by | April 28, 2019 · 8:44 am

Diesel Hair of the Dog and Unholy Cocktail Cigars

Another working weekend, so another short post.  Over the last couple of days I smoked the most recent Diesel cigar on the market and the first Diesel cigar that came out nearly 10 years ago.  I figured it would be fun to see how the two compared.  The Diesel Hair of the Dog is a 6” x 52 toro made of all Nicaraguan Habano fillers with an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Ecuador Sumatra Binder. Like all Diesel cigars, this is made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua.  This one was made to compliment the Diesel Whiskey Row, which, as I have mentioned before, was not a cigar that suited my palate.  The Hair of the dog, however, I found to be quite enjoyable.  There was a sweetness that I found quite enjoyable, with a cedary wood flavor. while it wasn’t the cho

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colatey sweet cigar I usually am drawn to , it was an enjoyable change. The burn and draw were excellent. It was a medium-bodied smoke and nice and smooth. Of course, the size was just right for me.

 

Last night I pulled a Diesel Unholy Cocktail out of a box which my son bought in 2011 which has been in my humidor ever since.  He knows it’s there, but I have to exact a storage fee every once in a while!  As a side note, he recently bought a Xikar XO cutter in the Redwood which is a beautiful tool. I tried it out a couple of weeks ago and failed to mention it. He assisted me at the 2016 IPCPR show where we saw the XO for the first time and we were both lusting after it, and he managed to find a deal on one. I cut a few cigars with it and it cuts cigars like a hot knife through butter. The action is smooth and it’s comfortable in the hand. It’s light weight, but a little bulky in the pocket, but other than that, it’s a superior cutter. Anyway, the Diesel Unholy Cocktail is a 5” x 56 Belicoso with Nicaraguan fillers wrapped in Pennsylvania Broadleaf. It’s a no-nonsense powerhouse.  It’s got some strength, even after several years on the humid

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or, and reasonably one-dimensional, but I like the one dimension it has.  The PA Broadleaf has the spicy cocoa that I love.  It’s a stark contrast to the Hair of the Dog, which has some subtlety

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and complexity.

 

Two cigars from the same line with totally different flavor profiles. As I posted earlier this week, the Whisky Row Sherry Cask that’s coming out sound

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s intriguing, I’m looking forward to it’s release.  That’s

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all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 24, 2019 · 2:30 pm

News: Altadis U.S.A. Announces Montecristo Espada Oscuro

I really enjoy the Montecristo Espada, especially the Guard size, so I’m quite intrigued with the Oscuro. I’m looking forward to giving this one a try! Interesting that the original version the toro vitola they spell the name “Guard and the Oscuro it’s spelled “Guarde”…

 

MONTECRISTO ESPADA OSCURO

The famed “Grupo de Maestros” once again collaborates with the Plasencia family  

 

Altadis U.S.A., maker of world-renowned premium cigars announces the release of the Montecristo Espada Oscuro.  The Montecristo Espada Oscuro is a follow-up cigar to the Montecristo Espada, which earned a top 20 honors by Cigar Aficionado in 2015.

 

Once again, the “Grupo de Maestro’s” (Montecristo’s highly regarded group of Master Blenders) were given access to the Plasencia’s library of tobaccos. The goal was to pair the world’s best blenders, with the premier tobacco growing family, creating the ultimate adult cigar smoking experience.

Like the original Montecristo Espada, the Montecristo Espada Oscuro is a Nicaraguan Puro. However, in addition to the excellent Nicaraguan tobaccos used for the binder and filler it also includes an extremely rare and well-aged Habano Rosado Oscuro wrapper. This special wrapper was discovered in the vast Plasencia library, by Rafael Nodal (Head of Product Capability for Tabacalera USA). Nodal along with Grupo de Maestro member Pedro Ventura and the Plasencia family worked together to find the perfect final blend.

 

Rafael Nodal said: “I am honored to have w

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orked together with the Grupo de Maestros and the Plasencia family on this project. I not only feel that we created a blend that is worthy of the Montecristo Espada name, but also added a new dimension to the smoking experience, with the addition of this special Habano Rosado Oscuro Wrapper.”  

 

Eddy Guerra, Sr. Brand Manager of Altadis U.S.A., stated. “We are extremely excited about the Montecristo Espada Oscuro. The success of the original Espada we felt, gave us mandate to push the envelope, to give our customers another great blend that can proudly sport the Montecristo Espada band. This cigar will give the Espada adult smokers a nuanced smoking experience that will deliver on flavor and richness.”

The Montecristo Espada Oscuro will be

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available in May and will be expressed in three vitolas:

 

Ricasso: 5 x 54  $13.27 MSRP

Guarde: 6 x 50   $13.80 MSRP
Quillon: 7 x 56   $14.60 MSRP

 

About Altadis U.S.A.

Altadis U.S.A. is a maker of premium cigars and one of the largest premium cigar companies in the world. If you have ever enjoyed a premium cigar, there’s a good chance you’ve enjoyed a cigar crafted by Altadis U.S.A. Responsible for crafting many of the world’s most renowned brands, including Henry Clay, Mont

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ecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and Trinidad, Altadis U.S.A. has been crafting great cigars since 1918.  Visit www.altadisusa.co

m for more information. 

 

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by | · 1:00 pm

News: Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask Launching in June

Here’s some news from General Cigar Co. I admit that the first Diesel Whiskey Row wasn’t for me, I tried several times, but it just wasn’t up my alley. As much as people who’s tastes I respect raved about it, I just don’t get it. That’s OK, not every cigar is right for everyone! I am looking forward to giving this a whirl, Broadleaf and Arapiraca? what can go wrong?

 

DIESEL TO LAUNCH WHISKEY ROW SHERRY CASK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RABBIT HOLE

New Collection Marks the Second Collaboration between Two Maverick Brands

Diesel Cigars and Rabbit Hole Bourbon have reignited their partnership with Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask, a new, three-cigar collection shipping to all channels on June 3, 2019.

Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask is a cigar with epic depth and sublime flavor. Developed by Justin Andrews, blended by AJ Fernandez and handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask features Nicaraguan-aged tobaccos cultivated on three continents. This exciting new collection once again calls upon a proprietary aging process developed by AJ to deepen the complexity of the smoking experience by barrel-aging the binder leaves.

 

Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask is centered around a rare Arapiraca leaf from Central Brazil’s Alagoas region. This binder leaf was selected for aging in Rabbit Hole’s Pedro Ximénez Sherry barrels to bring forth subtle notes of honey, vanilla and molasses. When blended with spicy Nicaraguan Habano and crowned with a lustrous Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, this Maduro cigar is a study in contrast, as cigar meets bourbon, salty meets sweet and earth meets spice.

 

Justin Andrews, senior brand manager for Diesel cigars said, “With Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask, we set out to expand the Diesel portfolio by offering cigar and spirits lovers a deeper sensory experience and I believe we have delivered that in spades. This new blend is perfectly suited to pairing with a fine spirit, stands up equally well on its own, and has all the makings of another runaway success for Diesel.”

 

Kaveh Zamanian, founder and whiskey maker of Rabbit Hole said, “For our second collaboration with Diesel, we selected our rich and aromatic Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for AJ to use in the tobacco aging process because we knew they would lend a stunning complexity to the blend. ‘Sherry Cask’ speaks to the power of our partnership with Diesel and our collective focus on combining heritage technique and refined innovation to heighten the experience of fine cigars and spirits.”

 

Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask will be available in three sizes, each presented in 20-count wooden boxes that give a nod to Rabbit Hole’s unique branding.

 

Robusto (5” x 52); SRP per cigar is $8.49

Toro (6” x 50); SRP per cigar is $8.99

Gigante (6” x 58); SRP per cigar is $9.49

 

Diesel Whiskey Row debuted in June 2018 and marked the first collaboration between Diesel and Rabbit Hole. It was the first cigar to feature a binder leaf aged in Rabbit Hole’s bourbon barrels and generated a significant following among cigar lovers nationwide.

 

About Diesel

Handcrafted by artisans in Esteli, Nicaragua, Diesel cigars are “bold by design.” The brand challenges the current conventions of the handmade cigar category through the bold, unapologetic style of its Cigar Master, AJ Fernandez. Diesel cigars are unified by their deeply complex flavor which is achieved through AJ’s steadfast adherence to time honored cigar making techniques. Whiskey Row is the second brand in the Diesel portfolio, joining Diesel Grind which debuted in 2017. Follow Diesel on Facebook and Instagram @Dieselcigars.

 

About Rabbit Hole

Diversifying the spirits landscape with a modern approach to whiskey is Kentucky-based Rabbit Hole. Established in 2012 by Founder and Whiskey Maker Kaveh Zamanian in the heart of Louisville’s urban Bourbon Trail, Rabbit Hole unifies heritage techniques with innovative mash bills, creating unique expressions of American whiskey. With four signature bottlings – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in PX Sherry Casks – Fingerprint Edition and London Dry Gin Kentucky Rye Barrel Finish – Fingerprint Edition – Rabbit Hole turns the whiskey world on its tail, inviting imbibers to take a sip and dive down the rabbit hole, where “there’s no going back™.” The brand’s 55,000 square foot, awe-inspiring distillery opened May 2018 and showcases the tradition and legacy of bourbon making in an all-encompassing experience, unlike any other distillery in the country. Having been inducted to full proof membership in February, 2019, Rabbit Hole is the newest member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Follow Rabbit Hole on Instagram @Rabbit Hole and Facebook @ Rabbit Hole Distillery.

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by | · 9:43 am

Camacho American Barrel Aged and Corojo Maduro Cigars

I went into the Camacho stash fir the first couple of cigars this week, and the first one that caught my eye was an American Barrel Aged Perfecto Gorda. This was in a Sampler from the IPCPR a few years ago, so I’m not entirely sure it’s a regular production size, hang on, let me go look. OK, It’s available, and it’s a terrific size. It’s a hair under 6” x 52, and lit easily and opened up to a perfect burn and draw. This is an all US Broadleaf blend, PA Broadleaf wrapper with broadleaf fillers, aged in bourbon barrels and made in Davidoff’s Dominican factory.  I found myself mesmerized by the sweet, medium-bodied flavor of this cigar. I’ve smoked this blend before, but I don’t recall enjoying it as much as I did in this shape. Perhaps it was the several years of additional age? As my regular readers know, if there’s any bourbo

n flavor from the barrel aging, it’s lost on me. If I ever even had bourbon it’s been over 30 years, and it wasn’t good, I’ll tell you that.

 

Last night was another late start, and I was tempted to go

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with the Nicaraguan Barrel Aged, but a Toro was more cigar than I wanted. I happened across a lonely leftover from a Camacho event I attended back in maybe 2011. It was a Camacho Corojo Maduro in the Monarca (robusto) size. Camacho Monarca is actually one of the first documented cigar reviews I did back in 1997 in Steve Saka’s Monthly Officious Taste Test, which can be found through some searching through CigarNexus.com via archive.org. It wasn’t even close to this cigar, except in name, but interesting to me at least.  The Corojo Maduro came out of an amber cellophane sleeve, and was not the powerhouse it once was. It was still quite rich in flavor, with some punch, but had mellowed. Oddly, I always regretted not just sticking with the natural Corojo as opposed to the Maduro in this line, as I think the darker wrapper somehow overshadowed the great flavor of the original Corojo line. I’ll likely never see another one of these old Corojo Maduros anyway, and it was an enjoyable smoke. Maybe the Nicaraguan Barrel Aged will be on the mine today.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 21, 2019 · 8:04 am

Sobremesa Brulee and an Elegante En Cedro ReRun

Busy day ahead, so I’m going to give a quick rundown on a new and exciting cigar I smoked this week and re-run a piece I wrote for Prime Living Magazine back in 2016 which doesn’t appear to be on their website any longer. I haven’t been asked to write a Cigar Notes column for them for quite a while, and I think that’s because they haven’t published an issue in quite a while! It’s a shame, that was a fun gig, and I’m proud to have contributed articles to 21 issues of that magazine. How many other bloggers can say that? Anyway, A couple of weeks back when I  hung out with Steve Saka at Famous Smoke Shop I got a sample of his new creation, the Sobremesa Brulee. This is his entry into the Connecticut shade market. Steve goes into great detail in the CigarCraig Podcast episode, so please give that a listen, but his intention was to make a Connecticut shade cigar that was like the cigars he remembered from the 80s and 90s. I smoked the Brulee this week and I was thoroughly impressed (shocker!). It just might have been my father’s Connecticut! It has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, so in that way it differs from the Connecticut shade cigars of 30 years ago, but it was smooth with a nutty/grassy flavor, but still had the richness one expects a cigar with the Sobremesa name to have. This is going to be a hit, I nubbed it, despite Steve’s concerns about the nubability, and, yes, it did start to turn a little beyond the band as he said, but it was a flavorful and satisfying cigar that I will add to my selection when it becomes available.

 

This is the  text of my submis

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sion for the Nov/Dec 2016 Issue of Prime Living Magazine’s Cigar Notes feature:

 

“Puros Sin Compromiso, cigars without compromise, is the philosophy be

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hind Steve Saka’s family company, New Hampshire based Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust” 

 

I first met Steve Saka, the master blender and catador de puros (cigar taster) of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, in 1997 in front of Cleopatra’s Barge in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Steve had yet to work in the cigar industry at that point, but was the predecessor of we now know as a cigar blogger by co-founding an online magazine and in

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formation source, CigarNexus, along with a prolific amount of postings on a Usenet cigar group. He later contributed articles to Cigar Magazine, took an executive position with retailer JR Cigars, and eventually became the president of Drew Estate Cigar company, where he was responsible for the introduction of the Liga Privada line of cigars. After his retirement from Drew Estate in 2013, he launched Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, and released Sobremesa in 2015 to critical acclaim. If you ever have the chance to sit and talk tobacco with Steve, set aside several hours, he is a wealth of information on all things tobacco. Sobremesa is an idiom used among the Latin culture to describe the leisurely time spent tableside after you have finished dining, but before you rise.

The Sobremesa line is manufactured at the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, in eleven sizes, the newest of which is the Sobremesa Elegan

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te en Cedro, a cedar wrapped Churchill sized cigar. The original blend was tweaked to make for a little stronger cigar, but it retains the elegance and sophistication found in the original shapes. The cedar sleeve lends a little more woody flavor, with some pepper spices and a thick, creamy smoke. Allow a good two hours to fully savor this outstanding cigar, and reflect upon the time and expertise required to create a cigar of this calibre. The Sobremesa Elegante en Cedro is an exceptional cigar which is easily on a par with the best cigars in the world.

 

Sobremesa Elegante en Cedros
7.00 x 50 Parejo
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Mexico
Filler: Nicaragua and USA

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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