The highlight of the week for me was my interview with Marvin Samel (see video at the end of the post, or go back to the Friday post).  I really enjoy doing these interviews, hopefully they are enjoyable for you.  I didn’t mention it on the video, but I smoked a Liga Privada No. 9, the cigar I smoked for the first time when I met Marvin in 2009. Marvin was smoking a Havana Cohiba from a box he had bought in the Netherlands ten years ago. I guess we should have talked about the cigars, but I thought the behind the scenes movie stuff was really fascinating!  Anyway, I smoked some other cigars this week, starting with the Foreign Affair Toro Extra from Luciano Cigars.  Luciano debuted this cigar at this year’s TPE show, which I did not attend.  This cigar has a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper, Nicaragua & Ecuador binders, and fillers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Dominican Republic. One does not see a lot of cigars with Costa Rican fillers.  This cigar smoked very well, had a really interesting sweet spice, almost a ginger sort of flavor. I love a Sumatra wrapper, and this one was really nice, and probably accounts for the sweetness.  It was very good.  

The next cigar shares some traits with the Foreign Affair, in that it’s made in the same factory, since ATL Cigars partnered with Luciano for distribution, and one of ATL’s founders, Peter, has taken on an executive roll with the Luciano company.  I found the ATL Magic to be an exceptional cigar, very special.  I tried the ATL Wise Blood in the Gordito size, 4″ x 60 and was impressed.  This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado HVA wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and fillers from three Nicaraguan regions. I happened to take Friday off, and after running some errands and doing some stuff, I smoked this cigar.  It had a hint of sourness, kind of the sourdough bread kind, which was interesting in a good way. I’m one of the odd set who doesn’t mind a 60 ring, I think it’s best in the shorter lengths, it’s certainly ridiculous in anything longer than six inches. Good smoke, looking forward to trying other sizes.

Continuing on the short and fat vein, yesterday morning I lit up a new Macanudo Gold size for 2023, the Gold Nugget.  This is a 4½” x 60, with the classic Macanudo Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and Piloto Cubano and Mexican fillers. The wrapper leaves come from early primings, making them smoother and cleaner looking than higher primings because they get less sun exposure.  I was trying to reupholster the seat on my scooter, and needed a cigar to reduce profanity.  If I can give any advice to someone who wants to try this, it’s to just buy an OEM seat cover and be done with it, it’s worth saving yourself the headache. So, as the scooter waits for it’s seat to come in, I enjoyed this Macanudo Gold. Fun fact, this blend is (or was) the favorite of Victoria Jaworski, the queen of public relations for Scandinavian Tobacco Group.  I smoked it early in the day, and it is a milder, creamy smoke, but it’s not without flavor, and delivered a really nice smoking experience for this guy who isn’t a huge fan of the Connecticut shade genre.  Like the Macanudo Inspirado White, it’s one I’ll go back t

o happily, whenever that shade mood hits me.  

Finally, I’ve been smoking a bunch of the West Tampa Tobacco Co. Red cigars lately after finding them in stock at my local shop.  I grabbed another robusto yesterday afternoon after smoking one earlier in the week. When I talked to Ricky Rodriguez last month (video HERE), we talked about the similarity between the Attic and the Red, they share all the same components, which are Mexican San Andrés Maduro, Condega Nicaragua Binder and Condega Viso, Esteli Viso, Esteli Ligero.  The robusto is a powerhouse compared with the Toro and Gordo, it

packs a punch! There’s a lot of cocoa and coffee, which I love, and, especially the Robusto, a healthy amount of pepper spice. I think the Red is slightly less refined than the Attic, there must be some priming difference somewhere in the blend.  This isn’t a knock, by any stretch, it wouldn’t make sense to have the exact same cigar with different bands and prices (although inside sources tell me that the Attic is sold out at WTCC). I love this Red, and it seems like I’ve been smoking a lot of the Reds and Black’s recently! Great cigars from a great family company.

That’s all for today. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, so take a moment and think of those who perished so that we can relax with a great cigar. Until the next time, 

CigarCraig