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IPCPR 2013 – Iconic Leaf and Recluse Cigars

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Yesterday I visited with the folks at Iconic Leaf and J.D. Dominguez showed me his newest creation, the Recluse Draconian Sidewinder, in what looks to be a 7″ x 60 box press. I’ve loved these guys since I met them last year at the show and pick up a recluse cigar or two wheneve

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r I see them in my local shop (one of them carries them!).  I smoked the cigar that was featured in the video at the show (the only cigar I smoked on the show floor yesterday) and it was fantast

ic. Rich and full of great flavor and burned perfectly.  It’s more of a good thing, that’s for sure.  the only drawback was that I was frequently distracted and it lasted 2 hours or so!  If you haven’t tried the Recluse line, hunt them down.

 

Here’s the video:

 

I’m off to celebrate my wife’s birthday by seeing the Cirque du Soliel LOVE show at the Mirage next door.  We’ll see where the night takes us after that!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Getting Ready for Vegas, a Perdomo, a Four Kicks and a Nica Rustica

In the week leading up to our trip to the IPCPR show in Vegas I’m losing track of what I’ve smoked!  I had to go back and check twitter and Instagram to refresh my memory. My wife is right, I need to take a note book along this time to write things down along the way. I’m certain to forget something in the information overload that is the IPCPR  show. Case in point: I smoked a couple cigars on Sunday, I think a CAO Concert and a Gurkha Seduction. Both are cigars that are on my “go to” list when I want to smoke something, enjoy the heck out of it, and not have to worry too much about it. The Concert went very nicely in the pool, and the Gurkha was perfect after a end of the weekend rainstorm complete with a double rainbow. These two cigars capped off a pretty great holiday weekend for me.  I had to go look up what I smoked!

 

Perdomo_10th Maduro RobustoMonday evening I grabbed one of the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduros I had picked up recently. I was in the mood for something new and I really don’t smoke a ton of Perdomo cigars for whatever reason. I’m not sure if it goes back to the 90s when I had a string of bad luck with the brand or what. This cigar was pretty darned sublime. The flavor was right up my alley, chocolatey and espressoey  and well balanced. Well worth the $5.25 I paid for it. It was a lovely smoke and I’ll certainly have to pay a little more attention to this brand. Yes, I know that chocolatey and espressoey aren’t real words (I already had that argument with the spell check…).

 

Four Kicks_RobustoLast night I selected a Four Kicks robusto that was gifted to me a few months ago in New Jersey by Alex “StogieCop” Martinez. I’ve enjoyed a few different sizes in this line, and they are nice cigars to be sure. I kind of wanted to get some older (ie. last years) cigars smoked before going to the trade show and being inundated with new stuff. This was a worthy smoke, although I just can’t get as excited about it as some do, perhaps it doesn’t suit my preferences as much as some others. Still a terrific smoke, thank you Alex for allowing me to revisit this one.

 

DE_NicaRustica_ToroChanging gears, tonight I wanted to preview a cigar that I gather is being released at the show this year. In the past few weeks I’ve smoked some NicaRoma cigars from Villiger,the Nica Puro from Alec Bradley, so I thought I better smoke the Nica Rustica that’s coming out from Drew Estate. I was given a sample a few months ago when I visite

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d the factory and I would be

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lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit intimidated by this stick! Will at Cigar-Coop.com posted a nice write up on this last week, where he notes that the blend includes a Nicaraguan Rustica tobacco grown in Esteli that is among the most potent of tobaccos it’s wrapped in a San Andreas binder (yay!) and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper (another yay!) and will be offered in a 6″x52 toro shape. The example I smoked had an unfinished foot and a pigtail head. It certainly was a rustic looking cigar, and had a wonderful syrupy sweetness on the wrapper.  You an feel the tingle of the nicotine in the mouth, and there is a ton of flavor. This is like a Liga Privada on steroids. I have yet to find anythig remotely subtle about this ci

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gar, it’s just loaded with great, in your face flavor and strength. I’m sitting on the deck finishing this off as I ty

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pe, and I already look forward to smoking another one. Now, I have to admit that I don’t know if this is the finished blend or not, but I hope it is close.  I remember Steve Saka saying that production capacity was holding this release back, apparently they made some room to produce a bunch of these. At the reported under $7 price tag, this is a no brainer for anyone who doesn’t mind having your ass kicked around the block a few times. Highly recomended and anticipated!

