Category Archives: Review

by | July 9, 2014 · 10:01 pm

American Legion Cigar by Blanco, a Joya Red and an Asylum 13 Ogre or Two

Following the holiday weekend we’ve been busy around Casa CigarCraig.  I’ve still managed to smoke some great cigars along the way.  I picked out some reasonably new cigars to smoke and have enjoyed them.  Also, I received a copy of Prime Living magazine today from Houston which has, I’m proud to say, my first published cigar piece. You can see the digital version at Prime-Living.com, my article is on page 55 (which is page 57 in the digital version). I wanted to write an introduction to the world of premium cigars, I hope I was able to present a small part of what goes into making a cigar in laymen’s terms, in a way that non-cigar geeks can appreciate the wonders of the premium cigar.  I hope it goes over well!

 

American Legion_ToroSunday afternoon I picked out a cigar that David Blanco gave me at the Cigarnival last week, the American Legion toro.  Blanco Cigars makes this cigars, and the proceeds go to the American Legion, which both David Blanco and his father are members.  The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization and focusses on service to veterans, service members and communities. A Habano Rosado Nicaraguan wrapper is very attractive, and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobacco. The cigar was very good, it had a nice, medium bodied sweet flavor which should have a broad appeal.  This was a great cigar to wrap up the Independence Day weekend!

 

Joya_Red_ToroTuesday evening I selected the new cigar from Joya de Nicaragua, the Joya Red.  Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, the owner of Joya de Nicaragua, handed me this cigar at Cigarnival, I believe they are due to be released at the upcoming IPCPR show in a couple weeks. The folks at Joya blended this Nicaraguan Puro to be a milder alternative to the more powerful Joya de Nicaragua blends, although I find that their Cabinetta, a personal favorite of mine, to be quite mild. The Red hasa a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, and binder and fillers from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa. The cigar burned perfectly, and was another nice, sweet medium bodied smoke. This seems less refined than the milder Cabinetta, but it was well balanced and delicious. It has the terrific flavor of the Antaño lines, with a fraction of the strength. This is a great smoke for any time of day.

 

Asylum13_Ogre_5x50Monday evening (and there’s a reason I’m going out of order), my wife and I drove an hour and a half south to Bel Air, Maryland to meet our friends Jude and Rande for dinner.  They were visiting family in the Washington, DC area and this was mid way between us. We went to a nice place called Loonies Pub, which was a sports bar which had some great food. The crab nachos were really good, and I had an excellent fish and chips, a personal weakness. Of course it was a no smoking establishment, so I had a cigar on the drive home.  I smoked the same cigar again tonight, which brings the chronological order back where it should be!  I smoked the Asylum 13 Ogre in the new robusto size. I spoke with Tom Lazuka of Asylum Cigars at Cigarnival, and thanked him for making the Ogre in reasonable sizes, as I enjoyed the flavor of the original, but the 7″ x 70 size was not particularly comfortable for me to smoke.  The Ogre is a barber pole style cigar with a Habano wrapper over a candela wrapped cigar. I like the color combination of the green and brown, and the result is a smooth smoking cigar with the richness of the Habano juxtaposed with the refreshing flavor of the candela. While the example I smoked in the car seemed a little wet from being in the car in a leather case on a pretty humid day, it was still pretty tasty, although it turned a little funky in the last third. The one I smoked tonight was pretty spectacular. It burned perfectly and is a cigar I can see reaching for frequently. I want to pick some of these up in the 6″ x 60 size too, but this 5″ x 50 robusto is really a winner in my book, and no doubt my favorite cigar from Fabricas Unidas.

