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Tommy Takes a La Gloria Serie R For a Walk, and a Contest!

Finally!  Tommy has re-emerged and is still walking and smoking!  Here is his latest installment:

“Well, hello! I have been tied up getting ready to buy a new home, shopping for a home, and we just put in an offer today…so wish us luck! Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed several much needed walks…with a cigar. One in particular that I want to talk about today is the La Gloria Cubana Serie R. This one’s been around for awhile now, but is always a great full bodied smoke. However, I had an issue with it keeping a solid and strait ash. This one kept canoeing on me. I plan to take another on a  walk soon to see if it was the stick, my batch, or just me. But, with the “troubles” slowing me down a few times during the walk I still had a great time smoking this particular cigar. Something about walking, moving around…with a cigar has become very enjoyable. These “R’s” are a great “upper mid-class” cigar with great flavors and I love the look of the wrapper. Overall, it was a good walk…a good smoke, not great…but like I said earlier…I plan on taking another one soon and will report back as to how it went.

Long ashes to ya!

–Tommy”

 

I too have been walking.  I took a couple walks with the new Punch Rare Corojo 10th Anniversary Robusto, generously provided by the fine folks at General Cigar.  I enjoyed the two I smoked, although I can see where some age will smooth them out a bit.  The cigars are very nice looking 5″x50 with a box press.  I haven’t had a Rare Corojo in ages, but I remember them being a little richer in flavor.  Certainly worth trying when they become available.  I also smoked the last Cain Habano and it didn’t make me ill.

In honor of Tommy smoking a LA Gloria Cubana, it’s time to give away another five pack of the delicious Serie N JSB.  Leave a comment to enter, wish Tommy good luck with his new home buying experience, or give him some encouragement in his fitness regimen, whatever.  I’ll pick a winner on Sunday ,April 10, 2011. Thanks again to Team La Gloria for providing these cigars for my readers!

That’s it for now, thanks to Tommy for another fine contribution and my best wishes to him and his family for the momentous occasion of purchasing their first home!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Take a Cigar For a Walk – Catching Up…

I’ve been busy reporting on my trip, then the La Gloria Cubana festivities, but I’ve been taking cigars for walks all along. I’ve been hoping to hear from Tommy but he hasn’t responded to my e-mails lately. I can only assume he’s busy with work and family, but I hope everything’s OK with him. I also am waiting for another guest “Take A Cigar For A Walk” report that I will post when I receive it.  I don’t have exact dates for the cigars that follow, I could look them up but I’m too lazy and I figure it really doesn’t matter to my readers much anyway!

Back on St. Patrick’s day I took a Camacho Corojo Monarca Candela for a walk. I enjoy the occasional green cigar, and this is a powerhouse. I’m coming to the end of a box of these that I bought 2 years ago or so. The cigars from this box all have had a very loose draw, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the punch is the way to go with these. Great burn, that almost refreshing grassy organic flavor from the candela wrapper. Nice cigar.

My next TACFAW cigar was a 777 Maduro Corona. I picked up a few of these at my local shop around Christmas and really enjoy them. Well made, nice dark maduro flavors. I should try the 777 Corojo next time as I’ve heard good things about them.  I can’t find a website for Jesus Fuego, can anyone point me to it?

 

After that I grabbed the last of the CAO Italia robustos I had. I want to like these. The examples I had didn’t burn worth a damn, they all ran up one side, burned unevenly, needed constant attention. I enjoy the flavor, the bit of Italian leaf gives them a little bit of a unique flavor, but the burn problems detract from the experience for me.

 

I was in a lancero mood one night and grabbed a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Maduro Lancero. I had picked this up last summer on a visit to a shop about an hour away. I took the scooter for a spin and met up with Walt White of StogieReview and Dave Wagner of Oliva at Sire Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA. This one behaved much better that the one I smoked in the shop. Burned great and had a nice flavor. Good for 2 laps around the neighborhood (about 1.6 miles) and a cool down.

Sunday’s walk cigar was a La Gloria Cubana Serie N JSB. I enjoyed the one I smoked during Friday nights webcast so much I had to spark up another one. Don’t worry, I’m not dipping into the contest prize stash, but I will need to show some restraint! I did a little shopping around and found that several of the larger internet retailers are selling the Serie N for very good prices. One could get a box of 24 for under $90 delivered, which is not a bad price for these cigars.

