CigarCraig's Blog

by Craig Vanderslice | August 2, 2020 · 10:48 am

Espinosa Hush Money, Exactus Cigars, Flor de Cesar, and a Rant

Before I get to the cigars, I feel the need to bring up an incident that happened at a local cigar shop, one of the brick and mortar outlets of Cigars International in Bethlehem, PA. I’ve been to this location several times. I encourage you to watch the Philadelphia NBC affiliate’s video, which had surveillance camera footage of the incident (linked). Whatever your thoughts on the matter, Pennsylvania mandates that masks be worn outside of the home, business have a mandate to require masks, and signs are posted. In my mind it’s a very simple thing, if you have a problem wearing a mask, don’t go someplace that requires you to wear a mask. Most places provide accomodations, and CI has such accommodations, ie. curbside service. Friday this person went into the Bethlehem Superstore sans mask, was told he needed a mask, was indignant, walked out with two cigars, was followed out by an employee (who, I’m under the understanding, was a retired military or law enforcement officer, obviously unarmed) with the intention of collecting information to report the theft to the police. The guy went to his car, returned with a gun and took shots at the employee (this can be seen in the video), it’s a miracle he wasn’t hit or worse, then left. Saturday he was apprehended after a shootout with police (link to story here). It cannot be argued that he went to the store with the intention of stealing cigars, I believe he went to buy cigars. It astounds me that people are so unwilling to change one little thing to get along in an unusual situation that they risk their life to defend their “rights”. It’s such a small thing to ask, isn’t it? Even if it weren’t a state mandate, if it were an matter of private property rights, if it was my private business, and I required a mask, who the hell are you to demand that your rights supersede mine? Nobody thinks twice about “no shoes, no shirt, no service” right? Why is this different? OK, I’ve left myself open for enough criticism. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, if you choose not to wear a mask and tell me if I’m so afraid to stay home, do me a favor, you stay home, rights go both ways.

OK, cigars. Of course, I smoked a bunch this week. My man Adam was very kind and sent me a few cigars, once he and his family get settled after their move I’ll respond in some way. It’s fun to

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share cigars with them because his wife loves cigars too! Anyway, he sent me an Espinosa Hush Money Churchill, I cigar with which I was not familiar. I’m guessing this is a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive, from the limited research I did. The cigar was a Churchill size, 7″ x 50, which is a size I’m quite comfortable with on a nice summer day. I have a vast collection of robustos, and anymore I just find them too short for my liking. I try to amass toros and better for my daily consumption. I suppose it’s a luxury to have the time to enjoy an hour and a half or more with a cigar. Anyway, Famous Smoke doesn’t list much information about this except that it’s Nicaraguan and Maduro, and it’s on the lighter side of maduro (I wouldn’t have guessed based on color or flavor, honestly, I would have said Habano). It started out a little harsh, and I wondered what Adam had set me up for, but after the first half inch it settled down and I spent the next 90 minutes really enjoying a nice, sweet ride. It burned very well, and was a very enjoyable cigar, and for around $5 when bought by the bundle (10), quite a deal. Thank you to Adam for sharing this with me, I can see why you like this so much!

El Artista Cigars was a long time advertiser here, and I spent some time with Ram and Kevin at the TPE show last January. They make some great cigars, I really like the Buffalo Ten (and I know that Adam does too), and they make the Big Papi as well as Pulita that are excellent. When I first took them on as an advertiser I bought a handful of their cigars to try out, I always like to have a personal connection with companies that I present on my site. I don’t feel right having ads on my page that I can’t get behind myself. you can rest assured that every company represented on my page has been personally vetted by me and carries my seal of approval. As great as a relationship as I have with the folks at El Artista, I wasn’t able to provide them with what they were looking for this year, so we took a break, but I still dig their cigars, and they are great folks. I found a lonely old Exactus Maduro Toro in the humidor and decided to take it for a spin. This cigar has an Ecuador HBA wrapper, and I don’t know what HBA stands for (HVA I know, but HBA, not a clue). The binder is a Dominican wine fermented Criollo 98, and the filler is Dominican. The cigar had nice, dark dried fruit and espresso flavors, and the most impressive thing about it was that it burned forever! I must have spent darned near three hours smoking this 6″ x 50 toro. Granted, I had to relight it a few times, but it was a slow burner. It had been in my humidor for a few years too, maybe five or six? I lose track of time. I wish I had more. The

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y make this in the Super Coloso, which is 11″ x 90, I wonder how long that would burn?

