CigarCraig's Blog

December 21, 2025 · 9:43 am

Tatuaje, Knuckle Sandwich and a Don Emmanuel Cigar

Happy Winter Solstice! While I generally don’t like that today is the shortest day of the year, it gives me hope that for the foreseeable future the days will be getting longer! I prefer sunlight to darkness. Anyway, its uphill from here! Perhaps I have seasonal defective disorder or something. Anyway, I still smoke cigars, thank goodness for electricity! This week some of my “new to me” cigars aren’t really new, but this time of year one can’t be picky. I’ll start with the Tatuaje Avion 12, the smallest size in the Avion line, 5 5/8″ x 52, a cute little perfecto by today’s standards! I know I’ve smoked the Avion 13, which has a broadleaf wrapper instead of the Ecuador Habano that this and it’s larger sibling, the 11 has. The Habano surrounds Nicaraguan binder and filler. Something makes me think the Avion is an offshoot of the Fausto line, but in perfecto shapes. I like the shape, and I believe these are reasonably priced. That this cigar has been on the market for 13 years and this is my first go around with it is a failing on my part. There’s a sweet, dark fruit flavor I get, and it’s a fairly loose draw so I take care not to oversmoke it. I think it’s a really good $9 cigar.

Another cigar I smoked this week is a Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Robusto. This is a cigar that Espinosa Cigars makes for Guy Fieri, the TV cook dude. This is the most successful celebrity cigar todate, with Guy actually doing events to support it. This guy (can you call guys named Guy guy?), is a super busy guy, who recently injured himself requiring surgery, and still makes it to events. It’s good for cigars to have a celebrity, who nearly everyone with a TV knows, show cigars in a positive light. OK, the core line Knuckle Sandwich Maduro uses a Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. While it’s different from the Red Meat Lovers cigars, it’s definitely in the top two of culinary themed cigars. There’s rich cocoa and nutty flavors and I like it a lot. I can’t remember where I got this, it might have been in one of those Smoke Inn samplers I keep buying for n0 apparent reason. I really like these Knuckle Sandwich cigars, there’s a whole bunch of Limited Edition cigars in this line I haven’t tried, and probably won’t. I’m sure they are good, I just never seem to see them.

Gabe Piñeres, PR guy to the stars, send me a flight of the Don Emmanuel cigars, Toro, Robusto and petite corona to sample. These cigars are blended by Eladio Diaz, who was the blender for Davidoff for many years. The “about” page on the website says that Don Emmanuel is a cigar sommelier, apparently world renowned, who I haven’t heard of. Eladio Diaz I’ve heard of. I could do some digging if I wanted to. They debuted at this year’s PCA show, and have one line so far, the Don Emmanuel Annunaki, a name which appeals to my affinity for the Ancient Aliens show. If there’s a TV celebrity more well known that Guy Fieri, it has to be Giorgio Tsoukalos, right? OK, he’s a nut who’s made a name for himself, I get it, I should be so lucky. The Anu (which I believe is some sort of fertility god in the Sumerian lore) is the toro, which I smoked. The wrapper is Dominican with a Mexican binder and Dominican fillers.It’s a interesting flavor profile. I want to say cedary, with some bitter flavors. Maybe there’s something mushroomy in there, but that could be a preconceived notion. These are flavors that don’t line up with my preferences, but they do for others. No complaints on the construction, it was well behaved. It’s a $16 cigar, not terribly by today’s standard, and it worth a try if you like cigars that I don’t! Not saying it’s a bad cigar, just not one for me (it happens! ask Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne). Maybe I’ll like the robusto and petite better.

The next few weeks have Christmas and New Years falling in them, so please temper your expectations for the next few Sunday posts. Not that any of them are spectacular, but maybe the next few will be shorter, ’tis the season. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Saturnalia, etc, to those who celebrate. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Anu, Anunnaki, Avion, Avion 12, cigar, cigars, Don Emmanuel, Espinosa, Guy Fieri, Knuckle Sandwich, tatuaje

