Category Archives: Review

by CigarCraig | May 6, 2018 · 9:59 am

A RoMEo San Andrés, Macanudo Inspirado Red and Cigar Podcasts

A bunch of cigars I smoked this week have already been covered here, so I’ll concentrate on ones that haven’t been. Notable among them were a Camacho Ecuador, a Guardian of the Farm and a Flor de Gonzalez that were all really tasty. Now that I think about it, maybe I didn’t write about the Guardian of the Farm the first time around, I suppose I’ll have to get my hands on more and feature it, it was a really tasty cigar that was refined, complex and had some subtleties. A cigar that was a bit of a polar opposite of that was the new RoMEo San Andrés Toro, which is another collaboration between Altadis and AJ Fernandez. I’ve long struggled to find cigars in Altadis’ range that I like to smoke, with a few exceptions, the cigars they’ve made with AJ Fernandez have fallen into the “like to smoke” category. There have been plenty that I’ve wanted to like, some that I tolerate, but the cigars that have really excited me were those made by AJ (H. Upmann, Montecristo, Gispert and now the RoMEo SA). I do like the Placencia made RoMEo 505 quite a bit, so there are exceptions. The RoMEo San Andrés comes in four sizes, Robusto at 5″ x 50, Toro at 6″x 54, Pirámides at 6-1/8″ x 52 and the Short Magnum at 5½ x 60. Of course the wrapper is Mexican, the binder is Nicaraguan and the fillers are Nicaraguan and Dominican. I’ve been pretty much leaning toward Toros lately, so that’s the size I smoked. I really liked this cigar a lot. It’s got the bold, earthy Mexican tobacco flavors I like, that take me back to when I started on Te-Amo Maduros, and while my tastes have expanded over the years, I still like that “dirty” profile. Next to the H. Upmann by AJ, this might be my favorite Altadis cigar now. Worth a try if you like San Andrés tobacco. Odd side note: one year ago today I smoked an H. Upmann by AJ, and three years ago today I smoked a RoMEo by Romeo y Julieta.

Yesterday I intentionally avoided being cliché and smoking something with Mexican tobacco. The new CAO Zócalo would have been an obvious choice, and I really like that cigar. I decided to take a different journey. As previously reported, I am a big fan of the new Macanudo Inspirado Red, made in Nicaragua at the Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s factory in Esteli (I’ve been past it twice, never visited!). I really liked the Robusto, so I figured I’d try out the Toro and Gigante too. Interestingly, the Robusto is the only box pressed cigar in the line, the Toro and Gigante are round. I have no clue why that is. I smoked the 6″ x 60 Gigante yesterday. This is the blurb from the website about the blend:

This bold, full-bodied offering represents the marriage of rich volcanic soil and profound aging techniques to achieve unmatched strength and refinement. Dressed in Ecuadoran Habano ligero and blended with rare tobaccos including twelve-year aged Nicaraguan Ometepe, ten-year aged Honduran Jamastran and five-year-aged Nicaraguan Esteli, Macanudo Inspirado Red is bound with hearty Nicaraguan Jalapa. Enticing notes of pepper and spice reign, transcending the experience of Central American tobaccos to the point of sublime.

For starters, make sure you set aside a couple of hours to smoke the Gigante, while it’s only 6″ x 60, it burned so slow. I was almost a mile into my walk and hadn’t gotten to the one inch mark, and I think the total smoking time approached two and a half hours. It was ridiculous, making it a very good value, because these aren’t expensive cigars. It was a very enjoyable smoke, it had the richness and great flavors of the Robusto in a little less focused way. I wouldn’t use the term “washed out”, but the cooler burn of the larger ring gauge certainly smoothed out the flavors. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoke and look forward to the Toro. The Inspriado Red is a great cigar to celebrate 50 years of Macanudo.

I’ve been listening to a few new-to-me podcasts lately. I’ve really enjoyed the Boveda Box Pressed and Cigar Snob Magazine‘s podcasts, very informative. A few months ago when I was in New Hampshire for The Cigar Authority‘s 400th show, I met Dave who launched the Cigar Hacks Podcast, in the last few months. The Cigar Hacks features a revolving panel and they do a blind tasting and run down events in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts areas. There is much spontaneous discussion and it can be quite hilarious. I’ve been invited on the show, and I need to make that happen, as there are some areas I can help them out with (like pronouncing words like Aganorsa). It was through this show that I was introduced to The Retrohale Podcast. This show is done by a couple of guys in Colorado, and what I like about it is their tagline: “We don’t review cigars, we smoke cigars and talk about them.” , which pretty much aligns with my own MO here at CigarCraig.com. This one is more entertainment than informative, but it’s akin to hanging out in a cigar shop and talking. There are a lot of cigar podcasts out there, I have my rotation, but try new ones out all the time.

