by | April 20, 2011 · 11:23 pm

Wednesday Cigar Recap: Maria Mancini, Rocky Patel, StogieBoys.com and a Contest!

Seems like it’s been a busy week so far!  This post is going to be a little scattered, so please bear with me!  The good news is that the weather in south-east PA is getting more and more Spring-like, which means that it may be warm and sunny one minute and cold and rainy the next! I’ve smoked a few cigars so far this week, and had some other random cigar experiences.

 

The other night I took a Maria Mancini Magic Mountain for a walk.  This is one of my go-to cigars, one I grab when I want a good, familiar cigar that I don’t have to think about too much.  It’s a 6″ x 54 square presses torpedo that is a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco that I believe is made by the Placencias in Honduras.  I rarely have had a bad cigar from this line and they always satisfy me.  The fact that they are so inexpensive is a major bonu

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s.

 

This evening I went to Old Havana Cigar Co. in West Chester, PA to a Rocky Patel event.  Rocky was there, along with Mark, the local sales rep, as well as Alan Price, our local CRA ambassador and rep for a couple new lines.  I picked up an Edge Missile maduro and wandered into the lounge.  One odd thing that happened was that I heard my name from across the room and it turned out to be a dude I went to elementary school with.  I couldn’t believe he recognized me,  since elementary school was a LONG time ago.  It was nice to catch up with him over a cigar.  The shop there was very busy, it can get pretty raucous there.  I’ve only really gone to events at this particular store, and it always seems to be a big party going on.  Terrific if you’re into that sort of thing, I like a quieter environment personally.  Anyway, I got to talk to Rocky for a bit, as well as Alan, whom I’ve met several times.  I watched a little of the Flyers/Sabres game and then called it a night.  I enjoyed the Edge quite a bit, I don’t smoke a great deal of Rocky Patel cigars, and I honestly don’t know why, I generally enjoy them when I do.  It was full of flavor and constructed perfectly.

 

A week or two ago I purchased a Groupon for Stogieboys.com, ya know, when your wife and daughter both e-mail you a Groupon deal, you better jump on it.  Sometime in the near future I will make a $40 or so purchase which I only paid $20 for!  I’m sure I can find something.  Anyway, I e-mailed the site with a question, and received a reply from Paul Eusanio, one of the principles of the company.  I ended up having a nice phone conversation with Paul, who told me about the company.  They appear to have a pretty good selection and their pricing seems competitive.   He also offered me a discount code to pass on to you, my loyal readers.

Here are the details:

Promo code:    CigarCraigBlog (enter in promo code box in shopping cart)

10% off next order

Expires 6/30/11

Head on over to http://www.stogieboys.com and have a look.  Paul also provided me with some of their Stogie Register Cigar Journals to give away, so leave a comment and I’ll select a random bunch of people to send these to.  I’ll announce how many when I announce the winners sometime on Sunday, April 24, 2011.  These will be mailed via USPS media mail because I ain’t made of money ya know!

 

That’s enough for now, I have a lot of exciting things coming up in the near future so stay tuned!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | April 17, 2011 · 3:21 pm

Sunday Cigar Ramblings: La Aurora 107, Vegas de Santiago Lancero

Finally a bright, sun-shiny Sunday afternoon, which would be perfect without the gusty wind.  Wind or not, here I sit on my deck, in the sun, smoking a Vegas de Santiago Don Luis Secreto del Maestro maduro lancero.  This is a beautifully made cigar, with a little bit of a pigtail cap.  It measures7.5 x 38 and is referred to on their site as a Laguito No.1.  Actually, this size isn’t listed on the website, but is available by request.  I had been contacted some time ago by Lani and Rudi at Vegas de Santiago asking what I liked in a cigar, and I did a little daydreaming and mentioned that I would be interested in what the Sectretos del Maestro blend would be like in a lancero, and while I was dreaming, what would it be like with a maduro wrapper.  A few weeks later a package of 5 of these show up in my mailbox!  Anyway, I had smoked one over the winter, and I decided I needed to smoke one again, and I had the time for a 7½” cigar.  The ash is a little brittle, but the burn is fantastically even and the draw is perfect.  The flavors are very nice, it’s medium bodied and quite pleasant.  It’s not a dark, chocolaty/espresso maduro, which is what I look for in a maduro, but still a very nice cigar.  Vegas de Santiago is a kind of unsung Costa Rican brand that has been around for a long time and makes really nice cigars at a very good price point.

Friday evening after coming home f

rom work, then running to the cycle shop to pick up the scooter after

getting inspected and the belt changed, I decided to take a La Aurora 107 Corona for a walk.  My son, Corey, who went with me to Cigar Safari, decided to come along and smoke one of the cigars that we blended (on paper, from the emergency hospital!).  At that point on the trip he wasn’t feeling well and made up an Equador Connecticut Shade wrapped, mostly seco, blend that he said tasted a little ashy.  His blend was bound to be super mild, I hope that they round out a little for him with age. The 107 was one that I picked up on a visit to De La Concha in Manhattan last year.  It’s the only size I’ve smoked in the line, and it was a very nice cigar.  Burn and draw were perfect and while the flavors aren’t exactly my style, it was still a very satisfying smoke.

I want to thank Tommy Berry for sending me some cigars this week!  I told him that sending cigars was MY job, but he didn’t listen and sent a nice package anyway.  I’m glad to have a Diesel in my humidor again, and Rocky Patel‘s are always quite welcome!  There are another two that I’m not familiar with and have been too lazy to research.  Hopefully Tommy will fill me in on those two.  Thanks buddy!  I hope your house buying is moving forward and I look forward to you next “Take a Cigar for a Walk” submission!

That’s all I got for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | April 13, 2011 · 7:10 pm

Take a Cigar for a Walk – Partagas Serie D No. 4

I took a half a vacation day today (the second half!) to go to a doctor appointment, and have a nice late lunch with my wife. I also had to drop the scooter off at the shop for some service, and when I got home I decided to take a cigar for a walk to burn off some of my lunch. It was a rainy day, temps in the high 40s, so I struggled with what cigar to choose. The weather reminded me a little of what English weather might be, so, beneath my umbrella, I lit u

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p a gifted Partagas Serie D No. 4 for my walk. I know what your thinking: Why choose an amazing Cuban cigar to take a walk in the rain? Well, what better occasion to treat ones self for taking a walk in the rain! And what a treat it was!   I have a small assortment of Havana cigars that I smoke sparingly, some with some age on them, others without so much age.  This particular robusto was one of the more recent visitors in the humidor, a gift from a friend and reader.  The cigar was fairly light in color and heft, and had a bit of a ragged burn, but the flavor was a delight, I barely noticed the foul weather.  I think the current cigars coming from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Honduras, and, to a lesser extent, Costa Rica, have been of such exceptional quality in the last few years that the cigars from Cuba have taken a ba

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ck seat to them, at least to me.  That being said, there’s a flavor in Havana cigars that hasn’t been replicated.  The construction isn’t always the best, but the little zing that they have is something special.  Many thanks to DB for the opportunity to smoke this classic Habano, and I’ve never met a Partagas I didn’t love.

This gets me thinking ahead.  Last August when my birthday rolled around, I started a personal tradition of smoking a cigar with a ring gauge to match my age.  I went with a Havana Punch Churchill with a 47 ring gauge.  This year I need to find a 48 ring gauge cigar.  It occurs to me that the Hermosos vitola fits that requirement, so I need to go through my humidor and see if I have any of those.  This tradition will get harder to continue when I get past 50 in a few years.

That’s all I have for now.  I hope to have another guest post from Tommy soon, he’s busy with the daunting task of home buying.  While I’m thinking about it, it seems that cardiologists don’t necessarily condone “Take a Cigar for a Walk”, but the one I talked to did understand that taking a long walk with a cigar was better than a short walk or no walk at all!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | April 10, 2011 · 6:37 pm

Sunday’s Cigar: La Gloria Cubana Obilesco and a Contest Winner

Last August while visiting the IPCPR show in New Orleans, I received a tour of the General Cigar booth where I was introduced to all of the brand managers, received information about all of their new releases and was given samples of those cigars.  One of the cigars I received was the La Gloria Cubana  Artesanos de Obilesco.  This is a unique shape, it’s 5″ x 44-57 figurado, and square pressed.  The shape is inspired by the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago, Dominican Republic, it looks like an obelisk much like the Washington Monument.  The presentation is enhanced by a semi-circle box which is also quite unique and beautiful. The sample I had lacked the foot band which the production version has, which is fine by me since I find the secondary band on the foot to be a nuisance. This cigar lit easily and had a terrific draw.  I really enjoyed the flavors, there was a sweetness that I found very enjoyable.  All in all a wonderful cigar that I enjoyed while taking a short walk around the block and sitting on my porch talking to an old friend I ran into along the way.  I’ve said before, I’ve been enjoying La Gloria Cubana Cigars for the last 15 years or so, and I can’t say I’ve ever had one that I didn’t enjoy.  This cigar, as well as the Artesanos de Tabaqueros and Serie N are excellent additions to a classic line.

It’s time to give away another 5 pack of La Gloria Cubana Serie N cigars, generously provided by General Cigar.  We had 32 entries, one of which I took the liberty of disqualifying since I just set him a 5 pack of these last week!  As it turned out, it didn’t matter, and his number didn’t come up.  I had to use a new random number  generator since Random.org didn’t seem to be working.  I chose one at mathgoodies.com, which provided me with the desired results.  I’m happy to announce that a longtime reader and follower of my contests was selected as the recipient of these tasty treats.  Lloyd, please e-mail me your contact information so that I can get these out to you.  You called your shot! Congrats!

That’s all I have for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | April 4, 2011 · 8:02 pm

Tommy Takes a La Gloria Serie R For a Walk, and a Contest!

Finally!  Tommy has re-emerged and is still walking and smoking!  Here is his latest installment:

“Well, hello! I have been tied up getting ready to buy a new home, shopping for a home, and we just put in an offer today…so wish us luck! Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed several much needed walks…with a cigar. One in particular that I want to talk about today is the La Gloria Cubana Serie R. This one’s been around for awhile now, but is always a great full bodied smoke. However, I had an issue with it keeping a solid and strait ash. This one kept canoeing on me. I plan to take another on a  walk soon to see if it was the stick, my batch, or just me. But, with the “troubles” slowing me down a few times during the walk I still had a great time smoking this particular cigar. Something about walking, moving around…with a cigar has become very enjoyable. These “R’s” are a great “upper mid-class” cigar with great flavors and I love the look of the wrapper. Overall, it was a good walk…a good smoke, not great…but like I said earlier…I plan on taking another one soon and will report back as to how it went.

Long ashes to ya!

–Tommy”

 

I too have been walking.  I took a couple walks with the new Punch Rare Corojo 10th Anniversary Robusto, generously provided by the fine folks at General Cigar.  I enjoyed the two I smoked, although I can see where some age will smooth them out a bit.  The cigars are very nice looking 5″x50 with a box press.  I haven’t had a Rare Corojo in ages, but I remember them being a little richer in flavor.  Certainly worth trying when they become available.  I also smoked the last Cain Habano and it didn’t make me ill.

In honor of Tommy smoking a LA Gloria Cubana, it’s time to give away another five pack of the delicious Serie N JSB.  Leave a comment to enter, wish Tommy good luck with his new home buying experience, or give him some encouragement in his fitness regimen, whatever.  I’ll pick a winner on Sunday ,April 10, 2011. Thanks again to Team La Gloria for providing these cigars for my readers!

That’s it for now, thanks to Tommy for another fine contribution and my best wishes to him and his family for the momentous occasion of purchasing their first home!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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