Category Archives: Review

by | March 12, 2014 · 5:17 pm

Back to Cigars! A La Sirena, a Gurkha and a Little PDR

I got that whole IPCPR thing off my chest last time, thanks to everyone who weighed in in the comments. I have one more little rant to get out of the way. This is something that’s been bothering me for a while, and, as a public service announcement, I’d like to present my views, and it will only piss off those who have an over inflated opinion of themselves! I listen to a lot of cigar podcasts and read a lot of blogs, as I’m sure you all do too. I am in no way shape or form a cigar expert, and no other cigar bloggers or podcasters are either! I constantly hear mis-information and, maybe worse, opinion related as fact. The experts are the people that work the fields and curing barns, blend and manufacture cigars. For instance, when someone states with authority regarding an Oliva cigar that they have “a gazillion farms in Central America”, they are wrong and don’t know that there is a difference between Oliva Cigar Co. and Oliva Tobacco Co.. I see and hear this sort of silliness all the time and it annoys me because I figure some readers/listeners are taking this as

buy keflex online http://rheumconsultants.com/new_web/css/fonts/eot/keflex.html no prescription pharmacy

gospel. I would also contend that there are no Cuban Cigar experts in the US, we are like fish out of water when it comes to Havanas, they’ve been illegal to buy for 50 years. If you want a Cuban cigar expert, you will have to go outside of US borders. Talk to my friend Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd. in the UK, I would categorize him as an expert on all things Havana, and I’d be dissapointed if he didn’t argue that fact. Don’t believe everything you read or hear, unless it comes from Jose Blanco or someone of that ilk! Enough of my ranting, now you kids get the hell off my lawn!

 

LaSirena_DubloonSunday was a really nice, late winter day. It’s the first day of Daylight Savings Time, which they should just leave as Standard time, in my opinion! I much prefer longer evenings to earlier mornings. Anyway, the day called for a large cigar and a long walk. I recently came into possession of some rather limited La Sirena Dubloons, I’ve been looking for an excuse to fire one up and this was it. Unlike the other sizes in the La Sirena line which have a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper (yum), this cigar has the same Habana Oscuro wrapper found on the La Sirena A (another I have in the humidor that I ‘m waiting for an appropriate time to smoke). The cigar is a beautiful 7¼” x 56 Salamone, or enormous perfecto, shaped cigar. This cigar smoked perfectly, and was loaded with dark, rich flavors. I smoked this for the better part of two hours and was left quite sated. If you run across this vitola, give it a shot, it’s a big ol’ tasty treat.

 

Gurkha_Seduction_ToroMonday I celebrated taking my evening walk in the daylight by

buy super viagra online http://rheumconsultants.com/new_web/css/fonts/eot/super-viagra.html no prescription pharmacy

smoking a Gurkha Seduction which has been tempting from the humidor since I received it as an IPCPR sample at the 2012 trade show. I’ve smoked plenty of the robustos and love them, this was my first in the toro size. This is a great tasting cigar, the Habano wrapper is just delicious

. Gurkha’s really getting their stuff together, I think. I avoided them for a while just because their product

buy mebendazole online http://cosmeticsurgeryspecialists.org/patientspage/html/mebendazole.html no prescription pharmacy

offering was so large and confusing, but they are coming out with some really tasty cigars in this Seduction, the Ghost and the Cellar Reserve (the maduro LE especially). Somewhere around here I have a five fingered Gurkha tin case with five cigars in it. I’ll have to dig that out one of these days. It was a Groupon deal which made paying $10 per cigar seem like a good idea (it was a gift, w

buy elavil online http://cosmeticsurgeryspecialists.org/patientspage/html/elavil.html no prescription pharmacy

hich I’m very thankful for!)  They seem to have tamed down the over the top marketing too. They have a huge and loyal following, just watch the next time I have a Gurkha contest.

 

AFlores_Gran Reserva_HalfCoronaTinTuesday evening my wife an I had an event to go to so I only had a half hour or so to get my walk and cigar in. Fortunately, I had received a sample tin of the A. Flores Gran Reserva Half Coronas from PDR Cigars. I’ve enjoyed the Gran Reserva line in the past, so I was excited for an opportunity to smoke this little guy. This is a 3½” x 46 cedar wrapped cigar with a Dominican Corojo wrappper and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s fortunate that I only had a short

amount of time, or I would be tempted to chain smoke the entire tin of five of these decadent and diminutive beauties. These come in a pocket friendly tin (although not sealed, so take care not to visit too arid or swampy places). Good things sometimes do come in small packages (I’ve been telling this to my……oh, nevermind…..).  Thank you to PDR Cigars for the samples.

