April 12, 2026 · 9:43 am

Davidoff Puro Dominicano, Avo Syncro and Camacho Ecuador Cigars

I was sorry to read about the passing of Gary Korb, who fairly recently retired from Famous Smoke Shop where he was the main guy behind their Cigar Advisor magazine site.  I first had contact with Gary in 2004, he tried to weasel his way into a ticketed event I hosted as media. He was an inspiration, for sure! I had a pretty good rapport with him, last time I saw him he actually told me that he had mentioned my name in their search to replace him.  I felt honored. My condolences to his family.  He probably would have loved the cigars I’m about to talk about.

 

I’ll be honest, I probably wouldn’t smoke Davidoffs if they didn’t send me some to try.  I consider myself fortunate to have done whatever I have done to warrant this consideration. I recently received some of the new Davidoff Puro Dominicano in their Black Band line.  These come in three sizes, a Short Robusto (4½” x 52), a Corona Larga (5 7/8″ x 44), and a Perfecto (5½” x 50), which is the only figurado of this size in the Davidoff portfolio, which is what they sent.  They used tobaccos from six regions in the DR, Yamasá for the wrapper, Martin Garcia for the binder, and Villa González, Mao, Piloto, Navarette and Yamasá in the filler.  I went into this cigar wondering if it would be a good fit for me, many times I don’t appreciate the flavors found in Dominican puros, though a lot of folks do.  This cigar was a delight.  I was surprised by the prelight draw, which was very free. Odd for a perfecto. I’d say that it started off earthy, maybe loam or mushroomy, not usually my jam.  The burn was perfect with a flat ember, no cone, no tunnel, just perfect.  I sipped it, like I would a lancero, because the draw was so free I didn’t want it to heat up too much.  I really enjoyed this cigar much more than I thought I would.  I wanted to smoke another one this week, but I felt like that would be pretentious. $25 is a lot for a cigar, but they could probably have gotten away with asking more, this is a really nice smoke.

 

Somewhere along the way I came into possession of an Avo Syncro Nicaragua in a square tube. I can’t remember where or when, but it has to have been in my humidor for seven or eight years. I decided to smoke this one finally after hearing some discussion on KMA Radio about the square tubes, which Avo apparently released in 2015.  This one was a bugger to get out of the tube.  The cigar is a 6″ x 54 box press, which is probably obvious since it’s in a square tube.  Who would put a round cigar in a square tube?  By the way, Abe and Coop, CAO Anniversary had a square tube going back to 2003 or so, so Padron and Avo weren’t the pioneers in this area! ( while I’m at it, Coop: ” The Spanish phrase el reloj (the clock/watch) is phonetically pronounced el rreh-LOH or el rreh-LOHKH. The stress is on the second syllable of “reloj” (loh), with a rolled “rr” at the beginning and a soft “h” or slight “kh” sound at the end”. It’s my mission in life to correct Coop on this).  I was surprised that this started with some harshness, but the dark fruit took over and it was really a nice cigar, very tasty. Kudos for not putting a cedar sleeve in the tube, I can’t seem to learn to take cigars out of tubes for long term storage because they always seem to just taste like cedar after a while.  This one was good, I wonder if they are still available?  

 

I had picked up a five pack of Camacho Ecuador Toros a few weeks back, and thought I remembered liking this blend.  The toro is 6″ x 50, which feel like a corona in this day and age.  It has an Ecuador wrapper of some sort, Brazilian binder and Dominican and Honduran fillers.  These came out in May of 2014, so they’ve been around for a while.  I realize that this is probably my least favorite Camacho.  I’m starting to question my palate lately, but it’s always been questionable.  This started out with some sourness, which I’ve gotten a lot lately for some reason.  It didn’t get better, and while I powered through it, I really wanted to put it down and get something else.  Perhaps I’ll stay away from this one for a while, maybe some age will help, maybe I’ll give the rest away, I don’t know.  Two out of three ain’t bad, I guess.  I smoke more delicious cigars than not, so I have that going for me. Side note, I kinda wish Davidoff would have an informational site about their cigars and not a direct to consumer sales site.  If I’m looking at the wrong one, someone please correct me!  I feel like more of a shill than I already am linking to a sales site! 

