Category Archives: Review

by | May 14, 2014 · 8:42 pm

JdN Quatro Cinco, Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva and the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte

I’m going to lead off with the usual reminder to head on over to  http://cigarrights.org/fda-response.php  and make sure you make an educated comment on the FDA deeming document. This is scary stuff, folks. Nuff said.  I also wanted to make a bit of a policy statement.  Rest assured that when I receive products they are either for evaluation or for contest prizes. At no time will I ever sell, raffle, or otherwise profit from any items I receive from vendors or manufacturers.  I feel that the purpose of these items being in my possession is for the promotion of said products. If you’ve been reading long, you’ve seen me pass along my good fortune more times than not.  Stay tuned for a contest coming soon, it’s been a while since I had one and I have some cigars I want to share.  Enough ranting for now, lets talk cigars!

 

JDN_QuatroCincoSunday I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day with my last Joya de Nicaragua Quatro Cinco.We had the kids over, then did some running around, so I was ready to relax with a really nice ciga

r. As you might recall, this cigar celebrates 45 years of the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Esteli, a factory I’ve had the privilege to visit twice and is one of my favorites. I can’t think of a cigar from that factory that I don’t enjoy. This is the top of the line smoke and is really quite tasty.  It’s smoother and more refined than the excellent Antaño Dark Corojo and 1970s.  I love both of those, but the Quatro Cinco really takes it up a notch in flavor and sophistication. This is

buy zyban online http://nomaa.org/images/png/zyban.html no prescription pharmacy

a wonderful treat.   It’s only available in one vitola, a 6″ x 54 slightly pressed toro with a dark and oily wrapper with filers aged in oak barrels and even some 5 year old ligero. The burn was perfect and it was a terribl

buy amoxicillin online https://panthermedical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/png/amoxicillin.html no prescription pharmacy

y satisfying cigar from start to finish. These are pricey, in the $12 range, but certainly worth a try if you like big, bold Nicaraguan flavor. I can’t wait to see what they do in five years if they put this much love and effort into a 45th anniver

buy methocarbamol online https://www.menexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/methocarbamol.html no prescription pharmacy

sary cigar! Thanks to JB at DE for sending this to me last year.

 

CasaFernandez_ReservaMaduroMonday I revisited the Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva Maduro Corona Extra. I got a late start, so the smaller 5” x 46 size worked well with my schedule.  This has been in the humidor since last October or November and came from the folks at Casa Fernandez.  This is a Nicaraguan puro rolled in Miami, with Aganorsa tobacco grown in the three growing regions, Jalapa, Condega and Esteli.  The size is really nice, it’s a little bigger than a corona, and smaller than a robusto. It smoked for over an hour though, and was very flavorful. I have enjoyed the cigars I’ve smoked from Casa Fernandez, I just don’t seem to see them around much.  I think I like the Aganorsa Maduro the best, it’s like a chocolate bar. I’ve got to dig around and see if I can find one in the humidors.

 

Nomad_CTFuerte_ToroLast night I smoked the new Nomad Connecticut Fuerte from Fred Rewey’s Nomad Cigar Co.  This one came in a goodie bag from Gary Griffith of The House of Emilio which distributes the brand. The tag line “Not you father’s Connecticut cigar” is a little over used, but in this case, the cigar has some horsepower.   I really enjoyed the contrast of the spice and relative strength of the filler with the creamy and slightly bitterness of the wrapper.  I appreciate the Connecticut wrapper on a cigar, but it’s not one I reach for first, probably because I worry that the cigar will be too mild for my tastes.  This one has enough flavor and strength to be satisfying at any time of the day.  In the Nomad portfolio, while the original Dominican line is good, and the Nicaraguan blends are really good, this one is my new favorite of the line.  It’s different from anything else out there. I liked it.

