by | March 17, 2019 · 12:29 pm

Saint Patrick’s Day Cigars, CAO, Villiger and Diesel

I have a slightly different take on Saint Patrick’s Day, not being of Irish descent. I have been known to smoke a candela cigar on March  17 over the past few years, considering the cigar companies like to put them out around this time to capitalize on just this sort of thing. Admittedly, I do enjoy a good candela cigar from time to time, I find them a refreshing change of pace. I may pull out an old Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan today, I have one of the original candelas, and the first year the made the barber pole, unless I stop at the store and they happen to have this year’s iteration, and/or the Shamrock, which I’m quite interested in smoking. I kinda dig the triple-wrapper barber pole treatment for some reason. Anyway, the main reason I like Saint Patrick’s day so much is less about the green and Irish part, and definitely not about the drinking part, but all about the snakes part.  You see, I hate snakes, and I’m a huge fan of anyone who can drive them out of an entire country. This is one thing I find appealing about Ireland and New Zealand, they are the two places that are naturally bereft of snakes. I get it, in 400AD there weren’t a lot of affordable direct flights to North America, but I certainly would have helped get this guy over here to get rid of the slithering bastards. So if I had a Culebra to smoke today, that would be my choice, but the only one I have is an LFD that was gifted to me in 2004, and I feel guilty for not smoking it at the time it was gifted, but that’s another story. It’ll keep the story and the cigars).

 

I guess if that were the case, I wouldn’t have had a CAO Amazon Basin Anaconda to smoke this week, unless he drove them to South America, which seems plausible! In honor of the coming anti-snake holiday, I smoked a CAO Anaconda, perhaps my favorite in the Amazon Basin line. I didn’t care for the original Amazon Basin, lots of people raved about it, but it didn’t do anything for me. the subsequent releases were more appealing to me. The Fuma em Corda was very good, although I only smoked it in the robusto size, and I really enjoy this Anaconda, although I hate the name, I mention I don’t like snakes, right? I do like the 6″ x 52 size of this, and the recipe of Brazilian Bahiano Habano Ligero wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Brazil (Bragança & Fuma Em Corda), Colombia & the Dominican Republic are very interesting. The Brazilian fillers used in this are a combination of those used in the Amazon Basin (Braganca) and the Fuma Em Corda (obviously).  I guess it wasn’t the Branganca that turned me off in the Basin, unless it just worked better in the blend in this Anaconda. This is a woody smoke with some spice, more on the savory side than sweet to my palate. Like I said, love the cigar, hate the name.

 

Thursday was a brilliant spring day, I got the bike out of the garage and rode it to work, however, when I left work, it wouldn’t start. it’s a 2005, I’ve had it since 2008, put 29k miles on it, and it’s started every time. I guess it decided that day was the day it wanted extra attention. Better it let me down in a parking lot than on the side of the road, I guess, so today’s project will be getting it to the shop, but I came home and took a walk with a Villiger La Vencedora Churchill. It was warm for a change, I wanted a Churchill, dammit, and this one was front and center screaming ” smoke me!” So I did, and it was good. I guess it’s ironic that La Vencedora means “The Victor”, and I was feeling rather defeated that day, as the bike letting me down wasn’t the only odd thing to happen. Perhaps I was not letting all the little defeats ruin the day completely.  The La Vencedora is a Nicaraguan puro, wrapped in a dark Nicaraguan grown Habano Oscuro leaf. I had to take a break from writing to go get the bike to the shop, so I lost my train of thought…OK, the wrapper on this wasn’t pretty, it’s a mottled brown, but it makes up for it in flavor. It’s got some sweet earthy flavors along with a bit of spice. I rather enjoyed it and I spent quite a while with it on my walk, then on the porch watching hockey on the iPad. It’s a 7″ x 50 Churchill, with I don’t mind at all, although a 47 ring Churchill is traditional. All in all, a darned yummy cigar, no surprise this is made at Joya de Nicaragua.