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

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as Boveda, cigar, Cigar Hacks, Cigar Snob, cigars, Insprirado, macanudo, podcasts, Red, Retrohale, Romeo, San Andrés

by CigarCraig | May 3, 2018 · 12:05 pm

La Palina Bronze Label Cigar

Monday my wife and I spent another day on the set of Creed II, being a volunteer extra, and it was shot at Temple University’s arena, and it got me thinking that the library at Temple is named after Samuel Paley. Samuel Paley founded the La Palina cigar brand, and is the grandfather of the current brand owner, Bill Paley. Some people may not know that Bill Paley’s father, and Samuel Paley’s son, was William Paley, who founded the Columbia Broadcast System, initially to advertise the family cigar business on the radio waves. Bill Paley re-launched the La Palina brand in 2010 with the launch of the Family series made in the Bahamas. this series eventually moved to El titan de Bronze in Miami, and other lines were launched being made in various factories, including PDR, General Cigar Co. among others.

The La Palina Bronze Label was released as a TAA exclusive last year and went into full production this year. This line is available in a 6½” x 52 Toro, a 6″ x 60 Gordo and the Robusto, which I smoked, at 5½ x 50. the wrapper is a Honduran Habano, binder is Honduran and the fillers are Honduran and Nicaraguan. These are rolled in conjunction with Rocky Patel at the Placencia’s factory in Honduras. I smoked tw

buy bactrim online http://rxdc.com/images/gif/bactrim.html no prescription pharmacy

o samples at different times of the day, one on my usual evening walk, and one this morning with a cup of black coffee. Oddly, I enjoyed the one today mo

buy clindamycin online https://chinaacucenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/pdf/clindamycin.html no prescription pharmacy

re than the one smoked in the evening, both were he first cigars of the day, and I don’t recall what I had for dinner last time, but it may have had an effect. The cigar has an earthiness, not uncommon in heavily Honduran blends in my experience. With coffee, the coffee and cocoa notes come out more, and it was very tasty. The construction was excepti

buy levitra soft online http://rxdc.com/images/gif/levitra-soft.html no

buy kamagra gold online https://chinaacucenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/pdf/kamagra-gold.html no prescription pharmacy

prescription pharmacy

onal, with a firm ash. As I’ve been doing lately, I used the Colibri V-cut with great success. Side note on the cutter, it is possible to pinch the inside of a finger if not careful, but it continues to provide an excellent cut. La Palina has a broad range of cigars in their portfolio, I’m partial to some more than others, and now this one falls into the one’s I’m happy smoking. Thank you to Nick at La Palina for sending samples, and to all my friends there for their continued support.

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

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under Review

Tagged as Bronze Label, cigar, cigars, La Palina

by CigarCraig | April 29, 2018 · 10:04 am

Accessory Review: Colibri V-Cut Cigar Cutter

Back in the mid 90s when I first started down the path of premium cigar smoking, I would stop in my local shop, pick up a Canaria D’ Oro Rothschild, or a Te-Amo Maduro, give it a V-cut with the Boston Cigar Cutter on the counter, and go on my way. The store is still there, although it moved up the row in the strip center to a larger location many years ago, and they may still have the cutter, although the Boston Cigar Cutter company is, sadly, no longer in business, at least their domain name is available. (The picture is linked to a Cigar Aficionado article from 2009). I’ve suffered th

buy cleocin online http://miamihealth.com/test2/new/cleocin.html no prescription pharmacy

rough cheap V- cutters which seem to work once or twice until they are just cigar manglers, until several years ago when I sprung for a good one made by another very popular accessoriy company. the one I got was the best around at the time, but I rarely felt like I got a good cut, unless it was a very small ring cigar. More times than not I carried a straight cutter with me and ended up re-cutting, as a second V-cut in an X didn’t do the trick. A couple of

buy tirzepatide online http://miamihealth.com/test2/new/tirzepatide.html no prescription pharmacy

years ago Colibri came out with their own

buy paxil online https://belugasp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/paxil.html no prescription pharmacy

V-cutter, one which made a very deep cut. Oddly, I never got around to trying one of these, I was always fascinated, the Colibri “Cut” style cutters I have work well, so there was never a question of the quality. I just never got around to it. Last year at the IPCPR show I checked out some of their new offerings which included a cool tabletop cutter, the Quasar, which is a cube shape offering both the deep V cut, and the Straight cut, as well as a pocket SV-Cut with both options also. Given my prior experience with V-cuts and needing to re-cut, this seemed like a good alternative to carrying two cutters. Thanks to the folks at Colibri, I had the opportunity to try out a black and gold V-Cut.

