January 25, 2026 · 2:54 pm

Another Knuckle Sandwich, La Aroma de Cuba and Diesel Cigars

It’s snowing here, I think I’ll be doing some shovelling later, followed by cigars on the porch.  I’m pretty sure I have enough propane to keep my heather going for a few days!  It would have been smart to get a back up tank filled yesterday.  I think we’ve had more snow this winter than in the past 4 winters combined.  Like I always say, I need to get the driveway cleared so the ambulance can get in to get me when I hurt myself shovelling.  Enough of my snow whining, on to some cigars.  In one recent visit to a local shop, I picked up a Knuckle Sandwich Puro Nicaragua Toro.  This is made by Espinosa at the San Lotano factory, with a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  It’s a nice box press and a pretty good looking cigar.  This example had a loose draw, which I had to manage carefully.  It has a lot of sharp pepper, and I know it’s going to go bad really fast if I over do it.  I think it’s a strong cigar, not as strong as last week’s TAA cigar, but still formidable.  I think I like the plain old Knuckle Sandwich Maduro best out of the line, but I’ll certainly try any Knuckle Sandwich (or Espinosa for that matter) that comes along. 

In another local shop I grabbed a La Aroma de Cuba El Jefe in the 7″ x 58 vitola.  I don’t see this on the La Aroma de Cuba website. This is a “value” priced cigar, it was under $10, and it’s made at the My Father factory.  It seems like this is the only vitola this comes in. It has a rather ugly Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I bought two of these, from different retailers because the first one that I bought didn’t work right. Let me tell you,  when you have a 7″ cigar that isn’t producing smoke, even though the draw seems open, it’s frustrating.  I spent an hour and a half waiting for something to happen.  That prompted me to stop at a completely different shop and get another one, which smoked perfectly.  OK, there was a little burn meandering, but it was within tolerance.  It was an OK cigar, some dry cocoa, but hardly worth giving it a second chance.  If a cigar doesn’t work right, but I feel like it should taste good, I like to give second chances.  

Last night I smoked a Diesel Worthy Fool that I had picked up earlier in the day.  This is one I hadn’t seen before.  This is the third in the Fools Errand  line, it’s a limited edition.  It’s a neat little perfecto. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and  Nicaraguan habano tobaccos for both the binder and filler. It’s made by Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. I got a late start, and while 5″ x 58 isn’t really a small cigar, it worked for the time I had.  It was spicy, no surprise there, and it had a nice meatiness.  Like most Diesel cigars, I liked this one.  I think this has been around for a year and a half or so, not sure why I missed it.  

Stay safe if you are having bad weather this week. I know this was a major storm. Until the next time, 

CigarCraig

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January 18, 2026 · 9:59 am

Romeo y Julieta, Knuckle Sandwich and The Lost Angel Cigars

I see myself diving into some, perhaps, older cigars that I haven’t posted on here over the coming weeks.  It’s a slow time of the year, so I’m picking up stuff I’ve overlooked in the past here and there.  I’ve also found myself smoking a lot of the Bariay 1492 Red and Black recently, which has moved other stuff to the back of the queue.  I may just smoke cigars that are called Red and Black this week, that leaves me with a few options. Anyway, I’ve had this Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro in the humidor for a long time and I realized I hadn’t had one yet.  This cigar is made in Nicaragua, with a Nicaraguan shade grown Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  The tobaccos are grown by the Plasencias, one would assume it’s rolled in their factory also.  This wasn’t a mild shade cigar.  It started with an odd combination of cream and spice, which eventually turned into a bright citrus.  I regret passing this over for who knows how long it was in the humidor. It came out in 2018.  It was a good smoke, I enjoyed it.

 

I stopped in one of the local CigarCigars shops on the way home one day and picked up a few of the TAA releases that I hadn’t seen there before.  Since the ownership of the chain changed last year, I’m not sure how the TA membership works, so I’m just going to keep picking them up there when I see them.  I know some people who write about cigars ignore the TAA releases, but I do what I do, it’s new to me I’m going to write about it!  as the kids said 20 years ago, whatev.  One of the ones I grabbed was the Knuckle Sandwich Off Menu, the 2025 offering.  This is made by Espinosa in AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, part of Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich cigar line. It’s a butt kicker.  It has a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and is a 6″ x 54 toro.  $16 is at the high end of my range, but it looked good and I wanted to smoke it.  This has a spicy, dark coffee and cocoa flavor profile, and it was powerful. It was exhausting to smoke, but quite satisfying! Definitely have a meal before smoking this one.  Recommended. 

