IPCPR Prep and a Few Cigars Leftover From Last Year

I realize I missed Wednesday’s post. I had a busy week trying to prepare for taking the coming week off and I didn’t take the time to write anything. I’ve been busy making appointments and trying to plan my short time at the show. I also need to test out YouTube live today at some point so I can use that to share some interviews and give people an idea of what the show is like. This will be my 8th show, and I still have no idea what to expect. I also just added an iPad to my technical arsenal, leaving the laptop home (and actually writing today’s post on it while enjoying coffee on my back porch, I already love it!) I’ve written posts on my iPhone before, but my eyes aren’t what they used to be, this is much better. So today I’ll be packing clothes and cigars for the trip and continuing to binge watch Game Of Thrones, which has had zero cigar content so far. So, let me tell you a little something about a few cigars I smoked this week.

 

Fratello FirecrackerIt seems like it was so long ago now, but Tuesday was the Fourth of July and I smoked the new Fratello Firecracker from 2

Guys Smokeshop‘s annual Firecracker line. The Firecracker is a 3 1/2″ x 50 short robustly with a long tail like a fuse.  The last few years have given us the LFD Double Ligero Firecracker, the RoMaCraft Cromagnon Firecracker and several iterations made by Don Pepin Garcia, including the original which is a regular production. I’m a fan of Fratello cigar which is well documented, so when these hit the market I quickly ordered a fiver, pity I didn’t spring for a box. This little bugger has everything I like about the Fratello with some punch. The special little something that the Peruvian leaf brings is there, this is a great little cigar. My only wish is for this in the Bianco blend! I finished the day with a Padron 1964 Exclusivo, skipping my annual civil disobedience Havana since that’s not any big deal anymore!

 

House of LuckyI came across a few cigars leftover from last year’s IPCPR show and figured I’d better smoke them already, one was from a company called , which has a retail and wholesale operation in south Florida. They have a wide range of cigar made in Nicaragua and the few I’ve sampled have been quite good. I started getting emails with their specials a few years back and finally met them at the show last year. It was one of those things where they just happened to be next to someone I knew, otherwise I might have missed them. I smoker their Especial Maduro box pressed corona yesterday and liked it a lot. It claims to have  “long leaf Nicaraguan tobacco from the regions of San Andres, Esteli, and Honduras”, which I find a bit confusing, but good cigar makers can’t always be good writers. This cigar is called corona, but it’s 5″x 48, quite close to their 5″x50 robust. If they were mixed in a bundle nobody would notice, and at a very reasonable $6 price, nobody would care. Honestly, this was my kind of cigar with all the great dark, rich flavors I like and it’s priced well.

 

CrossfireI smoked a cigar from Crossfire Cigars, their Platinum in a Gordo size that was pretty good, and I have enjoyed a lot of their cigars in the past, but when I went to do some research I found the website to be “forbidden” and there hasn’t been any social media activity from them recently. Crossfire was a faith-based company, using the proceeds from the cigar sales to do mission work in the Dominican Republic, so I can imagine jumping through all the regulatory BS wouldn’t be attractive to them. It was a good cigar, nothing particularly special, just not a waste of two hours. Enjoyable and tasty, just not mind blowing. I feel like there a

re so many cigars it really takes a lot for a cigar to be distinctive and memorable sometimes. I guess I’m getting jaded in my old age.

 

I could go on, but I have some things I need to do today before tomorrow’s early flight to Vegas. That’s all for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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Providencia El Santo and El Padre Cigars

Providencia_El Santo_PrensadoYesterday I had the luxury of smoking two cigars, so I decided to make it a “them

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e day” and smoke two that were new to me from Providencia Cigars. The cigars are made in Honduras with Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco in two blends, the El Padre and the El Santo, The Father and the Saint respectively. Based on the fact that the El Padre is a Connecticut and the El Santo is the maduro, any guess which one I went to first?  Of course, I grabbed the El Santo Prensado, the box pressed, 6″ x 52 toro size. This also comes in a Robusto Gordo which measures 4½”x 58. The details on this cigar are vague according to the information I was provided, it lists the wrapper as Sumatra Nicaraguan Maduro, and “a proprietary blend” of Honduran tobaccos that they grow on their own plantations, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s impressive that they have their own farms and, one would assume, process their own leaf. small tangent: I think it’s equally impressive that they only produce 25,000 cigars a year between the two blends, and they are priced at $8 each across the board. There is no mention that I could find that they own a factory or in what factory they are produced.  Back to the El S

