Tag Archives: Aganorsa Leaf

Cubanacan Maduro, Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection, and CAO Cigars

I was wandering through one of the humidors and came across a few cigars leftover from the 2020 TPE show that I had forgotten about.  I had run into Lawrence from Cubanacan and he had given me a few cigars, and, for whatever reason they had gotten buried. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what’s up with Cubanacan. Over the years they seem to come and go. Lawrence is a great dude, but I see him here and there (not that I get around a lot), for instance I remember meeting him at one of the Delaware Cigar Festivals in 2012 maybe, then I might not have seen him again until last year. It’s highly likely we just miss one another. That being said, I just don’t hear a lot about Cubanacan cigars, and the last thing I think I heard wasn’t particularly great. I don’t judge based on things I think I might have heard though. I smoked a Cubanacan Maduro in a Lonsdale size. This must be special, because it only comes in a ten count box, per the website. This has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers. After 18 months in the humidor it smoked very well. It tasted pretty much like I expect a cigar made from those tobaccos would taste like, some earth, spice and espresso. I like the lonsdale size, and it was quite satisfying. I suppose I need to dig around and see what else is in there that I might have forgotten about!

 

One I hadn’t forgotten about, but had recently bought in a sampler from Fox Cigars. I can’t remember why I got this sampler and what all was in it. I added it on to the purchase of the Plasencia sampler, and Maybe this was in it that I wanted, or it priced too good to pass up, or something. For some reason when I received it I set this cigar aside as I had already smoked the rest of the cigars. They all must have been oned I liked. I don’t know, I make strange purchasing decisions some times. It’s CAD, Cigar Acquisition Disorder, and it’s real.  The support group meets here every Sunday and Wednesday. Hello, my name is CigarCraig. The cigar in question is the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Robusto. For whatever reason they choose to cover up this nice looking caramel colored Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with gold foil, a nice, yet unnecessa

ry presentation. This seems to use all Aganorsa grown tobacco with the sevres sauce being some Media Tiempo, the rare top, top priming above ligero. This was a nice cigar, medium bodied, with some richness, with a feeling that the wrapper was grown under shade. It was creamy with some leathery kinda notes. Good cigar, which nicely filled my afternoon. I wish I could remember what else was in that sampler! 

 

I wrapped up last night with a CAO Amazon Basin Orellana. This was the fourth cigar in the Amazon Basin trilogy, wait, that’s not right. I thought it was a trilogy, then they goofed it up by adding a fourth! I wasn’t overly fond of the original Amazon basin, although some people lost their minds over it. Didn’t hit me right. The Em Corda, and Anaconda hit me right, I loved them. I don’t like the name of the Anaconda, because I hate snakes, but I get it with the whole Amazon theme. I originally thought the Orellana was closer in flavor to the original Amazon Basin, and I still think it probably is, but I like it more with some age. I still like the other two more, but this has matured, whatever sour notes that I didn’t care fr aren’t there any more. It was a rather enjoyable cigar, al

though, in retrospect, I should have chosen a shorter cigar, and I’ll elaborate. I got off to a late start, and, hence, a late end.  The Orellana is a toro sized cigar, and since I finished late, I had a hell of a time falling asleep. This means I’m going to have to take a nap today, when I could be smoking a cigar! Then I might be up late again and the whole cycle continues!

 

I bought a bike yesterday to ride to work, maybe I’ll ride to the cigar shop today. If it stops raining, that is…I made sure to buy one with an ashtray holder. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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JFR and Vintage Rock-A Feller Cigars

Among the many cigars I’ve been smoking this week, I smoked a couple of cigars that were handed to me at the  TPE show back in January, when life was relatively normal. Normal being relative, at the time, I was still jobless, although I thought I might have an opportunity in the works. Sadly, that opportunity fell through, although who’s to say what would have happened as the months passed. Anyway, as I’ve been self-medicating with premium tobacco, I’ve been searching for a new cigar here and there to include in a post, and I selected a cigar that Terence Reilly handed me while I was visiting with him at the Aganorsa kiosk. He was one of eight sharing one of the several “pods” they had, and was the lone representative of Aganorsa Leaf, and seemed to be having a good show. I enjoyed a brief conversation with him, mostly personal stuff. He gave me a JFR Connecticut Super Toro, which is a 6½” x 52 Parejo wrapped in tissue paper. This cigar had a pigtail cap on it’s Ecuador Connecticut wrapper covering Nicaraguan Aganorsa binder and fillers. This is a relatively inexpensive cigar, under $6 in lower tax states, and well worth the price. It’s got a smooth, creamy flavor, with some wood and pepper. It’s not without some body, I put it in the medium range. This is actually the first JFR I’ve smoked, and I’d certainly be interested in trying the Corojo and Maduro versions.

 

The other cigar I selected was the  Vintage Rock-A-Feller Dominican Blue Line Churchill. Rock-A-Feller Cigars was another one of the Pod-dwellers at the TPE, which seemed to be a great set-up for a lot of the vendors. This setup had a counter and displays pre-built, and all the vendors had to do was bring in their wares and put them on the shelves and they were ready to go. No paying porters, renting furniture or any of the major expenses of traditional booth space. It kind of discouraged customers from hanging around, they did their business and moved along. I met Craig Roth, the sales manager for the company, and naturally, we developed an instant bond. I might have beat him to the “CigarCraig” moniker. Anyway, he gave me this cigar, and I decided to give it a whirl. The blend is as follows from their website:

Filler: • LIGERO-PILOTO-TIPO CUBANO: A Cuban seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• SECO SAN VICENTE: A Cuban seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• OLOR DOMINICANO: A Dominican Seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• LIGERO DE NICARAGUA: Nicaraguan Seed Grown in Nicaragua.

Binder:
• Olor: A Dominican Seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper:
• Habana: A cuban seed Grown in Ecuador.

The Churchill is 7″ x 48, close enough, and if I remember correctly, it had a box press. The burn and draw were exceptional, although the burn meanders a bit in the final inch, and by then it was just about finished anyway. This is a medium bodied cigar, and fairly middle of the road in flavor. It had some woody, and earthy notes, with a bit of coffee.  It was a good cigar, although less in my wheelhouse. I’ll seek out the Nicaraguan line and see how that lines up with my preferences.

 

That’s all for now, back to social distancing and quarantine. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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