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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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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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

 

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November 28, 2025 · 10:18 am
November 23, 2025 · 10:52 am

Blood Medicine, Davidoff Chef’s Edition and Black Star Line Cigars

Next week is going to be busy with some travel and Thanksgiving and all, so I’ll try to come up with something to write about next Sunday. It may have something to do with the travel, or perhaps the Cigar & Lifestyle Fest next weekend at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Oaks, PA which I plan to check out.  I’m not at all sure what this is going to be all about, I know there’s one cigar related vendor listed that I’m familiar with, and two brands that I’ve heard of, but they are super small companies.  I’ll likely go Saturday, let me know if anyone’s going to be there. It would be more fun hanging out with someone rather than going alone.  I probably should have mentioned this Wednesday when I met up with Craig (the Breadman) for an impromptu Craig summit.  Anyway, let’s talk about some cigars I smoked this week. A few weeks back I was at the Wooden Indian and bought a selection of cigars. I smoked the Crowned Heads Broadway that night, and was really impressed. When I was deciding what to smoke, the gentleman working there, we’ll call him “Mark”, asked if this would be my first cigar of the day and recommended the Blood Medicine B+ as it was the mildest of the bunch.  I told him that he just doesn’t know me very well, as that’s not really a thing in my world. Unless it’s a breakfast cigar, I don’t really ever concern myself with cigar strength.  Thirty years I’ve been smoking cigars.  Anyway, I smoked the Blood Medicine B Positive toro this week. It’s a 6″ x 52 toro with Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s made at Pichardo’s D’Hatuey factory in Estelí.  “Mark” set me up to think it was mild, and maybe compared to the other cigars I had selected that day it was the mildest.  It starts with a citrus tingle, has some interesting baking spice flavors, and is, overall, a really nice cigar. I kept thinking there was a mineral/metallic flavor, but that might just have been the blood reference in the naming.  I’m O Negative, by the way, so I will be obliged to purchase a Blood Medicine O- if it ever come to that.  

 

Friday evening I was feeling fancy, so I picked out this year’s Davidoff Chef’s Edition, generously provided by Davidoff.  I had just finished what is probably considered the polar opposite of a gourmet meal, Dominoes Sausage and Pepperoni pizza, with some Parmesan bread bites.  It’s a very pedestrian fare, but I fed two of us for two day for $15, I deserved a reward! Don’t judge me, I’d rather have a great cigar than a great meal.  For the Chefs Edition 2025 cigar, Davidoff collaborated with five renowned chefs, holding eleven Michelin stars between them. Paolo Casagrande (Lasarte, Spain), Christian Bau (Victor’s Fine Dining, Germany), Kirk Westaway  (Singapore), Nick Bril (The Jane, Belgium) and Michael Beltran  (Ariete, USA),  all passionate Davidoff aficionados whom I’ve never heard of, see above. Back in 2017 we were invited to a Davidoff Chef’s edition event in New York City (here) which was a special evening.  Anyway, the 2025 is a 6¼” x 52 toro, with a wrapper from Ecuador, binder from Mexico and Dominican fillers. My main takeaway from this flavor-wise was umami. It was a savory cigar, maybe a touch of floral, but largely earthy and some sice as it progressed.  It’s quite good, but me smoking a cigar like this is like if I mowed the lawn with a Cohiba Siglo 6.  It was a very good cigar, and it was really enjoyable to smoke as it performed perfectly. It’s a little out of my league, but I appreciated it nonetheless.  

 

When I stopped in to Harrisburg Beer & Cigar last week, another cigar I grabbed was the Black Star Line Lalibela in a toro size.  I was surprised to see this in their discount bin. I hope I don’t get in trouble for disclosing that.  For $6 for a cigar I’d been wanting to try it was a no brainer.  I’ve never met Aric, the owner of the brand, but I’ve heard him on a lot of podcasts and he sounds like someone I’d like to meet.  If I’m not mistaken, the guys at Cigar Dojo do the graphic design for these cigars, and they are made at Aganorsa Leaf.  I should have bought more than I did.  This has a San Andrés wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  The name Lalibela comes from the area in Ethiopia where a bunch of chapels were cut into the bedrock. It’s quite a fascinating place as there are all these big holes with solid stone churches carved out of them. It’s an engineering marvel.  It kinda has to be the work of aliens, right?  I joke.  Anyway, the cigar was quite good, presented with a closed foot and pigtail cap,  it had some nice coffee and spice flavors.  I forgot to take notes, which is usually an indication that I really like the cigar.  I have to hunt down more cigars from Black Star Line now.  

 

That’s about it.  There’s still time to get in on the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa.  Go HERE to sign up. Have a great week!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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November 16, 2025 · 9:16 am

Camacho, Powstanie and Mi Querida Cigars

It’s funny, Camacho cigars were a staple for me back in the 90s, the Corojo and Havana were favorites.  They used to label the boxes “dark” Corojo if I remember correctly, they were the best. I even smoked though a box of Camacho Candelas.  This was all before the company was sold to Davidoff.  Since they have owned the company, I’ve continued to enjoy the cigars, oddly not as often as I used to.  I recently saw them on a local retailers shelves, and decided to pick some up.  I grabbed a Camacho Corojo BXP, which is the box pressed toro, a size I haven’t tried before, and it’s been quite some time since I’ve had a Corojo in any size.  This is a well-behaved, spicy cigar.  Apparently they added some Pennsylvania ligero to this Honduran puro, giving it some more zip than the round versions.  I liked it, and I’m going to grab more, along with the round version to compare the two. 

 

I had to take a road trip for work this week, moving some vehicles around. It was 7+ hours of windshield time, just out and back. I dis go right past Harrisburg Beer and Cigar and it timed out right for a rest stop.  Sadly, James wasn’t in the store, I’ll try to plan better next time I get out that way.  I picked up some Powstanie San Andrés toros, a cigar I had been looking forward to trying.  I like the guys at Powstanie, Mike and Mike (and Greg).  If you were to search my archives you’ll find a video I did with them.  (here, I made it easy for you!).  I lit one up shortly after I got home.  This is a Nicaraguan binder and filler with the San Andrés wrapped cigar made at Nica Sueńo in Esteli.  It had a nice earthy, spicy sweetness, I liked it a lot.  My only complaint was that it burned too fast, I’d like for it to have lasted longer. It was also pricy, but that’s getting harder and harder to complain about, they all are. Another winner from the Powstanie guys. 

 

Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust traditionally sends out media kits around this time of year, strategically to get cigars on people’s year end lists.  Over the last bunch of years this has resulted in one of his cigars being at or near the top of the Halfwheel Consensus.  I think we can all agree that the timing is strategic, but we can also agree that the cigars are exceptional and deserve whatever accolades they receive.  Two of the four cigars included have already graced my pages, as I went out and purchased some, but there were two that I hadn’t yet tried, one of which is the Mi Querida Gorila Gordo,  This is a 6″ x 60 with a “109” style bullet head. It’s basically an overweight belicoso.  It’s also an excellent cigar. I personally adore the regular old Mi Querida line with the blue bands. It’s rich and chocolatey, with just enough spice to make it interesting, but basically, to me, it’s smoking a dessert. I don’t shy away from 60 ring cigars, there’s a lot I like, it’s cool to have a Mi Querida in this gauge.

 

Back by popular demand, I’ve launched the 2025 edition of the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa.  Go HERE to sign up. We have a really great core group. That’s all for today, until next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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