Finally, I was watching some NHL yesterday and lit up a Flor de Cesar Gold Robusto that I. should have smoked last year sometime. This is from a 2019 batch made at Oveja Negra in Esteli. Flor de Cesar is, more or less, the house brand of BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia) PA. It has a rosado Brazilian Matafina wrapper, Ecuador binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. BnB is a great shop, loaded to the ceiling with great cigars. You never know what, or who, you might find there. It’s a must visit if you find yourself in Philly. This cigar might have been the highlight of my week, cigar-wise. The depth of flavor was exceptional, and very clean on the palate. It had a nice earthy sweetness. I just found it to be extremely flavorful, delicious, and satisfying. it made me want to dig out something else from Oveja Negra later, sadly I got distracted and opted for my last CroMagnon Cranium. The Flor de Cesar Gold was tremendous.

I think I’m going to try to set up the projector on the porch and watch the Flyers on the big screen, and tomorrow I’m going to Goose’s Golf outing. It occurs to me that I haven’t been to a cigar event, or even to a cigar shop, since February or March, which is pretty strange. Full report on that to follow. Watch my social media feeds for photos and video. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as BNB Cigars, cigar, cigars, El Artista, Espinosa, Exactus, Famous Smoke Shop, Hush Money

by Craig Vanderslice | July 29, 2020 · 8:28 am

Undercrown Sungrown Dojo Dogma Cigar

We have been working on freshening up the screen porch over the last several weeks

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, and got one of the bigger parts of it tackled for the most part over the last couple days. That, along with a long awaited NHL game yesterday afternoon, I felt like a special treat, so I grabbed the new Undercrown Dojo Dogma sample that I recently received from Drew Estate and fired it up. You may recall from my post in June (here), this is the follow-up to the Undercrown Dogma, which was Smoke Inn‘s and Cigar Dojo‘s first collaboration, and was a 6″ x 56 box pressed version of the Undercrown Corona Viva blend, which was a punched up version of the Undercrown blend. It had a little extra ligero. Think of a world where Steve Saka never worked for Drew Estate, now imagine the Mi Querida is the Undercrown, and the Triqi Traca is the Corona Viva/Dogma blend, that’s the best comparison I can make. Steve would probably get mad at me for making that comparison, but he never reads this, so I’m pretty safe, unless one of you jerks outs me. Anyway, The Sungrown Dogma has one distinct disadvantage off the bat from the Maduro version, in my opinion, it’s an inch shorter at 5″ x 56. Otherwise, it’s a beautiful cigar. It’s nicely box pressed, it’s firm, it’s solid, it burns well, the ash is perfect, and the draw is perfect. I lit this up and got the sweetness I love from the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, but there’s the little extra oomph that’s not there in the regular line! There are the familiar spices and sweet bready flavors that I like in this line with a little bit extra! By the way, I did smoke a Gran Toro later to satisfy my curiosity, and, yes, the Dogma does have some more punch than the Gran toro! Maybe five inches IS the right size for this blend! When I got to the end, about half way through the first period of the exhibition game between the Flyers and the Penguins, it had picked up in the strength department. In comparison, later that night, I didn’t feel like the Gran Toro was as strong as it neared the end, and I typically smoke cigars until either my fingers burn or I get bored with them, these bothe burned my fingers. By the way, interestingly, this cigar has the T52 wrapper as the binder (obviously not wrapper quality leaves). Shoot, that was my last Gran Toro, I need to get some more. Great job with these Mr. Herrera.

So, a couple notes. I still need to smoke the new version of the Maduro Dogma, I have one from the original release in my humidor. I know they have a corona (actually a corona gorda technically) in the Sungrown line, but will they make a Corona

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Viva with the punched up blend? Will they “Dogmafy” the Undercrown Shade, or will that just be whoring out the name or jumping the shark? Things that pop into my head. Anyway, the Undercrown Sungrown Dojo Dogma is awesome, if you like the Sungrown, or like Sumatra, you’ll dig it.

Finally, next Monday is Goose’s Philly Golf outing, I’ll be there cheerleading, or something, so if you are in the area and golf, hit Goose up and come along, it’ll be a great day! You can download the registration form here.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Dogma, Dojo, drew estate, Sungrown, undercrown

by Craig Vanderslice | July 28, 2020 · 10:04 am

News: CAO Launches Bones Game Themed Cigar

Here’s a new cigar coming from CAO, and I’m generally (no pun intended) a fan of CAO, as evidenced by my last post and past history. The thought of another Broadleaf cigar from Ricky has my mouth watering. I recently gave the Session another try and was quite happy with it! So I look forward to this. My only thought is the gimmick with the dice thing. Earlier this year we saw another brand come out with a box that included a dice game, so I can’t help but wonder about the copycat factor. I know concepts are months, sometimes years, on the drawing board, and coincidences happen, it’s just too strange…Will it work? Gimmicks can be a crapshoot! (groan).

