Category Archives: Review

September 18, 2022 · 9:56 am

El Baton Cigars and a Macanudo Inspirado Jamao

I’m, once again, writing from the back porch while I enjoy a new Macanudo cigar. I’m desperately hanging on to summer! It’s technically the last weekend of summer, cigars are one of the coping mechanisms I have to avoid slipping into depression. I’ll stop whining about this eventually! I had a few cigars this week, one that I planned to feature today, but burned so badly it was a pain in the ass and I decided to see if I can get another to try. It’s a shame too, because I really was looking forward to the cigar. I did smoke two cigars last night that I wanted to talk about. J.C. Newman Cigars was kind enough to share a couple of the new El Baton Belicosos with me. This is a cigar that’s been around for a while, so I dug out one of the old ones and smoked both to compare. The Belicoso is 5″ x 56, with an Ecuador “Havana” wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. These are supposed to retail in the $8-9 range, I want to say that they were more of a budget brand in previous iterations, but maybe this is the new budget range? I won’t begrudge them the price, as this new offering is really quite good. It has a pleasing flavor, not too mild, nor too strong, with some nice sweet wood and spice. I followed it with an older robusto. I can’t recall how long I’ve had this cigar, but it has to be close to 7 or 8 years. The old version was nowhere near as refined as the new. There were similarities, but, even after years in the humidor, there were rough edges. I might even say there were some “off” flavors, but it’s so hard to really judge a cigar when it’s the second cigar of the evening. It seems to me that the new version is far superior, and well worth the money.

I’m smoking the Macadudo Inspirado Jamao as I type. Clearly I’m not writing with the cigar, as another writer pointed out on my Instagram post. It was semantics, and I’m anti-semantic. This is something like the sixth cigar in the Inspirado line. I really like the White, Black, and Red, with the Green being pretty good and I never took a shine to the Orange. There’s another Connecticut in the lineup too, the Brazilian Shade, with was pretty good. This Jamao is pretty good, especially first thing in the morning. The wrapper is the interesting part, being a hybrid of Handuran (Jamatran) and Dominican (Mao) tobacco, a Habano varietal. It’s very good, but to my very basic palate, isn’t every distinctive. It’s a good tasting cigar, on my ranking of Inspirados it’s right above the Orange. I feel like the should have put “Jamao” on the band somewhere. Good smoke, don’t avoid trying it! Inspirados are generally reasonably priced. As I sit here smoking it, it’s definitely good way to start a Sunday.

That’s all for today, I hope we have a few more nice Sunday mornings before I have to get the heater out and close in the porch. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, EL Baton, Inspirado, J.C.Newman, Jamao, macanudo

September 11, 2022 · 9:59 am

Nat Cicco Aniversario, Particulares and Casa Cuevas Cigars

I’m taking advantage of every Sunday that it’s warm enough to enjoy a cigar as I write my Sunday post. Soon enough it will be too chilly. So I lit up something special from the PCA show, the new Sangre Nueva from Casa Cuevas, but more on that later. So far it’s amazing. Friday evening I was in the mood for a larger cigar, so I grabbed the Nat Cicco Aniversario 1965 Liga No. 4 Churchill. This is a square pressed, 7″ x 54 cigar with a pigtail cap. I picked up a few of these last month when I met up with Dean Parsons at Cigar Mojo. I like this blend, which has a dark Ecuador wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I hadn’t ever smoked any Nat Cicco cigars until Dean sold his company, Epic Cigars, to them and joined their team. This cigar performed well and was delicious, with some earthy, sweet flavors. I think

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I prefer the smaller sizes though, they seem to have more pronounced flavors.

Last night I smoked a Particulares Deliciosos, from Sindicato, distributed by Gurkha. Sindicato and Gurkha share CEOs in Jim Colucci, who had retired from Altadis several years ago. I only include that factoid in case anyone wondered how Sindicato came to be distributed by Gurkha. Particulares is a really old brand name, going back to the late 1800s, and the branding reflects that heritage. The cigar is a Nicaraguan puro, and is 6″ x 52 and is made at TABSA, the Aganorsa Leaf factory. For me, the cigar started off unnecessarily strong, it was really spicy and peppery. I regretted selecting it, to be honest, but I figured it would settle down, and it did, a little. It remained a powerhouse, spicy cigar throughout. It was pretty good, despite the rough start. I might try it again, but it’s not going to be a priority.

Now, the Casa Cuevas Sangre Nueva. I’ve said before what genuinely nice people the Cuevas folks are. Luis, and his son, Alex are instant friends, one feels like one has known them forever. This cigar was blended by Alex, who is 24, I think. I have shoes older than him, heck, all of my children are older than him! I regret not taking time to interview him at the show, but the two days I was there they were pretty busy. This cigar

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has a Cameroon-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, a Honduran Corojo binder and Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania fillers. I don’t want to start anything, but I was under the impression that African Cameroon tobacco is a Sumatra seed, but I suppose if they got the seeds from the African Cameroon plants it could be called Cameroon seed. They weren’t handing out samples of this at the show, but I have connections! This is a SPECTACULAR cigar! I want more. I’m smoking this early in the morning (for me), with coffee, and it has been distracting me from writing the whole time. It’s on the fuller side of medium, with some of the nutty Cameroon flavors, and earthy cocoa. Alex, his father and grandfather can be very proud of this cigar, the new blood is on the right track! I have to get my hands on more.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aniversario 1965, Casa Cuevas, cigar, cigars, Gurkha, Nat Cicco, Particulares, Sangre Nuevo, Sindicato

September 8, 2022 · 8:29 pm

Sancho Panza Double Maduro and Extra Fuerte Cigars

Sunday I talked about the new Sancho Panza “The Original” cigar, newly reimagined with the help of Matt Booth. I mentioned that I had bought a box of Extra Fuerte a while ago, and I looked it up and it was 2006. That box is long gone, but I remember it fondly, I admit I was a little concerned with the new branding, It’s growing on me, I guess. I was interested in trying the other two new cigars in the line. I chose the Sancho Panza Double Maduro first. The wrapper is a dark Ecuadoran Sumatra, with a Nicaraguan Esteli binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil. I assume it’s “double” maduro because of the oscuro color of the wrapper, there’s no indication that any of the other components are fermented to a maduro. Of course, I could be wrong. I expected a sweet maduro, but I was quite wrong. This was a savory, maybe mushroomy, maduro, and I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms! It wasn’t an off-putting flavor, but not what I was expecting, or prefer. The cigar burned right, and wan’t unenjoyable.

The Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte was next. Like I said, I liked this cigar a lot it it’s previous iteration. This one has an Ecuadoran

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wrapper, Honduran Jamastran binder and Dominican Mao, Nicaraguan Esteli fillers. I’ve been to General’s farm in Mao, beautiful place, at least it was in 2011. When I was there there wasn’t any cigar tobacco growing, but it was still pretty cool. I wrote about it HERE. The Extra Fuerte was my favorite of the three, with The Original coming in second. This had some sweet spice that I like, and was very enjoyable. It wasn’t as “furete” as I thought it would be, maybe the Double Maduro seemed stronger to me. All three I smoked were in the Robusto size, I

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‘ll give them a try one day in a toro. I think the ones I had years ago were coronas. Considering these are priced reasonably, hopefully they finally have the success that the brand deserves.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Double Maduro, Extra Fuerte, Sancho Panza

September 4, 2022 · 9:39 am

A Cabaiguan, a Mystery Cigar and a Sancho Panza The Original

Once again I’m having a cigar while I write. I don’t usually smoke in the mornings, but I’ve been enjoying it the last few Sundays, because I know that very soon it won’t be a comfortable thing to do. To be honest, I really don’t like this time of year. When my end of August birthday comes around, I get depressed, because it signals the end of summer. I love summer, Fall is a major bummer for me. I know many disagree, like cigars, everyone has their preferences, I prefer to be warm over cold. So I’m enjoying every last drop of summer I can. More on the cigar later, I just lit it up, and it’s pretty good! But I smoked a few other cigar in the last half of the week, starting with a big Tatuaje Cabaiguan. This is a new shape for this year, the Cabaiguan No.752, which is 7″ x 52 (good name, that worked out well!). I thought maybe this was in the Guapos series because of the pigtail cap, but I believe I’m wrong. This has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers and binder. It was a very nice cigar, toasty with a hint of sweetness. I definitely lean more toward the maduro in this line, but this was a really nice shade cigar.

Near the end of this month, September 28th, Drew Estate is having another Freestyle Live events to reveal a new brand. They put together packs with three sizes of the new cigar, as well as a cutter, case and flask set. It amuses me that people are trying to guess what this cigar is, as if it were a line extension. I smoked the toro size yesterday and was really happy with the cigar. I want to smoke the robusto and Churchill too, but I want to save one for the event! I am actually toying with the idea of buying another pack, but I don’t need more goodies, although I have a feeling I could probably find a good home for them 😉! The case and cutter are really nice, I have no need for a flask! Anyway, this cigar had a very unique flavor, a sweet spice I can’t identify. It was, in my opinion, b

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etter than any Liga Privada. I was enamoured with it.