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anto. The cigar had a soft box press and was very comfortable in the hand. I lit it up on the back porch as I was receiving text alerts about thunderstorms, which isn’t a problem in an enclosed porch unless the wind gets crazy, which it did not. I had no complaints about the burn and draw, both were exceptional. I generally expect sweetness and cocoa from a cigar that looks like this, but I was pleasantly surprised that it had more of a savory, steak-like feel to it. I liked that it wasn’t your standard maduro (I love standard maduros!), it was interesting, entertaining, and delicious. My mouth watered. Thunderstorms ensued, although not distracting me from the enjoyment. Now I’m looking forward to smoking the Robusto Gordo quite a bit (that’s a size I like to). Providencia El Santo Prensado gets two thumbs up.

 

Providencia_El Padre_RobustoGordoAfter dinner and a couple of Game of Thrones episodes (I’m way behind the curve, I read the book a long time ago, but only recently had

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the access to the HBO series and they were playing it all weekend). I took a walk with the Providencia El Padre in that Robusto Gordo size. This also comes in a 6″x 52 torpedo, which was their first cigar. The El Padre lists a Connecticut Nicaraguan wrapper, which is not all that common.  The wrapper was a flawless blond leaf with fine veins as one would expect. My only complaint would be that it took a little coaxing to get the bottom side of the foot properly lit, bu

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t one it got going it burned like a champ. Smoke production was great with the El Padre as it was with the El Santo, and there was little mildness about it. It was rich and, dare I say it again?, meaty. Not strong, but full-bodied enough to know you’re smoking a cigar, for sure. The wrapper added a creaminess to the mix, and it was an extremely pleasing cigar. After twenty years of sampling all kinds of cigars, from un-known cigars in the boom of the 90s that were just terrible, to boutiques like this one, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon anymore, almost hating the idea of wasting my valuable cigar time with an unknown. It’s cigars like these that keep me doing it (and the strange desire to share my thoughts on a website), the surprise of being entertained and satisfied by something new. Are there the new cigars that I try that meet my sometimes negative expectation?  Sure there are, but lines like Providencia are what keep me experimenting. The fact that they sell for $8 each doesn’t hurt. Good job to the guys behind this line. These are available for sale on their website as well as select tobacconists (listed on the site).

 

Prop1Prop2I’m testing a prototype of Cigar Prop‘s new portable prop, a two piece design that when apart is roughly credit card sized. It works, it holds up a cigar, much like it’s less portable brethren. I have a feeling it will not work well in my wallet flying to Vegas next week, TSA may frown upon it, I’m not quite sure. I have to say, I use one of the Cigar Props every day, whether it’s just to take a picture for Instagram or, as it’s intended, for a place to rest my cigar when I need to do something else.  A handy and good-looking solution to a common problem!

 

That’s all for now. Some may have a long weekend for the 4th of July. I have to work tomorrow, so weekendus interuptus for me, but Tuesday will require some special cigars. One for the anniversary of the USA and one for my wife and I celebrating our wedding anniversary. Guaranteed one of those cigars will have “anniversary” in the name. Stay safe, don’t blow off any body parts, and have a great weekend! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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Drew Estate Swamp Thang and a Natural Box Pressed Toro Cigars

Swamp Thang RobustoI’ve been waiting to get my hands on the latest in the MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured line, the Candela wrapped Swamp Thang and Swamp Rat cigars. These were featured at last year’s IPCPR show, and I only recently received some in a care package from Drew Estate. The Swamp Thang is available in Robusto (5″x54) and Toro (6″x52) sizes, and I started with the robusto. I’ve been hot and cold on the Kentucky fire Cured line, when I first sampled it in Nicaragua in 2013 I wasn’t a fan, it was too “camp firey” for me. I’ve found with some humidor time these are much better and I actually really enjoy them now. As a fan of the occasional candela, I was anxious to see what the blend did with that wrapper. I believe these are made at Joya de Nicaragua, and they are rolled in the style of the Joya de KFC_SwampThang_RobustoNicarag

ua Cabineta, with the candela cigar made in the traditional way, and then, in this case, the dark fire cured leaf is added in the final two inches, making a striking contrast. This is used on the regular Fentucky Fire Cured li

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ne, but it’s much less apparent since the San Andres wrapper is similar in color to the Kentucky. I found the grassy

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flavors typical of the candela to be quite understated, and the robusto was a very tasty and well made cigar. It burned perfectly, drew perfectly and was a really nice s

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moking experience. I was so enthralled with the cigar that I tried the Swamp Rat, the 6″ x 46 size a couple of n

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ights later. I’m going to reserve judgement and not talk about that one now because it wouldn’t burn right and aggravated the heck out of me. I will say that the Candela flavor was more present in the thinner ring gauge, but I’ll come back to that vitola at a later date. Thumbs up on the Robusto though, I really liked that one.