 

That’s it for now. I’ll work on putting a contest together, I already have a pretty good select

buy aurogra online https://www.menexcel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/aurogra.html no prescription pharmacy

ion set aside from various vendors and my own humidors. It may not be Twelve Days of Giveaways spectacular, but it’ll be worthwhile.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

 

buy flomax online http://nomaa.org/images/png/flomax.html no prescription pharmacy

 

Share

6 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | May 11, 2014 · 10:16 am

Cigar Rights and Some Alec Bradley Cigars

I usually present the cigars I’ve smoked over the last few days, but I had a weird experience this week, and I’m going to hold off on talking about those cigars until I give them some more humidor time and revisit them. All I’ll say is I smoked two cigars that had a really odd finish, and while they were from the same company,  they were made in completely different factories. Unless they had a common component that had a flavor that just didn’t play well with my chemistry,  I’m going to give them a do-over in a couple weeks. It was weird and had me second guessing myself! In other news, Cigar Rights of America has published a response to the FDA’s deeming document with excellent recommendations on how to respond, and we MUST respond in numbers, or life will change negatively for many thousands of people. Glynn Loope, the director of the CRA made a comment that no cigar related anything should be published without including a link to http://cigarrights.org/fda-response.php. I created a simple animated 125×125 graphic and included it at the top of the right-hand column on this site (scroll down for mobile users), I don’t think my advertisers will mind being bumped down a spot for this. Anyone who wants to use it is free to to so, and if someone with talent in creating graphics (I have none) wants to improve upon it, please do. We need to make an intelligent and unified response to the FDA’s proposed destruction of cigars as we know them.

 

JMs_AB_JLYesterday was Saturday, and I had received an email earlier in the week that one of my long time favorite local shops was having an Alec Bradley event. I’ve been begging to get

email notices about JM Cigars events for years, and finally got on the list! I figured it would be rude if I didn’t stop in. Jonathan “The Player” Lipson, the local Alec Bradley rep, is a good guy and I like Alec Bradley cigars. I smoked a Nica Puro robusto, of course, one of my go-tos, mostly to see if that odd taste I was getting was me or not. It wasn’t, as the cigar was excellent as usual. The event was well attended for a spring Saturday afternoon. I’m not sure if it’s just that Jonathan does a lot of events or what, but I find myself going whenever I see one pop up, and, as a result, I seem to have quite a few Alec Bradley cigars in my humidors. I picked up a few American Sungrown torpedos too, for five bucks these are impossible to pass up!

 
AB_Maxx_RoboloAfter a blustery storm blew through,  I decided to keep with the Alec Bradley theme, and took a walk with an Alec Bradley MAXX Connecticut Robolo, which is a BestCigarPrices.com exclusive (the size, not the blend It turns out the Maxx Connecticut line is a BCP exclusive, thanks to Jason there for the update).  Something about the 4½x60 size appeals to me, not sure why that is.  This cigar has fillers from Nicaraguan, Colombian, Mexican, and Honduras, with a Connecticut wrapper, which I assume is Ecuador Connecticut judging by the flavor and the price point, however both BestCigarPrices and Alec Bradley’s sites just say Connecticut, so I could well be wrong. These can be

had in the five dollar range. I found this to be a really nice, milder smoke with great flavors. The burn and draw were very good, and I burned my fingers a little finishing it up. It probably smoked for over an hour, not bad for a four and a half inch cigar. In the Maxx range, I’ve only had the Brazilian wrapped version, which is exclusive to another retailer, and I really liked that cigar. This one was tasty, perhaps a better choice for earlier in the day than I smoked it, but a very nice cigar. Thanks to Jason at BCP for providing this sample.

 

That’s all for now.  It’s Mother’s Day, so if you have one in your life, try to do something a little special for her today.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

7 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | May 7, 2014 · 8:08 pm

Bodega Premium Blends Reunión Aperitivo and Digestivo Cigars

Bodega Premium Blends is one of the newer additions to the House of Emilio group of boutique manufacturers.  From what I can gather, the brand was started by four cigar loving entrepreneurs from the Great White North. They currently have two cigars in their Reunión line, the Aperitivo and Digestivo, which are available in three sizes. I received one of each in the 5” x 54 “Double Robusto” size recently in a goodie bag from Gary Griffith.

