Category Archives: Review

June 29, 2025 · 8:45 am

A Quick Connecticut Visit, Paper Crane and Outcast Cigars

Last Sunday my wife and I drove up to Connecticut for breakfast, an annual tradition to celebrate her best friend who passed away. While we were in the neighborhood, we paid a visit to Mark Twain’s house in Hartford. I honestly don’t think I even knew that he had lived there. It was an amazing home, and photography was forbidden, but I managed to sneak a pic in his third floor man room. Of course, he smoked 24-40 cigars a day, they must have been either tiny or he didn’t smoke much of them, because I can barely manage a couple. I spend a minimum of an hour smoking a cigar, usually closer to two. There aren’t that many hours in the day! I do recommend the tour. They have chocolate cigars in the gift shop.

On our way home we stopped in New Haven to visit the Owl Shop. I’ll be honest, I confused this with the Owl Shop in Massachusetts, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed. This is a full bar and cigar lounge in the downtown area, with a nice selection of cigars. I grabbed a couple of their 85th anniversary cigars, not surprisingly made by Foundation Cigar Co.. Nick Melillo’s from New Haven, and his family has patronized this shop for decades. If I read right, this came out in 2019, so the 90th anniversary has come and gone, and I assume this is regular limited production for the store and not 6 year old stock. It has the Havana Seed CT #142 wrapper found on the Tabernacle Havana Seed No. 142, Mexican binder, and Nicaraguan fillers from Estelí and Jalapa, offered in a 5½” x 54 Robusto Extra. We sat in the lounge and relaxed with this cigar before heading back to PA, and it was very good. It has some espresso and leather with some spice. I liked it a lot, and the lounge was comfortable, the staff attentive, and I imagine the place is packed at night! It was a long day, but a good one.

I took a few days off this week to get some estate stuff done, and managed to have my first morning cigar of the season on Thursday. The weather has been crazy this year, I’m not sitting on my porch in the cold in the morning! I had picked up a Black Works Studio Paper Crane Corona Gorda when I visited Smoke Inn a few months back, and this was the perfect time to smoke it. This cigar came out in 2024, and has an Ecuador Connecticut Desflorado wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It was rich and creamy, with a bit of spice. Not a mild cigar, it had some oomph to it, and it was a good kick start to the day. I haven’t really smoked many of Oveja Negra’s Connecticut offerings, but this one is good. James Brown knows how to blend cigars!

I had heard about the Outcast Cigars debut at the PCA show and had some curiosity. This is a new brand from Miami Cigar and Co., Gabriel Piñeres, PR guy to the stars, was kind enough to share a couple robustos with me. This is what the website has to say:

FOR THE BOLD AND UNCONVENTIONAL
Outcast Cigars is built for those who defy the norm and embrace the journey less traveled.

By blending rare and unconventional tobacco, we craft cigars that break tradition and redefine excellence. Like the trailblazers who inspire us, our cigars forge their own path—bold, unapologetic, and destined for greatness.

Outcast Cigars isn’t just a smoke; it’s a statement.

Be unique. Be yourself. Be an Outcast.

I smoked one and I enjoyed it. It has a Brazilian Cubra wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and Dominican fillers. It burned perfectly, had a sweet cap, and was aromatic, my wife said the aromas changed from pipe-like to weedy, which I get the pipe analogy but no weed. This is obviously a cigar made with cased tobaccos, and I couldn’t help drawing comparisons to another cigar that is super popular and uses tobaccos traditionally found in pipe tobaccos. I believe it’s made by La Aurora, but if it came out that it was made by a certain Esteli factory I wouldn’t be at all surprised. It’ll be a big hit if it gets the right exposure. It’s a great change of pace cigar for me.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black Works Studio, cigar, cigars, Foundation, Foundation Cigar Co., Mark Twain, Miami Cigar and Co, Outcast, Oveja Negra, Owl Shop, Paper Crane, Samuel Clemens

June 22, 2025 · 6:00 am

Camacho, Plasencia and Micallef Cigars

I saw Jack Heyer at the Camacho booth at the Smoke-Onos event last month, and, funny enough, I received some samples of the new Camacho Limited Edition 2025 last week. I’ve smoked a lot of Camacho cigars over the years, going back to the ’90s when Christian Eiroa owned the company. I even went through a box of the Camacho Candela Monarcas. This new cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Dominican fillers. It’s offered in a 6″ x 52 Toro and they come in tins of 20 priced at $17.50 each. I smoked a couple of these, it’s unusual for me to smoke the same cigar over a week’s time, but the first one I smoked was so good, I had to smoke another one. These suit my palate ( but not necessarily my wallet!). It’s a really good cigar, loads of espresso, with some spice. This is an excellent cigar.

My youngest son has taken to getting me a couple cigars for Father’s Day the last couple years. He stops in CIgar Mojo in King Of Prussia, PA and they have done and excellent job of recommending cigars that I haven’t had before. This year one of the cigars was the new Plasencia Alma De Cielo Amancer, the Hexagon pressed 6″ x 60. The press isn’t as the Alma Fuerte Sixto, which has sharper corners. This isn’t a surprise, given that the wrapper appears to be quite thin. It looks like a shade wrapper, but it’s actually a Nicaraguan wrapper from Condega, which they say is grown at 1300 meters above sea level. They say it’s the highest Elevation cigar on the market. The rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan as well, binder and filler, obviously made at the Plasencia factory. This is on the milder side, which starts out a little drying on the palate. There’s a sweet cream sort of thing going on. As it heats, it rounds out, losing the press. I’m always embarrassed when my kids give me cigars, especially when they spend so much, it was a very generous gift. A great gift is something I wouldn’t buy for myself.

A cigar on the opposite end of the spectrum in several ways is the Micallef Black Firecracker. Like the Camacho, it has a San Andrés maduro wrapper, with an Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The format is 3½” x 50 with a fuse pigtail cap. I’ve smoked many of the seasonal Firecracker releases, I try to buy them from Two Guys Cigars when they come out, I think I missed a couple here and there. The most memorable was probably the Fratello that I smoked on the Spanish Steps in Rome. I keep a bunch around for those times when I don’t have a lot of time. I also like the Micallef Black blend, I’m a fan. This was a strong little cigar. It started out with a blast of pepper, the mellowed slightly, although never dropping below strong. The burn was perfect, and it was a very enjoyable cigar. The only problem is that it’s priced a touch higher than the toro (and the box pressed toro that’s a Smoke Inn exclusive, also excellent), but it’s a different cigar, and requires a bit more work to make.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alma Del Cielo, Amamcer, Black, Camacho, cigar, cigars, Firecracker, Hexagon, Limited Edition 2025, Micallef, Plasencia

June 15, 2025 · 9:51 am

Partagas, Macanudo and El Rey Del Mundo Cigars

We have a General Cigar Company centric post today. General Cigar is kind enough to send me samples of their new stuff from time to time, the curious thing about all these new releases is that I rarely see them on retailers shelves for some reason. Now, I don’t get out much, and my sample size is pretty small, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of these get a lot of traction. I can pull out a handful of Macanudos and Partagas cigars from my humidor that most people probably have never heard of or seen. Many of them are really good cigars too, it’s a little bewildering. I should stop biting the hand that feeds me. I’ll have to do a vintage GCC cigars post one of these days. Anyway, the latest batch of new releases included new lines from Partagas, Macanudo and El Rey Del Mundo. We’ll start with the Partagas. Interestingly, the Partagas Y Nada Mas Santiago, isn’t made at General’s factory in Santiago, perhaps that’s what the name alludes to? It’s made by William Ventura. I’ve not liked a great many cigars I’ve smoked made in this factory. This cigar was a pleasant surprise. It has a Habano 2000 wrapper, Sumatra binder and a filler blend of Piloto, Corojo, Ecuadoran something and Broadleaf. I really liked this cigar, it had a toasty spice kind of thing going on. I smoked a few of these and would be interested in trying the toro and gordo sizes, although I think the 5″ x 50 robusto size burned a good long time.

Next up was the Macanudo Gold Label Limited Edition Torpedo. This is a 6½” x 52 torpedo, with a Connecticut Shade (Capa Especial) wrapper, a Mexican binder, and a filler blend of Mexican and Dominican tobaccos. The wrapper and binder are lower priming tobacco, second priming for the wrapper. The first one of these I tried a couple weeks back was a dud, it refused to burn for some reason. The second one I smoked yesterday was perfect, as 99% of the Macanudos I’ve smoked in my life have been. It was a good smoke. It wasn’t overly mild, it had some flavor, it was a little nutty, a little creamy. I guess it’s a Macanudo with the strength bumped up a notch. It was a very pleasant smoke, one that would be good in the morning with coffee. Speaking of that, it’s midway through June and it hasn’t yet been warm enough to have that morning cigar yet, and that annoys me!

El Rey Del Mundo is a brand that was in my rotation back in the 90’s. I smoked a lot of the tissue wrapped Rectangulars, and I had one a few years ago and it was still really good. I think JR Cigars/Santa Clara might be a little peeved that General is taking this brand national and they (JR Cigars/Santa Clara) had an exclusive on this for many years. There was a size that was named after JR Founder Lew Rothman’s wife, the Flor de LaVonda, with was a pyramid size. I think Lew had a lot to do with the brand. The El Rey Del Mundo Appointment is a nw cigar made at the HATSA factory in Honduras. The wrapper is Julio Eiroa’s Cameroon seed grown in Honduras, with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan and Ecuadoran fillers. The Partagas also has Ecuadoran filler, with no mention of varietal, which I find odd. Anyway, it would be hard for me to imagine a cigar burning better than this one did! All the tobaccos burned at exactly the same rate, leaving the ember flat and the burn straight. For a cigar under $10, this is a real winner. The flavor was on the savory side, with some wood, spice, and a little sweetness. I really enjoyed it, and the 5″ x 50 robusto smoked for well over an hour. This is another cigar I’ll look for on the larger sizes.

That’s all for today. Happy Father’s Day. I have my traditional Father’s Day cigar lined up, an Esperanza Para Los Niños from 1999, now 26 years old! The Esperanza Para Los Niños project is mentioned in this Cigar Aficianado article (linked). These still smoke well, at least the one I smoked last year did! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Appointment, cigar, cigars, El Rey Del Mundo, macanudo, Macanudo Gold, Partagas, Y Nada Mas Santiago

June 8, 2025 · 6:15 am

A Carrillo TAA and More Exile Cigars

Last week I was dropping some things off at Goodwill and stopped in the Cigar Cigars store next door. They are still rebuilding inventory after a change of ownership, so there wasn’t a lot new there, so I picked up an E.P.Carrillo 2023 TAA cigar that I hadn’t tried before. This is a box pressed Toro, 6″ x 52, with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Connecticut broadleaf binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. I’ll be honest, the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper is a surprise for me, I looked up the blend after I smoked it, and I would have thought it was a Sumatra. I likened it to the old La Gloria Cubanas, I really enjoyed it a lot, and thought to myself that I should go back and get more. I seem to recall it being priced at around $14. I didn’t find it to taste like a shade wrapped cigar, and while I like the occasional shade cigar, I don’t gravitate toward them. Oddly enough, the three closest Goodwill stores to me all have cigar stores within spitting distance.

Speaking of shade wrapped cigars, I am still working through samples of the Exile line, and has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. This is named in honor of the second shoe store opened by the Martinez family in Santiago de Cuba.This has the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder & Dominican fillers. The cigar is medium bodied with notes of cream, nuts & subtle white pepper. I’ve smoked both the 5×50 Robusto & a 6×52 Toro. These have a dry wood kinda flavor to me, oddly I found the Robusto to be more well rounded than the toro, the robusto seems to have more depth. Weird stuff. I think the Toro was dryer throughout if that makes sense. Again, all of these Exile cigar have burned and drawn perfectly.

I also smoked the Exile La Dalia Edicion Limitada, the 5½” x 46 Corona (corona gorda?). This has the same Mexican San Andrés wrapper, with an Indonesian Sumatra binder and & fillers from the Dominican Republic as the regular line. I’ve always liked this size, although lately I prefer a longer smoke. I found this similar to the toro, with a little more sharpness due to the reduced ring gauge. I have the robusto yet to sample, but the La Dalia is likely my favorite in the Exile portfolio.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2023, cigar, cigars, E.P. Carrillo, Exile, La Dalia, TAA, Versalle

June 1, 2025 · 7:30 am

Sampling Some Exile Cigars

Rewind back to April of 2013, I was in the northern part of New Jersey killing time while my wife was at a Beatles festival, and visited Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst. I met up with a few people I’d been corresponding with in the cigar blog world at the time, one of which was Alex Martinez, a police officer who had a blog called StogieCop. Later Alex would retire and manage Mane Street Cigars in Woodbridge, NJ. He ended up being the first buyer of the LFD NFT cigars, maybe the second as well, as well as the Tatuaje NFT (or two). Alex launched UnicornSmokes.com to sell NFTs and other hard to find cigars, and has recently started Exile Cigars, a brand celebrating his Cuban roots, and memorializing his father’s shoe stores in Havana. I don’t consider myself a sneakerhead, but I like having a variety of footwear choices, I have maybe a dozen or so pairs of sneakers I rotate through. Nobody cares about my footwear issues, let’s talk cigars!

The first cigar that caught my eye was the La Dalia. La Dalia is named in honor of the first shoe store opened by the Martinez family in Santiago de Cuba. This had a beautiful, oily Mexican San Andrés wrapper, with an Indonesian Sumatra binder and & fillers from the Dominican Republic, where these are rolled at the La Union factory. I can’t find any info on this factory, as familiar as it sounds. Perhaps Alex will weigh in. I smoked the 6″ x 50 toro, of course. I may get into the Limited Edition Corona Gorda later today. I really like this blend. It starts with some pepper, then eases into a spicy espresso, just what I like in a cigar. Kudos to the factory, this is a perfectly made cigar, burn and draw were perfect. This was a really enjoyable smoking experience! These run around $12 each, which is reasonable.

I have a habit of smoking first, and researching later, which can be a good thing I guess. I selected the M67 Habano knowing nothing about it. This one has nothing to do with shoes, it’s named after a grenade for some reason. This is a mixed filler cigar, with a Habano wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder with the fillers being the bench cuts from the La Dalia production. I’ve become snobby in recent years and generally avoid mixed fill cigars, although there are certainly some decent ones out there. It’s my understanding that one out of every six cigars that comes out of Nicaragua is a Quorum from the PENSA factory, which is an astounding statistic, but I still favor a long filler cigar. This M67, which also comes in a Connecticut version, was actually really good. Except for a bit of a flaky ash, one wouldn’t guess it’s mixed fill. This had what I perceive as a white sugar sweetness, which appeals to me, along with a subtle spice. This is probably the best $5 cigar I’ve smoked in a long time!

Wrapping up this round of sampling, I went with the Edición Limitada 2025 Exile Alaska. This is named after the third shoe store the Martinez family opened in Cuba. Juno why the called it that, I don’t know, Alaska! That joke doesn’t work well in the written form. The cigar is a 6″ x 46 Corona (I call it a Corona Gorda, which would be 5 5/8″ x 46, close enough). I have always liked this size. This one has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and the fillers are Dominican. This is another perfectly made cigar, and it was quite delicious. There’s an odd sourness to start, along with some sweetness, which seems contradictory, but it worked. It’s creamy, in a coffee with cream and sugar kind of way. Another winner. I’m looking forward to trying the two Connecticut offerings, the M67 Connecticut and the Versalle. Alex is doing a great job with this line.