Category Archives: Review

December 5, 2021 · 10:05 am

Crook of the Crown, Triqui Traca, and Room 101 Cigars

As the holidays and year end gets closer things seem to get busier. As I mentioned in last Sunday’s post, I went to Son’s Cigars and hung out with the crew from Stolen Throne Cigars, less brand-owner Lee Marsh, who’s wife has been expecting their son to be born any day and felt that being five hours from home would be less than prudent. What a wuss. 😀. I got past the initial disappointment, and hung out and smoked cigars with them, and my friend Greg, whom I’ve known since high school. I smoked another Three Kingdoms Toro, and a Crook of the Crown Robusto while there, and during the week I smoked a Crook of the Crown Toro. These are some outstanding cigars. The Crook of the Crown has a San Andrés wrapper, and is exactly my kind of cigar, it’s down and dirty, reich and earthy, but I think I like the Three Kingdoms a little more! I love the swe

etness it has. They both have a place, and I think I smoked more of those two cigars last week than I’ve smoked any one brand of cigars in a week in a long time. I just got hooked on them. Great stuff from the Rojas factory in Esteli. I’m still looking forward to meeting Lee, I’m told there will be another event in the Spring at Son’s, hopefully he doesn’t have another lame excuse! Meeting Kevin, JR, and Josh made up for his absence. 

 

I know a lot of seasoned cigar smokers like smaller cigars, and I do consider myself a seasoned cigar smoker. Heck, I’ve been smoking cigars for 25 years, that should count, right? I actually prefer larger cigars, smaller cigars don’t satisfy me. There are times, however, when time doesn’t allow for a larger cigar. If I don’t have 45 minutes, Im just not even going to have a cigar, if I have 45 minutes to an hour, I figure I can squeeze in a petite corona or a short robusto or one of the smaller formats. Such an occasion presented itself Friday. My youngest son (27), graduated from Nursing school Thursday evening, so we celebrated Friday evening with a family dinner. I snuck in a Montecristo No. 5 which I had purchased at the Duty Free in the Rome airport back in 2018 when one could do such

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things, before dinner (which was a very nice little cigar) and then when everyone had gone, I sat down with the new Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448. Steve (who still hasn’t shared my Stillwell posts, while sharing everyone else’s!) had given this one to me when we saw him in South Carolina a few weeks ago, it’s basically his regular production version of the Firecracker, which was the genesis of the Triqui Traca blend. This is a bold little smoke, and there’s really nothing unsatisfying about it. It’s got some pepper to it, along with the espresso that I love. It’s definitely the Mi Querida on steroids, and I love it. I was afraid that smoking it as late as I did would give me problems, as sometimes h

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appens (trouble falling asleep, weird dreams, etc), but I was OK. If you loved the Firecrackers and can’t get any more, this is a reasonable alternative. If you never had the Firecracker, and like small, delicious cigars, you’ll like this one.

 

I like listening to podcasts, and one of the ones in my rotation is the A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Ironically, there’s a cigar store called Cigar Hustler, and the guys on the Podcast are also involved in the store, one of them even is one of the owners! I suppose this helps to avoid trademark infringement. It was on this show where I heard about the Room 101 Who Shot Ya, which is an exclusive for Pospiech, which is, ironically again, owned by Mike Szczepankiewicz of the aforementioned Cigar Hustler. I saw these on the counter at Son’s and had to give one a try, or a shot, I guess. Like the Bangarang, which is the other non-Powstanie cigar in their portfolio, it’s also a pretty strong cigar, and starts with a heavy pepper flavor. It’s a well behaved torpedo, it burns well and was

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a nice smoking experience throughout the 5″ x 52 of the cigar. The components of the cigar are not disclosed, but it tastes good, defini

tely worth a “s

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hot”. The podcast is fun too, I recommend it, and Mike and Mike are nice guys, I’ve met them, and they’ve met me!

 

Wednesday I posted the link for the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa, so get in on that if you would like to!  I need  to get a few giveaways together for the holidays I suppose, I have a few goodies laying around! That’ll do it for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

 

 

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November 28, 2021 · 9:07 am

Paladin de Saka, Old Cain and New Partagas Cigars

Yesterday my wife and I went to the 35th Annual “not just” Rock Expo in the nearby Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, whic

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h sound much better than it actually was.  It was basically a flea market of records, tapes and CDs, not that big a deal, but we did come across a few neat things. I managed a record store in the eighties, so I can’t start going through bins of records without compulsively alphabetizing and sorting by genre, so don’t look too hard at stuff like this anymore. My wife spied a CD though, and I dropped $2 on it because it looked good, and I can always listen to Cuban music, Hecho en Cuba 3. I haven’t give it a listen yet, I have to dust off the CD changer, and remember how to get music from the iMac onto my phone. Anyway, one never knows what one might find out and about.