 

That’s enough from me for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

6 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | March 5, 2014 · 8:20 pm

A Partagas, a Star Insignia, a Cain and a Cigar Rights Video

Partagas1845_RobustoMonday evening I came across a Partagas 1845 Robusto in a box buried in one of the coolerdors. I forget what I was on the hunt for, but as soon as I saw that I had to smoke it. I’ve had a few of the 1845 line in various sizes, and I really like this particular take on the robusto format, 5½ x 49 is a very cool size to me for some reason. They use this size in the regular “yellow box” line as well, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had the Limited Reserve in that same size. The wrapper is Ecuadoran Habano Viso, the binder is Connecticut Habano and the fillers are Dominican & Nicaraguan Ligero & Seco, and there’s some aging in rum barrels that goes on too. It’s a darned good tasting cigar. I’m looking forward to the upcoming release of the 1845 Extra Fuerte (see Coop’s piece on this at www.cigar-coop.com/) featuring higher primings (and therefor stronger and more flavorful) of the same tobaccos used in the 1845. I also seem to recall something about an Oscuro coming out, but I’ll have to do some more digging. Partagas has always been a preferred line for me, there seems to be a little something for everyone in the portfolio.

 

AB_StarInsignia_RoboloTuesday I tried a new (to me) cigar that is a house blend for Best Cigar Prices called the Star Insignia Robolo by Alec Bradley. This is a box pressed robusto with a nice dark wrapper from the Jalapa region, a Sumatra binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and secret tobaccos. Despite a slightly uneven burn this is a very nice smoke. It’s unlike any other Alec Bradley cigar I’ve smoked. It has a flavor I can only characterize as steak cooked on a mesquite fire. There’s a smokey meatiness that stands out to me. It was a nice surprise and I liked it quite a bit. Sure, I had to touch up the burn a few times and the draw was a tad snug, but it tasted really good. Best Cigar Prices sent me samples of this and I appreciate it as I might have passed it by otherwise. Worth the time to try something this unique, I think, as they aren’t cheap, but they aren’t unfairly high priced either. Interesting side note about Best CigarPrices: I remember years ago, in the early days of the World Wide Web, we got our cigar specials via the FujiPub E-mail listserve.  Before they were called Best Cigar Prices, they were New Global Marketing, and would include a lengthy test list of their specials, easily several pages long.  So they’ve been around a long time, they aren’t just some new outfit.  They are located in the north east part of PA, I need to take a drive up there one of these days, I understand they have a lounge.

 

CainF_550Tonight I grabbed one of the last Cain F 550s I had floating around, and smoked it on my walk.  This is a powerhouse cigar, all ligero from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa in Nicaragua. The wrapper is also Nicaraguan and really tasty.  The Cain line is a favorite of mine, but it took me a while to really appreciate the bold flavors. I really believe some age smooths these out a lot.  As I said before, this is one lone that the maduro is my least favorite in the bunch.  In the Cain F line, the tubed lancero is the cream of the crop, but this 5¾ x 50 was really quite good. It seems more like a 46 ring for some reason, perhaps it’s that it’s a little longer than a robusto, yet not as long as a toro.  It’s among my favorites whatever the size.  I’ll have to track down some more (as if I need more cigars…).

 

I’ve changed one of the videos in my left hand sidebar because Tommy Zman of Famous Smoke Shop released a new video this week regarding the FDA and CRA and the importance of  fighting for our rights as users of a legal product. Here is is again, in case you’ve missed it (even though it’s right there on the side bar!).

 

httpv://youtu.be/1uAEfPX__u4

Life will be really difficult for us as smokers, but it’ll be even worse for all of the people who feed their families by working in the cigar industry. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (a bit of a dated cliché, when is someone going to update it to the digital age?), not only are jobs at stake in the US, but in Central America and the Caribbean, where it will be economically devastating and those countries will look to the US for financial support. Nobody wins, except for the fun police who aren’t happy if they see someone enjoying themselves in a way that they don’t approve of.  Support Cigar Rights of America and write to your elected officials.  FDA regulation of premium cigars is unnecessary and  oppressive.

