by | May 25, 2011 · 9:43 pm

The Week So Far, A Romeo y Julieta, a Hoyo de Monterrey, and an El Credito

My mother-in-law passed away last week, so in deference to the family, I concentrated on doing my best to be a comfort and a help to my wife and her family. Cigars took a back seat to common sense and courtesy, so I don’t have a lot to report on this time. She lived a long and active life, but the last year was hard, with a diagnosis of mesothelioma and a stroke. When I smoked cigarettes she would bum one off me once a year, probably did that for almost 20 years. It was just one of those funny little things…never could get her to switch to a cigar, although she used to say that she once used cigars to break her cigarette habit, since she hated cigars!

 

I did manage to take a cigar for a walk Sunday morning, and I chose a Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve that I bought last year when they had an offer for a sampler for something like $8 delivered. I like these cigars, but they sometimes aren’t the fist cigar I gravitate to if I’m cigar shopping. I opted for this cigar since I figured it was one of the better selections I had on hand for an early in the day smoke. It was quite a nice, mild and flavorful cigar that fit the bill nicely. It was a robusto that measured 5” x 54. If I were buying a RyJ, and it wasn’t one from an island we aren’t supposed to buy cigars from, I’d choose this line again.

 

Just a quick note about cigar smokers doing nice things for the community, a store local to me, although I don’t visit there nearly enough for whatever reason, recently held a golf outing and sent me the following in an e-mail:

 

Golf Outing Raises $13,240 for Fox Chase Cancer Center

G&G Cigar Company‘s 2nd Annual Golf Outing raised $13,240 for Fox Chase Cancer center for funding cancer research. The event was held at Downingtown Country Club. This check brings G&G’s total donations to over $43,000 to various charities.

We’d like to thank all of you for your support of this important event.

G&G Cigar Company Thanks you for your business.

I think it’s pretty cool when folks who are looked down upon by the more prudish in society do something nice, and it deserves recognition.

Last night I lit up a Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros that I received at the IPCPR show last July when General Cigar announced the release. It should come as no surprise that the predominant flavor of the cigar is wood. Sweet wood.  Lots of wood.  Obviously (or not) this was to be expected given the cedar sleeve and the special “Immersion” process in which they age the cigars in cedar.  Don’t misunderstand, I really enjoyed the cigar, it was very enjoyable and different from what I usually select.  I’ve always enjoyed the Hoyo de Monterrey line and most of it’s extensions, and this one is pleasantly different.

 

Tonight I grabbed one of General Cigars new El Credito El Perrito War of Flavors, a cheroot-like cigar that’s made without a mold.  These are rustic little cigars that was created by two supervisors in the El Credito factory in the DR.  There’s lots of information out there on these, so I won’t regurgitate it here.  It was a good cigar for a mile walk.  It wasn’t particularly elegant, but it had a good flavor that will benefit from some age.  If these are priced right they will be a nice shorter smoke, although it burned roughly the same amount of time as a robusto for me. Don’t wear a good shirt either as the ash was prone to dropping without notice!  Thanks to General Cigars for providing me with samples to smoke!

That’s it for now, hopefully this weekend being Memorial Day weekend will give me an opportunity to have a couple cigars.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | May 22, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Take A Cigar For A Walk: Tommy Berry and the Punch Gran Puro

Tommy’s filling in for me this weekend while family comes first.

I have yet to start my boot camp…but looking forward to it beginning soon! We’ve had some snags in the way of our home purchase and are in the process of moving to another lender…so be in prayer for that!

As far as walking goes, I was able to snag some time to take a cigar for

a walk a few days ago. I took with me a Punch Gran Puro. For me, it was a bit on the mild side however it was full of flavor! This one was recently gifted to me by a BOTL on Cigarworld.com and I could tell that it had been around for a long time before sending it to me. It had a beautiful, very yellow = well aged cellophane wrapp

er. After opening it, it appeared to me that I was going to love this cigar! And love it, yes I did! I walked for exactly one hour and was only a good 3/4 ‘s of the way through it before landing on my front porch to finish it off. It burned evenly, held a great ash and the smoke was very “colorful” to say the least. The smoke was thick and yellow…that’s when I know I am smoking one that’s aged well. Durring the walk I only had to flick the ash a  few times when it grew long…as it held tightly to the cigar during the walk. I would highly recommend that you try yourself a Punch Gran Puro any chance you get! One last thing to add is that the weather here in East Texas has been unseasonably cool for this time of the year, but it has been extremely nice!

I hope that I can make it out there tonight for another one…as I need to be doing this 5 days a week…not once or twice a week. However, I will say this. If you too have been taking a cigar for a walk…and if only once or twice a week…then be proud of yourself…as at least you are doing something good for yourself…instead of just sitting in the chair!

Long ashes to ya! -Tommy

Thanks Tommy, keep up the good work and everything will work out with the home purchase.

Un

til the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | May 18, 2011 · 9:53 pm

Grimalkin Toro and Emilio AF-1 Toro Cigars and “Old Wave” by Garry Berman

Over the last tw

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o evenings I had decided to couple two cigars with a new book, “O

ld Wave, a Comic Novel” by Garry Berman, author of several books including “We’re Going to See the Beatles”, “Best of the Britcoms” and “Perfect Fool: The Life and Career of Ed Wynn”.  The cigars are two toros, generously provided by Gary Griffith of Delaware Cigars.

The Grimalkin is made at a factory in Nicaragua that we all know of, but I’m not at liberty to divulge.  It’s a terrific cigar, layered with subtly and complexity.  Similar to “Old Wave”, the story of an ’80s New Wave band who had one and a half hits, and owned the first half of 1983.  The book is the story of the bands comeback after a 25 year hiatus, where the main character, Terry, has been managing his family health food store in a small New York town.  He’s barely kept in touch with his band mates and is convinced to get them back together for a revival tour of sorts with several other bands of the era.  It’s a comedic romp through the trials of re-connecting with the group and is loaded with more similes than a simile writers convention.  Much like the Grimalkin, the read is easy and entertaining, with characters as interesting and compelling as the flavors dancing around my palate. Even burn, perfect draw with a signature similarity to other cigars from the same factory, yet with refreshing flavors that keep you thinking.  The story bounces back and forth from present day, to stories from the past.  Two thumbs up for the cigar, and the book is holding my interest much like the cigar did.

The female singer in the band is a beautiful Russian woman named Svetlana, who is dark and glamorous, much like the Emelio AF-1 Toro.  Svetlana loves the Brazilian music of the sixties, and the band, Magenta Nun, mixed the Brazilian rhythms with a New Wave style to create their signature sound. The Emilio AF-1 has a dark, sweet maduro wrapper loaded with delicious and exotic Nicaraguan fillers.  It’s sweet and savory, and full of flavors that are lush like the tropical flavors of the music portrayed in the book.  In the book, the band goes on a cross country tour with periodic vignettes of their comedic experiences, including injuries and incidents which mirror some of the groups escapades of their brief period of fame in the past.  The humor tends to be as arid as the Sahara, and there are little names and phases that just make me chuckle.  I like dry.  The AF-1, however, is anything but dry, it’s sweet and savory, like a Brazilian Churrasco.  Again, the cigar is well made and burns perfectly until the dramatic conclusion of the book.

Hopefully I haven’t lost anyone in my attempt to intertwine cigar review with a book review.  In my opinion, all three are well worth your time.

  The book is an easy and entertaining read, especial

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ly since I played in a band in the ’80s, and there has been recent talk of reviving the group in some way.  It struck a chord with me (a G Major).  The cigars while different, complimented the read perfectly. I never had to worry about the ash falling in the pages, as both cigars had an ash that knocked off in solid chunks and the intricate flavors entertained me.  Kudos to Garry and Gary for enhancing my last couple evenings. You can find “Old Wave” for sale at Amazon.com or through the Amazon store on the left side of this page.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | May 15, 2011 · 8:44 pm

This Weeks Cigar Re-cap, Liga Privada, Rocky Patel, Etc.

I have to re-wind a little bit to last Sunday, when I enjoyed a fine Liga Privada No. 9 Parejo on Mother’s day.  It was one I had picked up in November of 2009 and was a superlative smoke.  If you’ve seen the Drew Estate ads with the ash with the Liga band (there’s one on my “cigarcraigslist” page), or the mural on the wall inside the Gran Fabrica in Esteli, that’s what the ash reminded me of, I taped it off to avoid incident, but it was solid as a rock.  It was a fine tasting cigar too, lots of flavor and not too heavy on the nicotine. 

Very satisfying cigar that is a pleasure to smoke, and I smoked it to a very small nub.

Later in the week I pulled out a cigar from a gifted batch from Tommy Berry, my frequent “Take A Ci

gar For A Walk” contributing correspondent.  This cigar has two red bands, the larger said “Maduro” and the secondary band said “by Rocky Patel“.  A little research showed this to be a Thompson’s exclusive.  The cigar was a large pyramid that had a jet black wrapper that to my taste was San Andreas leaf, but I was unable to find any information to verify that.  The cigar was pretty good, although the thick wrapper leaf needed some corrections from time to time.  I took this cigar for a 3 mile walk and it fit that t

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ime interval very well.  Nice, fairly heavy dark flavors consistent with what I expect from a maduro cigar.  Many thanks to Tommy for sending an unnecessary gift. I look forward to his future guest reviews!