 

Natural_Lounge Exclusive ToroTonight I toyed with the idea of trying the Swamp Thang Toro, but the Swamp Rat scared me off for now, so I went with a cigar from a couple of years ago, a Natural Soft Box Pressed Toro that was a Corona Cigar Company Drew Estate Lounge Exclusive. I’ve had good luck with the Natural line, it features a bunch of non-traditional tobaccos, from places like Syria, Turkey and Perique from Louisiana, which make for a very interesting and pleasing flavor. There are loads of unique spices that work really well together, at least to my palate. I’ll have to see if my friends over at the Wooden Indian h

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ave the lounge exclusives or if they are still exclusive to Corona. Wooden Indian has a Liga Privada lounge. the lounge exclusives are all box pressed, the Liga Privada No.9, Undercrown and Herrera Esteli are all sharply square pressed, while the two Tabak Especial varieties and this Natural have a soft press. I’ve smoked most and they have all been quite good.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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A Visit to A Little Taste of Cuba in New Hope PA to Meet the Cigar Prop Man!

I’ve made mention of the Cigar Prop, and it features prominently in many of my Instagram  photos and occasionally here. The Cigar Prop is a machined aluminum cigar stand that I use quite frequently, and the creator of this item is a

long time reader, Kevin Shahan. Kevin resides in Florida and in addition to being the Cigar Prop guy, is also quite well-known in the bearding community (is that a thing? apparently it is!) as the creator of Irish Beard Balm. Kevin dropped me a note a few weeks back saying he was going to be in New Little Taste of Cuba - Photo by JessicaJersey this weekend so we made plans to meet. The little riverside village of New Hope, PA seemed to be just about in the middle of where he and his girlfriend, Jessica, were staying and where I live, and it just so happened there’s a cigar store there! So we made plans to meet up yesterday. Over the last twenty years of interacting electronically with people I’ve gotten used to meeting folks in t

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he flesh that I’ve only exchanged text with, and nine times out of ten it works out, like meeting an old friend you never met before. Such was the case with Kevin. I spotted him on the street, we met, and made our way to the cigar shop.

 

lfdA Little Taste of Cuba is one of two stores (the other in Princeton, NJ) owned by Jorge Armenteros, who is the guy behind Tobacconist University, which is a course that teaches about everything cigar, pipe and tobacco. The shop is right on Main Street in New Hope, ironically in close proximity to a bar called Mojito and a restaurant called Havana. The shop is cozy, there’s a small walk in humidor that features mostly top shelf cigars, Padron Anniversary, Liga Privada, Sobremesa, et cetera. The staff was very friendly and helpfu

l, as one would expect in an establishment who trains other tobacconists. Certainly the focus was on quality over quantity here. I selected a La Flor Dominicana Reserva Especial El Jocko Maduro that has the white Reserva Especial Little Taste of Cuba - Photo by Jessicabands that I’m not used to seeing on this cigar. It’s been forever since I had this cigar, and it was delicious. Perhaps a bit much for noon, before lunch, but I was sitting on a comfy leather couch, talking cigars and stuff with Kevin while the girls checked out some of the surrounding shops. We eventually finished up and went to an Irish pub for lunch. Many thinks to Kevin and Jessica for taking the time to meet with us! Vegas, next time, eh?

 

I can’t tell you how cool it is to meet up with a relative stranger, and it’s like you’re long-lost brothers. I have had the great pleasure of meeting several of my readers, and, so far, none of them have been homicidal lunatics that I could tell. Dave W. is reasonably local and won the last contest, and I would like to meet him for a smoke one of these days (I shipped his goodies as I don’t know when we will be able to meet up), and I’d be pleased to meet any one of you who wastes their valuable time reading my nonsense!. I’ve made great friends through simply loving rolled up leaves, and it’s great any time I get to meet someone I’ve interacted with on-line. By the way, go buy a Cigar Prop or two, I use mine all the time!

