Category Archives: Review

May 20, 2020 · 8:55 am

News, Etc: Island Lifestyle Cigars ADAP Program, New Packaging and Sungrown Toros

Here’s some news from my friends at Island Lifestyle Cigars, but first, I smoked a few of their cigars over the last few days while I was thinking about these two news items. Also, I know I said I’d have a contest this week, I’ll get to that later in the week, patience, amigos. I’ve actually been doing some projects around the house in my copious free

Old on the Left, New on the Right

time, and time got away from me.  Anyway, I smoked some Island Lifestyle Sungr

own Toros, an old one and a new one. The old one was from the original release, several years ago. It was a tightly guarded secret who made the original release, try as I may, I was unable to get the guys there to tell me who was making them, until later last year when they changed factories, and they revealed that the old versions were, in fact, made by Perdomo. This certainly came as no surprise as the quality was always excellent and the cigars were very good. The new cigars are made by the Oliva Cigar Company, and maintain the excellent quality. While comparing the aged old version to the less aged new version is an unfair comparison, the new version seems to me to be an improvement in depth of flavor. The Sungrown has some strength, some spice, but has a nice ballance and were very nice cigars. I’m a little sad that the old one was the last one I’ll smoke, but happy that I’ll be able to get the new ones, especially because there’s a shop not far away that carries them. They livened up the bands too, they look really nice! 

 

ISLAND LIFESTYL

E AGED RESERVE CIGARS NOW IN REVAMPED PACKAGING

Island Lifestyle Importers is pleased to announce their highly rated Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve Cigars

are now packaged in beautiful 10 count boxes. The new white boxes with the distinctively colorful box wraps are more emblematic of its tropical namesake. 

Island Lifestyle Importers focused on a box quantity more in keeping with today’s consumer wishes.  The 10 count box is not only more economically friendly for the consumer, it also allows for a smaller footprint within the retailer’s display areas.  The new packaging replaces the old 25 count box quantity.

According to Ryan Frailing, Chief Operating Officer for Island Lifestyle Importers, “We listened to our dealers’ feedback regarding space and consumer retail buying trends and we adjusted accordingly.  We want them to know we are committed to assist them in the success of their stores.” 

Island Lifestyle Importers is the owner and importer of Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve and Island Club Cigars.    Island Lifestyle Importers is also the exclusive designer, manufacturer and distributor of Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories.  These accessories are known for their beautiful look, leading edge technology and outstanding quality.  

For further information contact Rick@IslandLifestyleImporters.com or (941) 378-3200.

 

ISLAND LIFESTYLE IMPORTERS CREATES THE “ADAP” PROGRAM

Now that the PCA convention has unfortunately, but necessarily, been canceled for 2020, Island Lifestyle Cigars and Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories have established the Additional Dealer Assistance Program (ADAP) for retailers. 

In announcing the new program, Ryan Frailing, Chief Operating Officer of Island Lifestyle Importers said “We will miss seeing our old

friends and making new ones.  We enjoy spending that time getting to know and learn more about their businesses.  It provides valuable feedback as we grow and develop new products.”  

Earlier this year Island Lifestyle Importers announced they had taken back responsibilities for all marketing and distribution functions of their products.  Island Lifestyle Importers had planned to offer additional discounts and a number of exciting promotions at PCA 2020.  

Frailing stated “In an age of uncertainty Island Lifestyle Importers desires to do everything possible to assist in dealer’s success.  With the cancelation of the convention, Island Lifestyle Importers will be taking the monies wenormally spend on the trade show and rededicate it to the dealer network through weekly specials.”

The Additional Dealer Assistance Program (ADAP) will be emailed each week with promotional offerings including deep discounts, product specials, new product releases and no minimum order requirements.  Frailing went on to say “We established this program to give our retail partners greater flexibility and profitability as we work together to move beyond the challenges created by the Corona virus.”

Island Lifestyle Importers is the exclusive importer of Island Lifestyle Cigars and manufacturer of Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories.

For further information contact Ryan@IslandLifestyleImporters.com or (941) 378-3200.

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May 17, 2020 · 10:13 am

A Tale of Two Undercrown Corona Pequeñas and a Year of the Rat Cigar

I had occasion this week to smoke one each of the newish size of the Drew Estate Undercrown Maduro and Shade, the 4″ x 44 replacement for the Chateau Real Small Club Corona  (at least that’s my theory). The Maduro I smoked one evening after taking a walk with a Liga Privada Serie Unico Velvet Rat (which was quite delicious), and there being nothing on TV, I decided to stay on the porch for another hour and have another cigar. The Shade was a few days later when I had eaten dinner much later than usual and just wanted a short smoke and had taken a nice, long walk earlier in the day. This size fits into those times really nicely, but, for some reason, the Undercrown blend just doesn’t do it for me in the small size. I find that the Maduro lacks the deep, rich San Andrés earthiness that the larger sizes present, and is just kind of there. The Shade is just distasteful to me. There’s a flavor there that I just don’t like. I smoked a Shade Suprema, which, oddly, is another old Chateau Real size, and it tasted great! it had the creamy notes I love in the Undercrown Shade blend. I really wish they would make the other styles in this size. Funny enough, I kinda like the Undercrowns in the tins, the Coronets, however I c