 

Even though I’m not going to the trade show this year, I have a good supply of new and interesting cigars to choose from over the next few weeks.  That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | July 6, 2014 · 10:01 am

Independence Day Cigars, An American Puro, a CroMagnon, and Some Foundrys

It’s a holiday weekend, so, of course, our internet, TV and phones in the house mysteriously stop working and Verizon won’t be able to fix it until Monday.  No idea what happened, it just looks like the optical signal isn’t making it to the house.  So here I am, writing my Sunday post from Panera Bread (while noshing on a toasted Asiago Bagel with a schmear!).  I did manage to smoke some cigars this weekend!  I’ll miss watching Finding Bigfoot (best reality show on TV!) to night to end my weekend, but the weather has been spectacular, so I’m getting some things done outside!

 

CroMagnon_KnuckleDraggerThursday evening there were some storms rolling in, and I mentioned before that the new dog isn’t a fan, so I decided to grab something short, and picked out a RoMa Craft Cro Magnon Knuckle Dragger that I had bought down at Cigar Mojo a few weeks ago. This is a beautiful Broadleaf wrapped 4″ x 50 petite robusto.  I’ve only had a few of this line, despite knowing Skip Martin pretty well. I’m just not a very good weasel, I guess. This is a really brilliant cigar if you like strong, rich, dark flavors in a cigar. It burned perfectly, even though I had to turn around from my walk at the first rumble of thunder because the dog immediately turned toward home and started pulling.  I finished the cigar in the garage, and it was a really great smoke, clearly Skip, Mike and the gang are doing things right.

 

Friday was July 4th, a significant date, in the US, as it commemorates our young country’s independence, as well as the day my wife and I tied the knot!  Certainly celebratory cigars are in order.  I started the day with an Alec Bradley American Classic Gordo in the pool, but the cap split badly when I cut it. It didn’t really effect the burn or flavor, it was a nice smoke while relaxing after doing some yard work. I followed it with a pre-dinner Partagas Petit Coronas George Rico_American PuroEspeciale from a b

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ox I bought about 4 years ago. I’ve smoked a bunch of these and really enjoy them, sadly I only have a few left. Every Fourth of July I try to smoke a Havana cigar as a form of civil disobedience, I think the founding fathers might take a moment from spinning in their graves and approve. I like the cigars too, I just think that there are many better cigars and Cuban cigars, while different, aren’t necessarily best. After going out to a nice dinner with my wife, I sat on the deck with the American Puro Corona Gorda from George Rico.  I know, it’s a bit of a cliché, but I had it staring at me, so why not, and the Corona Gorda size was perfect for the occasion. The first  thing you notice about this is that smokey, Kentucky fire cured tobacco, which was fairly dominant to me.  Perhaps it was a  happy medium between the Leccia Black and the My Uzi Weighs A Ton Kentucky Fire Cured cigars. This sample came from Gran Habano along with the 5 Vegas I talked about last time, and shared a similar lack of straightness, no big deal, just a minor offence to my CDO (OCD in alphabetical order, AS IT SHOULD BE!).  I really enjoyed the heck out of this cigar, the Connecticut and Pennsylvania tobaccos complimente

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d the smokey Kentucky leaf, and it was a surprise for me.  I would highly recommend trying this cigar as it’s unique in the marketplace, and is pretty darned tasty!

 

CE&M_UraniumSaturday ended up being a spectacular day, so we cleaned some more stuff up in the yard (this will be a recurring morning activity for the foreseeable future!), and hit the pool with a Foundry Compounds Elements and Musings Uranium: The X-Ray.   I bought this at a local shop begrudgingly. I have been trying to smoke all of the cigars in this line, but that just might be impossible, so I had to get it. On the other hand, it’s a 7″x70 which is just way too big. This is listed as containing Honduran, Nicaraguan and “Mysterioso” tobaccos, one can never be sure what’s in any of the Foundry cigars, Michael Gianinni raids General Cigar’s tobacco library and picks out unique tobaccos from unusual places.  This cigar was mild, had a nice flavor, which is why I stayed with it for over three hours. I went for a swim, read a book, went for another swim, got dressed and listened to a podcast on the deck, it was still going. Over all, it burned evenly and was a tasty smoke, although it took a while to get from mild to the low side of medium. I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t see this as a box purchase for me, although I dig the artwork, how can you not like a cross-legged skeleton flipping the bird! I have the CAO Flathead 770 in the humidor which is quite intimidating. I wrapped up the evening going out to see a friend play at a local country club, and meeting some other friends there, where we smoked a couple of the Foundry Compounds Elements and Musings Vanadium, which are aging very nicely. I may have to consider getting another of the V shaped boxes before they sell out.