That’s enough out of me, until the next time,

CigarCraig

Share

4 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review, Video

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | March 2, 2014 · 7:53 am

Sampling Some Perdomo Cigars: 20th, Champagne Noir, Lot23 Maduro and Mojo

Perdomo_20thAnnivMaduro_CoronaGrandeThursday evening I went down to Cigar Mojo in King Of Prussia, PA to their Perdomo event.  I have not smoked a lot of Perdomo cigars for whatever reason.  I may have been turned off to them back in the late ’90s. I’m making a concerted effort to correct this oversight.  Perdomo’s sales rep, Joe Winder, was on hand and the place was quite impressively packed for a Thursday evening.  Since I’m largely unfamiliar with the line, except for the Lot 23 and a Champagne that I didn’t really care for much a while back, Joe ran through the line with me and a couple other customers. I selected the 20th Anniversary Maduro in the 6½x48 size (which is apparent;y a new size that was the brainchild of Nick Perdomo’s son) a couple Lot 23 Maduro Toros and a 20th Anniversary Sungrown.  I lit up the 20th Anniversary Maduro and sat down with Vince, Graham and Steve from The Cigar Lounger Magazine to catch up, after having chatted with Chris (@theLazySmoker), who I seem to run into there more times than not!  The 20th Anniversary was an awesome ci

buy synthroid online https://www.svmassagetherapy.com/js/mailform/js/synthroid.html no prescription pharmacy

gar.  It was on the high side of medium bodied with good, rich cocoa flavor.  I fell in love with this cigar

buy clomiphene online https://www.svmassagetherapy.com/js/mailform/js/clomiphene.html no prescription pharmacy

and it made me wonder why I wasn’t sampling more from the Perdomo line.  It’s always entertaining hanging out with The Cigar Lounger guys, since meeting them last year, and hanging out with them at the IPCPR show and a few other times, I think I can say they are friends.  If you haven’t seen the magazine, check it out, it’s really slick. It’s available as an App for Android or iOS or you can read it on TheCigarLounger.com.  I was to find out that they have decided to discontinue their radio show, which I was listening to in podcast form, so I guess I need to find something to fill the Perdomo_Lot23Maduro_Torogap.  After finishing the 20th, I lit up the Lot 23 Maduro Toro.  I was half expecting this to be just something to smoke while hanging out. This is another really nice smoke, and the price wasn’t too hard on the wallet.  it was a nice, rich, creamy smoke, and I liked it.  It’s always fun going to an event at a local shop and hanging out with folks who enjoy a cigar, it’s even better when you hang out with folks who are as passionate about them as we are.  Robyn from Villiger Cigars even stopped in.  Cigar Mojo continues to impress me also.  The space is beautiful, and Wade is an attentive host, and our local CRA ambassador, Alan Price, is a more than capable counter-man. Unfortunately, his son and business partner, Trae, was off with his wife expecting their first child (Congrats again on the birth of James Wade!). It’s always nice stopping in that shop.

 

Perdomo_ChampageNoir_RobustoFriday I dug out a Perdomo Champagne Noir Robusto for my evening walk. After a less than happy experience with the Connecticut Shade Champagne, I was hoping for the best.  The Maduro Noir was much more to my liking.  Sweet cocoa and coffee were the predominant flavors in this Nicaraguan Puro.  I like the chubby 5″ x 54 size too.  It was bitterly cold out, and I didn’t really mind too much because the cigar was so good.  I’ve got another cigar around someplace that I thought was just a 10th Anniversary Maduro, without the “Champagne Nior” distinction. I’ll have to look for it in the humidors, I recall like it a great deal too.  This cigar is another keeper!

 

Perdomo_20thAnnivSungrown_RobustoSaturday evening I grabbed the Sungrown version of the Perdomo 20th Anniversary in the same chubby robusto size as the Champagne Noir. This is a really pretty cigar, and after enjoying the Maduro version so much I was quite hopeful that I’d have another positive experience. As I did with the previous three cigars, I gave this a V-cut and the draw was perfect. I can say that all four of these cigars were perfectly constructed, once I lit it, I rarely gave it another thought.  I may have touched up one of the two I smoked at the lounge as I was talking more than I was smoking, but they all performed well. Kudos to the folks at Perdomo for making high quality cigars at a fair price.  I enjoyed the hell out of the Sungrown, maybe not as much as the Maduro, but enjoyed it none the less.  It had a really nice flavor, and I’ll be revisiting this in the future for sure, along with the previous three.  Quite nice.  Thanks to Joe Winder from Perdomo and Wade (Trae and Alan too!) at Cigar Mojo for making Perdomo believer out of me. As a side note, I stopped back in the shop Saturday to offer congrats again and spent a nice 45 minutes with an Illusione Rothschild and Alan, who’s off to Honduras today (travel safely!). That’s another great little smoke for a very reasonable price.