 

I’ve been plagued over the last few days with attempts to take over my social media accounts and I’m sick of it.  I’m not really that interesting. It’s not like there’s money to be made, it’s just a huge nuisance. It’s absurd how many hoops one has to jump through to change passwords. I’m too old for this shit, please leave me alone!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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April 5, 2026 · 11:12 am

La Flor Dominicana, Montecristo and ChiMolly Cigars from Fox Cigars Mitchell’s 2026 Birthday Kit

Happy Easter and Passover to those who celebrate. I watched The Ten Commandments last night to celebrate. Not all of it, but this time I managed to watch the second half; I usually tap out around the Exodus. Anyway, it’s my policy not to discuss religion or politics, so let’s get on to some cigars.  Obviously, Fox Cigars advertises on CigarCraig.com, so there is some inherent bias on my part. I do like to promote companies I enjoy, and this is one of them, so let’s go with that. It feels better than thinking of this as a blatant shill post. I noticed that Mitchell Fox had a big birthday recently, and they offered a five-cigar sampler for $50 delivered, so I purchased one, unprompted, with my own money. I have fond memories of my 50th birthday celebration, although it was a long time ago! The sampler consisted of the following: the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua No. 2, the Romeo y Julieta Vintage Corona Glass Tube, the La Flor Dominicana Maduro Cabinet No. 6, the Casa Carrillo Pledge Prequel, and the Fox y ChìMolly Robusto E. I’ve had the EPC Pledge and the Romeo before, so I concentrated on the LFD, Montecristo, and ChiMolly this week.

 

I started with the La Flor Dominicana Maduro Cabinet No. 6. This cigar is unbanded, so I wanted to get it out of the way before I forgot what it was. The Cabinet No. 6 is a 5 ¾” x 54 torpedo with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over what I’ve seen described as “estate-grown” Dominican fillers and binders. I’m not sure what “estate-grown” means, but it sounds cool. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get around to this delightful cigar. The wrapper has an oily sheen—it’s a beauty, for sure. It was loaded with lush, dark fruit and espresso flavors; very much my kind of cigar. I always wonder why companies choose to put unbanded cigars on the market. It seems like it could be a problem. I guess if one is buying the whole box it’s fine, but with singles, there are issues beyond the end-user forgetting what it is. You’d think companies would want the advertising.

 

Second up was the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua No. 2. This is another torpedo, 6 ⅛” x 52, but the box press makes it seem a lot thinner. It’s well-documented that when it comes to Altadis USA, the majority of the cigars I like are made in partnership with A.J. Fernandez. I’ve smoked tons of them, and that’s just the way it is. Upmanns, Trinidads, Romeos, Montes—all the A.J. Fernandez-made lines appeal to me; the rest, not so much. This Montecristo was no exception. My only problem was the secondary band featuring the Cigar Aficionado rating; that seems cheesy. Put a sticker on the box or a shelf talker in the store, but the band is a little much and takes away from an otherwise classy presentation. Still, this is another cigar right up my alley. It’s a Nicaraguan puro made with tobacco from A.J. Fernandez’s farms, featuring nice espresso and chocolate flavors. I’m pretty sure these first two cigars alone retail for over $30, so this sampler is a good buy so far.

 

I’ve heard of ChiMolly cigars, but never really looked into them, cigars but never really looked into them; I assumed it was a house brand for someone, somewhere. Doing some quick research, it seems a couple of young men with Chinese roots are behind the brand. The characters on the band, 青墨琼琳, translate to “Azure Ink and Jade Gems,” apparently a reference to the cigar accessories business that preceded their cigar venture. They make some beautiful ashtrays. The cigars are produced in Nicaragua and, despite my experience with this Fox y ChiMolly collaboration, I’m interested in sampling more of their offerings.  The Fox y ChiMolly Robusto E is a 6″ x 52 toro with an Ecuadorian Habano 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan/Dominican fillers. It burned well. Long-time readers will know that when the first thing I mention is the burn, I’m generally not a fan of the cigar. I had expectations that weren’t quite met. This is a woody, leathery cigar that wasn’t bad-tasting, it just isn’t a good fit for my palate. For people who like, for instance, ADVentura cigars, it may be a great fit. I smoke everything, but I can’t possibly like everything.

 

I really need to get to Arizona one of these days and check out one of Fox’s retail locations.  That’s all for today, until the next time, when I may shill for someone else, 

CigarCraig

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March 29, 2026 · 9:42 am

Ortega Esteli, Zino Nicaragua and OM Essential Blend Reserved Cigars

Another month down, the last three months have flown by, it’s getting to be the time of year that things can just slow down a little!  I could stand for the summer months to not pass by so quickly! My friends at Best Cigar Prices recently advertised some ridiculous deals on some five packs, and I was surprised to see some Ortega Cubao Esteli cigars listed.  I have a soft spot for Ortega cigars, going back to the early days of CigarCraig.com.  I haven’t talked to Eddie in a long time, but he seems to have a retail site that’s still out there, which, ironically, does not have any Ortega cigars listed.  I’ll have to drop him a note and see what’s up.  Anyway, the Cubao Esteli has a. Ecuador Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I sampled the 6″ x 60 Gordo size, and I think this is a really good $5 cigar!  It burned properly, had nice nutty, clean flavors and was really enjoyable.  I really need to reach out to Eddie and see what’s up with these, and see if the Serie D is still around anywhere. 