 

Bodega_Reunion_Aperitivo_RobustoTuesday I took a walk with my wife with the Reunión Aperitivo.  Don’t get me wrong, I love taking walks with my wife, but I’m still wrapping my head around not having an energetic and curious canine pulling at my left arm on my walks. This will take some getting used to. Thank you all for your kind words on Monday’s post, it’s much appreciated. Anyway, the name of this cigar implies that I should smoke it perhaps before dinner, or early in the day. My weekday schedule is such that I prefer to have a cigar after dinner, and after a meal normally. I just don’t ever feel like smoking on an empty stomach. So after dinner I lit up the Aperitivo and we took a walk. This one has a Jalapa Habano wrapper and fillers from Jalapa and Condega. The binder is listed as “proprietary”, so I don’t know if it’s a Nicaraguan puro or not.  Anyway, the cigar burned perfectly, the draw was perfect, and it held an ash very well. It had a nice, medium flavor that was kind of dry on the palate, with some nuttiness. This cigar smoked really well, and was enjoyable, even though it isn’t in a flavor profile that I usually gravitate toward.  I resisted the urge to smoke the San Andres wrapped Digestivo first in this case, it just seemed like these should be smoked in order, from a CDO standpoint (CDO is OCD in alphabetical order, like it should be).

 
Bodega_Reunion_Digestivo_RobustoThe “after dinner” cigar in the Bodega line is the Reunión Digestivo. It’s wrapped in San Andrés Negro and has fillers from Jalapa and Esteli, with presumably the same proprietary binder as the Aperitivo. The wrapper is beautifully dark and oily and it was a really hard decision last night to choose the Aperitivo over this one, but the CDO won out. I took a solitary walk as it was looking like rain, which it eventually did.  The Digestivo lit well and started with a very similar  astringent quality to that which the Aperitivo had, a dryness, if you will.  It had the underlying cocoa flavor associated with the San Andrés wrapper, which I liked. It burned dead even and had a very nice draw. It was a bit stronger than the Aperitivo, as the names would indicate ans smoothed out nicely into a nice smoking experience. Considering it’s Canadian roots, it had no maple syrup undertones or hints of back bacon.  It was a nice smoke and I wouldn’t hesitate to smoke it again. I would give these both 97s on my rating scale, with this Digestivo having a slight edge.

 

I think it’s a risk offering two distinctly different cigars for sale in the same box. Suppose you really like one and hate the other? You have to buy both to get the one you like, and either be stuck with the one  you don’t like or have to figure a way to get rid of them, and, starting at $10 each, it’s a tough sell. If you love both, it’s a great way to have some variety in your life.  Fortunately, they are available in boxes of ten in each blend. I suppose it would have been silly to have the mixed box be the only way to get these other than buying singles. I gotta say, for Canadians, these guys are making some good cigars :-). It shouldn’t be a surprise as Gary only really invites good cigar makers into the House of Emilio. Thanks again to Gary for providing the samples of these tasty treats. Nicely done, eh.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | May 4, 2014 · 10:09 am

A Rodrigo Lancero, a Leccia Luchador and a Surrogates Skull Breaker

Lots going on this week, between weather and migraines, I’ve been a bit off my game.  I still managed to smoke some great cigars though. It wasn’t easy, but it has to be done!  Before I get into the cigars, I’d like to point you to another great article regarding FDA regulation, and implore you to make your feelings known on the Regulations.gov page so we can save our hobby, our passion from being disrupted unnecessarily. Patrick Semmens wrote an excellent article last week:   Commentary: Why

the FDA’s $10 Exemption Proposal is More Dangerous than You Realize. Great stuff!

 

Rodrigo_HabanoClassico_LanceroThursday evening I selected a Rodrigo Habano Classico Lancero for my evening smoke. I didn’t get to take my walk as I had to sit in on a conference call, but the cigar was stellar. Rodrigo comes from a Pittsburgh guy, George Rodriguez, and is distributed by The House of Emilio.  This is a 7″ x 38 lancero with a  Ecuadorian Habano/Sumatra Hybrid wrapper and Dominican fillers and binder, made in the Dominican Republic. It’s a very nice medium bodied cigar with good balance. It’s got a sweet, nutty flavor and is good to the last puff.  I probably ave had these in the humidor for a couple years, I think George sent these to me before he was involved with House of Emilio, so these had some time to settle.  I have enjoyed what I’ve smoked from Rodrigo, great boutique cigars. Score: 98

 

Leccia_Luchador_ElHombreFriday.  It’s the end of the week, it’s time to celebrate.  I was the fortunate recipient of a package from Jack Toraño this week, included within were a couple of Sam Leccia‘s new Luchador cigar, due for release tomorrow, May 5th, or Cinco de Mayo.  Sam has put together a 5 country blend with Honduras and Pennsylvania Ligero and Nicaraguan Ometepe in the filler, Ecuador Habano Binder and my favorite Mexican San Andrés wrapper. Of course, my expectations were high for several reasons. First, obviously the wrapper is my favorite, and second, it’s Sam Leccia, and he has the Midas touch when it comes to cigars. The cigar I smoked was the El Hombre, a 5″ x 54 Robusto with a pointed cap.  I carefully snipped this off with the Xikar scissors, and lit it up.  Love affair right off the bat. Great strong espresso flavors, almost Cuban coffee with the sweetness.  It was desert like, with some spice to go along with it, really tasty. My biggest complaint was that it was too short! I really wanted it to last another half hour. I don’t know how this is going to age, I suspect it will do OK, but it’s ready to go now. Great balance, great burn and draw. A top notch smoke that’s right the heck up my alley.   Thanks to Sam and Jack for letting me smoke this before it hits the streets.  Great, another cigar I’ll have to keep on hand. Score: 99

 

Surrogates_SkullBreakerSaturday my wife and I stopped in to Cigar Mojo on ou

buy bull 100 online https://resmedfoundation.org/testing/php/bull-100.html no prescription pharmacy

r way home from our granddaughter’s third birthday party to check out their Kentucky Derby party. They had a pretty good crowd, and were having some raffles and contests. I picked up a few cigars, including the Surrogates Skull Breaker, a line I haven’t sampled before.  This cigar had it’s origin at New Havana Cigars as a partnership between owner Dan Welsh and Pete Johnson and they are now under the L’Atelier Imports portfolio.  I picked up this dark belicoso, I think it was priced around $7.50. A few years ago I wouldn’t have bought a cigar that expensive, but since visiting cigar country a few times, I have a much better appreciation for the value of a cigar, it’s a miracle they can be produced so reasonably. I still have trouble with the $10+ price point, but I will loosen the purse stings (figuratively) now and then and pick one up.  I digress. I had a migraine coming on, so I figured a cigar called “Skull Breaker” couldn’t hurt anything.  It’s a strong cigar, have no doubt. It’s got great flavor from the Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrappper and Nicaraguan fillers and binder.  I loved dark chocolate and pepper this cigar had, and it was another cigar that burned perfectly, straight from the retail humidor.  When you have a cigar lounge, it’s pretty important for the cigars you sell to be ready to smoke, and the guys at Cigar Mojo have that covered.  If you find yourself in King of Prussia, PA (or the Philly area), stop in and ask them where the heck my CigarCraig.com magnet went??? Good race, good smoke, couldn’t wait to get home and take a pill for the headache and sleep it off. Score: 98

 

That’s it for today. I have a bunch of new cigars to smoke over the coming weeks, so stay tuned.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

Share

7 Comments

Filed under Events, Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | April 30, 2014 · 6:54 pm

A Post-Flyers-Loss Liga Privada UF-13, a Toraño and a Pre-Flyers-Win Kings Cigar

UF-13 DarkCigars

buy flomax online https://warren-yazoo.org/wymhsorg/images/gif/flomax.html no prescription pharmacy

are funny things, they can be a celebration, or they can pick you up

buy cialis soft online https://chinaacucenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/pdf/cialis-soft.html no prescription pharmacy

when you’re down. Sunday I needed a pick-up cigar after the Flyers lost to the Rangers in a playoff game they needed to win.  I went for one of the best cigars I have in my humidors, a Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico UF-13 Dark. I’ve had the good fortune to have smoked a bunch of these and, I have to say, I like them. The size (5½” x 52) works very well, its perfectly balanced and satisfying. It’s consistent in flavor and always burns perfectly. UF stands for Unico Fuerte, and I suppose these are a strong cigar, but I don’t take them as much stronger than any of the other Unicos, or Liga Privadas for that matter. These aren’t inexpensive, but they certainly are a nice treat every now and then. I give it a 98, but very close to a 99.

