Category Archives: Review

May 15, 2022 · 11:11 am

Cohiba Serie M, ATL Black and All Saints Cigars

Another exciting week! I rather expected an avalanche of press releases from Drew Estate after the event Thursday. I expect a bunch in the coming week. Of course, I smoked a bunch of cigars this week. One of my favorites was a La Sirena Trident, which  I think is one of the best cigars out of the La Zona factory. I smoked one of the new size of the Cohiba Serie M this week, which they are calling a Corona Gorda. It’s actually 6½” x 48, so I don’t know what else one would call it, but I do like the size. I didn’t mention it when I wrote about the initial release in the 6″ x 52 shape, but I had some technical issues with the ones I smoked that were frustrating. Burn and draw types of issues that were not typical of cigars made at El Titan de Bronze from what I know, I can only attribute the problems to storage somewhere along the line. I still have a couple in deep storage to smoke sometime down the line. This smaller size was outstanding. I

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t had the same woody profile, with some sweetness, and a sophistication that should come with a cigar priced where this is priced. This is what the press release said about the blend:

 

Crafted according to old-world techniques and featuring a double binder, closed foot and triple cap with a signature fan,

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Cohiba Serie M is a medium-to-full-bodied cigar brimming with depth and character. Made with exquisite, aged tobaccos, the cigar is enveloped in a lustrous Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, a first for Cohiba. The binder is Nicaraguan and the blend features hand-selected Nicaraguan Jalapa and Esteli and Dominican Piloto Cubano tobaccos.

 

It’s a tasty cigar, and a good looking cigar too. I’m fortunate that I was given samples to try, because I personally would have been scared off by the price tag, but that’s just me, I’m a cheap bastard. I was really pleased that it burned perfectly and I had a great experience smoking it. very pleasurable.

 

Another pleasurable cigar I smoked this week (I try to reach 100% pleasurable cigars if at all possible!), was the ATL Black in a torpedo format. This is a 6″ x 52, with a San Andrés wrapper. these are made in the Pichardo factory, where they made their “Magic”, which I thought was excellent. I think a recent change, something makes me think these were originally made by Martinez in New York. I never sampled the original, so I can’t be certain of that. I like Martinez cigars. I also apparently like Pichardo cigars, because I really liked the ATL Black Torpedo. It was quite a bit different in flavor that I expected from a San Andrés wrapper maduro cigar. It was a meaty, savory tasting cigar, as opposed to a sweet maduro. This entertains me. As much as I have a sweet tooth when it comes to cigars (not only cigars), I like a nice, tasty surprise. I don’t like bad tasting surprises, but I like good tasting surprises like this one. Quite yummy. If you don’t know much about ATL cigars, I spoke with Leroy at the TPE show, the video is here.

 

I spent Friday evening hanging out with Micky Pegg of All Saints cigars and smoked a Dedicación Mitre that he handed me that was very good. Micky is introverted and quiet…I lie, he’s quite the opposite. As long as I’m linking back to TPE content, my video with him is here. I’m going to intentionally leave out where I hung out with Micky, and there will more on that at a later date. Let’s just say I won’t be giving a certain place any more free advertising here. Last night I smoked my favorite cigar in the All Saints line, the Saint Francis Churchill. This box pressed 7″ x 48 Ecuador Oscuro wrapped cigar is like smoking desert. I actually smoked one Friday night, and one again last night. Such a great smoke. Micky actually told me that he blends to the Churchill size, which is a bit unusual, but explains why I tend to like that size in his line the best across the board. I suppose it helps that I like that size cigar! The Saint Francis was one of my favorite cigars of last year, and remains a favorite. Big fan.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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May 8, 2022 · 9:42 am

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon Cigar and Random Thoughts

This week J.C. Newman announced the release of the Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon to celebrate the 127th anniversary of the company.  It’s going to be a factory exclusive, so one will have to visit the El Reloj factory to get them.  The cigar is a 6½” x 42 lonsdale with an African Cameroon wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Dominican fillers.  They’ve put a $15 per cigar price on this and will sell them in 5-packs.  Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but

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it seems to me that Cuesta Rey No 95 used to be sold in three or five packs in most pharmacies that sold cigars. There were bundles of Craftsman’s Bench in several varieties, Berings, a bunch of cigars in tins, Macanudo Ascots, and Cuesta Reys.  I’m quite sure I’m remembering this right.  I don’t think I ever bought any cigars at the drugstores, they weren’t in humidors, and, at the time when the drugstores still sold tobacco, I had plenty of good options to get properly stored and curated selections of cigars. It was nice to know these were available in an emergency! I do understand why pharmacies got away from selling tobacco products, but they sell a whole lot of other unhealthy stuff there, so it’s a little hypocritical. Anyway, here’s a little excerpt from the J.C. Newman press release:

 

“After the Cuban Embargo was imposed in 1962, my grandfather, Stanford J. Newman, scoured the world for new types of tobacco. He discovered exquisite African Cameroon Wrapper (ACW) and was the first premium cigar maker to use it in the United States. Stanford wrapped ACW with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and long filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic to create the Cuesta-Rey No. 95. It was smooth, elegant, and flavorful, and became the top-selling premium cigar in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.  Sixty years later, we are proud to have recreated the original blend of my grandfather’s most famous cigar, the Cuesta-Rey No. 95.”  – Drew Newman
 

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon is handmade in J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida.  It’s a 6.25 x 42 cigar that retails for $15 each.  Beginning today, J.C. Newman is selling this special cigar in limited edition packs of 5 cigars as a factory exclusive.  Cigar enthusiasts who visit J.C. Newman’s cigar museum, take a factory tour, or attend a special event at its El Reloj factory will be able to enjoy this very special cigar.   

 

It’s impressive that the cigar is made in the Tampa factory, which accounts for the price being what it is.  I had the good fortune to smoke a couple of these this week. It’s been a long time since I smoked a 95, a long, long time. I want to say the standard No. 95 is made by Fuente in the DR, and do

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esn’t have the Broadleaf binder, but I could be mistaken.  Had I taken the time and thought about it, I would done a comparison, but I’ve been lazy lately.  I’ve found myself smoking a lot of cigars that I like lately and not smoking new stuff. Selfish, I know. Anyway, this was a really good tasting cigar. Actually, the first one annoyed me a little as the first half failed to burn very well and didn’t really get going until the second half, but the second one was perfect.  It had the nutty “Camerooniness” that I expect, with some sweetness from the broadleaf.  It was unique enough to be special, and worth trying. Visiting El Reloj is on my list of things I want to do in the near future, it’s just a matter of making my way south sometime soon. 

 

Since I spent the week smoking some cigars I know I liked, I really don’t have much else to talk about today. I was impressed with the mentions of cigars on NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby yesterday. I know cigars are a tradition there, but they could easily have censored them.  There was probably something stupid that someone did or said that I thought about talking about, but I can’t think of it now.  I did hear that the Smokin’ Tabacco CFCF Charity Raffle has been extended, so check out https://go.rallyup.com/smokintabacco/Campaign/Details and get in on that.  Also, don’t forget the Red Meat Lovers Club Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event in June. Tickets are available here. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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May 1, 2022 · 9:46 am

A Selection of Cigars: Hits and Misses

This is going to be a bit of a weird post. I, of course, smokes a bunch of cigars this week, and had some mixed results. I probably should follow the rule of not saying anything at all if you don’t have anything nice to say, but it’s not all negative. SOme of it is personal preference, some of it is something else. There are also some standout cigars that I’ve probably mentioned here before but merit repeating. Let’s start with the CAO Arcana Firewalker. This cigar is a nice, big 6½” x 56 cigar, with a massive band. It employs a strange method of fermentation for one of the Nicaraguan filler leaves where they bury the pilon in volcanic soil for two months. Sounds like a fun story, and I don’t doubt it, but this wasn’t where I had a problem. The cigar tasted fine, I rather enjoyed the flavors. It was kind of bready, with a little cocoa and some spice, very nice. When I received these samples they were bone dry, as measured with my Humidimeter. Bone. Dry. The first one I smoked just kind of flaked apart. I let them rest in the humidor for a couple months, I guess, to get some moisture into them. When one had achieved what I felt was an acceptable level of internal moisture content, I gave it another go. For whatever reason, the Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper on this one just wouldn’t burn. It was like the original H2000 wrappers 20 years ago. I

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would feel safe making childrens pajamas out of this wrapper, it was so flame retardant. I gave up on it with about 2 inches to go, after just about emptying my lighter relighting it. I guess I’ll leave the remaining samples in the humidor, and if I see some in a shop maybe I’ll try one to see if my batch was an anomaly. I hope it was because it was a good tasting smoke and I like the first Arcana a lot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is a miss.