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an’t get passed my feeling that tiny cigars are a cigarette replacement. I think the trick with the Pequeñas is definately to smoked them slowly, I spent an hour with each, and I could tell when I did smoke them faster they began tasting worse. I tried them bac

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k in February and wasn’t impressed, so I let them rest, and still feel the same. I have a couple more of each, I’ll revisit them periodically, but I think I just like the Toros in the Undercrown blend! I might have to see if I have some Chateau Real Small Club Coronas left and see how they are (Maduros are the ones I had, I doubt the Connecticuts would have stood up). As with anything else, don’t take my word for it, if you like small cigars, and you like Undercrown, give them a try!

 

I really struggled with whether or not I should post this, I usually let negative experiences slide, but I felt like I had to be honest ab

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out these little guys. So when I got a package with some Liga Privada Serie Unico Year of the Rats I had to give one a try. I smoked

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on at the TPE show and really liked it, but it’s always hard to adequately judge a cigar at a trade show.  The Year of the Rat started out as the shop exclusive for the BB&T center in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers hockey team. Now it’s widely available, at least at Drew Diplomat retailers.  It’s a 5½” x 46 corona gorda with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. It’s a little bigger than a Dirty Rat, a little smaller than a Velvet Rat. Corona Gorda is a size I actually really like, it’s probably as small as I like to go on a regular basis. I enjoyed the crap out of the cigar! It was bold, it had the strength and sweetness of the broadleaf and Brazilian and was rich and had a ton of smoke. This one was actually better than I remember the one I smoked at the end of January, although the one I smoked in January was at the end of the day, in Vegas, and it didn’t have the fancy gold foil. I’m sure the gold foil makes a big difference, it is a pain in the ass to remove! It does look spiffy though. This was an exceptional smoke, and I was actually planning to smoke another cigar after smoking this one, however I was left satisfied, and didn’t end up following through on that! 

 

I think I’m way overdue for a contest! I’m putting a little something together for mid-week, so stay tuned!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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May 11, 2020 · 8:00 pm

News: Black Label Trading Company Ships Bishops Blend 5 Year Anniversary Cigars

Here’s some news from BLTC. You may recall I posted about the release of the Lancero back on March 31st. Now they are shipping the Corona Larga and Robusto. Hopefully when these get to the stores they are open, at least enough so that you can get to purchase them. Oveja Negra always makes some interesting and tasty cigars. 

 

Black Label Trading Company is pleased to announce the shipment of Bishops Blend 5 Year Anniversary to select retailers. Bishops Blend is hand crafted in Esteli, Nicaragua at Fabrica Oveja Negra.This is the fifth-year anniversary of Bishops Blend in the Corona Larga and Robusto vitolas. The Lancero vitola was released earlier this year. By releasing one of its top selling Limited Editions, BLTC hopes to encourage sales for its retailers in this difficult time.

 

“This has become our most anticipated release of the year. With that anticipation comes extra excitement when we are finally able to ship it to retailers. Bishops Blend boasts big bold flavors of

anise, pepper, raisins and a sweet earthiness on the finish. It is very complex and extremely refined. As with the past vintages, the broadleaf fillers shine at the forefront and are perfectly balanced by the Nicaraguan filler tobaccos,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co.and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

BISHOPS BLEND will be available at select retailers.


Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Maduro

Binder: Ecuador Habano

Filler: Nicaragua, Connecticut & PA Broadleaf

Corona Larga – 6.25 x 46 (20 count) MSRP $11.50

Robusto – 5 x 48 (20 count) MSRP $11.00

 

Black Label Trading Company is redefining the standards for cigar making. With a “less is more” philosophy, Black Label Trading Co. creates hand crafted premium cigars of the utmost quality in small batch, limited quantities. For more information please visit OvejaNegraCigars.com. Consumers may search by zip code for retailers nearest them.

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May 10, 2020 · 10:16 am

A Micallef Leyenda and a BOTL Cigar from Drew Estate

I finally decided to smoke the Micallef Leyenda No. 2 that I had picked up at the Micallef event I went to just over a year ago at the Cigar Cigars store in Phoenixville, PA. That reminds me, I need to reach out to my friends at CigarCigars and inquire about the status of their stores. When I passed the Phoenixville shop the other day it looked like it was open, and similarly with the Frazer shop. I haven’t had a need to stop in, but I need to drop a ew people a note or two. Anyway, the Leyenda No. 2 was one of several cigars I had bought at the event, and I hadn’t gotten around to it because it was in a really cool little coffin sorta thing, and I tend to hold on to those too long, mostly because I don’t know what to do with them when I smoke the cigar. It seems a shame to toss the coffins out, but I haven’t worked out what to do with them. Stupid, I know. This is why I have a shelf in the wineador tied up with single cigars in coffins. This one is unique because it’s open in one side, and it’s form fitting to the torpedo shape. This poses another ethical dilemma in my mind as I see it as something that a lot of time and energy went into making. Clearly it’s something I need to work through. I did take the first step and smoked the cigar, so that’s something. The cigar was brilliant, I must say. the wrapper is a 5 Year Old Ecuadorian Habano, with a 5 Year Old Nicaraguan binder and 5 Year Old Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Honduran fillers. This was a torpedo with a sharp taper and measured 5½” x 52. It should come as no surprise that it has some woody flavor, having been surrounded by wood on three sides for quite some time, although there was a layer of cellophane as a buffer. It had some slight citrus and spice too, and was quite enjoyable. It burned perfectly and was a fun cigar to smoke. Considering the presentation and the quality, I don’t recall these having been terribly expensive. I’d buy more if I could figure out what to do with the little coffins!