CAO LAUNCHES BONES

Full-time collection celebrates dominoes, dice and great times with great smokes

CAO presents “Bones,” a collection made to celebrate the memories that are made when a great cigar is lit and the games begin. Bones was named after dominoes and dice, the deeds that are best done with a cigar in hand and in the company of friends old or new.

CAO’s blender/brand ambassador Rick Rodriguez said, “Bones is about kicking back with your friends with a cold beer in your hand, playing a game, smoking, grilling, talking a little trash, and having the time of your life. And that’s what CAO is about, too. It’s about being yourself, enjoying the people you’re with and not having a care in the world while you’re having your cigar. Most of us need a break right now and Bones is just the cigar for that.”

Rick and the Nicaraguan-based CAO blending team set out to make a medium-to-full-bodied smoke that could easily be the topic of conversation or take the backseat during a game night or any smoking occasion with fellow cigar smokers. Rick and the team also developed the blend to complement a wide range of libations that go hand-in-hand with a handmade cigar.

Bones features a four year old Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a Connecticut Shade binder. The blend is comprised of two varieties of Honduran tobacco from Jamastran and La Entrada, along with Nicaraguan Estelí and Dominican Piloto Cubano. Bones is a meaty smoke that delivers bold notes of wood, nuts and vanilla.

Bones is a full-time addition to the brand’s top-rated lineup and is handcrafted in Nicaragua at STG Estelí. The brand will ship on August 4^th to cigar retailers across the country and will be available in four sizes, each named after classic games of dominoes. Each box contains 20 cigars, comes with two standard 16mm dice and is outfitted with a felt-covered inside lid which is a suitable surface for playing dice.

Chicken Foot (Robusto): 5” x 54 – SRP per cigar $7.49

Blind Hughie (Toro): 6” x 54 – SRP per cigar $7.99

Matador (Churchill): 7.25” x 54 – SRP per cigar $8.49

Maltese Cross (Gigante): 6” x 60 – SRP per cigar $8.99

For more information about CAO Cigars, please visit www.caocigars.com.

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Tagged as bones, CAO, cigar, cigars, General Cigar Co.

by Craig Vanderslice | · 9:38 am

News: J.C. Newman Introduces New Cigar: Yagua

Here’s some news from J.C. Newman. I’m looking forward to trying this new, rustic cigar from their Nicaraguan factory. I love the size!

J.C. Newman Introduces Yagua, A Cigar Recreated from the 1940s Cuba

J.C. Newman Cigar Co. introduces Yagua, a classic cigar from the tobacco fields of Cuba that the Newman family has recreated in Nicaragua. The Yagua story is one of Cuba from the 1940s. The cigar was inspired by J.C. Newman PENSA’s General Manager, Lazaro Lopez, who shared the following with Drew Newman (Fourth Generation Owner, J.C. Newman Cigar Company) over dinner in Esteli, Nicaragua last year:

“At our family farm, my grandfather would t

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ake fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses. In an attempt to give his cigars a traditional shape, 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. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve rec

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reated Yagua, rolling them exactly how my grandfather did a century ago.”

“After hearing Lazaro describe the beautiful Yagua cigars he remembers from his youth in Cuba, I asked Lazaro if he could make this special cigar at our factory in Nicaragua,” said Drew Newman. “We are calling it Yagua, after the palm leaves that give the cigars their distinct shape.”

J.C. Newman is releasing 1,000 boxes of Yagua from its aging rooms this year. Each box features 20 cigars, which measure approximately 6×54.

“Because the cigars are pressed together and bound while they are still wet, each one has a slightly different shape. Each cigar is truly unique,” said Newman

Yagua will ship from El Reloj, the J.C. Newman Cigar Company factory in Tampa, FL beginning next week, and should arrive on select retailers’ shelves in early August.

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 Craig Vanderslice | July 26, 2020 · 10:10 am

Some Diesel Torpedos and Some Classic CAO Cigars

First off, let me get this little rant out of the way. One of the first things I saw when I got up this morning was a discussion about removing bands from cigars. In a nutshell, it seemed like there was a thought that there could be one single surefire solution to band removal. Here was my response: “There

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’s absolutely no set rule on how a band will come off (I’ve figured out RoMa), after thousands of cigars of as many brands, just about as many just slide off as come off cleanly. Some paper absorbs the glue and some doesn’t. Some factories use more glue than others. Uncello’d cigars shouldn’t have the bands glued to the wrapper at all and would be easier. Shade wrappers would be easier to slide off than broadleaf or San Andrés because they are smoother, but would damage easier because they are thinner. 9 times out of 10 your best bet is to wait until you are about to burn the band and carefully slide it over the business end of the cigar, taking care not to burn your fingers or the ring. This is the only way to successfully remove the RoMa bands, by the way!

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” Now, the only reason I referenced the RoMa bands was because someone else brought it up. It irks me that people put forth the notion that there is, or could possible be, a way to remove a band every time without either damaging the band or the wrapper or both. Some bands come off nicely, some are a trainwreck. As always on forums when I see misinformation, I try to correct and inform in a polite and respectful manner, and I hope to educate, although I often wonder if I’m wasting my time!

I’d like to welcome a new advertising partner, Cigar Thief. You’ll notice their ad on the right side of the website. They have a nice selection of cigars, and I never work with companies I don’t personally do business with, so before taking them on I placed an order for a sampler from their site. I received communication from them promptly that they were out of stock of the item I wanted, with options, which included canceling with a full refund which included the offer to send free cigars! I looked around and chose a less expensive sampler and told them if they wanted to substitute that and credit me the difference it would be fine, freebies weren’t necessary. A few days later the package arrived, well packed and as I expected, only with a 5 cigar Diesel Torpedo Sampler as the “for my trouble” cigars. Totally above and beyond and not needed. The sampler was the classic CAO sampler, the same sampler my wife had gotten me about 10 years ago, the one with the CAO classic in natural and Maduro, an MX2, a Brazilia and an Italia (times two). Excellent service, check them out. I hadn’t smoked a CAO Italia in many years, honestly, it’

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s a cigar

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I always wanted to like, but never really did. The Ciao vitola is 5″ x 56, and smoked very well, and I quite enjoyed this one. It has some Habano tobacco grown in Italy, along with some Peruvian tobacco, so it has a unique flavor, so it’s not at all like the Toscanos that use Kentucky tobacco (I know, right?). Different, not as bad as I remembered, I think I like these now!

The Diesel Torpedo sampler was a little frustrating to me, as four of the five cigars are not clearly labeled as to what they are. I suppose the Diesel experts out there will scoff at me for no knowing the color scheme delineating the various series. I figured I’d start with a benchmark, the Unholy Cocktail, of which there is a box in the humidor (from 2011). Clearly the color palate of those bands has changed over the years, because there wasn’t a clear match. The Diesel Uncut had a band on that that said Uncut, so I smoked that one first! I’ll work the rest out later. This is a nice cigar, a natural shade PA Broadleaf wrapper with a good amount of strength and spice. This had a good dose of espresso and cocoa too, I liked it. I think it had a good dose of nicotine, judging by the poor quality of my sleep that night. I still like it quite a bit.

I sorted through the rest of the Diesels, colors on screens never match actual colors on things in your hand, and it isn’t helpful that the folks at Diesel like that PA Broadleaf Maduro wrapper so much. I figured out that the beige band must be the Unlimited Maduro, which made it easy to match up the rest based on the band colors and wrapper colors. So I smoked the Unlimited Maduro. This one has a PA Broadleaf Maduro wrapper with a Mexican binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. It was rich, earthy, spicy, but not as strong as I figured it would be. Actually, it was downright smooth. Like the Uncut, it burned well, it’s made by AJ Fernandez, so that’s not a surprise, and it’s the 5″ x 56 “Unholy Cocktail” vitola. I’d be interested to see how this compares to the original Unholy Cocktail, but I think I’ll be more interested to see how the current Unholy Cocktail compares to a 2011 Unholy Cocktail, which I might do this week.

I just realized that the last four cigars I smoked were al 5″ x 56, that’s kinda weird. Last night I followed the Unlimited Maduro with a CAO Brazilia GOL. This is a pretty old school CAO, it came out in 2001, so it’ll celebrate it’s 20th anniversary next year. Let’s just get this in the post for the sake of search engine crawling: “CAO Brazilia 20th Anniversary”. There, I said it here first! Ha! Anyway, The Brazilia is a bit of a classic, Brazilian Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan filler and binder, it’s been a good, consistent smoked for a long time, and I think we all can agree that it’s managed to survive the transition from Ozgener CAO to General Cigars CAO without any issues. It seems like the same darned cigar that it used to be to me, rich and spicy and pretty darned tasty. They even manage to hold the price down pretty reasonably. It’s hard to go wrong and I imagine this is still one of the workhorses of the CAO line.