 

That’s all for now! I’ve got a Prime Living article to finish writing, and the cigars aren’t going to smoke themselves! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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Umbagog and Tatuaje Pudgy Monsters Cigars and Fratello News

UmbagogLast week I bought some of the Fratello Fire Crackers from 2 Guys Cigars when they went on sale, and while I was at it, I added a few of Steve Saka’s Umbagog Corona Gordas to my order as I was itching to try them out. The Umbagog is almost the same blend as the Mi Querida, utilizing Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers that  weren’t as pretty (in Steve’e estimation, who else could tell?) as the wrappers on the Mi Querida. I love the Mi Querida, so chances were good that this was a safe buy. The advantage is that the Umbagog is a little less expensive, although I would be hard pressed to tell the difference in a blind tasting. Like the Mi Querida, the Umbagog is made in the NACSA factory in Nicaragua. I mistakenly thought I got the Toro Toro, but upon refle

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ction, I had the Corona Gorda, I thought it looked thinner than the Ancho Larga in its sister line. The Corona Gorda is 6″ x 48, which ten years ago would have been a toro for the most part. It had one of the better burns I’ve had in a non-Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust cigar, they all seem to burn perfectly, which goes along with Steve’s Puros sin Compomiso mantra. It was loaded with sweet espresso and cocoa flavors that I enjoy, and, with the exception of its plain band and odd name, was as great a cigar as I’ve smoked. I’m waiting for the right time (and company) to smoke the Muestra de Saka I have, and continue to gravitate toward a cigar from this company when I want a sure thing.  The Umbagog is a winner, pick them up when you can as they are limited to the “reject” wrappers!

 

Tatuaje_PudgyWolfTonight I grabbed one of the Tatuaje Pudgy Monsters that was in the Oh F*ck I’m Lost pack I got at an event a while back. I had the Drac and the Wolf to choose from and went with the Wolf. I’ve smoked the Wolfman, the 7½” x 54 big old torpedo with the shaggy foot that I want to say was the fourth release in the Monster series back in 2011?  The Pudgy Monsters version is a 5½” x 52 belicoso with the same shaggy foot, that is the wrapper is cut back a half-inch from the end. It’s fun the be able to taste when the wrapper flavor kicks in and understand how much that thin leaf adds to the flavor. This one has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, and the rest is Nicaraguan. I remember really enjoying the larger format (TY to Will Cooper, I think it was in a sampler he sent for my 50th birthday, which was a handful of years ago now!). This one had a smooth, nutty, grain flavor with some mellow coffee in the second half and was a really flavorful and pleasing cigar. Burn was flawless. Dammit, now I’m going to have to keep an eye out for more of these, I suspect the samplers are still around, but I’d certainly buy a few of these if they were available singly, which I don’t guess they are. I’m doing pretty good this week, two spectacular cigars!

 

I mentioned the Fratello Firecracker earlier, this is a 3″x 50 format with a long pigtail “fuse” that is a 2 Guys exclusi

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ve, and every year it’s made by someone else, Don Pepin Garcia, La Flor Dominicana, RoMaCraft…this year’s is made by Fratello. These usually are a strong blend, I’ve smoked the LFD and Cromagnon versions and look forward to trying Omar’s version, I’m sure it’ll be great. But Omar de Frias has a new Fratello cigar debuting at the IPCPR show that sounds interesting. This one is called the Fratello Naveta, which is Italian for “shuttle” and is a nod to his years at NASA (where he makes a space shuttle look small).

“Blending Fratello Naveta was special as

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I wanted to translate the ultimate celebration our men and women of the space program felt after a successful mission”. “After being part of over 21 missions nothing beats the feeling of getting our astronauts home safe to their families” said de Frias.

“Colleagues of mine would get together and smoke a very special cigar to commemorate the occasion. This very special blend carries the ultimate feeling of innovation, duty, honor and success” said de Frias.

Fratello_NavettaBlended with an Ecuador oscuro wrapper the blend will be featured in 4 vitolas.

– Robusto Discovery (5 x 50) 10.50

– Toro Endeavor (6 ¼ x 54) 11.25

– Gordo Enterprise (6 x 60) 12.00

– The Boxer Atlantis (6 ¼ x 52) 12.50

Fratello Navetta will be manufactured at Joya de Nicaragua and will be available for shipment in September. Omar de Frias worked at NASA for 12 years prior to leaving to focus full-time on Fratello.

 

I’m looking forward to trying this one!  The presenta

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tion looks great!  I’ll get to the Firecrackers in the coming weeks.

 

That’s all for me for tonight, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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