by | January 13, 2021 · 8:50 pm

Another Don Lino Africa and Some Housekeeping

I realised that I failed to set an end date for the contest I have running for the Groovy Guy Gifts Good To Go Cigar Case. I was going to announce the winner tonight, but in light of my oversight, I’ll announce the winner on Sunday. Everyone has an opportunity to enter to win a nice case and some of my cigars. I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome a couple of new partners to CigarCraig.com. Best Cigar Prices is back after a hiatus. I’m pleased to have this Pennsylvania-based retailer back. I’ve visited their facility and lounge a couple times and it’s very nice, and I’ve been following them since they sent an e-mail list with their specials some 20 years ago when they operated under New Global Marketing. They have a nice Alec Bradley Special running now for our readers. See the ad on the right sidebar on most browsers. Also, new to the family is Scotty’s Cigars. “Scotty” used to have another shop that he sold to a large company, and recently re-emerged into the market. they have some great offerings and will offer exceptional service. Again, check the ad on the right sidebar. As with all of the ads presented on my site, they are all companies that meet my standards, if I’m not a fan of their work, or don’t have a personal connection, they don’t appear on the site which carries my name. I’m not just a whore for cash here, I have some integrity! I use, smoke, and purchase from every company represented. 

 

I’m a happy camper tonight, as  the NHL season started, and the Flyers started off with a convincing win over the cross state rival Penguins. I watched some of the game while enjoying anther Don Lino Africa, this time in the Toro size. This Toro os 5½” x 54, not quite the 6″ toro I prefer, but it’ll do. When I picked these up at Top Shelf a week or so ago, Jim, the owner, mentioned that this was his favorite size. I smoked the Robusto at the time, and it was good, but I see what he means about this being the better size. The Cameroon binder comes through a little more in the toro, as it has a bit more sweet nuttiness than the robusto presented. It was a really tasty smoke. Funny thing, when I smoked that first one, it was after I stopped for a Covid test (which came back negative, thank you), and today I had the first course of the Covid vaccine. I suppose now I need to grab another size to smoke in 28 days when I go back for the second shot of the vaccine, just to remain consistent. It’s part of my CDO (that’s OCD in alphabetical order, as it should be). I screwed up and now I’m stuck. So far, no real side effects other than feeling like I got punched in the arm, but that’s no different than a flu shot or tetanus shot, I guess. Since I work in a health-care related area, and one of our employees was positive, I decided to get tested, and they offered us the vaccine through the VA, with whom we contract. It’ll be interesting to see how it all goes. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 10, 2021 · 11:01 am

Groovy Guy Gifts Good To Go Cigar Case and a Contest!

Check out this cigar case I got from the folks at Groovy Guy Gifts! If you aren’t familiar with this site, it’s a great site to shop for guy related gifts that can be personalized. They don’t just have cigar related items, they also have drinkware, knives, leather goods and other dude-related stuff. I’ve been dealing with them for a few years and they’ve always been top notch. They do very nice personalization work, which, along with prompt delivery, is the service you’re paying for, really, but the products are good quality. I happen to know where most of the products come from, and have a long time relationship with the retail arm of the company that makes a lot of the stuff, so I know a little about it. You can look back at some of my past posts about Groovy Guy Gifts, and their sibling site, Groovy Groomsmen Gifts. Full disclosure, Groovy Guy Gifts provided the product for this review, but that’s all! 

 

Joe, the owner of the company, asked me to select an item from their new offerings, and I don’t like to pick the most expensive thing, and the item I really wanted to review was out of stock, so the Good To Go Cigar Case was my second choice. This is a nice looking, three cigar travel humidor, with a padded leatherette outside, and cedar lined interior, with a simple cutter in the lid. The sleeve for the cutter is formed pretty specifically for the cute

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r included, but a classic Davidoff Zino cutter might fit, I don’t have one handy, not many other cutters are going to slide into the sleeve. Like a punch in a lighter, I see the cutter in this case as a spare in c

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ase of emergency. I tried this out with three 6″ x 52 cigars, and they were easily accommodated. This is a nice case for a day or weekend out, I wouldn’t use it for longer than that. I don’t think you’d need to put a Boveda in it unless that weekend was in Las Vegas, or someplace dry like that, but there’s ample space for a Boveda pack. you could probably fit a slim lighter in if you wanted to (or traveled with Robustos). I don’t believe this is something that Groovy Guy Gifts customizes, buy it’s a nice item, and would be a nice gift. 