 

Tonight I decided to smoke a cigar that was given to me by

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Dave Mayer, the owner of The Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, PA.  I was talking with Dave about our Cigar Safari experiences when I visited the shop a couple weeks ago.  He had taken a group down a few weeks before we went, and I was telling him how much I enjoyed the cigar I blended.  He took me to his office to show me his blending sheet as his blend was similar to my own, with the exception of the wrapper, which was an Ecuador Connecticut Shade.  He gave me one out of his humidor, a gesture I very much appreciated. He had said that his cigar didn’t turn out very good, so I decided to fire it up and see for myself. His version was a fat toro, easily 6″ x 54, with the a fore mentioned beautiful shade wrapper.  He mentioned using the Brazilian Mata Fina filler and, I think, the San Andreas binder.  I can understand why he felt it was out of balance a bit. The sweetness of the Mata Fina competed a little bit with the dry sweetness of the wrapper.  It burned in the typically perfect manner I’ve come to expect from Drew Estate in general, and the Liga Privada rollers in particular.  All in all is waas a nice cigar, certainly different, but not at all offensive.  I’m thrilled to have had the privilege of smoking this cigar, I know that the cigars I brought back from Cigar Safari are precious to me, and I appreciate Dave sharing his with me.

That’s all I have for now, thanks again to Tommy and Dave for the gifted cigars.  Somehow gifted cigars always taste better, and it’s a part of the whole cigar culture that I enjoy the most, that is, gifting cigars, but being on the receiving end once in a while doesn’t suck!).

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | May 11, 2011 · 10:43 pm

Take A Cigar For A Walk: The Return of Tommy!

I recently dropped Tommy a line

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to see how he was doing and he responded with this Take A Cigar For A Walk review:

Well, I have been so busy getting ready to close on a new home for my family that I had put the walking to the back burner…but boy do I need to be walking! So, last night I did just that! I set out on my walk with a very simple cigar, a Don Elias. I had picked up a bunch of these awhile back for little to nothing. These cigars don’t look like much and their bands make them look even less. But, myself and a few other friends have fallen in love with these cigars. They are quiet mild, but burn perfectly, as this one did on my walk…and the flavor is great! My walk went really well. The weather was nice, especially since it has been very windy around here lately. However, I had absolutely no issues with the burn, it burned evenly throughout the entire 60 minute walk. I would highly recommend that you try at least one of these cigars. You will want to get your hands on one…then let it rest in a good humidor for many months…and then I think you will be pleased. Again, this is a mild cigar, but even for me…a more full body smoker…I really enjoy this stick on occasion.

On my health, I have not been walking as I should and I am paying for it! I cannot wait until this move is out of my way so I can stop making excuses and move on with the walks. I did do one thing for myself this weekend…I signed up for a former Marine ran Boot Camp that I will be joining in a few weeks! Now, a lot of folks think that these “exercise” Boot Camps are just for girls…no, they are for us all! I am looking forward to being able to get started…and hopefully be whipped back into shape soon. I am looking forward to the military aspect of it, as I know that I need someone in my face making me go further and pushing me to places that currently, I don’t think I can go to. This will be a good eye opener for me. Health is important, and I have put this on the back burner for way too long. With this, this should give me more time with taking a cigar for a walk as I will be required to exercise daily and give feedback to my sergeant. I will keep you all posted as I get closer to the starting date.

So, get out there…enjoy the warm air and light up a good cigar for yourself.

Long ashes to ya! –Tommy

 

As for me, I took a special cigar for a walk last night, a God of Fire from Prometheus, generously gifted to me by my favorite USAF Lt. Colonel, DB.  This was a torpedo with the secondary band identifying it as a Carlito 2006, which isn’t listed on the webpage.  The webpage doesn’t list too much information about these, but it does indicate that they are pricey as all get out. I usually don’t pay too much attention to cold draws, but this one tasted just like milk chocolate!  It lit and burned very nicely, and had a nice flavor.  I’d call this medium myself, but others may lean more toward full.  Overall it was a very nice cigar on a very nice spring evening and it was a great accompa

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niment for my walk, a special treat I never would have otherwise had the chance to smoke.  Thank you very much DB, you sent me some extremely nice cigars for the very small favor I did for you. Totally over the top!  I think I’ve mentioned before that DB sent a few cig

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ars in a very nice Casa Magna box which I’ve since pressed into service in the coolerdor holding the prized cigars I brought back from Cigar Safari!  I hope to one day have the pleasure of meeting you and sharing a cigar.  Tonight I grabbed an old standby as I had limited time, a Partagas Petit Coronas Especiales.  I brok

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e into the bottom layer of the box and these just keep getting better and better.  Another fine way to get a little exercise on a beautiful evening.

That about wraps it up for now. Best of luck again to Tommy in his house buying AND his boot camp!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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