December 14, 2025 · 8:28 am

Cert Maith Bruscar, Los Gallos and OM Cigars

I woke up this morning to 8 inches of snow and counting. While it’s pretty to look at, I know it’s going to cause some inconveniences, and lower back pain. I do like the quiet that comes with the early morning snow. OK, enough snow for this Winter, can we move on to Spring? Anyway, i smoked a few cigars that were new to me, and probably most people, this week. I’ll start with the Cert Maith Bruscar from Trash Panda/CigarProp/Kevin Shahan. This is slightly different from the original Cert Maith Bruscar, besides the band being different. I’m not sure why he didn’t change the name slightly, as this is the result of the factory (Sinistro via Artista), not having a component of the original blend. It’s available in the 6″ x 52 toro (not listed on the website…get on that Kevin!). I ordered these and knew I was going to be seeing Kevin so I told him to save the shipping (which is free), and just hand them off. If you order these, and I don’t have any skin in the game apart from supporting a friend, do like Kevin says in the description and let the dry out a bit. I gave them a few weeks and dug in. This is a tasty cigar. It has a San Andrés wrapper over super secret, undisclosed fillers. I got some dried fruits and cocoa flavors. Financially, the ten pack is a better deal, these are good cigars. I should smoke one of the originals to compare, I think I have a few around. Good stuff.

I visited with the guys from Los Gallos Cigars at the expo I went to a couple weeks back. Had a nice chat with Christian, one of the owners. It seem that he spent some time living in Honduras and developed some relationships in the cigar industry. I was drawn to the poultry imagery on the bands, and purchased a couple to give a try. I smoked the Los Gallos Noche Negra in the short gordo size. They had Robustos and this 4″ x 60 gordo on hand, and I thought maybe the gordo would be a little longer smoke than the robusto. It turns out I thought wrong. This uses a dark Habano wrapper, and that’s all the website says about the blend. I got a bit of a rootbeer note on this, which I almost never get, and find interesting. It’s almost a spice, along with a leather and cocoa. It’s got more of a bright flavor rather than the darker flavors I would think a maduro cigar would have. I found it to be a fascinating cigar, and wished it had a longer burn time, a 6″ x 54 or 60 would have been perfect. These guys are fairly local, I hope to get a chance to connect with them again sometime soon.

Another cigar I got at the expo was from Osvaldo Morales of OM Cigars. I met Osvaldo at the TPE a few years ago, although he didn’t remember me. It was at one of the hotel bars after hours amongst a collection of my “cigar media” brethren. I think the fact that he didn’t remember me means I didn’t make much of an impression. Anyway, I had a bit of a preconceived notion about this brand based on my initial interactions. I smoked the OM 5th Anniversary Edition, a 6″ x 60 with a slight box press. This is made at El Galan in the Dominican Republic. this cigar has a Habano 2000 wrapper, Corojo 2012 binder and fillers from Pueblo Nuevo, Condega, Estelí Nicaragua. Five years in the cigar industry is halfway to overnight sensation, to be honest, I don’t know how old this cigar was, maybe OM is older than that, must be since it was the 2020 TPE where I met Osvaldo. This cigar surprised me. It was absolutely delicious, with some dry cocoa, and that root beer flavor I got in the Los Gallos. I have been indulging in the occasional root beer barrel candy here and there, but hadn’t had any inthe few days prior. Perhaps the flavor memory is there, do they call that recency bias or something? Anyway, I really enjoyed this cigar, burn and draw were great and the flavors kept me interested to the end.

Check out the discount codes in the right sidebar, there’s one for Panacea and one for Bariay 1492 Cigars. Both have great offerings, give them a try! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as 5th Anniversary, Cert Maith Bruscar, cigar, cigars, Los Gallos, Noche Negra, OM Cigars, Real Good Trash, Trash Panda

December 7, 2025 · 9:38 am

Some Alec Bradley, Panacea, Stolen Throne and CAO Cigars

I didn’t do anything as interesting this week as I have the last few weeks! I have been working on the daunting task of putting my Secret Santa package together, I hope everyone who participated is having an easier time. If I recall, I got stiffed last year, so the person who had me wasn’t invited back. If anyone was going to get the short end, I prefer it’s me anyway. It’s nice getting goodies, but I prefer the giving part. If only buying my wife gifts was as easy as sending cigars! Anyway, I managed to get some new-to-me cigars in this week, more or less. Starting out with a new release from Forged and Alec Bradley Cigars, the Do Not Disturb. The press release explains the name: “Alec Bradley’s latest offering encourages cigar lovers to press pause, unwind and let the world wait.” Honestly, that’s pretty much every cigar for me. Anyway, this cigar comes out of Tabacalera La Isla, which makes other cigars I like, so I was looking forward to trying this. It’s a Ecuador Connecticut shade cigar, which doesn’t really excite me, with a Dominican Criollo binder (not a big criollo fan), and Dominican and Mexican fillers. My first thought was along the lines of “gee, another shade cigar”, but I smoked it and it was very nice. My notes say sweet cream with a hint of bitterness, which. doesn’t really sound as good as it was. This held up well as an end of the day smoke, but would be really nice in the morning with coffee (in the summer). I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Next up was the Twisted Hitch from Panacea/Flatbed Cigar Co.. Of course, Panacea is an advertising partner here, and I probably use all of the ad revenue to buy Panacea cigars. There’s always a discount code (CCFS25 for 25% off and Free Shipping on your First Order) and there’s a widget on the left sidebar with daily specials. There’s some great cigars at good prices there every day. I encourage people to try this Dominican brand that’s been around for a long time. Anyway, I saw that the Twisted Hitch was recently released, so I picked up a 4 pack. This is a 6½” x 55 Toro Grande with a Brazilian Maduro wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filers. This is a fairly full bodied cigar with an interesting light spice, nuts and maybe a little dark dried fruits. I think it’s got some similarities to the White Label. Looking forward to smoking more of these.