 

That’s it for tonight. The next post will probably be from the IPCPR show. I’ll do my best to get some interesting and entertaining video here, assuming I can get some WIFI connections here and there.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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4th of July Weekend Cigars: Alec Bradley, Hoyo, Gurkha, La Gloria and Another Alec Bradley

AB_ AmericanClassicWe had a pretty low key 4th of July celebration. All our kids and grandkids were over and we grilled and stuff for the afternoon. Before everyone got here I started the day with an Alec Bradley American Classic Robusto. I pick up a few of these on occasion because they are a really solid, versatile cigar. They are inexpensive, smooth, tasty and well made. I enjoy them and they are a great cigar to give to an occasional smoker, which I did not have the opportunity to do, I smoked it myself.

 

HoyodeMonterrey_ChurchillAfter everyone left it was time to break into the special occasion humidor and pick out a celebratory cigar. I selected a Havana Hoyo de Monterrey Churchill which was given to me several years ago with the proviso that it might be plugged, and if it was, ditch it and smoke something else (he had also given me a back-up). Unfortunately,  I failed to bring a backup along, and the cigar was horribly plugged and I fought with it for my entire walk. The really annoying part was that the little bit of flavor I was able to coax out of the cigar was pretty darned tasty, and I wanted it, I wanted it bad!  I usually keep it to myself when a cigar is this flawed, but considering the manufacturer, I don’t feel too bad being critical when the situation calls for it.

 

HdM_Epi2I wasn’t going to be defeated, so I went back to the humidor and selected a much more recent production Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No 2. Ah, success. This is about the same size the Churchill would have been by the time I returned from my walk had

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it not been plugged. This Robusto (or is it a Hermoso No. 4? I forget) burned as well as a Cuban cigar can be expected to burn and had the flavor that the Churchill had teased me with. I’m firmly a believer that there are many cigars that are much better than Cubans but I enjoy the different flavor that only Cuban cigars have and have smoked at least on on the 4th of July for so many years its a tradition. It’s a combination of celebrating our wedding anniversary and the little bit of civil disobedience that this country was founded on that keeps me doing it.

 

Gurkha_CellarReserve_ChrurchillFriday we  were running some errands and found ourselves going through Maple Glen, PA, (near Ambler).  We spied a place called “Black Wolfman Tobacco” and felt compelled to visit. This is a little shop that has a couple cabinet humidors along one wall, and they roll your own and cigarettes behind the counter. The selection was sparse, but reasonably priced. I grabbed a couple Perdomo 10th Anniversary Maduro Robusto for about $5.25 each. When we got home it was hot, so I grabbed a Gurkha Cellar Reserve Churchill and got in the pool. I like a large cigar for pool smoking, it just seems easier for some reason. I’ve smoked a bunch of these and it’s a nice, smooth smoke.  I like these as the first cigar of the day because it’s on the mild side. I had an ulterior motive in picking this out besides it’s inherent pool-worthiness.

 

Gurkha_Cellar Reserve_MaduroMy Friday evening walk featured a new cigar from Gurkha, a Cellar Reserve with a maduro wrapper. I’m sure that Oliver Hyams, marketing director with Gurkha, told me what the wrapper  was when he gave me this last week at Cigarnival, but I’ve forgotten and I’ll update this when I receive the information. I want to say it’s either a San Andreas or Connecticut Broadleaf as that’s what it tasted like to me. Great smoke! This cigar is right up my alley. It’s got that coffee/espresso that I like along with a little sweetness.  Something sticks in my head about Brazilian Arpiraca, but I may be confusing that with the wrapper on the Ghost, which this tastes nothing like. (note: I confirmed with Oliver Hyams at Gurkha, it was Brazilian Arapiraca!) I am certain that this will be released at next weeks IPCPR show, so this is a little preview. I suggest giving it a try when it comes out, because it’s darned tasty! It even has a curly little pigtail cap.