 

Rewind to Thursday, when we finally got done with cooking, eating and delivering food, it was time for a cigar, and I decided on the Paladin de Saka that Steve had given me when we saw him in South Carolina. This is in the Sin Compromiso line, I suppose it would be the flagship of the line, as it’s aged a year longer than the rest. It’s also the largest of them all, measuring 7″ x 52. There’s one more difference in that there’s some Pennsylvania broadleaf added to the filler that gives it some additional oomph. I’m a big fan of the Sin Compromiso, except that they are so darned pricey. They are worth it though, and I don’t say that often, as Steve would agree. I love the sweetness of the cigar, and the espresso notes. This was a good two and a half hours of pleasure.  These

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are north of $29, so I’m not going to be smoking many of them, but Thanksgiving is a special day, so a special cigar is always in order, and I thank Steve for special cigars. He is welcome to share my Stillwell Star posts…do they have to be videos? 🙃

 

I was reorganizing a tray in the cabinet Friday and I came across a cigar in a ziplock that I had completely forgotten I had. It had a handwritten note in it that said “Cain FU IPCPR 2013”.  I remember this was after Sam Leccia’s “departure” from Oliva/Studio Tabac and they had this guy named Brian Scholle trained to travel around doing rolling demonstrations. I had met him a few times. He was making hi-octane Cain F’s he called Cain FU, I think we can figure out what that meant. It was a strong cigar then. So I figured after eight years in the humidor it might have lost some of its luster. I’ve smoked a number of Cain Fs over the years, many in the lancero vitola. I have some squirrelled away somewhere, perhaps I’ll find them one day.  Anyway, this cigar was a toro, and it had a pretty rustic look, but it burned surprisingly well. It was still pretty strong, a notch up from what I would expect from a Cain F. It was pretty good, considering it sat in a baggie for over eight years ignored. Of course, It’s not something anyone will ever have again, and I wonder what ever happened to that Brian dude? 

 

A week or so ago I posted the news about the Partagas Decadas 2021 that was coming out. Some samples arrived and couldn’t wait to smoke one. The Decadas

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have been treats for me for a long time. I’ve really liked the green banded ones going back many years. This one was intriguing because of the Brazilian Cameroon wrapper. First let’s work out the deal with the whole deal with the semantics surrounding wrapper. The foremost grower of Cameroon tobacco says there’s no such thing as Cameroon seed, but Sumatra seed grown in Cameroon. So it’s the soil and climate that make the tobacco Cameroon. Which begs the question: how can “C

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ameroon” tobacco be grown in other countries? I will say that this cigar,  I don’t care where the wrapper was grown, tastes far more “Cameroony” than a lot of Cameroon cigars I’ve smoked. It was loaded with the sweet, nutty flavor that the Decadas, and Partagas should taste like. I was completely enthralled with this cigar. Whatever the seed, wherever it’s grown, it tastes good, and was a lovely cigar. It’s even the right size!

 

This afternoon I’m going to Son’s Cigars to meet up with the gang from Stolen Throne Cigars who are doing an event there, I’d encourage anyone in the area to pop in.  I’m looking forward to finally meeting these guys as I’ve been enjoying the Stolen Throne cigars. I’m still looking for Secret Santa participants, we’re up to three, which is an awkward number, but I’d make it work if I had to!  The more the merrier!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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November 25, 2021 · 9:42 am

La Sirena Mexican Mermaid and Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms Cigars

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers who celebrate it! I trust that you have some excellent cigars picked out to smoke at some point or points throughout the day!  I generally smoke something special, I’ll figure that out tomorrow!  But for today I have a few new cigars I want to talk about. First is the newest cigar from La Sirena. Many of you may not have heard of this brand (you haven’t been reading here long!), or have wondered what’s become of it, it’s still around! It remains one of my favorites! I smoke the classic line, now made at La Zona, often, and enjoy many Merlions and Oceanos. The La Sirena LT is among my favorite shade cigars.  While they are hard to find, they are around, and the Mexican Mermaid is the latest addition to the line. This is a variation on the Tenth anniversary cigar that came out a few years ago (the brand launched the same year as CigarCraig.com!). I came by some samples of the box pressed Toro, which is 5 ¾” x 54, which made my day, I’ve been looking forward to trying these. These are made in Hostos Quesada’s new factory, Tabacalera La Isla, and have a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and binder, and Mexican and Dominican filers. I cut my teeth on Mexican cigars in the nineties, but this doesn’t taste like anything I remember smoking before.  The cigar has a very unique and interesting flavor, I can’t even put a name to it, but it transcends the heavy earthiness