 

That’s it for now, the Panera people are staring lo look at me like I’m overstaying my welcome! We are looking forward to getting things back to normal at home.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 2, 2014 · 9:30 pm

A 5 Vegas Miami, a Reinado GER and a Nica Rustica Cigar

Things have been going very well with our new dog, Macha.  She’s a sweetie, and we’ve been taking short walks since she’s only been three legged for a few weeks.  She does remarkably well, and we learned something about her tonight: she’s not a fan of thunderstorms! We also found out that she CAN go up the stairs, where she ran to hide. I’m hoping none of our neighbors have fireworks this weekend!  She’s been a joy so far, I think we got lucky.

 

5VegasMiami_ToroMonday I selected a 5 Vegas Miami Toro, a traditional 6″ x 50.  This cigar has a Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan filler and smoked very well. These are made in the G.R. Tabacaleras Co. in Miami.   I received this sample in a pack from Gran Habano, and I really haven’t smoked many 5 Vegas cigars lately. This was a really tasty and well behaved cigar despite having a slight bend to it. I found it to have a nice strength, and some pepper and nuts.  I really enjoyed this cigar after a short walk and hanging out on the deck with the dog.

 

reinadoGER_EC_PetitLanceroPlease join me in welcoming Reinado Cigars to the CigarCraig Family!  Click the graphic on the right sidebar to see everything they have to offer in the Reinado Empire! I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Antonio Lam, the man behind the brand on numerous occasions and he’s a great guy, and makes some delicious cigars. Tuesday I decided to smoke their newest offering, the Reinado Grand Empire Reserve Ecuador Connecticut Petit Lancero. This cigar is being released at the IPCPR show later this month, so look for it on store shelves sometime soon. My only complaint with this cigar is the “petit” part, I wished it was a longer cigar, the experience ended too soon. I seem to be smoking quite a few really good Ecuador Connecticut cigars lately, and I don’t reg

ularly reach for that wrapper. Along with cigars like the Recluse Amadeus, the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte, and the Jaxx LT, this is another winner in that category. A few years ago the “not your father’s Connecticut” schtick was getting a little tired, but this years batch of Connecticuts are very good. The Reinado is medium bodied and loaded with flavor, and is smooth and well balanced. This would be a great cigar in the morning with a cup of coffee.  If it were 7½” x 38 instead of only 6″ it would be even more awesome than it is.  If I were using my rating scale with this one it would fall somewhere between 98 and 99!

 

Nica Rustica_El BrujitoTonight I was lazy and grabbed a Nica Rustica El Brujito from Drew Estate. I make sure I have some of these on hand at all times, as it’s become one of my favorite go-to cigars.  After a short walk with the dog, who lets me know when she’s ready to head home by stopping and refusing to go any further, forcing me to turn back. We sopped to introduce her to a neighbor and we talked for five minutes before she realized the dog was missing a leg. Macha doesn’t realize she’s any different from any other dog.  As I said

before, a thunderstorm rolled in, frightening the dog and forcing me into the garage to finish my cigar. The Nica Rustica is a terrific smoke, if you like no-nonsense, strong, dark flavors. The Broadleaf wrapper is dark and rustic, and has some sweetness. I miss the wild grown nicotiana rustica that they used in the prototypes, but the regular production is really good.