 

Torano_1916_ToroMonday I chose a cigar from the Toraño 90+ sampler that I broke into a couple months back after giving it a one year rest.  This cigar was the 1916 Cameroon toro, a tradit

buy levitra super force online https://warren-yazoo.org/wymhsorg/images/gif/levitra-super-force.html no prescription pharmacy

ional 6 x 50 wrapped in a cedar sleeve. As I joked on my Instagram picture, one is to remove the cedar sleeve before lighting.  You think it’s funny until you’ve seen someone try to do it. Not cool.  This cigar commemorates the year Santiago Toraño moved to Cuba and got into the tobacco business.  I’m personally glad he made this move, as the Toraño company is one of my favorites.  This cigar is really tasty! It’s sweet and medium to mild, and maybe even creamy. I enjoyed the heck out of this cigar, if I had one complaint it would be that the ash didn’t hang on too long, but that’s a very minor complaint. It had the Camerooniness that I really like. I should smoke more Cameroon wrapped cigars! It’s another 98 on my rating scale.

 

Kings_Baron_RobustoLast night, before the Flyers staved off playoff elimination, I sat out in the garage and smoked a Kings Cigars Baron, which is their Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigar. I had the robusto size, and this either came from the IPCPR show, or from a package I received from them just before the  show. I really like the Conde, which is the San Andres maduro offering, and the Habano wrapped enormous King of Kings is tasty. The guys behind the brand are fun guys to be around too. Anyway, this was a nice, mild smoke that was up the middle for me. The flavor was good, but didn’t really distinguish itself from other cigars in the Connecticut category, which I admit I pass over more times than not. It was very well made, burned well and wasn’t offensive at all, and it was satisfying. While

my personal preference is for something different,  I think this is a good example of a Connecticut cigar. I give the Baron 96, but the website gets a 91. I love these guys and they are innovative and creative, but the website is a pain in the butt to get any information from, and not being able to silence the audio turns me off (warning to those who click the links here).  Flashy isn’t always better, at least in my opinion.

 

This is going to get old fast, but it’s important that we make our voices heard with the FDA.  I have to say that Halfwheel.com published and excellent piece on why $10 is a ridiculous reference point for the FDA to deem a cigar to be “Premium” and, therefore, exempt from regulation.  FIVE REASONS WHY THE FDA’S $10 PRICE EXEMPTION WON’T SURVIVE

 

Here’s the link again to voice your opinions on how they define “Premium” Cigars.  http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2014-N-0189-0001

 

I can’t stress the importance of convincing the FDA to exclude cigars from regulation (at least for now) by letting them know that the price and weight of cigars is irrelevant in determining that they are “Premium”, that they are hand made from all natural ingredients (and that can include ‘flavoring’ as far as I’m concerned) is all the criteria needed. As Charlie Minato at Halfwheel properly points out, the state of New Hampshire has a recognized definition of a premium cigar, it being: “Premium cigars are cigars made entirely by hand of all natural tobacco leaf, hand constructed and hand wrapped, wholesaling for $2 or more, weighing more than 3 pounds per 1000 cigars, and kept in a humidor at the proper humidity.” (Thanks to Dave Garofalo and Victor Vitale and all those who worked to write this definition! It’s close enough).  Anyway, hit the link above and let them know what you think.

 

Well, tonight is Game 7 of the Rangers and Flyers and I hope the Flyers play like they did last night!  I’m not quite ready for hockey season to be over, although it does free up my schedule to smoke larger cigars!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

Share

4 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,