by | May 8, 2022 · 9:42 am

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon Cigar and Random Thoughts

This week J.C. Newman announced the release of the Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon to celebrate the 127th anniversary of the company.  It’s going to be a factory exclusive, so one will have to visit the El Reloj factory to get them.  The cigar is a 6½” x 42 lonsdale with an African Cameroon wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Dominican fillers.  They’ve put a $15 per cigar price on this and will sell them in 5-packs.  Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that Cuesta Rey No 95 used to be sold in three or five packs in most pharmacies that sold cigars. There were bundles of Craftsman’s Bench in several varieties, Berings, a bunch of cigars in tins, Macanudo Ascots, and Cuesta Reys.  I’m quite sure I’m remembering this right.  I don’t think I ever bought any cigars at the drugstores, they weren’t in humidors, and, at the time when the drugstores still sold tobacco, I had plenty of good options to get properly stored and curated selections of cigars. It was nice to know these were available in an emergency! I do understand why pharmacies got away from selling tobacco products, but they sell a whole lot of other unhealthy stuff there, so it’s a little hypocritical. Anyway, here’s a little excerpt from the J.C. Newman press release:

 

“After the Cuban Embargo was imposed in 1962, my grandfather, Stanford J. Newman, scoured the world for new types of tobacco. He discovered exquisite African Cameroon Wrapper (ACW) and was the first premium cigar maker to use it in the United States. Stanford wrapped ACW with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and long filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic to create the Cuesta-Rey No. 95. It was smooth, elegant, and flavorful, and became the top-selling premium cigar in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.  Sixty years later, we are proud to have recreated the original blend of my grandfather’s most famous cigar, the Cuesta-Rey No. 95.”  – Drew Newman
 

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon is handmade in J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida.  It’s a 6.25 x 42 cigar that retails for $15 each.  Beginning today, J.C. Newman is selling this special cigar in limited edition packs of 5 cigars as a factory exclusive.  Cigar enthusiasts who visit J.C. Newman’s cigar museum, take a factory tour, or attend a special event at its El Reloj factory will be able to enjoy this very special cigar.   

 

It’s impressive that the cigar is made in the Tampa factory, which accounts for the price being what it is.  I had the good fortune to smoke a couple of these this week. It’s been a long time since I smoked a 95, a long, long time. I want to say the standard No. 95 is made by Fuente in the DR, and doesn’t have the Broadleaf binder, but I could be mistaken.  Had I taken the time and thought about it, I would done a comparison, but I’ve been lazy lately.  I’ve found myself smoking a lot of cigars that I like lately and not smoking new stuff. Selfish, I know. Anyway, this was a really good tasting cigar. Actually, the first one annoyed me a little as the first half failed to burn very well and didn’t really get going until the second half, but the second one was perfect.  It had the nutty “Camerooniness” that I expect, with some sweetness from the broadleaf.  It was unique enough to be special, and worth trying. Visiting El Reloj is on my list of things I want to do in the near future, it’s just a matter of making my way south sometime soon. 

 

Since I spent the week smoking some cigars I know I liked, I really don’t have much else to talk about today. I was impressed with the mentions of cigars on NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby yesterday. I know cigars are a tradition there, but they could easily have censored them.  There was probably something stupid that someone did or said that I thought about talking about, but I can’t think of it now.  I did hear that the Smokin’ Tabacco CFCF Charity Raffle has been extended, so check out https://go.rallyup.com/smokintabacco/Campaign/Details and get in on that.  Also, don’t forget the Red Meat Lovers Club Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event in June. Tickets are available here. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 3, 2022 · 12:30 pm

News: Black Works Studio Announces Hyena 2022 Release

News from the folks at Oveja Negra today. This sounds really good. I have had the Hyena before, I’ll have to get ahold of this one. Great sizes too!

 

Black Works Studio (BLK WKS) ispleased to announce the 2nd release of Hyena: Hand crafted in Esteli, Nicaragua at Fabrica OvejaNegra.

 

HYENA is a Limited Edition that will be shipping toselect BLK WKS retailers this month.  It will also be available in Belgium and Germany.

 

“Hyena received a lot of hype in 2021 and this year’s release will be no different.  The 2022 Hyena is bold, spicy, very well balance and a touch more intense than last year’s release. A truly unique cigar that is focused on showcasing a perfect balance between Nicaraguan fillers and the Cameroon wrapper.  The profile is spice forward with white pepper & semi-sweet baking spices blended with herbal notes & cedar.

 

 

The finish is a blend of bitter cocoa, cream & malt.Hyena is an extremely complex and balanced cigarand is a tribute to my wife’s and my many years of living in Africa,” said James Brown, creator of BLTC & BLK WKS and owner at Fabrica Oveja Negra. 

 

HYENA

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Wrapper: Africa Cameroon​

Binder: Nicaraguan Habano

Filler: Nicaragua

 

Corona Gorda – 5 x 46 (20 count) MSRP $12.50

Lonsdale – 6.5×42 (20 count) MSRP $12.50

 

These cigars are an expression of art showcasing the talent, technique and tobacco of our boutique cigar factory; Fabrica Oveja Negra. BLK WKS cigars are available for purchase through Oveja Negra Brands. For more information visit OvejaNegraCigars.com 

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by | May 1, 2022 · 9:46 am

A Selection of Cigars: Hits and Misses

This is going to be a bit of a weird post. I, of course, smokes a bunch of cigars this week, and had some mixed results. I probably should follow the rule of not saying anything at all if you don’t have anything nice to say, but it’s not all negative. SOme of it is personal preference, some of it is something else. There are also some standout cigars that I’ve probably mentioned here before but merit repeating. Let’s start with the CAO Arcana Firewalker. This cigar is a nice, big 6½” x 56 cigar, with a massive band. It employs a strange method of fermentation for one of the Nicaraguan filler leaves where they bury the pilon in volcanic soil for two months. Sounds like a fun story, and I don’t doubt it, but this wasn’t where I had a problem. The cigar tasted fine, I rather enjoyed the flavors. It was kind of bready, with a little cocoa and some spice, very nice. When I received these samples they were bone dry, as measured with my Humidimeter. Bone. Dry. The first one I smoked just kind of flaked apart. I let them rest in the humidor for a couple months, I guess, to get some moisture into them. When one had achieved what I felt was an acceptable level of internal moisture content, I gave it another go. For whatever reason, the Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper on this one just wouldn’t burn. It was like the original H2000 wrappers 20 years ago. I

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would feel safe making childrens pajamas out of this wrapper, it was so flame retardant. I gave up on it with about 2 inches to go, after just about emptying my lighter relighting it. I guess I’ll leave the remaining samples in the humidor, and if I see some in a shop maybe I’ll try one to see if my batch was an anomaly. I hope it was because it was a good tasting smoke and I like the first Arcana a lot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is a miss.

 

One cigar I had which isn’t new, but one I really enjoy and bears repeating is the Crow Corona from Blackbird Cigars. I’m generally a toro guy, but I think I like this in the 6″ x 44 corona the best. The narrow ring adds a little more of an edge to the San Andrés wrapper that I like. I always like a good Mexican maduro, and this one really made me happy. I’m to understand that Blackbird has opened a new, larger factory in ght Dominican Republic. I’ve been a fan of their cigars, I can’t recall having a bad one, with the Crow being my favorite. They do a really nice job with Sumatra wrappers too. I will be putting some more Crow Coronas in my humidor, for sure.  In case you were wondering, this is a hit!

 

Another repeat is the Yagua. I smoked one from a 2021 box this week that was amazing. J.C. Newman just announced that they are shipping the 2022 release, with a second wave due in November. These have aged well, the one I smoked was practically round, which was strange. They say that this is wrapped in an “underfermented”

Broadleaf wrapper. whatever that means, I ‘d say it works.  I had some distinct sensations of black licorice several times while smoking this cigar, and I really liked that. I enjoyed it so much I was tempted to smoke one the following day, alas, I should have followed my instincts! Again, a hit.

 

The Drew Estate Freestyle Live event is coming up on Thursday, May 12, and receiving a lot of buzz, so I figured I’d give the Mystery Cigar in the pack a try and see what the deal was. I tried the 6″ x 60 gordo first. This digital event is happening on the eve of the Florida Barn Smoker, and the cigars in the pack happen to be the same sizes that the 20 Acre Farm Mystery cigars were presented, leading some to believe there may be a connection. It’s possible, although many cigars are offered in robusto, toro and gordo, so that’s a bit of a stretch. I personally didn’t really like the cigar I smoked, it was heavily woody to me, and that’s not my preference. I don’t like FSG tobacco, so there could be something there, and I’m also not a big fan of the original Herrera Esteli, so it could be a variation on that. I don’t think it’s a riff on the MUWAT, as

I grabbed a fiver of Baitfish yesterday and forgot how good those little guys are!  I’ll suffer through the rubusto I guess and see what I think of t

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hat size, maybe it’s different. I’ll be very disappointed if those guessing it’s in the Nica Rustica line are right. Big miss.

 

Let’s finish strong. OK, I lied. I picked up an Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Toro yesterday because I’ve been wanting to try it. It’ a 6″ x 54 with a “Nicaraguan Café” wrapper, and Aganorsa Leaf binder and fillers. I’ve been having trouble finding cigars

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in the Aganorsa range that suit my palate, quite honestly. Sadly, this was another one that did not. I’m sure it’s a great cigar, it certainly performed well, but the flavor left me wanting. This was another that I’ll call wood heavy in the flavor department. I also found it slightly drying. It was a bit sneaky strong. Everyone has different tastes, that’s what makes cigars so much fun, this one wasn’t for me. I’ll keep working thought the range, and I know there are a lot of cigars made by Aganorsa that I like! Unfortunately a miss.

 

That’s it for today, I’ll be smoking a few favorites today!  My part-time retail experiment has come to an end. ore on that

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, maybe, another time, but it was fun while it lasted. My Friday evenings are now free, who wants to herf?  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 28, 2022 · 6:39 pm

News: J.C. Newman Ships 2022 Yagua Cigars to Retailers

Here’s some news from J.C. Newman. I’m actually about to light up a 2021 Yagua after I finish writing this. I really enjoy them, they are a special cigar. I really need to make the trip to Tampa to visit the factory one of these days. It’s been on my wishlist for a while, and is especially so now that they have renovated the factory and have tours. I’m a big fan of a lot of J.C. Newman cigars, and have been for many years.

This is the first Yagua release of 2022

 

Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. began shipping 1,250 boxes of its acclaimed Yagua cigars to premium cigar retailers in the United States. This is the first release of Yagua in 2022. A second release is expected around Thanksgiving.

 

“Yagua is one of the oddest cigars on the market,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation cigar maker. “Because Yagua breaks all of the rules for how premium cigars should be rolled, it continues to shock me that many cigar enthusiasts love Yagua and that the brand has gained an almost cult-like following.”

 

 

Yagua is a recreation of a farm-rolled cigar from Cuba. It is handmade at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Estelí, Nicaragua with an underfermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. These special cigars get thei

r unique shape from being tied together with pieces of the Yagua tree. Yagua is a 6” x 52 toro with a sugges

ted retail price of $8 per cigar. Each box contains a Yagua-tree-wrapped bundle of 20 cigars.

 

“Our factory hates rolling Yagua because it is harder and slower to make cigars like they would have been rolled on a farm,” said Newman. “No two Yaguas are the same. They are truly one-of-a-kind cigars.”

 

The following is the story of Yagua:

My family has worked with tobacco for many generations. Growing up in Cuba in the 1940s, I spent countless hours with my grandfather in the tobacco fields of Pinar del Río. At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any

molds or presses. To keep his cigars safe, he would tie a handful of them together using pieces of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. When he was ready to enjoy his personal cigars, he untied the bundle. He loved how every cigar had its own unique shape. He called these cigars Yagua Palmiche after the palm tree and its bright red seeds. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve recreated Yagua Palmiche, rolling them the exactly how my grandfather did a century ago. These are the Cuban cigars I remember.

Lazaro Lopez, Co-General Manager
J.C. Newman PENSA Cigar Factory
Story as told to Drew Newman

 

About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. J.C. Newman rolls its El Reloj, Factory Throwouts, and Trader Jacks cigars by hand-operated, vintage cigar machines at its historic cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. It also hand rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. With its longtime partners the Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.

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by | April 24, 2022 · 9:22 am

Punch Knuckle Buster, El Rey Del Mundo and Pichardo Cigars

I’ve smoked a few of the new Punch Knuckle Buster Cigars recently and I have to say that I really like them. I had recently smoked my last Knuckle Buster natural, which had been recommended to me a while ago by a tobacconist. This had been a good recommendation, as I had found this to be a tasty smoke and had revisited it frequently. So I was excited to try the maduro version. I’m tempted to say that this is a really good cigar for the price, and these are very reasonably priced at under $6 for the Toro, and I’m amazed that they can make a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar so in

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expensively. These have an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers and are made in Honduras. This is a really good tasting cigar, with a different flavor than many Broadleaf cigars. I want to say it’s a savory, meaty kind of flavor, whatever it is, it appeals to me and I like it. This will be a cigar I will pick up from time to time for sure, and wish they had in the rothschild size as it would be a great short smoke.

 

I smoked the El Rey Del Mundo Natural this week, and, once again, was taken back to the 90’s when I smoked these often. My go to in this line was the Rectangulare, a box pressed corona g

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orda basically, which seems to be included in the current lineup. I smoked the Robusto en Vidrio, a 5½”

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x 50 robusto. General Cigars (this actually falls under their Forged division) likes the longer robusto vitola, it shows up in a lot of lines. I don’t have a good argument against the extra half an inch in most cases. Again, this is a sub-seven dollar cigar, and a very good smoke. It’s creamy, medium bodied with some woody notes. I’m not at all displeased smoking this cigar.

 

I picked up a Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andrés yesterday on the recommendation of Vince at Son’s and smoked it last night.  I regret only grabbing one, and I almost always get two, but I’ve been trying to be frugal. We’ve had a seemingly endless parade of household expenses this month, plumber, appliances, veterinarian, IRS, I don’t need more cigars. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to t

ry more cigars from the Pichardo factory, so I gave this one a try

.  This was a toro, with San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder, and Fillers from Ometepe, Esteli, and Jalapa.  From what I could tell, this was

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a delicious cigar, heavy on the espresso. I say that because this was plagued with apparent voids in the fill. It was weird. It started with a tunnel for the first third of the cigar, it took two or three puffs to get any smoke. Then for an inch it would be OK. Then there was another void. It was irr

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itating, because the cigar tasted really good. I’ll try another, you know, for science.  

 

That’s all for today, don’t forget to check out the Red Meat Lover’s Club Presents Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event (I posted about it here). I hope to see some of you there! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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