 

Once again, don’t forget to head over to Cigar Rights of America and follow the links to comment on the FDA Deeming Document. In talking with Glynn Loope on Saturday he pointed out that two of our (Premium Cigars) opponents are the health care organizations and big tobacco! I guess I get the fact that the cigarette companies want the playing field leveled, but it’s a shame that they aren’t fighting more tobacco legislation instead of trying to hurt the cigar industry. The FDA needs to know that regulation of Premium Cigars will not only put Americans out of work and close hundreds of small businesses, but will have a devastating impact on the economies of the cigar and tobacco producing companies in the Caribbean and Central America. We need to push for exemption with no price or weight restrictions, or all of the cigars will be over $10 and we won’t have new blends, cigar events, or any of the other cool things we enjoy about this adult pastime.

 

If you get a chance, check out Houston’s Prime Living Magazine.  Page 55 has a little article about cigars in what looks like it will be a regular cigar feature.  That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 29, 2014 · 8:42 pm

Cigarnival 2014 at Famous Smoke Shop

Yesterday

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I had the pleasure of visiting Famous Smoke Shop‘s Cigarnival. It’s a 2 day, multi-vender event held at their Easton, PA location.  I spent several hours there hanging out with the cigar f

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olks and enjoying a few cigars.  I attended this event last year, and they’ve made quite a few improvements in my opinion. They constructed one massiv

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e tent this year, as opposed to the multiple tents they had last year.  The food was also stepped up. At dinner time they  brought in some pigs. I swear I saw a woman walking around with a roasted pig head.  Not my thing, but the food I had was good (hotdogs and hamburgers).  There were a bunch of cool things going on at the Cigarnival, besides 800 attendees smoking their brains out, and all the great vendors whom I’m glad I got to spend some time with. Flor de Gonzales hosted a cigar rolling competition throughout the day. Attendees had the chance to put wrappers on pre-made bunches. I thought this was a great way to give consumers a glimpse into the skill it takes to make these great cigars.  There were raffles throughout the day, lots of cigars and humidors and goodies, and someone may have won $100,000 from La Gloria Cubana.  There was also a Drew Estate sponsored Casino in the evening. Last year I remember watching Rocky Patel cheat like crazy, but I didn’t hang around long enough to see if he did that again.  As I had a hour and a half drive home, I cut my visit short. Famous really puts on a great event. The vendors they had were great, the food, the cigars, the people, all top notch.

 

2014 Famous Smoke Shop Cigarnival
Alan Rubin lighting a Room 101
Storm (and Joe) of Cigars For Warriors
The General Cigars Booth
Cigars for Warriors display
Yadi Gonzales and Juan Cancel
The Gurkha booth
Perdomo and Xikar
Erik Espinosa
Sam and Z at the Drew booth
Rocky and JD
big tent!
Rafael Nodal of Boutique Blends
an attendee in the cigar rolling contest
In the retail store
In the restaraunt
a ringer in the rolling contest
The Drew Estate Casino
Matt Booth’s rental car

This is going to be a short post, with a bunch of pictures and a video, as I’ve had a busy day going on a motorcycle ride with over one hundred bikes benefiting our local SPCA.  I also had a nice Drew Estate Natural Shorty in the pool this afternoon to commemorat

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e the occasion (the SPCA run, not spending the afternoon in the pool, the water wasn’t cold!) We ended up going back to the SPCA and adopting a n

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ew member of the family, Macha, a 3ish year old American Staffordshire Terrier (who are we kidding….she’s a Pitty). We already took a short walk with an Acid Shorty, in honor of Shorty Rossi’s Pitbull rescue efforts.  I actually like this Acid, it’s not overly infused, and once you get past the sweet cap, like the Natural, it’s a nice smoke. She did great on the leash, fortunately nobody told her she had her back left leg amputated three weeks ago. Apparently she was brought in having been found on the side of the road with a badly broken femur. She looks small in this picture, but she’s about 6o pounds. I’m looking forward to many walks with her in the future. I didn’t think we’d adopt another dog so soon, but this one was too special to pass up.