 

Finally, last night I decided to revisit a cigar that people have raved about, and I haven’t really “gotten” in the past. Last year the Diesel Whiskey Row came out and people were excited, especially people close to the blend, which I understand. I suppose this is another St. Patrick’s day tie in. To me it’s just another woody/earthy cigar with great construction, and, if that’s your thing, it’s a great cigar. I will say that I enjoyed this one perhaps more than previous cigars, so maybe time in the humidor has added value, but it’s still not a cigar I get excited about (about which I get excited? I regularly dangle participles…I guess I write the way I talk). I’d rather smoke a Diesel Unholy Cocktail as I find that it more closely aligns with my flavor preferences. But that’s me, and if the Whiskey Row is your kind of cigar, great! That’s what’s great about cigars, there’s something for everyone and who’s to say what’s not right for me isn’t right for you! That’s why I try most everything, which I can’t say for food, some foods I look at and know I won’t like…I know it’s wrong, but it just is!

 

That’s all for today, time to get some things done!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 14, 2019 · 9:01 pm

News: Ventura Cigar Company Announces PSyKo Seven Nicaragua

Here’s some news from the folks at Ventura Cigars.  I’ve been looking forward to something new in the PSyKo Seven line, I’ve enjoyed the other offerings and it’s been a long time since there’s been anything new.

 

Mind. Blown.

Announcing PSyKo Seven Nicaragua by Indiana Ortez for Ventura Cigar Company.

There’s a new face and cigar on the scene at Ventura Cigar Company. Introducing PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua by Indiana Ortez, rising cigar industry star, and daughter of tobacco industry icon Omar Ortez. Set to debut at TAA 2019, this collaboration is an addition to the popular PSyKO SEVEN brand, and offers a fresh, bold point of view from the young blender. Indiana Ortez was also the master blender behind Ventura Cigar’s Fathers, Friends, and Fire limited edition cigar, which earned industry praise when it arrived in Spring 2018. With the success of the Fathers, Friends, and Fire blend, Ventura Cigar Company teamed up with Indiana Ortez again, this time to bring PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua to life.


Indiana spearheaded the project with her trademark enthusiasm and expertise, testing blend after blend to get exactly the essence she was looking for. The result is the bold and complex PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua; offering rich, nuanced flavors that constantly evolve throughout the smoking experience. It’s a cigar that invites you to unleash the madness and experience the spirit of Nicaragua.



“Whenever you want to create a new blend, you need to depend on your intuition,” says Ortez. “It’s like a recipe- you can’t force making something that’s truly great. If you enjoy the process as you go through it, your intuition will guide you.”

As part of the first Nicaraguan tobacco family, Indiana has a knack for the craft in her blood. She’s been part of the industry since she was a child, inspired by her father’s passion and relentless perseverance, which was handed down from his own father. PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua is hand-rolled in the Ortez factory, Condega Nicaragua, and is wrapped in a 2007 vintage Desflorada wrapper as a nod to the stories of those working within the tobacco industry before her.

“Every cigar has a story to tell,” says Indiana. “Every puff from a favorite cigar is the story behind the growers, the workers, the blenders- the people who have dedicated their lives to the craft.”

“Indiana has such vision,” says Michael Giannini, General Manager at Ventura Cigar Company. “She has a genuine, organic understanding for the nuances of tobacco, and knows how to bring it to life so the smoke can be enjoyed to the fullest. She’s a real talent, and we’re so pleased to be working with her and getting her passion and story blended into our PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua cigar.”

PSyKo SEVEN Nicaragua will be available in 20-count boxes, with cigars found in three sizes: Gordo (6”x60), Robusto (5”x50), and Toro (6”x50). It joins other PSyKo SEVEN blends, which feature unexpected juxtapositions of flavor and boldness, encouraging smokers to disconnect their minds from the chaos and commotion of the everyday with an enjoyable smoke.

For more information about the Ventura Cigar Company, or other PSyKo SEVEN cigars, please visit venturacigar.com.