 

One cigar I had which isn’t new, but one I really enjoy and bears repeating is the Crow Corona from Blackbird Cigars. I’m generally a toro guy, but I think I like this in the 6″ x 44 corona the best. The narrow ring adds a little more of an edge to the San Andrés wrapper that I like. I always like a good Mexican maduro, and this one really made me happy. I’m to understand that Blackbird has opened a new, larger factory in ght Dominican Republic. I’ve been a fan of their cigars, I can’t recall having a bad one, with the Crow being my favorite. They do a really nice job with Sumatra wrappers too. I will be putting some more Crow Coronas in my humidor, for sure.  In case you were wondering, this is a hit!

 

Another repeat is the Yagua. I smoked one from a 2021 box this week that was amazing. J.C. Newman just announced that they are shipping the 2022 release, with a second wave due in November. These have aged well, the one I smoked was practically round, which was strange. They say that this is wrapped in an “underfermented”

Broadleaf wrapper. whatever that means, I ‘d say it works.  I had some distinct sensations of black licorice several times while smoking this cigar, and I really liked that. I enjoyed it so much I was tempted to smoke one the following day, alas, I should have followed my instincts! Again, a hit.

 

The Drew Estate Freestyle Live event is coming up on Thursday, May 12, and receiving a lot of buzz, so I figured I’d give the Mystery Cigar in the pack a try and see what the deal was. I tried the 6″ x 60 gordo first. This digital event is happening on the eve of the Florida Barn Smoker, and the cigars in the pack happen to be the same sizes that the 20 Acre Farm Mystery cigars were presented, leading some to believe there may be a connection. It’s possible, although many cigars are offered in robusto, toro and gordo, so that’s a bit of a stretch. I personally didn’t really like the cigar I smoked, it was heavily woody to me, and that’s not my preference. I don’t like FSG tobacco, so there could be something there, and I’m also not a big fan of the original Herrera Esteli, so it could be a variation on that. I don’t think it’s a riff on the MUWAT, as

I grabbed a fiver of Baitfish yesterday and forgot how good those little guys are!  I’ll suffer through the rubusto I guess and see what I think of t

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hat size, maybe it’s different. I’ll be very disappointed if those guessing it’s in the Nica Rustica line are right. Big miss.

 

Let’s finish strong. OK, I lied. I picked up an Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Toro yesterday because I’ve been wanting to try it. It’ a 6″ x 54 with a “Nicaraguan Café” wrapper, and Aganorsa Leaf binder and fillers. I’ve been having trouble finding cigars

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in the Aganorsa range that suit my palate, quite honestly. Sadly, this was another one that did not. I’m sure it’s a great cigar, it certainly performed well, but the flavor left me wanting. This was another that I’ll call wood heavy in the flavor department. I also found it slightly drying. It was a bit sneaky strong. Everyone has different tastes, that’s what makes cigars so much fun, this one wasn’t for me. I’ll keep working thought the range, and I know there are a lot of cigars made by Aganorsa that I like! Unfortunately a miss.

 

That’s it for today, I’ll be smoking a few favorites today!  My part-time retail experiment has come to an end. ore on that

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, maybe, another time, but it was fun while it lasted. My Friday evenings are now free, who wants to herf?  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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April 24, 2022 · 9:22 am

Punch Knuckle Buster, El Rey Del Mundo and Pichardo Cigars

I’ve smoked a few of the new Punch Knuckle Buster Cigars recently and I have to say that I really like them. I had recently smoked my last Knuckle Buster natural, which had been recommended to me a while ago by a tobacconist. This had been a good recommendation, as I had found this to be a tasty smoke and had revisited it frequently. So I was excited to try the maduro version. I’m tempted to say that this is a really good cigar for the price, and these are very reasonably priced at under $6 for the Toro, and I’m amazed that they can make a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar so in

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expensively. These have an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers and are made in Honduras. This is a really good tasting cigar, with a different flavor than many Broadleaf cigars. I want to say it’s a savory, meaty kind of flavor, whatever it is, it appeals to me and I like it. This will be a cigar I will pick up from time to time for sure, and wish they had in the rothschild size as it would be a great short smoke.

 

I smoked the El Rey Del Mundo Natural this week, and, once again, was taken back to the 90’s when I smoked these often. My go to in this line was the Rectangulare, a box pressed corona g

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orda basically, which seems to be included in the current lineup. I smoked the Robusto en Vidrio, a 5½”

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x 50 robusto. General Cigars (this actually falls under their Forged division) likes the longer robusto vitola, it shows up in a lot of lines. I don’t have a good argument against the extra half an inch in most cases. Again, this is a sub-seven dollar cigar, and a very good smoke. It’s creamy, medium bodied with some woody notes. I’m not at all displeased smoking this cigar.