 

Last year Drew Estate re-issued a cigar that they made for the web forum BOTL around 2010. I had the pleasure of going on Cigar Safari in 2011 with a few guys from BOTL, and I remember hearing about this cigar, although I was rather ignorant of it at the time, not having been a BOTL forum member. Tim seemed to have been the guy who worked with DE to make this happen back then, and it wasn’t something that was widely available. Never having smoked one, I can’t make a comparison between what was then and this new iteration, but I have smoked a few of the newer ones over the last year and really quite enjoyed them. They only have what I would call “connoisseur” sizes: Corona, Lancero, and a long Corona Gorda, which is what I had on hand to smoke. There were a couple included in the PA Barnsmoker cigars that I smoked, including the Lancero. The Corona Gorda is 6″ x 46, not a bad size, and has a Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuador Connecticut binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s a little bit “Liga Lite” to me, it’s got the Broadleaf sweetness, and is full bodied, and it falls somewhere in between a Liga and an Undercrown and I really like it. It’s still a $10 stick, and, for the money, I’m still going to Nica Rustica for my Broadleaf fix, but the BOTL doesn’t have the rough edges that the Nica Rustica has. So if you want something more elegant, in those elegant sizes, this is a great choice.

 

I smoked a Joya Silver this week, and I had every intention of following it up with a  Joya Cinco Decadas, just to compare, because I think there’s some commonality between the two. I backed off for a few reasons. The dumb reason was that I didn’t feel like I deserved to smoke a $20 cigar at that particular time. The better reason was that the particular evening I thought about doing it happened to get cold and rainy. I’ll get to it one of these days. Anyway, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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May 6, 2020 · 7:17 pm

Some Toscano Cigars and a Viva la Vida

My wife decided she wanted a picnic table to go with a couple of benches we had made years ago, so I bought some lumber and started building one. In an effort to reduce the profanity count during this project, I decided to break into a pack of Toscano cigar I purchased in Rome when I was there in May of 2018. I bought a pack of the Garibaldis and a pack of Extra Vecchio, not remembering having seen them in the states. The Garibaldi were introduced here earlier this year (or late last year) and I guess the Extra Vecchio have been here, at least that what Michael Cappellini, the brand ambassador for Toscano cigars in the US tells me. My wife brought me a pack of Toscano Antico from Italy in 2000, and I’ve been enjoying one now and then ever since. I especially like the Modigliani, although it’s quite expensive. The five packs in Rome were much less expensive than here, I think I paid seven or eight euros each, they push $20 here. $20 is still a deal for five cigars, especially since they are rugged, taste great, burn a long time, and you don’t need to keep them in your humidor. I smoked the Extra Vecchio yesterday over the course of about four hours, relit it several times of course, but it tasted great the whole time. These are heavy on the fire cured tobacco, so if you like that, you’ll really like these. It’s also quite OK to cut these in half for a shorter smoke or to share! The Garibaldi is quite tasty too, as well as the Antico. I had a random oddball Toscano that I don’t know what it was, but it was unusually mild and I wasn’t overly fond of it. Toscanos are great cigars to keep one from swearing at projects!

 

Last night I was looking for something interesting to smoke and I remembered I had picked up a Viva La Vida Diademas Finas some time ago. I haven’t sm

oked anything from the Artesano Del Tobacco Company yet, but I’ve heard plenty about them. I remember meeting Billy Fakih when I visited Cigar Inn in NYC several years ago, now he and his brother Gus have launched this brand, made by AJ Fernandez in Esteli. I picked this up at a newer local shop that is largely a warehouse operation that ships cigars to China and has a shop and lounge in the front. It’s an odd sort of arrangement, I haven’t stopped back. Apparently I chose the top end of t

he Viva La Vida line in this limited edition figurado. It’s a 6½”x52 cigar beautifully rolled. It has a Habano Oscuro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I let this rest because the first cigar I smoked that I had bought at this shop was quite over humidified, I played it right and this cigar burned perfectly, just lighting the “nipple” it drew perfectly and evenly throughout. The flavor was good, although I’d have to say it was unremarkable, there was nothing that really distinguished it from another really good cigar. It had very good tasting, well fermented tobacco, but nothing that really wow’d me, or made me excited. I wasn’t disappointed in any way, I was just ambivalent. Obviously, the art of rolling this cigar is without question, and I have no regrets, I just wish there was a flavor sensation that caught my attention. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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