Here’s an interview with Eddie from the 2013 IPCPR show:

 

I picked up a Zino Nicaragua locally recently, and gave it a try this week.  This has been around a while, I even saw the Zino trailer at the Smoke-onos event last year, but this is the first I’ve smoked.  It was a little startling a few years ago when this high-class brand was released as almost a budget brand, with a bright yellow band. People have raved about this so I figured I’d better give it a shot.  It’s got an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a filler blend from Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. I smoked the Toro, which is 6″ x 50.  This isn’t a super mild cigar, it has some nutty flavors with some cream.  It didn’t have any spice, but it had some body, not strong, but you knew you were smoking something.  Overall, it was enjoyable, and a good sub-$10 cigar these days is a good find. 

 

Last year when I ran into Osvaldo Morales at the  The Cigar & Lifestyle Fest at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. he gave me a cigar with the condition that I review it on his site.  I’ll paste an edited version of this after I finish this post.  I hardly consider myself a reviewer, I just write stuff about cigars, but I paid a little extra attention to this one, and put it off for a while because of the pressure.  This cigar is the OM Cigars Essential Blend Reserved and the cellophane was a deep amber.  Did the cello start out clear or was it yellowed with age?  I don’t know.  I believe this to have been a product of the Artista factory, as I believe many of his various Essential Blends are.  I also believe he told me this was in the neighborhood. of 20 years old. I’ve smoke my share of 20+ year old cigars, and this had an impressive amount of flavor.  It started out bitter, with an almost cloying oily meatiness. You know when you get a glob of tar from a cigar and it gets on you lips?  Not nearly that bad, but is wasn’t what I’d call pleasant.  I soldiered on.  It continued with the umami taste as the bitterness tempered.  I rather expect some refinement from a cigar of this alleged age, this one was wild. I’ve only been smoking cigars for 30 years, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a cigar that tasted like this one. Not my cup of tea but obviously someone thinks this is exceptional. I have never tried any of his other Essential Blends, maybe if I run across some I’ll give them a shot, but I’m not going out of my way.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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March 22, 2026 · 9:37 am

Drew Estate Early Access Fire and Water Cigars

Drew Estate was kind enough to share their Early Access cigar pack with me, so I smoked them over the last couple days.  I have thoughts.  First, the Early Access replaces the Freestyle Live, they will still be doing a video reveal event on April 14.  They’ve Image courtesy of Drew Estate streamlined the offering to a pack of 2 cigars for $12 (plus applicable taxes, I guess), and eliminated the cool swag that used to come with the Freestyle Live packs.  This is probably a good thing since the swag prices have probably gone way up recently, and the last few Freestyle packs have been less impressive than when they first started. For a low cost, this is a fun way to launch a new product.  This first iteration of the Early Access had two cigars, one labeled Fire, and one labeled Water.  They tell me that Fire represents the volcanic soil where the tobacco is grown, and Water represents the element that brings it all to life.  they are also saying there is one origin story, and, after smoking the two cigars, I’m really interested to hear what they have to say about this! The two cigars could not be more different.  

 

I smoked the Fire first, it just seemed to make sense in my head.  Both cigars are 6″ x 50, which I personally approve of!  The Fire is box pressed, and has either a dark Ecuador Connecticut Shade or a light Habano wrapper. What struck me about it was how smooth it was, it had minimal veins, it was very pretty.  Burn and draw were perfect, it smoked very nicely.  I’m going to get hate mail for what comes next.  This reminded me of the original Herrera Esteli, which I don’t particularly care for.  People rave about it, and it’s OK in the Caja China format, but it’s just not a cigar that agrees with my palate.  I found the Fire to have a combination of sourness and bitterness. It really wasn’t my jam.  I thought maybe Fire would have some spice, but no, it was sour.  I smoked it for science sake, and to confirm what I was feeling, I had a Herrera Esteli Lonsdale Deluxe last night and it struck me in a similar way.  If you like the Herrera Esteli, and I know a lot of people who do, you’ll likely enjoy this.  

 

The Water was a completely different experience. This was a round cigar with a fairly rustic looking wrapper. It could be a broadleaf or San Andrés on the lighter side of maduro, hard to say.  When I say it was a different cigar, I don’t mean that it was a polar opposite and it was in my wheelhouse.  This cigar made me wonder about the “one origin story” line in the literature.  I suppose Liga Privada and Acid share one origin story, so maybe that’s what they mean.  The Water had a sweet cap.  It was so heavily sweetened that it’s all I could taste throughout the cigar.  I didn’t taste tobacco, spice, coffee, or anything but the saccharine sweet flavor from the wrapper.  It was better to me than the Fire, but not at all interesting to me, just sweet.  Maybe there was an infusion? It’s hard to say because the sweetness covered everything.  Unless the infusion is sweetener!  Maybe this is a sugar infused cigar?  Again, I look forward to seeing what this is on April 14 at 7 EDT.  Do yourself a favor, drop $12 on this pack and see what you think.  It’s highly possible that I’m full of shit, and just had two cigars I didn’t like, and they are cigars you’ll like. Guaranteed the Water cigar will be a big seller.  