I’ve cut every cigar this week with the V-cut, and every one had a perfect draw. Lately I’ve alternated between a straight cut (usually either the Palio or my Tommy Bahama cutter) or the Adorini punch depending on the cigar. This deep V is a bit of a shock. It cuts a V which is ¼” deep, which looks normal on a 60 ring gauge cigar, but seems very deep in a smaller vitola. However, like I said, draws have been perfect every time. As you can see in the fancy moving picture, the cutter can’t over cut a cigar as it has a built-in depth stop. The only time I really notice it is getting to the end of a particularly tasty cigar, it seems to negatively affect the structural integrity of the nub when it gets to about ¾”. The black part of the finish is rubberized, helping with the grip I suppose, but it seems reasonably durable. The downside for me is the

buy bull 100 online https://belugasp.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/bull-100.html no prescription pharmacy

weight, while it’s nice to have some heft in the hand when using, it’s heavy in the pocket. I couldn’t carry it in the same pocket with a lighter, unless the lighter, or cutter, were in a protective case, as serious scratching would occur. Considering I do the majority of my cigar smoking at home any more, this isn’t a huge issue, when I’m out and about I’ll just carry a less bulky cutter. Sometimes I think I could use a Batman utility belt for all the cigar gear! Anyway, as with the Daytona lighter, time will tell how this cutter holds up, but initial impressions are very good.

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

CigarCraig

Comments Off on Accessory Review: Colibri V-Cut Cigar Cutter

Filed under Accessories, Review

Tagged as cigar, Cigar Cutter, cigars, Colibri, cutter, V-Cut

by CigarCraig | April 28, 2018 · 12:11 pm

Accessory Review: Colibri Daytona Single Jet Lighter

Colibri has been around since 1928Â by Julius Lowenthal, who in the same year, invented the world’s first working semi-automatic lighter. They’ve beenÂ making lighters, writing instruments, jewelry, and other smoking accessories ever since. Colibri supplied theÂ “golden gun” for the Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun”.Â They basically pioneered integrating cutters and punches into lighters. When I was approached by the company with an offer to pick a couple of items to try out, I remembered the “Firebird” lighter that I received with a subscription to Cigar Magazine (a product of Lew Rothman of JR Cigars fame, featuring writing by his then employee, Steve Saka,

buy cialis soft online http://mediaidinc.com/scripts/js/cialis-soft.html no prescription pharmacy

among others) which although really beat up, still works ten-plus years later. Looking at the Colibri website, the first thing I saw was a green Daytona lighter, and I thought to myself, “damn, that would match my car!”Â Unfortunately, the lighter that arrived was the gunmetal finish, which would have been my second choice anyway.Â So I’ve been using the Colibri Daytona exclusively, and it’s been very easy on fuel. One of the big things I like about this lighter is the fuel window. They’ve employed some sort of magic which shows the fuel in blue, leaving the empty space clear. Very cleaver, and really easy to see when you are low. The window is huge too, not just the tiny windows some lighters have that are hard gauge the fuel level. A 2500Â° flame is a 2500Â° flame from any lighter, so it’s the features that make a lighter stand out.Â Another handy feature is the large adjustment wheel on the bottom. No tools needed for this one, and if you get aÂ Butane Lighter Air Bleed Tool from Kevin at Cigar Prop, you definitely don’t need any tools. The business end of the lighter has a little door to keep pocket lint out when it’s not in use too. I

buy ozempic online http://mediaidinc.com/scripts/js/ozempic.html no prescription pharmacy

‘m quite satisfied with the flame on this, of course time will tell how it holds up, but out of the box it’s a nifty lighter, and I expect it to stand the test of time.

I have one criticism. A couple of years ago a competitor came out with a new lighter that was “supercar inspired”, and this Daytona has a similar marketing angle. I don’t suppose many people would pick up on this or care, and I probably shouldn’t even mention it. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and they are both really nice lighters, both are in my regular rotation. I appreciate the features of the Colibri more though, it’s made everything easy, without sacrificing styling, which is cool.

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

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under Accessories, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Colibri, Daytona, Lighter

by CigarCraig | April 22, 2018 · 11:12 am

Some San Andrés Wrapped Cigars from Rocky Patel and JRE

I experimented a little this week with posting some news as I received it (or as soon as I was able). I didn’t get any complaints, so I’ll keep doing it when I can. I realize other sites do this and it’s a little redundant. It looks like the traffic numbers were up a bit this week, so I guess it doesn’t hurt. Anyway, I went on a bit of a San Andrés bender this week, with a sprinkling of PA broadleaf in there to change things up a little. I decided to try the Rocky Patel Vintage 2006 San Andreas that was a sample from the IPCPR show last year. I like that the robusto in this line is 5½” x 50 as opposed to the standard 5″ length. I’m not sure what took me so long to get to this one, it has a beautiful dark, oily wrapper, which is from the 2006 crop year. The name of this cigar confuses me. It’s San Andreas, not San Andrés, the latter being the region in Mexico where the leaf is grown. I know it’s a common mistake, one I was guilty of myself early on, maybe there’s another reason it’s marketed this way that’s not obvious? Anyway, this is made at Rocky’s Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. factory in Nicaragua, the first of the Vintage line manufactured there. I picked it up because the orange bands and the dark wrapper were close enough to the Flyers orange and black, and the Flyers were playing that night (and suffered a humiliating defeat). I also had been neglecting it since last July, so it was time. Good smoke, perfect construction, and a great experience. If you like the earthy espresso flavors of the San Andrés wrapper, you’ll like this one.

Continuing the San Andrés trend, I went with the Aladino Maduro Elegante from JRE Cigars. I bought a couple each of these and the toros from 2 Guys just before becoming unemployed, at the time (and maybe still?) they were the only ones who had them. the Elegante is the most reasonably priced cigar in the range, oddly, and it’s a lancero. Being a lancero, the flavor is different form the toro, and I don’t think it’s because the Lancero is round and the toro box pressed. I thought it was a little “dirtier” tasting, if that makes sense. The extra heat sharpens the flavors of the already earthy Mexican wrapper. It’s a 7″ x 38 traditional lancero, and the San Andrés wrapper covers Honduran Corojo filler and binder. The profile is coffee heavy, which I like. I still have a couple more Aladino Maduros in the humidor, it’ll be interesting to see how they are in a few months.

As long as I was smoking San Andrés wrapped cigars, I had to smoke an Undercrown Maduro (I don’t remember these being called maduro until the Shade came out, they still were, obviously, but I thought they were just “Undercrown”). Always a good

buy rybelsus online https://stmu.edu.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/rybelsus.html no prescription pharmacy

smoke, the Belicoso is basically the toro with a pointy head. I also had a couple of cigars from Southern Draw with PA Broadleaf wrappers, the Jacob’s Ladder and a Quick Draw, both incredible cigars. Speaking of Southern Draw, Robert Holt was on KMA Talk Radio yesterday, and I can’t wait to listen to the show. Also on the same show, CigarProp Kevin was on and I’m sure he mentioned the Kickstarter he just launched for a new item he’s making. In two days he’s halfway to his goal, and the product is a useful item for all of us. It’s a tool specifically to bleed your butane lighter. Although some may argue, there’s always a little bit of non-butane that gets into your lighter when you fill it. Call it air, propellant, whatever, it gets into your lighter and degrades the performance over time. I’ve used a small Philips screwdriver over the years and always worried about damaging the fill valve doing it this way. This tool lets you safely bleed the lighter, just don’t do it near and open flame! It can also empty a lighter if you need to fly with it or mail it, but the primary purpose is to let the air out so there’s more room for gas and your lig

buy flexeril online https://stmu.edu.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/flexeril.html no prescription pharmacy

hter work right for a long time! I’ve been bleeding (or purging) my lighters for years and have a drawer full of working lighters. I use Kevin’s Cigar Props daily, the quality is excellent. Finally, I’m sad to see the unrest in Nicaragua this week. I’ve visited the country twice, and yearn to go back. Hopefully things return to the tranquil place I remember.

Anyway, that’s all I have for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig