CigarCraig's Blog

by Craig Vanderslice | January 18, 2024 · 2:00 pm

News: Blackbird Announces Superb Addition to Core Line

I’ve been very selective about the news items I post, some of it is laziness, I admit. This one caught my eye and I can’t wait to tery them. I’ve been a Blackbird fan since talking to Jonas and his crew at the TPE four years ago, and they make some really good cigars that I enjoy quite frequently. Hopefully these find their way to a shop near me (Mark W? Tell me where!).

‘‘A TRIP TO PARADISE’’

After years of hard work and dedication, we at BLACKBIRD continue to strive to make sure our customers have the best experience with each and every cigar we produce. With this mindset, we realized that we needed a bigger space, better bands, better boxes and of course… better cigars. As a company we took a big step and built a new factory to achieve the goal and at the same time support our community in the Dominican Republic by creating more jobs.

The first goal was achieved. Every single cigar that was being made at the factory during 2023 was in flawless conditions. Since our focus had been in continuing to perfect our production, Blackbird had not added a new cigar to our core line. We have produced several other products but no new additions to our core line.

However since we succeeded with our 1st goal, it was now time to add a new blend to our core line. So in the 3rd quarter of 2023 we started tobacco hunting in different countries and meeting with different tobacco growers until we found the ones that understood the quality that we were looking to have on every single cigar produced at the Blackbird Factory. One of the growers showed us an Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper with incredible quality that put a smile on our faces because we didn’t have any habano wrapper on our core line.

We started blending with that wrapper and the challenge began… We did too many blends, mixed with too many tobaccos in the filler that, honestly it was exhausting. But one day, after several tests, a burned out palate, at 3 in the morning we decided to try the last blend… suddenly the room went silent… we all realized that THIS blend felt like we had just arrived in Paradise!

We named this cigar SUPERB in reference to the Bird of the Paradise and because of how it felt when we lit up the final blend.

SUPERB It’s a medium strength bodied cigar, designed to create a savory and lingering taste of nut meg but creamy to the palate. Also some hints of cedar can be captured which when combined with the white pepper, will turn your most dull day into a paradise.

This new addition will become available during TPE 2024 in our re- designed core line wooden boxes of 21 count.

CIGAR COMPOSITION
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed

OFFERINGS
Robusto Gordo 54×5, Box of 21 (MSRP $196.56 Box / $9.36 Per cigar)
Toro 52×6, Box of 21 (MSRP $225.28 Box / $10.72 Per cigar)

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Tagged as Blackbird, Blackbird Cigar Co., cigar, cigars, Superb

by Craig Vanderslice | January 14, 2024 · 9:41 am

Belvedere Cigar Lounge Some Epic Cigars, and a Trinidad Espiritu No. 3

Thursday evening my wife had a thing she wanted to go to in New Jersey, and she found a cigar lounge three miles away I could visit! It turned out that Belvedere Cigar Lounge in Lawnside, New Jersey, was hosting Irving Rodriguez of Epic Cigars doing a cut and light event. I know Irv, and I love Epic Cigars, so it was a no brainer. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered, the lounge is really nice. It’s 1300 square feet, has seating for a little over 40, and has some massive TVs and a sound system. It has 24 hour member access, with a BYO bar. I would have been happy to buy a couple cigars from their modest, but well curated, retail selection and enjoyed one there. As is was, I spent the better part of an hour enjoying a delicious Epic Habano and talking with Irv. I’ve known about Epic cigars for the better part of ten years, and been a fan of them. They are made in the same factory that Kristoff cigars are made in, are really tasty, and always well made. Dean, who sold the brand to Nat Cicco Cigars a few years back, is a cool dude who I like to call a friend. The Habano should be first on your list of Epic cigars to try, it’s got a nice sweetness I like. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, a Cameroon binder (this might be the seced sauce!), and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I had the 5½ x 52 Robusto. I love maduro cigars, but the Habano might be my favorite in the line.

Of course, I bought a handful of cigars while I was there, why wouldn’t I? I was rather hoping they would have the tenth anniversary, but that wasn’t available, so I bought some Habanos and Corojos. Friday I smoked an Epic Corojo in the toro size. The Corojo has an Ecuador Corojo wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. They call the 6″ x 54 toro a Double Corona for some reason. Great cigar, although on the leathery side of the spectrum to my palate. It was much more savory than the Habano, it really lacked any sweetness at all. I enjoyed it before heading in to watch a Flyers game. on a side note, last week’s weather took out our power for 14 hours overnight, and in the process somehow damaged our Verizon set top box. After the customer experience I’ve had trying to get the situation resolved, I think this might be the impetus to “cut the cable” finally, and ditch the TV service. I’ve been hanging on mostly for access to the Flyers games, but I think there’s enough alternatives available now that we can ditch the $100 a month. That’s today’s project.

Yesterday I picked up a couple cigars that I hadn’t smoked before, one of which was the Trinidad Espiritu No. 3. I was really looking forward to trying this one, I loved the No. 2, and the No. 1 was pretty good too. The No. 3 is a tribute to Mexico, with a San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made by AJ Fernandez in Nicaragua. This was very different from the No.2, now that I’m thinking of it, I’d have swapped the two based on flavor. I thought the 2 tasted more typical of a San Andrés than the 3. There’s an interesting exotic spice flavor present, with an overall savory base flavor. I thought it was really interesting, far more interesting than the La Gloria Cubana TAA 2023 cigar I bought and was severely disappointed by. I love La Glorias, but this one had nothing going for it. It didn’t draw well, it didn’t have much flavor, and just wasn’t good. I thought TAA cigars should be a good representation of a brand? The LGC is a pass for me, but the Trinidad Espiritu line is a winner, and there are not a lot of Altadis cigars that I can say that about (ironically, almost all the Altadis cigars I like are made in one factory).

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Belvedere Cigar Lounge, cigar, cigars, Corojo, Epic Cigars, Espiritu, Espiritu No. 3, Habano, Nat Cicco, trinidad

by Craig Vanderslice | January 7, 2024 · 10:32 am

Gurkha, Adrian Magnus and HVC Cigars, and a Story

Seems like almost a replay of last week, eh? Some of the same brands, different cigars. I smoked the Adrian Magnus XO, which is Cognac infused, and decided it wasn’t for me. Besides the fact that I haven’t touched spirits in over 30 years and have no frame of reference for that flavor palate, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Less said about it, the better, but if you like that sort of thing, go for it. So I hoped for some redemption with the Gurkha 35th Anniversary Toro. This has a Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder and Criollo 98 Nicaraguan Esteli fillers in a 6″ x 54 format, made at the Artista factory. I don’t usually look up the stats on cigars before smoking them, but I was not at all surprised when I read that this was predominantly Criollo. This is a really nice looking cigar, the Habano wrapper is a nice café au lait brown, and it was well made. Criollo tobacco has a tart bite that I don’t care for, going back many years. So much for redemption. If I smoked cigars I really liked all the time this would be a boring blog. If you like Criollo tobacco, you’ll really like this Gurkha 35th Anniversary, and it’s reasonably priced.

Adrian Magnus does made some really good cigars, and the Supremos is another one that I tried and really enjoyed. Maybe I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the Imperials, but I certainly liked it more than the XO. This is a medium bodied cigar made in the Dominican Republic in a 5″ x 50 format. It boasts seven year aged tobaccos, and to my eye, the only way I could tell it apart from the Imperials is by the color of the band. Again, the company is not forthcoming with blend details. The flavor is different though, so it’s definitely more than just the age statement. This starts with a sourness, not off putting, but like a sourdough bread. Eventually a sugar cane sweetness takes over, not excessive, but enough to be interesting. I enjoyed this one, but find myself wanting to go find an old favorite to smoke.

I have a story to tell that I probably should have told nearly 2 years ago when it happened, but I had some reasons for holding off. Since I just heard that the store has closed, I’m going to put it out there. When Son’s Cigars opened up in late 2020 I was told by the manager that if I ever wanted part time work to let him know. It wasn’t until the winter of ’21 that I was in the position to work some extra hours, and I offered my services for Friday nights. Knowing the manager (who has since moved on to another shop), I trusted that compensation would be handled at some point, I wasn’t looking to get rich, but I wasn’t looking to do volunteer work either. Over the course of three months I put in over 40 hours before I said “enough is enough”, I gotta start seeing a paycheck here, and the fun started. I was told that the owner, who also owned a shop or two in NY, and owns a cigar brand, hadn’t approved my hiring, so I couldn’t be added to the payroll. He offered to compensate me with a store gift card. Then, he came back and reneged on that and said that my purchases using an employee discount was equal to the compensation I was due. I could have made a scene, I only mentioned it to a couple people, and I avoided the owners offer to meet to tell me his side of the story because I really didn’t want to hear it, I’ve heard plenty of stories about this guy and just wanted to chalk it up to experience. It was just better for my sanity to let it go and walk away. I spent a few Friday nights smoking cigars and helping customers select cigars that they might enjoy. In the future, I’ll get some details ironed out up front, I was dealing in good faith, and that was taken advantage of. I think the manager was complicit in this as well, he had to know, as I knew he was getting screwed over by the owner as well. I wish he’d have been a friend enough to cut things off before I had to. I distanced myself from the establishment, I even gave back a sample of the owners cigar to his distributor at the trade show on principle. I’ve left the names out to not be a complete d*ck, but it’s not hard to put things together. It’s a shame that Son’s wasn’t handled better, but there are better places around now. Karma gets you every time. I have Cigar Mojo less than a mile away, which has a much nicer lounge, and the selection is getting there…

Speaking of Cigar Mojo, I stopped in yesterday looking for something that I hadn’t smoked before, but I felt would scratch that itch I was having. I was fortunate to run into Trae, one of the owners, there and we had a nice chat. I ended up getting a couple HVC Black Friday 2023 Petit Gordo that I hadn’t smoked. This turned out to have been a great choice. The Petit Gordo is 4½ x 56, just the right size for a hockey period! It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua, which are lower primings. This is a medium bodied cigar, like a larger Black Friday Firecracker, without the kick! It was smooth and chocolaty, not that it didn’t start with some spice, it did, but it was quite good. It scratched my itch and I’m glad I got more than one and there’s a bunch of them a mile away if I want more! I need to sample more of the HVC line as I have always enjoyed the ones I’ve smoked. I haven’t met Renier Lorenzo, but I’ve heard good things about him. I’ll grab some more HVCs.

That’s more than enough for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 35th Anniversary, Adrian Magnus, Black Friday, cigar, cigars, Gurkha, HVC, Supremos

by Craig Vanderslice | December 31, 2023 · 10:43 am

Happy New Year! A Gurkha and an Adrian Magnus Cigar

Another year is in the books! It’s the last day of 2023, and we are participating in our annual tradition of trying to talk ourselves into going to Red Lion, PA for the New Years Raising of the Cigar. Red Lion used to have dozens of cigar factories, I think the last one closed a few years ago. I remember buying very inexpensive bags of cigars at a local farmers market that were made there, Van Slyke & Horton, which closed around 2011. The cigars weren’t premium cigars, they might not have even been natural wrapped cigars, they were something like $5 for a bag of 20, whattaya want? Granted, it’s been 25 years since I bought these, the farmers market is now a Home Depot. Anyway, let’s see if we make it tonight! 2023 was a quiet year here, not a lot of travel, not a lot of excitement. I only smoked maybe 150 new to me cigars or so, which seems like a pretty big number, but it’s down considerably from years past. If I had to pick a standout cigar this year it would be either the Muestra de Saka Krakatoa, or the Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye, both Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust products. 2024 should have some more activity, I hope to travel some more. Anyway, Happy New Year, be careful, and enjoy some fine cigars!

Gurkha Cigars sent a nice holiday care package this year, consisting of a little humidor with five of their cigars within. It may or may not have been packed in loose tobacco that made what can be best described as a tobacco glitter bomb (hat tip: Kap), I’m not looking any horse in the mouth, let alone a gift one. It’s appreciated, and the little humidor makes a nice “on deck” humidor. It’s not Gurkha over the top like they’ve done in the past, very classy. I selected one of the cigars that I hadn’t smoked before, a Gurkha Grand Age II in the Toro size. I hadn’t heard of this one, but I didn’t get to the TPE show where this was presented. Apparently its a budget cigar, in the $7 range, this was the Habano, it comes in Maduro and Connecticut also, made in Nicaragua. This one had a very floral taste, and I got a hint of a mintiness, much like I got from the East India Classic Havana Blend, which makes sense now. This is probably not a cigar I’d smoke again, although I’d give the Maduro a shot. It performed well, the burn and draw were perfect, and it just wasn’t a flavor profile that I gravitate towards. There are some other cigars that came in that package that I’m looking forward to trying. Thank you to Gurkha for thinking of me.

I had correspondence a while ago with a gentleman from Adrian Magnus Cigars. I hadn’t heard of this brand, do I did some poking around, didn’t find much more info, and kinda tried to talk him out of sending samples. New cigar brands with high price tags aren’t really my thing. I wasn’t successful, and a package from Hungary showed of a week or so ago. I’m working up my courage to try the Cognac infused cigars, as a non-drinker, I have no frame of reference for spirits flavors, but the other two looked good. Adrian Magnus started in 2020 and is based in Spain. The cigars are made in the Dominican Republic, they aren’t forthcoming with too much blend information. The cigars arrived sealed with Boveda packs (60 gram packs for 3 cigars!) and were in good condition. After a few days rest I decided to sample the Imperials in the 5″ x 50 Robusto size (they list the length on the website as 152, which, it that’s millimeters, it’s closer to six inches, and this is definitely 5″). Like I said, $17 cigars aren’t in my wheelhouse, so I have to really think about what makes a cigar that price. Shipping has to figure in, small batches, aged leaf. This has an age statement on the band of 10 years, not sure if that refers to the wrapper or one of the component tobaccos. The cigars (I smoked two yesterday), smoked well, although one has some wrapper damage where I tried to remove the band. I want to say these are blended for the European palate. There’s a (again) floral, fruity component, with a sweetness that starts vert subtle, but builds. If I weren’t such a cynic, I might not be surprised to find out there was Cuban tobacco in this cigar. Of course, export of Cuban tobacco to the DR seems unlikely, and it would be illegal to sell cigars containing it in the US. Anyway, I quite enjoyed this cigar as an afternoon change of pace and look forward to trying the Supremos and XO next. Thanks to Vadim for sending these!

That’s all for now, today, this week, this month, this year! A big thank you to all of you for your support over the last year! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Adrian Magnus, cigar, cigars, Grand Age II, Gurkha, Imperials

by Craig Vanderslice | December 24, 2023 · 9:16 am

Mule Kick, Metropolitan, Maria Lucia and the Contest Winner!

It only just occurred to me that that the last three cigars I smoked started with M, must be fore Merry Christmas! Of course, today is Christmas Eve, so it’s time to start your Christmas Shopping guys! It’s also the day I’m announcing the winner of the contest sponsored by Cigars.com, but I’ll get to that later! In the spirit of the season, I smoked some gifted cigars this week, the first of which was from Steve from Tampa, who was up visiting on business a few weeks ago. He gifted me a Crowned Heads Four Kicks 2023 Mule Kick LE, a 5 7/8″ x 52. Funny, I thought it was a toro, but I was off by an eighth of an inch. This one has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over a Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, and is made in the Tabacalara La Alianza factory by Ernesto Carillo. I think this is the seventh iteration of the Mule Kick, and probably the first I’ve had, the Crowned Heads stuff isn’t ever really on my radar, I don’t see them in the stores near me that often. This was a great smoke, loaded with dark chocolate and spices. Ernesto has been a master of Sumatra for as long as I can remember, which, in this case, is a long time (my memory is suspect, short-term and names is terrible, long term isn’t so bad). Many thanks to Steve for the opportunity to smoke this, I look forward to your next visit, who knows, I may get to your neck of the woods before you get back here!

Next up were a couple of selections from my Secret Santa this year. Quick bit of housekeeping: If you participated in the CigarCraig Secret Santa (The CCSS moving forward), and have not fulfilled your obligation, please do so. I know of one package that’s in transit. Everyone that’s been involved has done it multiple times, so I don’t worry, and I try to be hands off and just a participant. Feel free to let me know if you have comments of concerns. My CCSS was a fellow Craig and in my area, so much so that I ran into him while out shopping Friday! So I selected the Nat Sherman Metropolitan Host Maduro Hampton, a 7″ x 50 cigar. You might be saying, “Craig, Metropolitan is a Ferio Tego brand now” and I’d say you are correct. You also might not know that Nat Sherman closed their doors in 2021 and Michael Herklots bought the rights to the names and kept the brands alive. This particular cigar is one of the older ones, purchased at the Nat Sherman Townhouse in NYC. I believe it has a Broadleaf wrapper, over Honduran fillers, made by the Eiroas if I’m not mistaken. This was milder than I imagined it would be, but it was loaded with sweet cocoa flavor and very tasty. Perhaps any strength it had was tempered by time, but it was very good. I enjoyed the crap out of this and it’s one that I’ll likely never see again. Thanks for the opportunity Craig!

Another cigar in Craig’s CCSS pack was the Luciano Cigars Maria Lucia, another Broadleaf wrapped cigar. This is a tribute to Luciano Meirelles’ mother, who passed when he was twelve, and has the artwork of his daughter on the band. The cigar is 5¼” x 54 with the Broadleaf wrapper, double binder of Ecuadorian Sumatra and Ecuadorian Habano 92 tobaccos, and a fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. This is going to sound strange, especially given the source, but the flavor was bready to me, like a dark bread, a pumpernickel or the brown bread that comes in a can. It was on the heavy side, which I liked, even though I smoked it before dinner (after a nap). I have met Luciano a couple times, and have enjoyed his cigars. I would like to explore more of his work, I think. Good stuff.

Let’s give some stuff away! You might recall, Cigars.com has provided me with a really nice Montecristo travel humidor, along with a RoMEo cap and a Romeo y Julieta can cozy. I am going to add some cigars to the humidor before I ship it, they will be Cigars.com exclusives from my humidor, more or less. The sponsor doesn’t know I’m doing this, but I can’t send out a package without cigars! Anyway, I’ve consulted the Google Random Number Generator and Tim McCabe is the winner! Please send me your address so that I can get this stuff out to you! Remember if you buy from Cigars.com, or JRCigars.com, please use the affiliate links on the left sidebar, I could use the cash!