 

 

About Ventura Cigar Company

Ventura Cigar Company (VCC) is a unique cigar brand born in sunny Southern California that is on a mission to create memorable

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, complex cigar blends that excite the senses and reward discriminating palates. Their flagship Archetype, Case Study, Project805, and PSyKo SEVEN brands offer multiple award-winning blends that earned 90+ ratings in Cigar Aficionado, Cigar & Spirits, and Cigar Snob. And Archetype’s Axis Mundi won #13 Cigar of the Year

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for 2017 from Cigar Aficionado. Ventura Cigar Company also distributes Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories and the 4th Generation Tobacconist and Comoy’s of London lines of pipe tobacco products, extending its reach and tradition of offering top-quality tobacconist products. Pipes and blends under these brands are cultivated through generations of craftsmanship, making them longtime favorites of pipe tobacco enthusiasts.

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by | · 1:19 pm

News: Villiger Cigars Introducing La Meridiana to U.S. Market

VILLIGER CIGARS TO INTRODUCE THE VILLIGER LA MERIDIANA TO THE U.S. CONSUMER

 With much excitement, Villiger Cigars will introduce a European favorite, the Villiger La Meridiana to the U.S. consumer. Recently obtaining a 92 rating by Cigar Journal, the Villiger Meridiana was released in 1998 and has gained a loyal following, among full-flavored cigar enthusiasts in Europe. The Villiger Meridiana was conceived by Heinrich Villiger, as a way to pay tribute to some long lost Cuban cigar heritage.

The Villiger La Meridiana bases its historical roots, in a long forgotten Cuban factory named “La Meridiana”. The factory owned by Pedro Murias, was once of the largest and most well-known cigar factories, which determi

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ned the cityscape of Havana at the end of the 19th century. Sadly, Murias was forced to sell La Meridiana factory due to unrest in Cuba during the Cuban war of Independence. The sale went through shortly after the war ended in 1898, and just like that, Pedro Murias along with the original La Meridiana cigar factory became a fading memory.

The resurrection of “La Meridiana” came from Heinrich Villiger’s love of everything Cuban. During his many trips to Cuba he discovered the name and rich history of the Meridiana factory, and thought to create a full-flavored cigar, beautiful and elegant enough to carry on the La Meridiana name in honor of Pedro Murias.

The Villiger La Meridiana is a Nicaraguan full-flavored puro. This blend features complex flavors without overpowering the palate of the smoker. The uniquely distinct hue of the wrapper and flavor are born out of a special aging process of the tobacco which takes approximately four years.

The Villiger La Meridiana is elegantly packaged in 10 count boxes and is expressed in 5 vitolas: 

Corona (5.5 x 42)………….MSRP: $6.50

Robusto (5×50) ………… MSRP: $7.50

Torpedo (6×52)……………MSRP: $8.00

Churchill (6 7/8 x48)………MSRP: $8.50

Toro Box Pressed (6×54) .MSRP $10.60

 

Rene Castañeda, President of Villiger North America said,” We feel that it is the perfect time to launch the Villiger La Meridiana to the US consumer. The Villiger La Meridiana is an exceptionally elegant and flavorful cigar that I am confident will satisfy the cigar connoisseur. We look to begin shipping to retailers in March of this year.”

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ABOUT VILLIGER SONS LIMITED AND VILLIGER NORTH AMERICA:
Villiger Sons Limited was established in 1888 by Jean Villiger in the small town of Pfeffikon, Switzerland, where Villiger remains headquartered to this day. The company manufactures and sells more than 1.5 billion cigars annually, world-wide. Today, under the leadership of Heinrich Villiger, the company prides itself in its commitment to quality, in all their products made in many countries around the globe.

Follow the NEW Villiger

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Cigars North America on social @VilligerCigarsNorthAmerica #TheOriginalClassic

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by | March 13, 2019 · 9:13 pm

News: Drew Estate Announces Return of Herrera Esteli Lancero

Oddly, I’m not as big a fan of the Herrera Esteli as many people. I love the Norteño, but the regular old Habano isn’t as interesting to me.That being said, I did enjoy the Lancero when it was around previously, and may still have one floating around in my hoard of lanceros. Read on about the latest Herrera

Esteli Lancero:

The Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero Returns to Drew Diplomat Retailers

Drew Estate announces today the return of the Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero exclusively for Drew Diplomat retailers and will begin shipping immediately. This cigar will be displayed to Drew Diplomat retailers attending the TAA Trade show held March 17-21st in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic.

Originally released in 2014, the Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero is wrapped in a spicy Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, with Honduran binder and complex Nicaraguan fillers. Due to the skill required in rolling the 7×38 lancero vitola, there are only 4 pairs of rollers at La Gran Fabrica allowed to produce this cigar.Fro

m La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, Master Blender Willy Herrera adds, “The lancero is a notoriously difficult vitola to master both from a blending and rolling perspective. The same rollers who make the L40 are assigned to this special blend since they’re the best of the best. We took our time here at the factory when we decided to re-release this cigar so that every aspect from flavor to construction is perfection.”The Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero is available only at Drew Diplomat Retailers in 15 count boxes with an MSRP of $186.96.

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attracting new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Esteli­, Herrera Esteli­ Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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by | March 10, 2019 · 11:03 am

Esteban Carraras, Fratello, Cordoba and Morales and Some Cigar News

Today is the beginning of my favorite season! That’s right, Daylight Savings Time! I really like daylight longer into the evenings, especially since some days I work later, in June this will be more important, but I really appreciate getting home in the dylight. It’s good for the soul.  It also is a harbinger of Spring, and the warmer weather that comes with it. As I age, I grow less tolerant of cold weather ( among other things!). Lets cut the crap and get into some of the more interesting cigars I smoked this week.

 

I’ve been rummaging around the humidor more lately looking for interesting cigars, and I found an Esteban Carreras 10 Años Robusto. I received a pack of cigars a while back as an apology for something that they really had no reason to apologize for, it was a mystery to me really. I had bought a one time cigar of the month club sampler or something from them to try out and it all went well, and for some reason they thought it didn’t and sent this as some sort of consolation. Of course,  I accepted their gesture instead of making a stink about it, it was so long after the fact that I had no idea what it was for really. Anyway, this was probably the last cigar from that package which has been in the humidor for three years or more. The 10 Años was the first Esteban Carreras Ultra Premium Cigar, has a San Andrés Negro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers and comes in four box pressed sizes, this one was 5″ x 50. This is a great tasting cigar that could I could easily put in my rotation if I had one. Half way through there’s an interesting spiced candy flavor, and I’m going to have to get a bag of mixed “grandma” hard candies and find the candy I keep tasting in cigars and really digging.  I can’t put a finger on the name, but I come across it and really like it. I think I got it in the La Gloria Esteli White recently. This cigar was a real treat and I’ll happily smoke it again, and will look for some next time I’m at the local shop, which I know has some Esteban Carreras cigars.

 

I finally had occasion to sample the newest Fratello Navetta Inverso in the robusto size this week. This is an interesting project because Omar de Frias uses the same tobaccos in this as the Navetta, but he played with the primings and proportions and placements of the components, and it’s a totally different tasting cigar. This can actually be pretty efficient depending on how he has to buy tobaccos, making the best use of the leaf he has at hand. I could make clever jokes about how I took my evening walk the opposite route around the neighborhood, or I waited until Mercury went retrograde to smoke this, but this cigar is no joke. It’s medium bodied and smooth, rich and sophisticated, much like the Navatta. The Inverso has a Habano Nicaraguan wrapper, Ecuador binder and Dominican and Nicaragua filler, compared to the Navetta having an Ecuadorian Oscuro Wrapper, Dominican Binder and Nicaragua Filler. Like I said, there are different primings and variations on the same leaves in the two cigars, but they are different. I’ll need to smoke more of them to form a more informed opinion of course, but my initial impression was good!

 

I received this Friday right after I posted about Drew Estate’s Barn Smoker announcement.  Apparently the FDA issued a “Guidance for Industry” document (linked in the statement below) and it looks like there’s an extension of premarket review compliance deadlines for testing of cigars to August of 2021. I suppose that gives them time to dream up a way to actually test cigars. Drew Newman, of J.C. Newman weighs in below:

Statement by Drew Newman, general counsel of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. and fourth-generation cigar maker:


“Today’s announcement is a huge relief for the premium cigar industry.  Because there are no standards for testing premium cigars, there was no way that our four generation, 124-year-old family business could meet FDA’s rapidly approaching November testing deadline.  FDA’s decision to extend the HPHC testing deadline until after the agency first issues guidance is eminently reasonable.

 

“Although we will await FDA’s guidance, I remain very skeptical about whether it is possible to reliably test premium cigars because making premium cigars is an inherently unscientific process.  Because premium cigars are handcrafted, they are subject to great natural variation.  We know that the amount of sunlight, rain, and wind affects the characteristics of premium cigar tobacco just as the size of tobacco leaves and where they are grown on a plant does as well.  As cigar makers, we harness this natural variation to create unique and interesting blends.  A recent study that tested showed how great this natural variation can be.  In it, researchers tested the same premium cigar brand in two different years and found variances upwards of 50%.


“Moreover, the cost of testing is also likely to be enormous.  A lab that proposed testing premium cigars like cigarettes recently quoted $18,000 just to test a single cigar. This huge sum works for a product like cigarettes that are mass produced but not for premium cigars that are hand rolled in small batches.  As there are tens of thousands of different premium cigars sold in the USA today, the total cost for testing them could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.


“We are very grateful to Cigar Rights of America, the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association, and the Cigar Association of America for their continued leadership and efforts to seek much needed relief for the premium cigar industry.”

 

It’s another stay of execution, but there’s still work to be done. Tobacco is bad, but pot and booze is OK…BTW, it’s been brought to my attention that my recent rants against the liquor industry marketing to children may be misconstrued as me being anti-alcohol since I am a non-drinker. Let me just say that just because I find that partaking in consuming alcoholic beverages does not work for me, and I’ve been quite happy for the last 28 years not consuming alcohol, I’m not against it. I’ve been know to offer guest in my home a libation, and I am a proponent of moderation in everything in life. I’m the first to support anyone who finds that drinking is something that doesn’t work for them, but I often say that while I’m not a “friend of Bill”, I know who he is. Thought I’d clear that up in case anyone cared.

 

Last night I got home late, watched the end of a decisive Flyers victory over the Islanders (again), and looked around for a shorter smoke. My eye landed on a robusto left over from the 2016 IPCPR show, a Cordoba and Morales Clave Cubana Etiqueta Blanca Robusto.  This cigar came out in 2014 and was a limited edition, and I have no idea if it’s still around, but I noticed that CigarProp Kevin reviewed it on his YouTube channel in December, so I guess they are still around. This cigar has a San Andrés Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan Jalapa binder and Nicaraguan fillers including: Esteli Ligero, Ometepe Viso, and Jalapa Seco. This was a bold little smoke, with a “dirty” San Andrés flavor, which I kinda like. As it’s been in my humidor for three years, it was well rested and burned perfectly, for longer than I expected, easily an hour.  I enjoyed this one for a change, but I I’m getting to the point where I’m not sure this would be one I’d go to very often. Maybe I should start “rating cigars that way? What do you think? Cigars I’d put in my rotation, special treat cigars, change of pace cigars? something like that?  I need to shake things up a little. Let me know.


That’s all for today. Since I lost an hour this weekend, I’m feeling a little behind, so I gotta get caught up!  It’s almost lunch time and I haven’t had breakfast! Until the next time,


CigarCraig
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