Last night I dug out a Don Tomas Classico Corona Grande for my walk. I only have a couple of these left from a box I got a few years ago. I have enjoyed them quote a bit and the fact that they are tubed makes them a nice cigar to grab and throw in you r pocket. I gave this a punch since it’s a 44 ring and I’ve been playing with the punch lately for smaller ring cigars. I enjoyed this cigar while I took a nice long walk, but when I got home I noticed that I had some brown stains on my fingers. It seems there was some brown goo coming from the punch, which I clipped off as soon as I noticed. I didn’t taste anything, and I’ve had this happen in the past but haven’t experienced it in many years. I noticed afterward that my fingers smelled like I had been sifting through some Marlboro smoker’s ashtray, it was terrible! I had to use a scrub brush on my hands to get the smell off. I love the cigars, but I don’t want to have that happen again!

 

March was a record month as far as visitors to CigarCraig.com by more the triple!  I’d like to thank everyone for visiting and following along.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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La Gloria Cubana Serie N Contest and a Visit to NYC!

In honor of La Gloria Cubana Serie N Day, I’ll be giving away two (2) Five packs of Serie N JSB (5½ x 54) to two people who leave a comment on this page. Winners will be drawn randomly on or around Wednesday, March 30, 2011. I will also be giving away five packs for the next 3 weeks, so stay tuned!

I had the honor and pleasure of participating in the Serie N day webcast, and, in case you missed it, I asked how they could possibly manufacture the Serie N cigars with the light tobacco leave “N” and sell it for a reasonable price.  Having recently seen all the steps that go into the manufacture of a cigar, it’s incredible that the cost can be kept as reasonable as it is, and the “N”s are hand applied.  If you look at a box of Serie N cigars you will notice that all the “N”s line up and are nice and straight.  This  is a testament to the attention to detail paid to this one little distinctive feature.  The cigars smoke great, and if you like maduro cigars with some oomph to them, the La Gloria Cubana Serie N is well worth a try.  General Cigars was very generous in providing samples as well as the cigars for these contests, many thanks to all involved in this very special event. It was fun to participate in this event, and I always appreciate the opportunity to embarrass myself!

We took a family trip to New York City today (Saturday)

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and I had an opportunity to stop by De La Concha and pick up a few cig

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ars.  It’s very convenient that the store is right around the corner from Tiffany’s, where my wife always likes to visit.  Of course, I spent more than I normally would on cigars, but I wanted to try some of the New York only cigars that have been released recently.  I picked up a La Aurora Broadway, a couple sizes of the Alec Bradley New York Series and a Gurkha Para la Gente.  These cigars were created specifically to help out New York State cigar retailers after the cigar taxes were raised.  The cigars were pricey by my standards, but probably provide the retailer with better margins than other cigars.  I wanted to pick some up as much for the novelty as anything, and I’ve never had a Gurkha, believe it or not.  Maybe I’ll have a “NY Cigar Week” in the coming months!  As a side note, we walked at least 50 blocks on our visit, but I passed on having a cigar because it was so crowded, cold and windy I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.  How many miles is 50 city blocks?

That’s it for now, leave me comments to win a 5 pack of great cigars, and remember, I’ll be selecting two winners on Wednesday!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Contest, Editorial, Review, Stores, Take a Cigar For a Walk

A CAO MX2 and Getting Ready for a Cigar Trip

The other night I was in a maduro mood again.  I came across a lonely CAO MX2 Rob in the humidor and figured that it would do nicely.  I passed over an Italia, as much as I really want to like that cigar for whatever reason (and I really don’t know what compels me to want to like it so much), I just haven’t had one that burns worth a darn, and I just can’t enjoy it when it mis-behaves like that.  The MX2 was a totally different story.  The burn and draw were exceptional.  I punched this one, and generally when I use a punch I end up dissatisfied with the draw and end up cutting it.  This one I was able to finish with the punch cut.  It has a broadleaf maduro wrapper with a Brazilian maduro binder so you get a double dose of rich flavors not unlike a bakers chocolate, or a semi-sweet chocolate.  I can eat Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate all day long and I could probably smoke these all day long as well.  I’ve been hit or miss with CAOs, but this one is a winner for me.

I’m packing for a cigar vacation this week,  heading to Nicaragua to Cigar Safari at the Drew Estate Factory.  Clearly this is a dream vacation for a cigar nut.  I am looking forward to seeing the nuts and bolts of the manufacturing process and maybe even smoking a few cigars along the way.  Now I just have to throw some shorts and t-shirts in a suitcase, as well as a few cigars and toiletries.  I’m told that the Wi-Fi is excellent at the factory so I’ll take my computer and hope to at least upload some photos along the way so stay tuned.  I’m hoping to get a “Take a Cigar for a Walk” article from Tommy in before I leave Tuesday.  If anyone has any questions they’d like me to ask, please leave a comment.  So far, my questions are:  What ever happened to the “Industrial Press” line, I really liked those, and what is the status of one of my favorites, the Chateau Real Maduro, which I think I’ve heard that they are discontinuing.  Let me know what you want me to ask!

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

CigarCraig

 

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Take a Cigar for a Walk: La Gloria Cubana Serie N, and Some Odds and Ends

I decided that since the weather was starting to get a little nicer I would dig into some of the cigar samples I received at last years IPCPR show.  The La Gloria Cubana Serie N is one that has been taunting me…every time

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I see it’s jet black wrapper in the humidor I want to smoke it, and I finally gave in to temptation.  The sample I received was a No. 49, which measures 5.75″ x 49 and, since it was a pre-production sample, did not have the lighter tobacco leaf “N” on the body of the cigar.  The presentation of these cigars is very cool.  The come in a bright red hexagonal box, with the layers of cigars turned 120º (correct me on this, I didn’t do well in Geometry).  As I mentioned, the regular production has an “N” affixed to the wrapper in a light tobacco leaf so you know what it is after the band is removed I suppose.  This example was full of flavor, although it was a little rough around the edges.  I enjoyed it though and look forward to trying these again.  The o

ne annoying aspect was that it wanted to burn up one side, and I had to touch it up several times.  Only a minor distraction, and I feel as if I gave it enough time in the humidor so I can safely say it wasn’t my fault!

Tommy Berry has been quite busy with work and life and I had to pester him for a contribution this week!  Here’s what he had to say:

“To be honest with all of yo

u, I have not walked since the last review…due to my schedule and I have been lazy for the past week…once I get home around midnight each night. I have had a major deadline at work to meet…and my four year old son has had Strep for the past week. It has just been crazy for the past week…however…what does this all mean? E-X-C-U-S-E-S! Excuses, that’s right…I allowed myself excuses to fail for the past week at walking. But, I say…no more! I will go out tonight and enjoy a walk with a great cigar!

Since I have no “Take A Cigar For A Walk” review – I thought I’d better fess up to what is really going on, and that is me allowing life to get in the way of becoming healthy. This is one of my problems that has caused me to get to the point that I am in anyway…excuses! So, with your help…your support…I will no longer have an excuse. I will walk…enjoy a fine cigar…and think about how much BETTER I feel once I get in from the long walks! Thanks for your continued support!

Long “walking” ashes to ya!

-Tommy”

Lets all give Tommy a raft of sh…..I mean some words of encouragement and support!

On another note, I received a message

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from Joel, who was one of the “lucky” recipients of a Hamilton House Torpedo a few months ago.  Joel wrote:

I finally torched the Hamilton house torpedo that you so graciously sent me. It was a very well constructed cigar. It burned very evenly. It was mild and smooth, with moderately restrained flavors. I enjoyed it very much and would consider purchasing some HH cigars if I ever came across them. Thanks again!

I’ve been quite impressed with these myself, especially at $40 for a box of 25 delivered.  I’ve payed a lot more for cigars that weren’t as good.  Thank you Joel for the feedback and I’m glad you enjoyed the cigar.

I’m going to have a contest in the coming weeks, it will something along the lines of “how many cigars did I smoke in Nicaragua”.  I’ll start it after I come back so that your guesses don’t have any effect on how many cigars I actually smoke.

That’s all I got this time, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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