 

I picked up a Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andrés yesterday on the recommendation of Vince at Son’s and smoked it last night.  I regret only grabbing one, and I almost always get two, but I’ve been trying to be frugal. We’ve had a seemingly endless parade of household expenses this month, plumber, appliances, veterinarian, IRS, I don’t need more cigars. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to t

ry more cigars from the Pichardo factory, so I gave this one a try

.  This was a toro, with San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder, and Fillers from Ometepe, Esteli, and Jalapa.  From what I could tell, this was

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a delicious cigar, heavy on the espresso. I say that because this was plagued with apparent voids in the fill. It was weird. It started with a tunnel for the first third of the cigar, it took two or three puffs to get any smoke. Then for an inch it would be OK. Then there was another void. It was irr

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itating, because the cigar tasted really good. I’ll try another, you know, for science.  

 

That’s all for today, don’t forget to check out the Red Meat Lover’s Club Presents Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event (I posted about it here). I hope to see some of you there! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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April 17, 2022 · 9:42 am

Upmann, CAO and Black Label Trading Co. Cigars and a Rant

 

There seem to be few cigars in Altadis portfolio that fit my preferences. I probably say this every time I post about an Altadis cigar, and it probably doesn’t endear me to the marketing folks there! I do have some friends there that are aware of my feelings. I keep trying though. There are exceptions, and I can pretty much count on enjoying anything Altadis produces in conjunction with A.J. Fernandez. I smoked the z Nicaragua Heritage by A.J. Fernandez in the Toro size this week and was pretty surprised.  This is a 6″ x 54 toro with a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. The binder and fillers are all Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by A.J. Fernandez. I found this to be a powerhouse cigar, much stronger than I expected. I likened to to the Gispert Intenso. I personally liked it a lot, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who enjoys the original H. Upmann by A.J. (which I also enjoy!). It’s a totally different cigar, the difference between a Latte and an espresso, I would imagine.

 

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n to smoke a couple of the new CAO Pilón Ańejo cigars over the past couple weeks, and the one I smoked yesterday was fairly impressive. The first one I smoked maybe wasn’t rested sufficiently from it’s travels. This 5½” x 54 robusto has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. The blend is rich and savory, consisting of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers,  a Honduran Habano binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. Curiously, this is a different blend than the original Pilón, which has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder. That kind of blows my plan of doing a back to back comparison between the two! I like Sumatra wrapped cigars, so this one works for me. It was a good, smooth cigar without

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any problems. I found it to be enjoyable, pleasing woody flavors without much sweetness. A good cigar. I may still pull out a Pilón from the original release and see how it stack up against this one, just for kicks. 

 

OK, here’s my rant of the week. I know it’s Easter Sunday, and happy Easter and passover for those of you who celebrate. Earlier this week the CRA posted this meme, and the subsequent apology, on their Facebook page, and it caused a bit of a kerfuffle.

There were those who defended it, thought it was funny, etc. While it might be funny in a Facebook group that is predominantly a men’s social group, it’s not the kind of thing I believe the folks at Cigar Rights of America should be devoting their resources to. Let’s set aside the misogynistic nature of the meme, make no mistake, the divisiveness of the message was no small part of the backlash that this caused. I take issue with the fact that I’m paying the CRA to advocate o

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n behalf of the cigar industry, and I have been since 2009. It’ not a lot of money, but the point is that our money isn’t to pay for an entertaining Facebook group. Whoever is running things there, and I don’t think that’s clear since Glynn Loope left, should be posting legislative updates up the page, not funnies. The CRA complains about membership and wants to be taken seriously and fails to set a good example of why they should be in a public forum. I hold them to a higher standard. I think their apology missed this point. Anyway, that got my hackles up this week!

 

Last night I went over to Son’s Cigars where James and Angela Brown (and Levi) from Black Label Trading Co

. were there holding an event. This was possibly the biggest event at the shop since they opened last summer. Angela Brown is rarely at events, and I had only met her at an IPCPR show several years ago, so it was nice to see her again. there was a contingent there from Mane Street Cigars in Woodbridge, NJ for the event, and I’ve known Alex, who manages the shop, for many years (here’s the story of when I met Alex). I selected and smoked a Lawless Churchill, 7″ x 48 (close enough), with an Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper and Nicaraguan Binder and fillers. This was a delicious cigar, it’s really right in my wheelhouse. It has rich, dark fruit and cocoa flavors. I must grab a handful next week when I’m back at the shop. It might be one of my favorites in the line. Lovely cigar, lovely people, good times. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig 

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