 

Another TAA cigar I grabbed was the 2023 from The Crowned Heads. Obviously I have overlooked this cigar since it came out in 2023, but there are a lot of Crowned Heads cigars I’ve overlooked so that’s not really unusual I guess.  This cigar is made by Ernesto Carrillo in the DR.  It has a Ecuador Sumatra hybrid wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and fillers from the DR, Mexico and Nicaragua.  It’s 6″ x 54, which seems to be the size I smoked most often, doesn’t it?  I wish there were more Churchills out there.  Anyway, this is a dark, oily wrapper, which started with some bitter cocoa and sourness, which wasn’t off putting and smoothed out over time.  There are probably other Crowned Heads Cigars I like better, and there are probably other TAA cigars I like better, but this was was an interesting cigar. If you like them and can’t find them, I know a place.  

 

That’s all for today. It’s snowing here, so I’ll probably shovel some, and have a cigar with a movie this afternoon.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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January 11, 2026 · 9:47 am

Crowned Heads, Sinistro and Tatuaje Cigars

The new year is off to a start, and I’m still managing to find new-to-me cigars to smoke. Over the last couple weeks I’ve stopped in to a few local shops and bought cigars.  Now I’m forgetting where I got what!  One of the cigars I picked up was a Crowned Heads Coroneta Maduro Baron, their 6″ x 56 toro.  This cigar is made at Casa Carrillo by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, uses a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper over a Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania fillers.  It’s a diverse blend for sure, and it’s not uncommon to see Ecuador Connecticut over a San Andrés binder, but vice versa is a little unique.  This cigar came out in May of 2024, so I guess I’m not that far behind.  I have an affinity for Carrillo cigars, have since the old La Gloria days, and this was no different.  I was a little disappointed in the aesthetics, the cap was pretty sloppily applied, but it made no difference in the burn and draw, which were perfect.  It had some dry cocoa and a nice depth of flavor, very satisfying.  The band annoyed me, the pointy part hit my lip so I took it off.  I hope this is one that they are rebranding.  It seems I keep finding Crowned Heads cigars that I’ve overlooked, maybe because I was turned off to them early in the game and I just haven’t paid much attention to them. A few discussions I’ve had with Miguel Schoedel have made me take a second look. 

 

I was surprised to find some Sinistro cigars in one of the shops I visited last week, which has more of a traditional selection.  I picked up a Sinistro The Last Barbarian to give a try.  Naturally, I got the Toro, which is 6″ x 54, why wouldn’t I?  This has a Dominican Maduro wrapper, Cameroon binder and a Ligero heavy filler blend including Dominican, Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania Ligeros and a Nicaraguan Seco.  These are made at the El Artista factory. I met the Sinistro guys at the Smoke-onos event last year, and I’ve known the folks at El Artista for a long time. I’m going to make an effort to smoke more of their stuff. This one was really good, right up my alley.   It started chocolaty with some spice.  It was very rich, and well behaved and not as strong as one might expect given the amount of high priming leaf in the blend. This is a winner, and I seem to remember it wasn’t stupidly priced. 

 

Yesterday we painted our family room, one wall of which extended into the kitchen and dining room. Lots of moving stuff around, taping, painting and cleaning up. I really don’t like painting. It looks really good now though and needed to be done. While waiting for the walls to dry so we could put things back, I took a break with a cigar.  I chose a 4½” x 60 Tatuaje Sextooth William Blake.  This is a strange name for a cigar.  It’s named after a track on musician Andreas “Sextooth” Contogouris EP Smoking Mirror.  The Sextooth line consists of four sizes which are all priced in the $5.50 – $8.50 range, made at the My Father factory.  They have an Ecuador Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. I don’t know what a “Sextooth” is, but I thoroughly enjoyed this little guy. It had kind of a caramel sweetness, and no issues with the burn and draw. This is a line I will be further exploring.  

 

I still have to get Ron’s winnings shipped, I’ve been carefully curating a selection of cigars for him.  I hope it makes it out in tomorrow’s UPS. I should have gotten it out last week, but I’ve been a slug. It’ll be worth the wait, I think.  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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January 4, 2026 · 9:14 am

Davidoff, Rojas and San Lotano Cigars and the Giveaway Winner

Happy New Year!  Another year of writing stuff about cigars! I’m a few years away from the twentieth anniversary of CigarCraig.com, I’ll have to come up with something big to celebrate.  Speaking of celebrations, last Wednesday was New Years Eve, and I celebrated like I celebrate just about every evening, with a cigar on the porch!  Davidoff was kind enough to send a couple of the Year of the Horse cigars, their 2026 Limited Edition.  I know, the Chinese New Year isn’t until February, but I couldn’t wait to try this.  This is the first “Year of the” Davidoff I’ve ever smoked, they are way out of my price range.  Kudos and thanks to Law Ream and Jack Heyer for getting these out to those of us who choose to write stuff about cigars! The Davidoff ornament looked great on our tree. Anyway, I decided to close out what was not the greatest year for me with a great cigar (I hoped).  I have previously stated that I have a very limited range of experience with the Davidoff line overall, so I was hoping for the best. I believe this is the best Davidoff I’ve smoked to date.  There wasn’t a hint of horse at all in this cigar. This is a 6½” x 55 cigar with wrapper and binder from Ecuador and Dominican fillers. I have to assume the wrapper is a Habano varietal, it’s too dark to be a Connecticut Shade, and doesn’t taste like it either.  It had an interesting sweetness, with some nuttiness and what I think of as a lemon zing.  It was delicious, burned perfectly and was a great way to spend New Years Eve.  After that I watched hockey until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Great cigar, as it should be for $65.

 

Getting back to reality, I smoked a Rojas Street Tacos Al Pastor Gordo Friday, after treating myself to a Padron Damaso (not as good as I remember, but still tasty), and a Diamond Crown Black Diamond, one of my favorites. I chose the 6″ x 60 gordo, as Noel Rojas is the self proclaimed king of the small ring gauges, and it seems funny to me that he even makes a 60.  The Al Pastor has an Ecuador Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers.  Like the Davidoff, which is in excess of six times the price, this burned perfectly.  I looked at a few other reviews, as Rojas doesn’t seem to have a working webpage, and one reviewer listed flavors of “earth and cedar”, “espresso, and white pepper” and “dark brown sugar and cream”.  I don’t get any of that.  I got some leather and baking spices.  I liked it, it was a good cigar, and well worth the price. I’ve enjoyed a lot of cigars from this factory, especially some of the Stolen Throne lines, and this was a good one.  I’m sure I’ve smoked the Carnitas and Barbacoas before, I needed to give this one a shot and I think it’s my favorite of the bunch.

 

Yesterday I dropped a few things off at Goodwill and stopped into JM’s Cigars in Exton PA. Unlike Rojas they have a website, however it hasn’t been updated in 12 years. It’s fine to have a static landing page, but delete the event from 2013 please!  This was the first shop I sent to in the mid-90s (apparently when the website was created) and it’s been a while since I stopped in. It really hasn’t changed much over the years (like the website).  I picked up a couple cigars that I hadn’t had before, one of which was the A.J. Fernandez San Lotano Requiem Habano in the “Churchill” size.  It’s probably closer to a Double Corona, as a Churchill is 7″ x 47, and this is 7″ x 54.  Actually, I don’t even think a Double Corona is 50 ring, but times change.  It’s a big cigar.  I think the last San Lotano I smoked was an Oval, and it’s been well over a decade. This has a Brazilian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. It started out spicy, and had some nice coffee flavors. I liked this and I think it was around $10 so I call it a very good value. I may be overly concerned about the shops website.

 

It’s time to pick a winner for last week’s giveaway!  I haven’t even selected cigars yet, but I don’t think the winner will be disappointed. The random number generator spit out the number 4, which corresponds to Ron Hunt! To answer Ron’s question, While I purchase most of the cigars in the northeast, most should be available all over.  There are some brands that just seem to be regional,  All Saints comes to mind, but that’s a function of  the brand being small and maybe one or two people involved and they can’t get all over the country to support the sales.  Different shops in the same area will have a different mix too. I’ll try to include some cigars that may not be widely available in your package.  Ron is the host of  the All About Wine podcast. I had the good fortune of meeting him a few years back at the Tampa Heritage Festival, and I talk to him regularly. Send me your address Ron! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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December 28, 2025 · 10:19 am

Trinidad and Las Calaveras Cigars and a Giveaway!

It’s a busy time of the year and Christmas on a Thursday really threw off my week.  I had to go out yesterday and buy some new-to-me cigars for today’s post.  I also decided at the last minute to half-ass a giveaway!  More on the giveaway after I talk about a couple cigars.I ran into Cigar Mojo – The Grove, and found a few cigars that I haven’t smoked yet. This is an interesting problem to have, but I’m having trouble finding the combination of cigars I haven’t smoked, and cigars I want to smoke.  It’s come to me going through the humidor with my phone searching my own website to make sure I’m not repeating. And then there’s some cigars I just don’t have any interest in smoking.  I’m also price sensitive, and they have quite a few pricey cigars in the humidor. It’s easy when I want to stop in for a smoke, but less so when I’m looking for something new to write about. Anyway, I grabbed a Trinidad Espiritu Miami since I hadn’t had that one yet.  This is the fourth cigar in the Espiritu line, I rather enjoy the No. 2 the most, but they have all been good.  I want to get a hold of the Tommy Bahama edition. This is a 6 1/8″ x 52 Belicoso, and is a Nicaraguan puro made at the A.J. Fernandez factory.  While this is inspired by Miami, it contains no Miami tobacco!  This is probably a good thing. The bright colors and art deco look of the bands was very appealing to me and seemed to go along with this festive time of year.  I quite enjoyed the hour and a half I spent with this cigar.  It burned and drew well, and had some sweet, bready sensations.  I didn’t think the wrapper would fall into the beautiful category, it was on the ugly side, with some mottling and an odd color. Smoking with your eyes isn’t limited to packaging.  I liked this cigar, it was medium bodied and quite enjoyable.  Once again, most times if I enjoy an Altadis cigar, it’s made by A.J. Fernandez.  

 

Another cigar I picked up was the Las Calaveras LE 2025 from Crowned Heads.  I selected the LC54 size which is 6″ x 54. This cigar has a mid-priming San Andrés wrapper that’s not your usual maduro wrapper, but Colorado in color.  I haven’t smoked too many of the Las Calaveras line in the past, but the ones I have I’ve enjoyed.  This one was also enjoyable.  I almost grabbed the 2024 (they have 2’23, ’24 and ’25 on the shelf) because the band has red and green in it and I’m still feeling Christmassy, but I went for the newest one instead.  Mojo is a mile away, I can always grab more.  These are made at the My Father factory. There is an earthy cocoa flavor with a little bit of spice. Interestingly, the first half of this cigar burned really fast,  I was maybe 20 minutes in when I started wondering if it was going to make it to thirty minutes.  At the halfway point it slowed down, and I got to somewhere around an hour and a quarter.  It finished off well, nice cigar. I’m thinking I may have to go grab a ’23 and ’24 next time I’m there. 

 

It’s a bit of a tradition around here to give stuff away around the holidays. I have some goodies lying around, so here’s what going to happen!  I have a neat Don Doroteo leather case, with a cutter and lighter. This is a really nice item, it’s just not something I’ll use. There’s a. J.C.Newman Bricktoberfest stein.  There’s a nice Villiger lighter.  I’ve had this silver plate Gurkha ashtray in my closet for a few years, it can use a little shining up, but it’s a nice ashtray. Ironically, I’ve heard that mixing some cigar ash with water makes a good silver polish.

 

Top that off with some miscellaneous goodies, along with at least a dozen cigars from my humidor which I’ll and pick, and you’ve got a pretty nice bunch of stuff.  So leave a comment here on this blog post.  Facebook comments, IG, Threads, X comments don’t count.  I look forward to reading your comments!  I’ll select a winner randomly next Sunday.  Good luck!

 

That’s all I have for today!  Happy New Year to all.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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