January 9, 2022 · 10:35 am

Stolen Throne War Council and Sensei’s Sensational Sarsparilla Cigars

It was implied in my last post that the Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms was among my favorite cigars of the last year, and honestly it was right there at the top. I keep going back for more of this cigar, there’s a sweet flavor that I haven’t been able to put a name to, and it wasn’t until I smoked the War Council yesterday that I think I finally am able to label that flavor. A little bit about the War Council cigar: it’s a 6″ x 46 corona extra, not a skinny toro, or whatever the site that sold them called it. Silliness. They made something like just under 1900 of these, and I was gifted one of these by Kevin and JR of Stolen Throne when I met them a few weeks ago. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, undisclosed binder and Nicaraguan and undisclosed or Honduran (sources vary), fillers. Best I can tell it contains tobacco, that’s a safe bet. It’s very good tobacco. I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that this cigar was the cigar of the year for 2021 at Kaplowitz Media, after smoking it, I don’t find that at all curious. Going back to my tasting notes, I thought it had loads of the same sweet flavor that I love in the Three Kingdoms, which I’m now going to recognize as “sugar cane”. Since my palate is less refined than most, that sweetness carried throughout the cigar for me, and was dominant, and I loved it. I find the Three Kingdoms more balanced for my palate, which is fine, it’s obviously in greater supply, but the War Council was definitely a treat! I love smoking special cigars, but I don’t like falling in love with them!  Thanks guys fr the opportunity, and I learned something from it!  

 

I made a little exception to my own rule with this next cigar, although I suppose it’s not the first time. I generally let other media entities promote their own wares, unless there’s some reciprocity. This particular cigar is now in general distribution, so I’m giving it a pass. as the post title implies, the cigar in question is the Sensei’s Sensational Sarsaparilla, which is part of the Espinosa portfolio. I picked up one of these to sample at an Espinosa event at Son’s a few weeks ago. This originated with the Cigar Dojo, who has done an amazing job with coming out with their own cigars in small batches. This is the maybe the third one that has “made it”, following Drew Estate’s Dogmas in Maduro and Sungrown. It’s pretty impressive, the only other cigar that I can think of that’s similar is DE’s BOTL (RIP TP)

, which, while is a great cigar, hasn’t seen the success. It’s a 5½” x 52 Belicoso, with a San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and fillers from Condega and Estelí. Reading the blend, this cigar doesn’t taste anything like it should. I expected dark, cocoa/ coffee, and I got an almost saccharine sweetness. It was more of the sweetness, maybe the Sarsaparilla thing got in my head, but I got the sweet flavor through the cigar. Not that it was a bad thing, it was just not what I expected. It was another good cigar from La Zona, and a lot of my favorite cigars are/were made at La Zona (for other peo

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ple, ie: La Sirena, the former Cornelius and Anthony and Arandoza). 

 

That’s all for today. The new e-mail alert system should work on this post! I’ve been working on it for a week and hopefully I’ve just about got things ironed out. When it works like I think it will I’ll kill the Feedburner e-mails so everyone doesn’t get two! Fingers crossed again, thanks for your patience, and there’s two of you who may have gotten both e-mails last week! until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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January 6, 2022 · 9:27 pm

A Romeo y Julieta Crafted by AJ Fernandez Nicaragua Robusto and Some List Thoughts

Tonight I smoked a cigar I picked up at a new shop I had stopped in to a few weeks ago that I hadn’t seen before. It was the Romeo and Julieta Crafted by AJ Fernandez Robusto. This cigar had a cedar wrap, was nicely presented, and I want to say it was on the higher side price wise. Historically, most of the majority of Altadis cigar I find myself enjoying are  those made in conjunction with AJ Fernandez, Montecristo, Upmann, Trinidad, you get the picture. This cigar was really good. It has a maduro Habano 2000 wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s got cocoa and some woody spice flavors. Like I said, I recall it being a little pricey, and doing some research, I think I overpaid, but it gave me some insight into this particular sho

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ps buying habits. I won’t name names, but it’s my theory that this shop bought these cigars by mail order and keystoned them, because I feel like I paid about twice as much as I see them on JRs or CI. After smoking it, I’m not mad, I feel like it was a great smoke, thoroughly enjoyable. It was probably the best Romeo I’ve smoked. I won’t buy a lot of cigars at this particular shop. 

 

It’s list time, and everyone is posting their best of lists. As I mentioned, I toyed with the idea of posting a list, but it would be for selfish reasons. I could easily say that my favorite cigars of the past year, in no particular order, were the Stolen Throne three Kingdoms Toro, the All Saints Saint Francis Churchill,  the Casa Cuevas Patrimonio, the Undercrown 10 Toro, the La Sirena Mexican Mermaid Toro, the Perla Del Mar Corojo Toro and the Partagas Decadas 2021. I suppose if I put them in a numbered list it would get some attention, and, perhaps, qualify for the Halfwheel Consensus, but I don’t I don’t need the validation. It could be said that I just listed my top seven favorite cigars of the year here, I guess I did, and for the purposes of letting my readers know, now you know! No fanfare, no trolling for shares or recognition, just sharing with my readers.  I applaud everyone who puts the time into making their lists, and making the rules that go along with them, I don’t have time for that. I’m just a guy

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who loves cigars, and I write stuff about them.  There’s no spreadsheets or process or stuff, that’s too much work. Cigars are good, when it becomes work, it’s not as much fun. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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January 5, 2022 · 12:46 pm

News: Black Works Studio Announces Intergalactic LE Cigar Release

Here’s some news from the folks at Black Label Trading Co.  I really am jumping the gun posting this from my phone because I’m anxious to test the new e-mail system 😁.  The cigar sounds tasty though, looking forward to trying a few! 


Black Works Studio (BLK WKS)is pleased to announce the release of INTERGALACTIC; hand crafted at Fabrica OvejaNegra in Esteli, Nicaragua.

 

INTERGALACTIC is a new Limited Edition that will begin shipping to select BLK WKS retailers next week. It will al

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so be available in Belgium and Germany later this month.

 

“Intergalactic is a unique cigar for Black Works Studio. I would consider it in a more traditional wheelhouse in terms of its overall profile with a definite Oveja Negra twist. The blend starts with bold spice followed by herbal and cedar notes. The finish is a balance of different layers. The spice and earthy notes of the Nicaragua filler tobaccos are gently brought together with the creamy, subtle sweetness of the dark Sumatra wrapper. This cigar is both bold and subtle all at the same time.” says James Brown, creator of BLTC and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.

INTERGALACTIC

 

  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Wrapper : Dark Sumatra
  • Binder: Ecuador Habano
  • Filler: Nicaraguan

 

 

  • Robusto – 5.5×50 (20 count) MSRP $10.50
  • Corona Larga – 6.25×46 (20 count) MSRP $10.50

 

These cigars are an expression of art showcasing the talent, technique and tobacco of o

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ur boutique cigar factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra. BLK WKS cigars are available for purchase through OvejaNegra Brands. For more information visit OvejaNegraCigars.com.

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January 2, 2022 · 10:01 am

New Year Cigars: EP Carillo, Rare Pink and an All Saints Saint Francis

Happy New Year to everyone! As CigarCraig.com enters it’s 13th year I hope to continue to bring you the same level of rambling nonsense you’ve come to expect from me! If all goes to plan, I will be attending the Tobacco Plus Expo in Las Vegas in a few weeks, so that should bring some exciting content (I hope), and maybe some insight into what’s coming up down the road.  I can’t say I’m excited to be getting on a plane, but it’s a necessary evil, I suppose. Anyway, 2022, huh? Crazy. 2021 went by in the blink of an eye it seems, not a great year for a lot of people, pretty good for some. As is my custom, I try to smoke some good cigars through the New Years “holiday”, so I dug out some special ones.  New Years Eve I came across a cigar that had been gifted to me a while ago by a friend in Florida who I hope is doing OK. This was a E.P. Carrillo 10 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Perfecto.  These are 6½” x 56 perfectos that came out in 2019 in a box with 10 each of the La Historia blend and the Encore blend, of which this was the latter. I believe the Encore blend is a Nicaraguan puro, made in the DR. It’s an excellent cigar, somehow it avoids being a heavy Nicaraguan cigar, sure it’s a bit earthy and peppery, but there’s a light citrus that’s sophisticated and delicious. This was a good choice for the last cigar of 2021. Make no mistake, I was asleep by 10.

 

New Years Day I decided to get the year started off with the Arturo Fuente Rare Pink Signature that I bought when we went down to South Carolina a few months ago. Technically the name for this is line is the Rare Pink Vintage 1960s Series, and uses the same molds as the Hemingway line, with a couple exceptions. It’s my understanding that some proceeds benefit a breast cancer charity, never a bad thing. I’ve always liked the Hemingway Signature size, it’s practically a Corona Gorda in a perfecto shape, 6″ x 46. Let’s face it, once the  nipple burns off it’s 5 5/8″, a traditional corona gorda. This certainly didn’t taste like a Hemingway, lacking the Cameroon wrapper (or broadleaf, they are a treat!). It has a rosado wrapper from Ecuador, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers from the best I can tell.  I thought it had an interesting sweet spice

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that set it apart from other cigars. The burn meandered a bit in the first half, but evened out in the second and was perfect until the end. I’d smoke another without hesitation, but I wouldn’t chase them down or pay more than MSRP for them, but that’s me. 

 

I’ve mentioned before that I toss around the idea of making a top whatever list of favorite cigars of the year. I decided that my ego doesn’t require the stroking of those who make the list, although I guess that’s a little cynical on my part and perhaps my readers would like to know what cigars I found worthy over the last year. I probably don’t have to summarize for my regular readers, but some notables over the last year were the Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms, Undercrown 10, La Sirena Mexican Mermaid, Casa Cuevas Patrimonio, Partagas Decadas 2021 and this cigar that I smoked last night, the All Saints Saint Francis. I smoked the Churchill, which I like a lot, it seems the Toro was The Cigar Authority/Two Guys Cigar of the Year, which is a pretty cool t

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hing for Mickey Pegg and his partners. The Saint Francis is a stellar cigar, it’s rich, decadent, delicious. It’s desert. If I were making that list, it would have been tough to decide if the Saint Francis or Three Kingdoms were on top, hey are both cigars that if I have them in my humidor, I’m smoking them. I can’t wait to try the Saint Francis Colorado, although the bar is set pretty high.

 

One housekeeping note. I have changed the email subscription service I’ve been using for updates from Feedburner to Mailchimp because Feedburner is no longer supported, has become unreliable and may just go away at any minute. Today will be the first test to see if/how it works. I’m hoping for the best. There’s a new subscribe button on the left sidebar of the site if you’d like to receive e-mail notifications when the site is updated if you don’t already. I never share the e-mail addresses, I’ve been asked, the answer is always no. EDIT: I’ve deleted Mailchimp as the email that went out didn’t have any content and it didn’t look like it was going to suit my purposes. I’ve decided to try a WordPress plugin that looks like it should work, we’ll see the next time I post! PLease bear with me while I work this out.  That’s all for today, happy 2022! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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December 29, 2021 · 5:47 pm

A Trilogy of Alec Bradley Trilogies

Back around 2004 I was at a cigar event in Las Vegas and these weird, triangle pressed cigars from a fairly new cigar company were passed around. They were called Trilogy by Alec Bradley and they were really good. I smoked a bunch of them, bought boxes and passed them around, then they vanished. In 2008 I found myself at the IPCPR show and met George Sosa, then VP of sales at Alec Bradley and asked about them, no go. I got to know Jonathan Lipson, who moved from sales to marketing, and asked him from time to time about them, nothing. Finally, now that Alan Rubin’s sons, Alec and Bradley, are involved in the company, the Trilogy are back, I came across a box of each at Son’s and grabbed some for a stroll down memory lane, hopefully.  Having Monday off, I spent the afternoon with the Native Cameroon. These were initially offered in a robusto, torpedo and toro if I remember correctly, now they are just available in a 6″ x 52 Toro. They might be available in robusto, I’m really not clear, they definitely didn’t bring back the torpedo. The Authentic Cameroon has an African Cameroon wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s a delicious cigar, quite tasty, with the nice nuttiness one gets from that wrapper. 

 

I followed the Native Cameroon with the Authentic Corojo. This had the lightest wrapper of the three, a Honduran Corojo, with a Honduran grown Connecticut seed binder,  and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. This was a medium bodied cigar that was pleasing enough, with some spice and sweet earthy flavors.  I would have liked it if this example had been a little freer with the draw, as the other two were, but it was still OK. It was still close to what I remember of the original, I think I smoked more of these long ago than the others, just because of availability at the time. Oddly, it was my least favorite of the three. 

 

Finally, I smoked the Exotic Maduro, the cigar that I would have usually smoked first, I think we all know that. The reason I smoked in the order I did was because I smoked the Cameroon in the afternoon, and I w

anted to

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save the Maduro for an evening cigar. I also had a recollection that I liked the Exotic Maduro the best of three, and I wanted to save the best for last. OK, I’m weird. The Exotic Maduro has a Nicaraguan Jalapa grown Maduro wrapper, fairly exotic, I guess, the Honduran Connecticut binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers.  This was a wonderful tasting cigar. It had an interesting spice throughout that I suppose warrants the “exotic” moniker, over some dark chocolate and espresso. This ended up being my favorite of the three, with the Native Cameroon coming in a close second. We should probably not be surprised that these are more than double the price that they used to be, all cigars are really, aren’t they?  I am happy to finally smoke these again after al

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l these years, it was a fun walk down memory lane.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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