 

I’m pondering whether I want to share this post with the folks at Drew Estate…it may not come off as terribly flattering.  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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March 15, 2026 · 10:00 am

Sarzedas, Liga Privada Savage Feast and La Sirena LT Cigars

Due to some unfortunate technical glitch with WordPress at some point in the last year or so, a lot of my sites older posts have disappeared.  I am upset about it, I had a lot of historical data there that I relied upon, but on the bright side it gives me the freedom to revisit some cigars I may have written about years ago. Everything is still available on the Wayback Machine and I may be re-creating some of my favorite posts from years back for posterity.  I was very proud that I had 16 years of posts, searchable, now it only goes back to 2017.  I’m trying to remain positive. I’ve gotten that off my chest now, on to the cigars.

 

J.C. Newman shared their newest cigar with me, the Sarzedas.  This is an old trademark of theirs, going back to 1900, at which time it was known as “the aromatic cigar”.  The 2025 version is well timed to compete in a very how market fueled largely by Drew Estate’s Deadwood line, which is competing with their Acid line in sales, I think. We’ve also seen Miami Cigar and Co. enter this space with the Outcast line, and to a way lesser extent, Dunbarton’s Stillwell Star line (I’ll probably get some greif about lumping the Stillwells in with these, but i said what I said!). The thing these all have in common is using pipe tobacco in the blend.  These are a nice change of pace cigar for me.  The Sarzedas is made in four sizes (6” x 50 toro,  4¾” x 52 robusto,  7” x 48 Churchill, and a 5½” x 43 corona) at J.C.Newman’s PENSA factory in Esteli, with an Ecuador shade wrapper that’s not terribly light, and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers.  I smoked a couple of toros this week, and enjoyed them. They have a sweet cap, but not annoyingly sweet, the sweetness dissipates rather quickly.  I got some milk chocolate notes along with some natural tobacco sweetness.  I’m hoping to share a few of these with some friends who enjoy the previously mentioned “aromatic” cigars and see what they think.  I wasn’t expecting to like these as much as I do!

 

I was shifting some cigars around in one of the humidors and came across a couple of the Drew Estate Liga Privada 10 Year Aniversario A Savage Feast boxes (of 2, don’t get excited!).  These are available at events where Jonathan Drew is present, usually placed in your hand by him.  This replaces the Liga Privada Serie Unico “A” as his event only cigar.  Too bad, because I like the “A” and might still have a few of those around.  I actually smoked both of the Savage Feast cigar in the box this week, which I don’t generally do, but I failed to take sufficient notes on the first go around. The cigar is in the Feral Flying Pig vitola, with is a 5 3/8″ x 60 perfecto.  It uses a Connecticut-grown criollo wrapper,  San Andrés Otapan Negro Último Corte binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania Green River One Sucker ligero. I’m glad I smoked the second one, because I really enjoyed these. There’s what I noted as a sweet bread with a tingle.  It got sweeter as it went, which is, again, a natural tobacco sweetness, not anything that’s added.  Burn was decent, draw was just right, and these were very enjoyable. Generally, the Drew Estate Event cigars are winners, I especially like the Undercrown 10 Tuani and Willie’s Herrera Esteli Caja China is fun.

 

Finally, I got some new sizes of my favorite La Sirena cigars recently.  La Sirena has been a supporter of CigarCraig.com since 2014, and I have been a fan of theirs since ’11 or ’12.  The La Sirena LT is their Ecuador Connecticut offering, made in Plasencia’s El Paraiso factory in Honduras.  This evolved from the Jaxx LT, which was under the Old School Cigars brand, which was Danny Ditkowich’s brand before merging it with his daughter’s La Sirena brand.  This has long been one of my favorite shade style cigars, I’ve smoked a bunch of the toros, and the 7½” x 52 Double Corona was new to me (I may have smoked one years ago…who can remember?).  This was a good two hour smoke.  What I like about the LT is that it has some flavor and body, it has what you’d expect from a shade cigar, creamy, not overpowering, slight spice, and the Double Corona is maybe a little dialed back from the toro, which isn’t unexpected. La Sirena remains one of my favorite lines overall, between the Original, the Mexican and the LT, I can always find a cigar I want to smoke, it’s the perfect trilogy!  

 

I bought another Frontier Airlines Go Pass, so if anyone knows of any events within a two or three hour flight from Philly, or just wants to have a cigar at your favorite lounge, let me know, I’ll see if I can make it happen!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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