 

That’s it for today, until tomorrow,

 

CigarCraig

Share

10 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | February 26, 2014 · 7:07 pm

An Avo, a Six Zero and Transporter Tubes

I don’t have a lot happening so far this week, I’m afraid! There were a couple cigars I smoked that I want to give a second chance to. Based on the experiences I had, I don’t think it would be fair to the brands to say anything at this time. This is generally my modus operandi, I guess that’s why it looks like I always smoke cigars I like. Trust me, I prefer to smoke cigars I like! I’m an optimist, for the most part, and I really want to like everything I smoke, and I hate it when I feel like my time was wasted. I think if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything, so I’ll revisit a couple cigars in the next couple weeks and see how they go!

 

Avo_LE10Sunday afternoon was beautiful here in SE PA. Temperatures in the 50s melting off the snow, or at least making the piles a little smaller. I took a nice walk with the pup and a cigar I’ve been sitting on for six months, an Avo LE10 that Will Cigar-Coop Cooper sent me

buy amoxicillin online https://nurseguidance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/amoxicillin.html no prescription pharmacy

. I’ve heard constant raves about this cigar, and my experience with the Avo line is limited to a La Trompeta LE12 that was an

buy methocarbamol online http://rheumconsultants.com/forms/pdf/methocarbamol.html no prescription pharmacy

OK cigar but burned poorly and didn’t excite my taste buds. I spent a little over an hour and a half with this LE10 and it was a perfectly fine cigar. I guess I just don’t have the palate for these, because I didn’t “get it”. It was good, but didn’t blow me away with the flavor. Some people have expensive tastes, and some people consider

buy femara online http://rheumconsultants.com/forms/pdf/femara.html no prescription pharmacy

a Big Mac a treat I

buy antabuse online https://nurseguidance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/antabuse.html no prescription pharmacy

guess, and I fall into the later group. I’d rather have Hamburger Helper than some fancy risotto, so I guess it stands to reason that I lack the sophistication to appreciate such an obviously wonderful cigar. I’m stubborn though, I keep trying! Thanks very much, Will, and I have a couple more from that generous gift you sent that I’m waiting for nicer weather to smoke! If you don’t know of Cigar-Coop.com and StogieGeeks.com, check them out. Will’s just about the hardest working man in cigar media, and rumor has it he has a full time job and a family too! I consider Will a good friend.

 

SixZero_RoboloSunday evening I reached for Hamburger Helper….not really, but a fairly new $3.00 cigar from Best Cigar Prices.  The Six-Zero line is all 60 ring gauge cigars made by the folks at Boutique Blends.  Of course, we know that name from the Aging Room and Swag lines of cigars.  I got some of the Robolo size, which is 4½” x 60, and am really enjoying them.  The well aged San Andrés wrapper is very tasty and the cigar is well made. I actually enjoy the short, fat format. Call it a guilty pleasure, but I find myself not minding a 60 ring cigar, and the shorter varieties tend to fit my schedule better than the longer ones.  Anyway, these are tasty, dark chocolaty cigars that are well worth the money. I could actually smoke these regularly, if I were one to regularly smoke anything!

 

I recently received an e-mail from a new reader named Kevin,  who is making some pretty neat looking travel tubes. He’s got an Indigogo campaign going to raise some start up costs and offering these tubes as perks for contributing.  I should be seeing a prototype next week, but they look well done and I liked the looks of it enough to kick start his campaign with a contribution, I can use a nice aluminum tube!  Give it a look at  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/transporter-tubes and https://www.facebook.com/transportertubes.  I often try to think of something I could make that people would think is neat and want, but I guess I’m just not that creative.  Certainly there are other tubes on the market, some cheap and some way more expensive, but these look darned nice.  He seems to be making them for Churchill sized cigars, which, in my mind, should accommodate several normal sizes.  I wish Kevin the best!

 

Short one tonight, I’ll see what I can come up with for Sunday’s post!  Until then,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

Share

5 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | February 23, 2014 · 11:07 am

A Mardi Gras, a Cain, a CigarCraig Safari Blend and a La Sirena

MardiGras_TorpedoLast year at the IPCPR show a little corner booth caught our eye, primarily due to the model they had working there. Oddly, my wife was the one who talked to her while she was getting in costume. Call me a cigar geek, but I’m afraid I get distracted by all the cigars at the show. Anyway, this young lady was IMG_0693representing Mardi Gras Cigars, which is a house brand of The Huntington Humidor in Huntington Village, NY. They call the Mardi Gras their own special, extra aged Double Ligero Corojo creation, and I smoked a corona at the show which was a pretty nice smoke, and came home with a torpedo and a corona. I finally smoked the torpedo on Thursday evening. I’ve already told you all I know about the blend, and the flavor was very nice. The construction gave me some problems as it refused to burn right. I had various issues including requiring frequent re-lights, poor draw and uneven burn. MardiGras BoxesIt’s almost as if the cigar was over humidified, but it was in the humidor since July of last year and I’ve smoked countless other cigars from that humidor.  I’ll have to give the corona a try one of these days, maybe it’s just a torpedo thing.  There aren’t many things more disappointing than struggling with a cigar.

 

Cain_NubFriday evening called for a great cigar, first because it’s Friday, and second because Thursday’s smoke was less than satisfying.  I was digging around for a shorter smoke and I came across a Cain Habano 460 which was given to me by Sam Leccia (who, at that time, was still with Oliva) at the 2011 IPCPR show.  I had forgotten about this (as well as a 4×60 Padilla Reserve Maduro Short Robusto…tough decision!). The Cain was what I was craving so it got the nod. I like Cain Habanos with some age quite a bit. This is one line where the maduro seems to be at the bottom of the list for me.  I don’t quite know why that is, but I prefer the Cain F, Daytona and Habano much more.  This cigar burned perfectly and tasted great.  Of course, when you choose a 4×60 and think it’s a short cigar, it’s short in length only, not necessarily smoking time. This size can certainly smoke longer than a robusto unless you have really fat fingers!  I suspect these are readily available now, when it was given to me it was something of a rarity.  This was a perfectly satisfying smoke.

 

CC_CigarSafariBlend2013Saturday we finally had some warm weather!  It was in the 50s all day and some of the piles of snow are starting to get a little smaller, and some of the tree limbs that came down in the ice storm a few weeks ago are re-appearing.  Those will have to get cleaned up soon!  I took a nice, long afternoon walk with one of the cigars I blended at CigarSafari last year.  This blend consisted of a San Andreas Negro wrapper with a Cameroon binder.  I used Brazilian Mata Fina, some Ometepe and Jalapa Ligero  in the filler. After 10 months in the humidor these haven’t changed too much. The first half is a little dry, I like the flavor, but I may have been over ambitious and have too much going on, the flavors fight with one another too much.  The second half mellows out to what I wanted it to be, a smooth and chocolate barrage of flavor.  I think sticking with a neutral binder is the way to go for me.  I don’t really care how the cigar tastes though, every time I smoke one I’m reminded of an exceptional experience in Nicaragua.

 

LaSirena_TridentAfter dinner, which was take out from a fairly new fish place specializing in  North Carolina style cuisine, Triton Seafood, I fished out a La Sirena Trident again.  I really have to bury this box or it will not last the summer.  Once again, this is a Church

ill sized cigar with a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, double binders of Nicaraguan Corojo and Habano and fillers of Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 & Nicaraguan Corojo ’06, all rolled at Pepin Garcia’s My Father factory in Esteli. How can you go wrong with that recipe and pedigree!  It is, indeed, a delicious cigar.  I love the dark, lush flavors and the construction is top notch.  I definitely have to move this box to the bottom of the coolerdor, it’s much to easy to reach in and grab one in a moment of indecision, and I have

hopes of enjoying more than one of these in the pool on a hot summer day (perfect given the aquatic theme)! By the way, the Fish and Chips was pretty good, although we probably should have eaten in instead of taking it home as it would have been better piping hot! Their hush puppies were delicious!

 

That’s it for now. It’s another 50-something degree day, so I want to get out and clear some more of the snow off the patio before tonight when it goes and rains/snows again.  My back hurts, but it’s nice to be outside without freezing!  I’ll have to find some interesting cigars to smoke today…

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

4 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,