probably the worst cold I’ve had in years this week, so I took a few days off smoking (not in a row!).  I did a fair amount of nose spray (I have a very low tolerance for not being able to breath through my nose), some cough drops, and some Nyquil to get through it.  I’m feeling much better, thanks.  Since I quit smoking cigarettes and had sinus surgery in 2007 I haven’t had nearly the severe colds that I used to get, and I haven’t had bronchitis since, which is a very good thing.  This cold was way worse than when I had Covid two years ago. When I finally had a cigar Friday, it tasted interesting. I started back with a Villiger 1888 Nicaragua in Churchill size. I wrote about this line almost a year ago (here), Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian fillers, made at the Villiger de Nicaragua (Joya de Nicaragua) factory.  I forgot to ask René about the factory situation when I saw him last week. This is a proper Churchill at 7″ x 47, which I love. Anyway, the flavor was popping with a rich, mouth-coating cocoa with a hint of licorice.  I loved the flavor, although I didn’t remember this cigar having those qualities.  I loved it.

 

Saturday I had accomplished a lot by about 2:30, so I figured it was time for a cigar.  I had gone to home depot, picked up a bundle of oak hardwood flooring, started installing the hardwood (we had about a 50 square foot section that we tore up because it was badly stained), and mowed the backyard. I picked a Diesel Whisky Row Founders Collection Mizanura that was gifted to me by a dude I see at cigar events all over.  I even ran into Steve when I was in Tampa a year or so ago.  From the Diesel website: “This full-bodied blend boasts a dark Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper and spicy filler tobacco from Nicaragua, but the real star lies at its core. We aged the Connecticut Broadleaf binder in Rabbit Hole’s rare Japanese Mizunara oak barrels—the same ones used to age their Founder’s Collection Bourbon. The result? A smooth, robust cigar with great complexity.” Tis is presented in a 6″ x 52 Toro. I’m a big fan of the Sherry Cask version of the Whiskey Row, not so much the original blend. This was another cigar that had very pronounced flavor, however, it was very much like the last.  This is a cigar I’m going to have to find another and try again when I’m back to full health. Now, the flavor I’m getting from these cigars is really great, it’s a flavor I enjoy, but if all cigars taste the same that’s no fun, is it?  I really enjoyed this cigar, thanks Steve!

 

Finally, I had picked up a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Toro locally, and, again, I’ll grab another one one of these days to see what it really tastes like!  I hope it tastes as good as this one.  I usually think that having a cold adversely affects taste, this time it really seemed to enhance it. This was a delicious cigar.  It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuador binder and fillers from the Garcia farms in Nicaragua.  This toro is 6″ x 54.  Like I said, this was a great smoke, hard to believe I haven’t smoked this before. I can’t help but compare the flavors to the previous two, although there’s little reason the three should taste similar, except that my taste buds are compromised.  I’m going to smoke a Connecticut shade cigar today and see what happens. If it tastes the same I’m going to smoke some cigars that I don’t usually care for! Usually cigars don’t taste this good on the downside of a cold!  Whatever the cause, I’m not mad about it, the cigars tasted great.  Weird stuff.  While I can’t say that you’ll taste what I tasted in these three cigars, I thought they were all excellent, so don’t be afraid to try them if you haven’t already!  

 

Many thanks to our fallen soldiers and their families as we celebrate Memorial Day in our own ways.  I’m hoping to finish up this floor over the next two days, and get the front lawn cut.  I’ll smoke  a few cigars too. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 17, 2024 · 8:22 pm

JR Cigars Exclusive Deadwood Girl With No Name

Drew Estate’s Deadwood line has really taken off in popularity over the last few years.  The line is an expression of the Natural, later Larutan, line, which uses varieties of tobacco which is more usually used in pipe tobacco. It’s even cased like pipe tobacco, giving it a sweetness.  I used to argue that these aren’t flavored or infused, but technically they are flavored, in as much as an aromatic pipe tobacco is flavored.  Recently Drew Estate has begun producing The Girl With No Name, exclusively for some of the large retailers.  This iteration has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, as opposed to the maduro wrapper on the Fat Bot

tom Betty, Sweet Jane, Crazy Alice, and Leather Rose.  JR Cigar’s exclusive is a robusto size, 5″ x 50.  You can get a 5-pack

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at JR’s for $23, which is pretty reasonable.

 

I smoked a few of these, as well as a Leather Rose for reference and quite enjoyed the cigars.  They do have a sweet cap. so if your opposed to that, this might not be for you. I smoked them with desert in mind, after dinner, and I enjoyed the sweetness, it’s a nice change of pace.  There’s sweet exotic spice, and some mellow nuttiness from the shade wrapper.  Burn and draw were perfect, which I’ve come to expect from Drew

Estate products.  One thing I will say is that smoking another cigar after this isn’t recommended, the finish is quite long.  If you like the Deadwood line, I think this would be a nice change of pace, I might even like it more, it’s brighter and rather tasty! 

 

JR Cigars provided these cigar for me to sample, links included are affiliate links, Use code FORYOU for 25% OFF.  That’s all for now, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | 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 wi

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th puritos and rum. I picked up some of my favorite Blackbird cigars, the Crow,

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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 lis

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t 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 i

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n 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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by | 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:

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | April 28, 2024 · 10:16 am

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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