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of the Mexican puros of old. It’s unique, and takes a bit of getting used to, but is a refreshing change. I can’t wait to add this to my La Sirena rotation. It’s not a

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t all like the Tenth Anniversary in my recollection, although that is a stunningly good cigar. I wouldn’t say it’s better, but it’s different, and I like it a lot.

 

I picked up a couple of Stolen Throne Cigar‘s latest release, Three Kingdoms last weekend, ahead of Sunday’s event at Son’s Cigars.  I wanted to smoke a few before finally getting a chance to meet these guys face to face. Nothing worse than smoking the cigar in front of the brand owners and having a visceral reaction to it.  They tend to react poorly when you light a cigar and then ask the shop owner to bring a bucket 😁. I kid, that rarely happens. Still, I was anxious to smoke this new cigar with a Habano wrapper. I smoked a couple of the box pressed Toro size, of course we all know I’m grabbing the toro first. Lee Marsh, the brand owner, and blender of the line, said I have to give the robusto a try, and I have one of those, but I’ll pick another one up Sunday to smoke. I actually talk with Lee in a group video chat fairly regularly, but I haven’t met him in person. I’m looking forward to that, and meeting his team. Anyway, this is another cigar that falls into the “I like a great deal” column. This is a terrific desert cigar, it has a candy sweetness that I enjoy. I get that in some Sumatra wrapped cigars. It’s bold, without ever being overly strong. It’s just a pleasure to smoke. I’ve been impressed with the cigars I’ve smoked made by Noel Rojas, this is another one that’s really good. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Remember, let me know if you want to get in on a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa! So far, it looks like it’s just Lonnie and I exchanging, not much of a secret, but I’m OK with it. The more, the merrier, ya know! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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November 21, 2021 · 11:07 am

Alec and Bradley Blind Faith, Perla Del Mar Corojo Toro and Platinum Nova Corona Cigars

While we were driving home from South Carolina a few weeks back we took a rest stop at the JRs in Selma, NC. It’s been a few years since we were there, it’s downsized a bit. We were expecting to shop for some bed linens, alas that part of the business is gone, and it’s just a tobacco store. Right inside the door of the cigar department was a large area of stuff marked down 50% off. I immediately rescued a partial box of Sobremesa, and a box of RomaCraft Intemperance. I was told that it was stock from another store that had closed. Upon catching wind of my purchase, Saka (who, by the way, for some reason hasn’t bothered to share any of my Stillwell Star posts, while sharing other content creators work, I thought we were friends…I’m not mad, just disappointed) put his people on JRs about this. My assumption is that he has an agreement with his accounts that he’d rather buy back inventory than ha

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ve it discounted. I just wanted to spare him the indignity of having it on the discount rack (and get a killer deal on some Short Churchills!). This is all a lot of words leading into talking about the Alec and Bradley Blind Faith. My wife was actually suggesting I buy a box of these, and I didn’t want to without having smoked a few. I know it’s a ridiculous problem to have, and sounds like bragging, but I’m pretty strapped for storage space. I had to shoehorn the little box of Intemperance in, no way I’d fit a box of A&B. Anyway, I bought a couple singles, and I smoked one this week. It’s weird, you know, I went into it hoping I didn’t love the cigar and kick myself for not listening to my wife! When your wife tells you to buy a box of cigars you should do it, right? Anyway, this has a Honduran wrapper, Honduran/Nicaraguan double binder and NIcaraguan fillers, made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. I would have tolerated having a box in the humidor, but I’m not kicking myself for walking away, let’s put it that way. It’s a good smoke, tasty. Nothing wrong with the burn and draw, nice presentation, and it’s a shame that these were on the discount rack. Honestly, there was a LOT of stuff that was in that area that shouldn’t have been. I could have gone broke, but I’d have had to go back to using coolers for storage. 