 

Busy weekend!  That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 25, 2014 · 9:22 pm

Tatuaje Tattoo, Surrogates Bone Crusher and a Six-Zero Cigar

I don’t know if it’s the change of seasons or what, but I’ve been having some cigar troubles lately. I had some cigars that should have been great, but were underwhelming to me. This is frustrating, because I only have a limited amount of time each day to enjoy a cigar, so It annoys me when I get a dud.  It could be that I’ve been munching on

licorice for the last week or two, as my boys both gave me some nice black licorice for Father’s Day.

 

SixZero_RoboloI had to test my palate, so I went to a cigar I’ve smoked several of recently and really enjoyed.  The Six-Zero line is a proprietary brand from Best Cigar Prices made by Boutique Blends in The Dominican Republic. The Robolo is a 4½” x 60, and Best Cigar Prices had a whole range of “house blends” in this size. Oddly, I find the size rather appealing.  This is also a very inexpensive cigar, coming in around $3 each or less.  I love the San Andrés wrapper on this cigar and it burns perfectly. This was the first really satisfying cigar I’ve smoked in a few days, the whole experience, from burn to the flavor, was very good. I’ve only smoked this size in the line, but I like it a lot.  This confirmed to me that my palate isn’t that far off.

 

Tattoo_CaballeroMonday evening I selected a Tattoo Caballero, the new line from Tatuaje. I picked up a few of these last week and they are in the $5 range, making this a budget line in the brand.  These are made by Pepin Garcia, not in the My Father factory, but his TACUBA factory in Esteli. It’s got a pretty Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers.  It starts with a nice dose of pepper, as you might expect.  Mine had a bit of a crooked burn which required some touch ups, but was a very nice smoke. I judge it to be medium bodied. I

‘ll be interested to see how this smoked after a longer rest in the humidor.

 

Another cigar I picked up last week was the Surrogates Bone Crusher. I had a really good experience with its sibling the Skull Breaker, so I wanted to give this chunky 5¼”x 55 robusto a try.  Maybe my palate is fatigued a little, because it seems like I’m finding the stronger cigars more fulfilling. This is a strong cigar, but well balanced. It was loaded with dark flavors, no doubt attributed to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. I’m sure this has a slightly different blend than the Skull Breaker, but I found it to be very entertaining.  I was wishing it was a longer cigar by the time I was finished, and maybe left a half inch nub in the ashtray. If you like strong cigars, this line is worth a look.  I’ve been quite impressed with everything from the L’Atelier line that I’ve smoked, which is admittedly few.

 

Editorial

 

I listen to a lot of cigar podcasts, and I recently ran across a very entertaining bunch this week. First, give The Cigar Authority a listen, the latest episode features Victor Vitale, whom I

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had the good fortune to spend some time with last week. Of course, Dave and Mr. Jonathan are friends too, and I’ve been entertained by their brand of entertainment for some time. I even had the pleasure to be a guest on the show once.  Next up was Kiss My Ash Radio, hosted by another major retailer, Abe of Smoke Inn.  This week’s installment featured several short vignettes with Matt Booth of Room 101 reciting poetry. I laughed out loud at each one. Last, but not least, and on a serious note, The Stogie Geeks this week featured by buddy Will Cooper interviewing Glynn Loope, the executive director of Cigar Rights of America about the pending FDA regulation. I’ve heard Glynn on several other shows, but this one concentrated on the issue at hand for a good hour or more, and was very in depth. Give this a listen as I found it very educational.  Broken record time, support the CRA, make sure you follow the links on their site and comment on the FDA site following their recommendations. It’s quite important that we convince the FDA to leave hand made, premium cigars alone. There have been some positives in the last few days, such as an extension of the comment period and The White House’s Office of Management and Budget acknowledging that there would be a major economic impact if the FDA has their way. Educate yourselves and make your voice heard, or this glorious industry will cease to exist as we know it.

 

I almost forgot, my son spent the last two days making a cigar box guitar out of a La Gloria Cubana Retro Especiale box.

 

 

Nice job! I sounds pretty good too

 

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

 

Cigar Craig

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