I smoked the Stolen Throne Castle 919 in the belicoso vitola a while back and was enamoured with it. I had picked up a robusto at the same time and lit it up yesterday. I needed a sweet treat after a hefty lunch, and this was it. This has an Ecuadorian Habano Claro wrapper, with a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan & Dominican/Peruvian fillers. The robusto is 5″ x 50. I didn’t get much of a difference in flavor between this and the belicoso, maybe it was a little shorter smoke. I get white sugar on this, it’s a flavor I enjoy in a cigar, and I really enjoyed this one. I’d pick up more, but my local shop has been low on Stolen Throne, and I haven’t been out to the Wooden Indian recently, it looks like they have them in stock. Personally, I’d pay the 50¢ more for the slightly larger belicoso, but that’s me. You aren’t going to go wrong either way, just like it’s hard to go wrong with Stolen Throne cigars (I don’t like the Yorktown, apparently some people do). Oddly, this isn’t on their website yet.

I have had some mixed results with the CAO Arcana line. I really liked the Mortal Coil and Thundersmoke, but thought the Firewalker was an abomination. The Stokk is an interesting addition to this line. It uses some Adullo, Cyprian Latakia, some Honduran fillers , A nicaraguan binder all wrapped in US Broadleaf. It’s only available in an 6½” x 52 Belicoso, where as the rest of the Arcanas are Toros. I think it’s called Stokk because of the collaboration with pipe maker Stokkebye, I doubt it’s a coincidence. The Latakia is mostly used in pipe tobacco. This pipe tobacco thing in cigars is becoming a little over done. There is the Deadwood line, Stillwell Star, Outcast, now this. Does anyone remember Sam Leccia’s Bumpy Root? That might have been the first. Anyway, the second one of these I smoked was way better than the first, moving it ahead of the Firewalker in my rankings. While note my favorite in the range, it has some interesting flavors in the beginning, transitioning to some nice, sweet tobaccos in the end.

That’s all I have for today, until next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Arcana, CAO, Castle 919, cigar, cigars, Do Not Disturb, Flatbed Cigar Co., Panacea, Stokk, Stokkebye, Stolen Throne, Twisted Hitch

November 30, 2025 · 9:38 am

Alec Bradley Kintsugi, Umbagog and a Visit to the Cigar & Lifestyle Fest

First off, the names have been drawn for the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa, so if you snoozed, you losed! Don’t miss out next year! Anyway, my wife came across this event a month or so ago: The Cigar & Lifestyle Fest at the Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. Actually the last day is today, Sunday, Nov. 30 (10-5). It kicked off with a “VIP” event Friday evening, and a whole day (9am-9pm) Saturday. The only advertising I saw for this event was on social media, and none of the cigar industry people I know in the area (reps, store owners) knew anything about it. I figured for $10 admission it was something I needed to check out. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t for me. There were four or five cigar brands, I’d be surprised if anyone’s heard of them. I did have a nice conversation with Christian at Los Gallos Cigars, a “new to me” brand, and they seemed to be doing things right. I’ll smoke a couple of their cigars, which I purchased, this week. I’m admittedly jaded when it comes to new brands, they often try to tell me that they are somehow different than any other brand, when nine times out of ten they are putting bands on someone’s leftovers. I didn’t get that from these guys. OM cigars was there as well, and I met Osvaldo at a TPE a few years back, but obviously didn’t make an impression on him. Jason from Fog Box was there with their very nice collection of travel humidors and lighters, and I talked to Kevin Stone from the Smoke World Podcast for a bit. I’ll let the pictures here paint the picture.