 

Contest!

Speaking of Gifts, I thought it might be fun to make a gift out of this Good To Go Cigar Case, and have the first contest of 2021!  I’ve loaded this up with some cigars I really like from my friends at Danli Honduras Tobacco. There’s a Flor Maya Connecticut and Habano, and a Marchetti. I just had a Marchetti again yesterday and it’s a fantastic box pressed maduro, one of my go-tos! The Flor Maya’s don’t suck either! I’ll probably add some other cigars, because I can’t help myself! So that’s a groovy case full of cigars courtesy of Groovy Guy Gifts and CigarCraig.com and all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post. It wouldn’t hurt if you checked out the cool cigar stuff at www.groovyguygifts.com too. You know the rules, one entry per person, must be of legal age, etc. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 6, 2021 · 8:54 pm

Fratello Pennsylvanian Cigar and Fratello News

Back in September it was announced that Fratello Cigars was releasing an exclusive cigar for Pennsylvania retailers. As I said in my post when this was announced, I was excited about this since I am a lifelong Pennsylvanian, and have supported Fratello since its inception. Initially, it was announced that the blend was to be Habano Ecuador wrapper with a Dominican binder and Nicaragua filler tobacco, however that changed. The final blend has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, and adds some Pennsylvania broadleaf to the filler. It’s made at the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic. I was surprised initially that there wasn’t some PA tobacco in the blend, I’m glad that this was addressed in the final blend. I am not one to chase down cigars, but I made a point to get ahold of some of these cigars as soon as I could, so I contacted Kameron at one of my local CigarCigars shops and he got some for me as soon as he could. I couldn’t wait to smoke one. This is a 6″ x 52 torpedo, and has a beautiful oily maduro wrapper. If this had been a Toro, I would think that Omar had made this cigar specifically with me in mind, but I’ll gladly accept the torpedo. It’s a delicious cigar! It’s full flavored, sweed cocoa, with some spice and sweetness and a perfect burn. The PA broadleaf in the filler gives it a unique spice that I’m glad it made it into the blend. It makes it special, and uniquely Pennsylvanian, and unique in the series of cigars that Fratello has made for other states. I just wish that the band had something that said PA on it. I can’t have everything! Thank you Omar! This was a stellar cigar, it may surpass the Bianco Boxer as my favorite Fratello cigar, and is certainly my favorite cigar of 2021. 

 

News

Old news, by now, but relevant to the above. I’ve known Zev for a long time and he’s a good dude. Sure, the last two companies he’s worked for have been sold, and he has a bad reputation when it comes to air travel, but cycles change! He will b

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e a great addition to the Fratello family! 


ZEV KAMINETSKY JOINS FRATELLO CIGARS AS VP OF SALES

Fratello Cigars is proud to announce the hiring of Zev Kaminetsky as the new VP of Sales for Fratello Cigars. Kaminetsky is a cigar industry veteran, having spent nearly 15 years with Camacho, Drew Estate &amp

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; most recently as National Sales Director for Royal Agio Cigars USA (Balmoral Premium Cigars).

 

“I’ve known Zev since before I started Fratello.  His professionalism, work ethic and family values fit right into our culture of hard work.  I respect his commitment and the reputation he has worked so hard to build with the hundreds of brick and mortars and consumers he has come across with.  I can’t be any more excited to welcome Zev to our small family.” Said de Frias.  

 

“I first met Omar on a trip thru the Washington, DC area with Jose Blanco while he still worked at NASA. I immediately recognized his passion for, as well as knowledge of, Premium Cigars & Tobacco. When he started Fratello Cigars a few years later, I knew it would not only be an amazing experience for him, but that his presence would have an instant & lasting effect on our industry. Watching what he has achieved in such a short time is a testament what he brings to the table, and I look forward to learning from him as we take the Fratello brand to the next level.” Said Kaminetsky

 

Kaminetsky is scheduled to begin his new position at Fratello Cigars January 11th, 2021.

 

Fratello Cigars was established in 2013.  Since inception Fratello has grown to be sold in over 800 brick and mortars in the US and 15 international destinations.    

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 3, 2021 · 10:59 am

New Year’s Cigars, A Don Lino Africa and a La Aurora 107 Nicaragua

Happy New Year and welcome to the 12th year of CigarCraig.com. Hopefully everything keeps going on the same as it has been for the past 11! I hope everyone had safe and healthy celebrations on New Years Eve, I fell asleep on the couch after s

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moking a really good cigar. I dug to the bottom of one of the rarely ventured into humidors and found a Havana Romeo y Julieta Tubed Churchill that has been there for well over a decade that was simply sublime. I figured with everything happening in the world it was as good a time as any to smoke this cigar. It was floral and woody (cedar sleeve in the tube, ya know), burned perfectly and was absolutely wonderful. I find that I’m more often than not disappointed by Havanas lately, but this older cigar was exceptional. I have a

few very old Havanas in the humidor yet, I hope they provide a similar experience. 

 

For my first cigar of the new year I selected a Liga Privada Serie Unico Year of the Rat. This is a Corona Gorda, 5 1/2 x 46, with a Broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. One may think that this cigar is in the same family as the Dirty Rat and Ratzilla, but those two have the Stalk Cut Habano wrapper and this has a blend closer to the No.9. It’s a really good, bold cigar, lots of dark espresso flavor and very meaty. I would love to have tried the original 2016 version that was made for the lounge at the Florida Panther’s Sunrise Center Arena, but I never made it to a game, and I don’t know if they ever managed to sell any there anyway! I’m sure they are pretty much the same as they were then. I had one of these art the TPE show and it was quite good too. A nice way to start the year. I could do without the foil wrap, only because it’s a pain to remove, but it looks spiffy. 

 

Yesterday I stopped into Top Shelf Cigars in Skippack, PA for a visit with Jim Cronin, the owner. This shop, in a kitschy little village with crafty shops and restaurants, has been there for 18 years, and has a very nice classic selection of cigars. I say classic, in that there is not a lot of boutique selections, in a location like this, I imagine that recognizable brands sell better than more cigar geek type of stuff. I still was able to find some cigars I hadn’t smoked yet (although nothing on my top ten list), the Miami Cigar & Co. Don Lino Africa, which I smoked in the Duma Robusto size. This is a new version of this cigar, if you looked way back at one of my very early blog posts, you’d find that I bought a five pack of Africas at Holts, but those are long gone. These are now made by AJ Fernandez, with a Habana 2000 wrapper

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, Cameroon binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The old version was far more “Cameroony” than the new, although there is still a hint of the Cameroon sweetness from the binder. It was a good performing cigar with a nice flavor. I enjoyed the Robust and brought home a toro to try another time.

 

Since the topic of La Aurora’s distribution with Miami Cigar and Company (who owns the Don Lino Africa brand) came up, and whether Miami Cigar Co. was going to continue to distribute La Aurora after letting their sales staff go recently, I figured I’d smoke the new La Aurora 107 Nicaragua. I thought I’d read that La Aurora was sticking with Miami Cigar, but there seems to some confusion in the market about that. Without a sales force, does either brand really have that much of a market presence to keep up? Has 2020 given companies the notion that Zoom meetings can replace face to face interaction, both in the way of sales calls and in store events? It’ll be interesting to see, and I feel really bad for all the great sales reps who find themselves out of work. Anyway, I had picked up a couple of the La Aurora 107 Nicaraguas in the Gran Toro, 6” x 58 size. This is a Nicaraguan puro. I probably should have gotten a smaller size, because this one took half the cigar to really get going. The first half of the cigar was mild to the point of almost being

without flavor. When it finally got there, it was very tasty, nice, earthy flavors, although not awfully distinctive or overly interesting. I’ll try a few more in different sizes, but this might fall into the 50% or so of La Aurora cigars that I don’t really like.