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Alec Bradley_Nica Puro RobustoThis is getting a little long for a holiday weekend, but I had a lot more time to smoke!  Saturday I had another La Gloria Cubana Rabitos de Cochino. I see more of these in my future, the price to quality ratio is off the charts. Later I decided to give the new Alec Bradley Nica Puro a try. Now this is my kind of cigar! My  initial thought is that it’s reminiscent of an Undercrown, it’s got that similar heavy body and lush flavor. I found that I had not eaten enough dinner as if it had been a longer cigar than a robusto it may have gotten the best of me. This is a cigar that’s on the stronger side, to be sure. I loved this smoke and appreciate Jonathan Lipson passing these to me last week, as I had been looking forward to trying them. There’s not a lot of Alec Bradley cigars that I don’t enjoy, but this one goes to the top of the list.

 

That’s enough for today, have some things to get done around the house and some sitting in the pool to do this afternoon. I have to pick out some cigars for today to wrap up the long weekend. Five more days of work and then it’s off to Vegas! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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A Gurkha, a Couple More Villiger NicaRomas, a Leccia Black and a Guest Cigar Review

Gurkha_GhostIt’s the eve of Independence Day, and I have a four day weekend ahead of me.  Then it’s five long work days before heading to Vegas for the IPCPR show. Â&n

bsp;I’ll be throwing out videos and photos from the show as wireless access allows.  We are looking forward to bringing unique content from the show.  Gee, I hope there’s something new and interesting there to see!  Anyway, I smoked a few cigars this week. starting with a Gurkha Ghost Asura (6″x52) Sunday evening.  This is a cigar that was released at last years IPCPR show, and has a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro wrapper.  I picked this cigar up a few weeks ago at Señor Juan’s Cigars in Belmar, NJ.  It being New Jersey, it was not inexpensive!  Anyway, this is a heck of a nice cigar.  It burned very nicely and had a pleasing flavor with some coffee flavors. The website notes cinnamon in the profile, which I didn’t get, but will look for the next time I smoke one.  In truth, I’ve only ever gotten cinnamon once in a

cigar, and that was a Havana Bolivar Coronas Gigantes many years ago which was gifted to me by my friend Bruce at a party at my house.  I can still remember smoking it in the house and looking at it in amazement. This was many years ago! Anyway, The Ghost was a nice cigar, and the holographic band is pretty darned cool.

Villiger_NicaRoma_HabanoMonday evening I grabbed the Villiger NicaRoma Habano for my evening walk.  Once again, this is a budget cigar made with 60% long filler and 40%

picadura (scraps).   This one, as the name implies, has a Habano wrapper. One would never know this is a mixed filler cigar as it burned well and, with a V-cut, it didn’t leave scraps in the mouth.  It’s a solidly medium cigar that has a nice flavor and is a pleasure to smoke.  I think I liked this as much as the Maduro I smoked last week.

Villiger_NicaRoma_CT

Tuesday I selected the Villiger NicaRoma Connecticut, similar to the above cigar, but with a Honduras grown Connecticut wrapper. Like it’s siblings, this isn’t a pretty cigar, just a solid mild to medium cigar with a decent flavor.  I enjoyed this one quite a bit,  I would rank this third after the Maduro and Habano, but that’s just my personal preference.  These all have Nicaraguan fillers and binders, with the only difference being the wrapper.  Nice, smooth, flavorful cigars that won’t break the bank. Try them if you see them.

Recently I send some of these to a reader who left a comment that prompted me to declare a spontaneous contest.  Agent86 smoked a couple of the cigars, including the Villiger NicaRoma Maduro and was kind enough to send a review.  So Agent86 is now an honorary Craig for the day, here’s his thoughts on the Maduro:

Agent 86 reporting from a top secret assignment.  Recently I had the pleasure of trying a couple of smokes courtesy of our own CigarCraig.  This was a pleasant surprise and the smokes were different enough to draw me out of my semi-retirement to report on them.

 

First up is the NicaRoma Maduro from Villiger.  I kno

w Craig recently reviewed these on here, but I want to see if I had any impressions different than his.  This was a Toro with a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler.  Craig has more information in his write up about the actual make of this cigar.

 

Villiger_NicaRoma_ToroAfter unwrapping the cigar I took the time to feel and smell it.  The feel of the cigar is really loose, almost too much so for my preference.  The smell was actually very non-descript without anything in particular to set it apart.  After lighting it produced a dark grey and black ash that flaked and crumbled quite frequently.  The cigar also was prone to going out in the first half requiring three relights.

 

One thing that is very unusual to my tastes with this cigar is that it actually seemed more like two cigars.  The first half was a medium flavor, medium strength cigar with a lot of bitterness and kind of a “tarry” flavor to it.  Not altogether good or bad, just kind of uninspiring.  The second half is a different story.  After the halfway point the cigar started to really open up and the flavors expanded.  The bitterness I detected faded down to a tolerable level and there were some really good flavors with just a bit of spice.  The really strange part was that the strength increased too.  By the time I got down to the last couple inches it was actually pretty strong and left me feeling more than a bit light-headed.

 

I’m not positive on what the pricing on these would be around where I live, if they were available, but as a budget cigar it would work for a pleasant change of pace.  If it came out at 7 bucks or higher though I think I would stick with a Gran Habano #3.  This is a competent budget smoke, but not something I think will ever replace any of my regulars.

Thank you to Agent86 for sharing his experience with that, and considering his second review, I chose to smoke a Leccia Black myself tonight. It’s a unique smoke, for sure.  The example I smoked was a bit tighter than I would like, but it still had the smoky, barbecue flavor that the “Darkfire” tobacco that is featured in this cigar. This is a nice smoke, and I have one more that I’ll let rest for a while.  Here’s what AgentCraig86 had to say:

 

The second cigar that I would like to review is the Leccia Tobacco Black, also courtesy of CigarCraig.  This, as was mentioned on here, is part of the new line from Sam Lecc

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ia, Black and White.  I have had mixed impressions of Sams cigars in the past when he was working for his previous employers, so I really didn’t know what to expect.

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;

The Black Robusto I picked out had a nice firm construction and the “cow pasture” smell I expect from a good stronger flavored cigar with the added boost of a smoky odor that was particularly pleasant.  The cigar lit well, burned evenly and had a nice grey ash that held together 3/4 of the length of the smoke.

 

LecciaBlack_RobustoThe flavors started out pleasant, but not anything really different from any other medium/full flavor cigar.  After the first couple inches though things really changed.  A nice strong smoky flavor similar to that of good barbecue or a pleasant campfire started to make itself known.  This flavor continued all the way to the end of the cigar and remained on the taste buds even after the cigar was done.  The strength of the smoke never went beyond medium for me, but the flavors stayed nice and strong, but never overpowering.  It was so pleasant I was able to smoke this cigar far past where I normally would have.  Also, something was different about the cigars construction since it never became too hot for my fingers or lips.  I guess all the time rolling Nubs gave Sam a few extra tricks for helping someone squeeze out those last few minutes of cigar enjoyment.

 

If this cigar becomes available locally and isn’t too expensive I could easily see it becoming one of my regular smokes.

 

Reporting from parts unknown, Agent 86 is out.

Once again, thanks to Agent86 for sharing his experiences with us.  I’m always happy to include reviews from readers, especially on prizes they won here, even if it was an impromptu contest I made up on the spot.  There are rumors of some pretty good contests coming on the horizon, so stay tuned! Also, if you’re shopping this weekend, take a look at BestCigarPrices.com, they have a special  page with some specials for CigarCraig.com readers.

That’s it for now, please try not to blow anything up this weekend!  Keep it safe and smoke a bunch of great cigars!  I’ll be enjoying a cookout tomorrow with family and will smoke something exceptional after they’ve left (I make a point to wait until the grandchildren leave before sitting down to enjoy a smoke).  My wife and I also celebrate our wedding anniversary on July 4th, so Happy Anniversary to my greatest supporter.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Famous Smoke Shop’s Cigarnival 2013

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Famous Smoke Shop‘s Cigarnival in Easton, PA. About an hour and a half drive from home.  I have visited this location before and the store and restaurant there are quite nice and the building that houses the entire operation is massive.  They have plenty of space outside to erect a huge main tent, two large tents and several small tents.  This was quite an enormous undertaking.   Apparently the way it worked was that attendees chose from several levels of packages which determined when they were to arrive.  This resulted in two waves of attendees. The venders were arranged in the two smaller tents and attendees lined up to go through and meet the reps and manufacturers and collect their cigars.  After the first wave lunch was served and after the second wave there was dinner, followed by raffle drawings.  Throughout the day there were interviews by Tommy Z with all of the cigar makers, and there were specials in the store all day long, as well as various deals, t-shirts, etc. in some of the small tents.  Saturday at the peak I think there were probably 1500 people in attendance.  In addition to the live music and interviews, Drew Estate sponsored a casino in the rear of the main tent, and there were four VIP rooms at the back of the tent, each sponsored by a company and each having a bar and comfy seating. There was quite a lengthy portion of the event in the evening which involved drawing raffle tickets and giving away prizes.  There was an amazing array of prizes from boxes of cigars to iPads, TVs and Playstations.  It was quite an event and well run. There were some water fights among cigar manufacturers and I’m pretty sure I saw Rocky Patel cheating in the Casino :-), as well as other craziness. The shindig was planned to go until midnight, but I split about 8 to get home at a reasonable hour (I’m old, I can’t hang). I haven’t been to an event like this before, and I’m not sure it’s really my personal cup of tea, but I’m certainly not your typical consumer and I’m no fan of crowds. However  I enjoyed this event and it was great seeing many friends, and meeting some new ones. 

 

One of the highlights for me was meeting Storm Boen, who started the C.A.T.S. (Cigar Aficionados Trades and Sales) Group on Facebook, and  was instrumental in creating Operation: Cigars for Warriors, a group of folks who send cigars to the troops.  I had a chance to talk with Storm in a conference room away from the craziness of the event, and captured it on video.

 

Some of Storm’s claims about me are surely exaggerated and I firmly believe that he’s mistaken me for someone else. 🙂 I have a great deal of respect for everything Storm does and encourage everyone to give him a hand if you are able.  Storm was one of the people I had wanted to meet and his being there helped me decide to attend the event in the first place.

Here are some more photos from the event.  Thank you to Jonathan, Travis, Tommy, Gary, Arthur and the staff of Famous for their hard work and hospitality.  This was a very well run event.  Keep an eye out for other coverage of the event on CigarAdvisor.com, StogieReview.com, ACigarSmoker.com and CigarNews.com.  I smoked a few cigars at the event, a cigar I’m not allowed to talk about from Ricky Rodriquez at CAO, which was awesome, one of my own Cigar Safari blends which is coming along nicely, and an Undercrown Corona Viva, which is becoming a favorite. I’m looking forward to trying the newly released La Gloria Cubana Gilded Age which is a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive.

Eddie Ortega (and Peter from ACigarsmoker.com)

Ricky Rodriguez

Jack and Charlie Toraño

Matt Booth, Tom Lazuka and Tim Person from Altadis involved in a water battle

Tim Person

Michael Giannini launched a Famous Smoke Exclusive La Gloria Cubana, The Gilded Age.

 

Oliver Hyams (Gurkha) and Jack Toraño (Toraño). Who can tell me the connection between these two gentlemen?

Jonathan Drew and Tommy Z-Man

 

That’s it for now!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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