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I’m going to go out on a limb, for the sake of documentation, and say that I think it has a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper. It’s something very different, whatever it is, and Willy Herrera outdid himself on this one. I hope it’s not outrageously priced. I love the Undercrown 10, and this was better. I can’t wait to see what this is!

Sometimes you

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smoke a ci

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gar on a Saturday evening hoping to write about it on Sunday, and the cigar doesn’t perform the way you’d like. Perhaps it’s super tight until around the band, and then it’s falling apart from playing with it to loosen it up. The flavor is good, but it doesn’t end up being a good experience. This is why I’m smoking a new Sancho Panza The Original robusto as I write this. So far, this sup-$7 cigar is outperforming one that was several time the price. Sancho Panza has been around a long time, I remember buying a bo

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x of Extra Fuertes nearly 20 years ago for about $35. They recently worked with the new General Cigars Employee, Matt Booth, on the rebrand. The new look is growing on me and I’ve been looking forward to trying them. This cigar has a Honduran Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil. I’m really enjoying this cigar with my morning coffee, it’s silky smooth and rich, not a mild, papery shade cigar. I look forward to getting into the Super Fuerte and Double Maduro! These are super budget friendly and this one was really quite good.

That’s all for today. It’s a holiday weekend, I guess, I don’t celebrate it as the end of summer, but having Monday off is a reward for my labors through the year, I suppose. Soon I’ll have to put the shorts away and get the hoodies out, somethi

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ng I dread. Anyway, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Cabaiquan, cigar, cigars, drew estate, Freestyle LIve, Sancho Panza, tatuaje

August 28, 2022 · 9:59 am

A New Rojas and a Couple More PDR Cigars

I smoked a few more new cigars this week, but I’ll revisit them another time because I was less than impressed with them. It’s not that they were bad, it’s just that either they needed more time, or weren’t the ideal size. I’ll get back to them eventually. I was really impressed with the Rojas Unfinished Business. I see where Rojas has been celebrating the grand opening of their factory in Esteli, I know a few people that were there. I’ve really enjoyed the recent Rojas cigars I’ve smoked. The Street Tacos, and the cigars by Stolen Throne have been impressive. There’s a few I need to smoke yet, but, overall, Noel is making great cigars. I night have an old Guayacan cigar in the humidor someplace! Anyway, I smoked the Unfinished Business Toro th

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is week that Noel gave me at the PCA show and it was really to my liking. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicarag

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uan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Mexico. The blend hits a lot of “likes” for me. It was dark and rich, with all the flavors I like, espresso, a little spice, and some sweetness. I very much enjoyed this cigar. Definitely a future revisit.

I’m catching up on the PDR cigars, I think I only have one more in the queue for now. I actually need to organize the humidor I put these in to make sure I’m not missing any! I started with the A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro in Robusto. This is a 5″ x 50 robusto, and PDR has done a great job with consistency in branding with the little paper sleeves on each cigar and the name of each cigar on the band. The look is uniform and quite classy. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan Habano and Dominican Corojo fillers. Oddly, this is not a sweet maduro, but more on the savory side. Burn and draw were acceptable and it was an enjoyable smoke. In the past few years I’ve gotten away from the Robusto size, but on a Saturday when I am going to smoke two cigars, this fit the bill.

I followed the Serie Privada Maduro with the A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro, also in a robusto size, after dinner. This cigar has a Mexico San Andres Maduro wrapper, with Olor Dominican Republic binder and Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano fillers. It seems to go without saying that all of PDR cigars are made in the Dominican Republic. The PDR originally stood for “Pinar del Rio” after that region in Cuba, but they recently changed it to “Puros Dominican Republic” to better reflect the brand and factory. It was still on the savory side for a maduro, but had more spice and a hint of sweetness. It must be the Dominican Corojo that has the savory component. I enjoyed it while listening to Will Cooper guest on The Cigar Authority (I think he’s now one appearance behind me!). He gave me a shout-out and I appreciate that! He referenced my interview with George Hamilton (available here in the archives and still out there on my long defunct podcast, which is one of the few that Coop has never been on!). I always thought Hamilton missed the mark by not having a lighter wrapper under the band, so when you took the band off it looked like a tan line. The A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro was good.