 

Well, that’s all for today. There is one more thing. I tried to do a Reader’s Poll, which I need to either find a better way, or abandon completely. The winner, by the way, was the Southern Draw Rose of Sharon. It was unanimous, as there was only one response. Considering it’s a delicious cigar, definitely in my top five Connecticut cigars, I’ll let it stand. With that, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | December 30, 2020 · 9:15 pm

Two Cigars from Cigar Bundles Of Miami and My Top Ten Cigars I Didn’t Smoke in 2020

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I’m a sucker for a couple of things, pretty cigars and a good deal. I ran across both of these things last week and smoked a few cigars from Cigar Bundles of Miami, a small concern in Miami. Given the name of the company, this make perfect sense. I’m unsure who makes the cigars for them, I thought I had an idea, but I asked and my theory was debunked. Another thing I have a weakness for is a good candella, and I’ve found that I good candella seems to be made better when presented in combination with another wrapper. So the Negra Candela Maduro caught my eye, and a five-pack for $19.99 was too good to pass up. This is a Toro, I didn’t measure, but it seems a little longer than 6″ and maybe 52 ring gauge. This is a candela cigar with Maduro overlays, in a nice design. It looks like there’s a strip of Connecticut shade or Habano in the middle as an accent. It’s a beautiful cigar. It’s Nicaraguan from Jalapa with the maduro strips being San Andrés. It was a rich tasting cigar with the clean, refreshing taste of the candela, along with the cocoa and spice of the Nicaraguan and mexican tobacco. It was well made and burned perfectly and was a very enjoyable cigar.

 

The other cigar I picked up was the Miami Triple Wrap. I wasn’t expecting the Torpedo, but that’s what arrived, and I’m OK with that. It’s a 6 1/8″x 52 torpedo with Ecuadorian Connecticut, Habano and San Andrés maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan Binder and Filler. It has an attractive lattice pattern, can’t be easy or inexpensive to make, but was the same price as the Negra Candela Maduro (this is an introductory price, they are usually twice that. Still reasonable for a well made, artistic cigar).  This was a smooth, creamy cigar, with a pleasing flavor. It had some leather and nuts in the profile, and was a perfectly good cigar. I’d happily smoke it over many more expensive cigars, although of the two, I think the Negra Candela Maduro had bolder, more unique flavors that appealed to me more.  Both are beautiful cigars and a hell of a deal. I may have to get some more of the Negra Candela Maduro while they are still at the low price! I appreciate being able to easily communicate with the owner, and they have a Cigar Prop Sampler that is really neat! 

 

I said in a recent appearance on the Kaplowitz Media Podcast that I wasn’t going to do a list, and I really don’t believe in them too much as a rule. So my list is different, and I’m going

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to preface it with an important statement: this is not a mooch! I’ll get around to them! If I don’t get around to them, oh well! So here is my top ten cigars I didn’t smoke in 2020! 

  1. HVC Hotcackes
  2. The Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask Holiday Edition
  3. Fratello  Pennsylvanian (I’ll get to this one, brand new!)
  4. Anything from Stallone Cigars
  5. Perla del Mar Habano
  6. Fuente Rare Pink (another really new one)
  7. BLTC Santa Muerte
  8. Red Meat Lovers Meat Box
  9. Placencia Alma anything (I’m way behind on this one)
  10. Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder Brimstone Un Presidente/Firethorn Augusta (toss up)

Like I said, not at all a mooch, I’ll catch up with them eventually. This was a stupid year, I smoked a lot of “inventory” and didn’t do a lot of acquiring of new cigars. I’m hoping to get to the TPE in May, and I hope things work out so I can get to visit cigar stores more in the coming months. 

 

That’s all for today, Happy New Year to everyone! Until next year, 

 

CigarCraig

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