 

Last year J.C.Newman re-packaged the Perla Del Mar line, and introduced the Corojo to the mix. Late this year they added the Toro to the Corojo family. I’ve long been a fan of the Maduro, but the Corojo might be my new favorite.  This line is another great example of how the wrapper changes the flavor of the cigar. They use the same blend across all three lines, with only the wrapper changing, so smoke all three to get an idea of what the wrapper adds. In the case of the Corojo, which covers Nicaraguan binder

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and filler, by the way, it adds an almost candy sweetness, as opposed to a dark chocolate sweetness in the case of the maduro. It’s a terrific cigar, well made, nicely box pressed, I just wish they had be

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en a little more creative with the band, the old one was prettier, the new one makes me think of another cigar company. It’s a great cigar and well priced, so screw the band, I’m a fan.

 

Last night my wife and I went to the movies, probably the first time in nearly two years. The dine-in feature was sub-par, had to order at the bar and food was served in takeout containers, whether that’s life in the pandemic world or life in the short-staffed world, I’m not sure. Call me old fashioned, but if I’m asked to put a gratuity on my check up front without knowing what kind of service I’m going to get, I’m going to tip conservatively. Maybe that works against me? I have no way of knowing. The food was pretty good though, and the movie was entertaining (discount tickets). We got home and I hung out on the porch to watch the last period of the Flyers game with a Platinum Nova Corona from the 2020 TPE. I’ve been passing by these because they are fairly small for me, but it

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was late, and I didn’t want to be up all night. This is a (ridiculously) expensive cigar, at $23, it’s a pigtail capped 5″ x 43 Ecuador H2000 wrapped cigar with Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Dominican fillers. The cigar ended up being good for nearly an hour and a half, but I had to relight it a few time. It had a definite floral

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flavor, nearly perfumy. I rarely get this flavor, it’s not one I’m particularly fond of.

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I smoked an Undercrown 10 earlier in the day that was more to my liking, much less flowery. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that it’s not one I’d gravitate to on a regular basis. not offensive, not bad, just not me. 

 

That’s more than enough from me today. What do you all think about doing a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa again?  Weigh in in the comments. If we get more than one person I’ll make it happen! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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November 17, 2021 · 6:20 pm

Stillwell Star Bayou No. 32 and Navy No. 1056 Cigars

This is the second and final installment in my series of posts recapping my experiences smoking the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Stillwell Star cigars that I purchased at the launch event in South Carolina a week and a half ago. I went into this exercise with an open mind, but with very little experience with pipe tobacco.  I’ve smoked a pipe in a the past, but I always found that there was too much work involved and I didn’t get enough satisfaction from it commensurate with the effort involved, the preparation, the cleaning, the general fiddling around involved in smoking the pipe. I’m much happier to jus

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t light a cigar and put it down when I’m done and be finished with it. I find that far more relaxing. Of course, that’s just me, there seem to be dozens of people who enjoy smok

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ing a pipe. I even saw Saka smoking a pipe at the event, first time in the twenty-some odd years I’ve known him that I’ve witnessed that. Anyway, Monday I smoked the Bayou No. 32, which I was quite looking forward to. This cigar, like all of them, has the Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper and San Andrés cultivo tonto binder with Nicaraguan fillers. It also has a blend of Bright, Red Virginia and St. James Parish Perique pipe tobaccos. This was another one that struck me as more cigar than pipe, which I suppose is the point. This one started out with some pepper spice, a more unique pepper than one usually finds in a cigar. As the cigar progressed, the spice became a little mouth coating, perhaps cloying is a word one might use. It was interesting, a different texture than normal in a cigar. I’ve smoked cigars with Perique in the blend before, but none have been this unique. This was an interesting smoke.

 

Finally, there’s the Navy No. 1056. This one has Red and Golden Virginias,  “Naval Rations,” Orientals and Latakia pipe tobaccos blended with dark air-cured black cigar leaves in the filler. As with the other three, I polled others on the room note, and on all but the first one I got “cigar”. I suppose it would be different if people were familiar with pipe aromas, sadly we are not. This was another good tasting cigar. It had a smokey sweetness, throughout, very interesting. It was medium bodied, like the other three, and very smooth.  All four samples burned perfectly, which was interesting, I wasn’t sure how the different tobaccos were going to burn, but I suppose Steve wasn’t going to put something out that isn’t going to work right. I found smoking these four cigars to be an interesting exercise, however, these aren’t going to be regular rotation cigars for me, I doubt I’ll even go back to them  to be honest. As good as they are, they didn’t excite me as much as the other cigars in the Dunbarton portfolio. I’m glad I smoked them, but I’m happier with a Mi Querida, Sin Compromiso or Sobremesa any day of the week. Of course, that’s just me, your mileage may vary.  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

  

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