There are probably some things the organizers could have done better to make this a better cigar event. Talking to local shops and reps might be a start, and advertising it to a broader audience. I think a three day event was ambitious, I’m sure one day would have been plenty (I made it about an hour and a half before I got bored). Obviously someplace where one can smoke indoors would be ideal, although challenging. We’ll see if this happens again next year, I’ll check it out.

With Thanksgiving this week, and all that went with it, I didn’t smoke a lot of new cigars. My wife and I were balloon handlers in the Philadelphia parade (the oldest in the country), which was a whole other story. It’s fairly well documented on our Facebook pages. I did smoke the new Alec Bradley Kintsugi Wabi Sabi yesterday when I got home from the fest. I looked at the “smoking lounge” they had set up at the fest and said to myself, “self, you can smoke much more comfortably at home”, which I did. I should try not to talk to myself in public, but nowadays you can pass it off as being on the phone. Anyway, this Alec Bradley Kintsugi Wabi Sabi is actually made by A.J. Fernandez in Esteli. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Mexican binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s a 6″ x 52 toro. I really liked this cigar. It’s different from my usual preference, it has some cream, bread and baking spices and was really quite delicious. Remember when blue and green bands were a no-no? This is a nice presentation, a really good tasting cigar, and it’s $12.50, which ain’t bad these days. It turned a disappointing day around.

Last night I decided to smoke the new size in the Umbagog Bronzeback line, the Robusto. The original Bronzeback, a corona gorda, won the Halfwheel Consensus last year, and a Dunbarton cigar has been in the top two or three on that list for the past decade I think. Expect the Solita Red to top the list this year, it’s head and shoulders above the other new releases. Steve is strategic in sending samples of his excellent cigars near the end of the year so that everyone scrambles to smoke them and put them on their year end lists. I just don’t think this Bronzeback Robusto has what it takes to top the list. It’s a perfectly good cigar, although I think the spice it has overwhelms the chocolaty goodness that I like about the “classic” Umbagog. I guess it’s the same reason I prefer the Mi Querida over the Triqui Traca, different strokes for different folks! Come to think of it, I smoked a Red Meat Lovers Fritanga Thursday after the feasting, and wished I had chosen the Ribeye instead. Anyway, I don’t mind the Bronzeback, but would chose the OG Umbagog over it.

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

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review

Tagged as Alec Bradley, Bronzeback, cigar, cigars, Cigars & Lifestyle Fest, Kintsugi, Umbagog, Wabi Sabi

Video

A Quick Trip to Tampa, J.C.Newman, Hockey and Sanchez y Haya

Monday I took what is becoming an annual event, a trip to Tampa to go to a Flyers hockey game! Once again I met up with Kevin (CigarProp) to smoke cigars and watch hockey. Of course we smoked some great J.C. Newman cigars both at Corona Cigars in Tampa pre-game, and at the Diamond Crown Lounge in the Benchmark International Arena (the only NHL arena that still has a cigar lounge!). The lounge has been remodeled since last year, overlooks the ice surface, and is the best way to watch a game short of being able to smoke in the seats! It’s a beautiful lounge with comfy seating, TVs, and a nice selection of J.C. Newman and Fuente cigars. The service is excellent as well, with attentive staff there to make recommendations and cut and light your cigar if needed. If you ever have the opportunity to get club level seats at a Lightning game, it’s well worth it!

Photo Credit : Kevin

Tuesday morning I decided my best course of action was to get to the La Segunda bakery in Ybor to get some coffee and a cinnamon bun for breakfast, and pay a visit to El Reloj. I enjoyed an enormous cinnamon roll and a double espresso in the Cigar Workers Park across the street from the factory. It just so happened that my visit perfectly aligned with the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sanchez y Haya building that the Newmans have been working to renovate over the past couple years. It was a media event. TV stations were there, as well as a bunch of dignitaries, including Kathy Castor, the area’s member of the House of Representatives. Drew Newman, great grandson of J.C. Newman, who has. spearheaded this, as well as the renovation of El Reloj, spoke about the history of the building and the plans for the future. It’s refreshing to see their local elected officials getting behind something cigar related. I felt fortunate and honored to have stumbled across this event. It’s my hope that next year I can go down for a game again, and stay at the hotel! I took a few pictures, and have included the local news video below.

Many thanks to the folks at J.C.Newman for the hospitality! I’m glad I got to visit with Bobby, Eric and Drew for a few minutes, and meet Amanda. I’m sorry I missed Sydney. It’s always good to hang out with Kevin!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig