Tag Archives: Aganorsa

by | March 17, 2024 · 10:33 am

Knuckle Sandwich, Julius Caeser, Postanie and Aganorsa Cigars

I smoked a good variety of cigars this week, the next couple weeks will probably be featuring some retailer exclusive cigars, so I figured I’d mix it up.  I had picked up the Knuckle Sandwich 56 Maduro on a recent visit to the Wooden Indian, it was on the high side of what I like to spend, but I wanted to try it.  This cigar is made by Espinosa, at the A.J.Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, for Guy Fieri’s 56th birthday. Obviously, it has a 56 ring gauge, and looks to be made using the San Lotano Oval molds.  I like a 6″ x 56, and I liked the Oval shape.  It has a San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  Can anyone tell me why the word “Sandwich” sounds like “Sangwich” when persons of Cuban descent say it?  I went through a phase of smoking cigars with the ring gauge of my age for a while, now that I’m 60 I’m over that. I loved this cigar, which is a shame because it’s limited and expensive.  It started with a nice spice over cocoa, and mellowed into a chocolaty treat, with a hint of the spice.  I dug it, even though when I met Guy at the PCA show a few years ago he really could have cared less and my request for Erik Espinosa to get in the picture with us was ignored. I don’t get starstruck and fawn over celebs, some of them don’t like that.  Anyway, I don’t regret the purchase at all, it wa sa really good smoke, probably the best I had all week.  It was my Pi Day treat.

 

We are in the midst of a string of March holidays, so on Friday I was compelled to smoke a Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Toro.  We all know that March 15 marks the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC.  We know the exact date because he invented the calendar we use.  He instituted that just a year before his death.   Anyway, he was a heck of an Emperor, but I guess his friends thought he was a dick, so they stabbed him. I may be oversimplifying things a little. A few millennia later some Hungarian folks named their son after him, and US immigration screwed up the spelling on his paperwork and Julius Caeser Newman started a cigar company that makes some great cigars.  The Diamond Crown Julius Caeser is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, has an Ecuador Havana wrapper, Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. They could just say Dominican, Nicaraguan and/or Honduran fillers, but they can be vague if they want. I enjoy Diamond Crown cigars, from the mild Diamond Crown, to the bolder Maximus and Black Diamond, and this falls in between.  I find the flavor to be largely sweet wood, which is a nice change of pace for me.  I like this cigar a lot, I remember smoking one of these a long time ago with a shop owner who has since passed, before a big celebrity cigar launch dinner.  It didn’t give me any stabbing back pain either.

 

Saturday ended up being a Connecticut Shade day, which isn’t normal for me, but I had a couple shade cigars I hadn’t smoked yet, so I figured I’d give them a go.  The first one I have smoked, but there’s a new size launching at the PCA show that I had a chance to smoke.  It was the Powstanie Connecticut Justice, a 5½ x 46 Corona Gorda which Mike Szczepankiewicz blended nine years ago for the birth of his son.  This is made at the Nica Sueño factory like the rest of the Powstanie cigars.  I really like the Robusto that Mitch shared with me late last year.  This shape seemed different, it didn’t have the character that the larger ring had, although I still found it to be exceptional. This was a really good shade cigar with some body, which I think must come from the PA Broadleaf binder in large part.  For someone who doesn’t gravitate to shade wrapped cigars, this is a really good one, and worth a shot, but I don’t even think it’s due to be released until next month, some additional age won’t hurt this one. If you come across any Postanie cigars, try them, they are all really quite good.

 

Finally, I smoked an Aganorsa La Validacion Connecticut Robusto that I got at the Wooden Indian a few weeks ago when Fabien and Mike King were there doing an event. Aganorsa is a brand I struggle to find a favorite in. There’s a few I like, and some I don’t, and I can’t seem to remember which is what.  So I buy them and smoke them and enjoy them or not and start the cycle over again. I don’t care for Criollo ’99 too much, so that probably has something to do with it.  I think this series is one I like, and I definitely liked this Connecticut. It was medium bodied, nutty with some wood and spice and really a nice cigar.  I’m going to remember that I really like the La Validacion line (I just went back and checked and I did like the Maduro and Corojo!).  

 

Today is Green Cigar Day, or as some call it, St. Patrick’s Day, so pick out a nice Candela and drive the snakes out of your country!  Why have none of these companies made a Candela Culebra in honor of St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland?  Because it would suck and it wouldn’t sell, that’s why. I’ll suggest it to Saka. I mentioned him making a Candela Lancero on my last Podcast episode with him and he poopoo’d it, now he’s making a lancero box featuring the candela. I’d write more today but I used a lot of letters on Mike Szczepankiewicz name. Anyway, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 9, 2024 · 5:40 pm

News: Wooden Indian Tobacco’s 60th Anniversary Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto Now Available

Here’s some Friday news from my friends at the Wooden Indian. I’ve only been patronizing the Wooden Indian for 14 or so of the 60 years they’ve been around. It’s one of my favorite local shops, the selection is amazing and the staff is second to none.  I’m looking forward to trying this anniversary cigar, I can’t remember if the Supreme Leaf is one of the ones I like or not, but chances are excellent that it’s a really good cigar. I celebrated a 60th anniversary myself last year, this was a year too late!

 

 

AGANORSA Leaf Unveils Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto Exclusively for Wooden Indian Tobacco‘s 60th Anniversary.

 

AGANORSA Leaf, is proud to announce the release of its latest addition to the Supreme Leaf line – the Gran Robusto.  Measuring 5” x 56, this exclusive vitola commemorates the 60th anniversary of Wooden Indian Tobacco, a milestone for the Havertown, PA brick-and-mortar.

 

The Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto is a Nicaraguan puro blend that has become iconic to the Aganorsa portfolio since the line’s debut in 2020. Unlike its predecessors, the Gran Robusto features a 56 ring gauge, providing a unique and bold smoking profile.

 

 

Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto has a limited production of only 500 boxes of 10 cigars with an MSRP of $125. This particular vitola will be available solely through Wooden Indian Tobacco, solidifying the partnership between AGANORSA Leaf, Wooden Indian Tobacco, and Privada Cigar Club who collaborated with Aganorsa on the design and creation of the original Supreme Leaf.

 

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Wooden Indian Tobacco and Privada Cigar Club for this special occasion,” said Terence Reilly, VP of Sales at AGANORSA Leaf. “The Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto represents a celebration of our leaf and dedication to quality, and we believe it is a fitting tribute to Wooden Indian Tobacco’s 60 years of excellence in this industry.”

 

The AGANORSA Leaf Supreme Leaf Gran Robusto will be available exclusively at Wooden Indian Tobacco in Havertown, PA through their brick and mortar location and online retail site.

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by | January 28, 2024 · 11:01 am

Adventura, Aganorsa, JFR and DTT Cigars

I was looking at some of the gifted cigars I have this week and pulled out a couple that seemed topical.  Not for any other reason than Abe is a friend and Smoke Inn is a great retail establishment, take note that their event, The Great Smoke, is coming up on February 24.  Hopefully I’ll make it to one of these some year, I’ve heard good things. My secret Santa this year gifted me an Adventura Sociedad Secreta which was a Great Smoke release last year I believe, and actually has ties also to Secreto Cigar Bar in Detroit.  This cigar is a cool size, 6″ x 48, a size I like a lot.  It’s midway between a toro and a Lonsdale, pretty cool. This cigar is made by Henderson Ventura in the DR, and has a San Andrés wrapper that has been aged four years, Broadleaf binder with five years’ age, and 3-5 year aged fillers of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. I’ll be honest, when I read the blend I was surprised, because I would not have thought it had that combo of wrapper and binder.  It lacked the darkness and earthiness I associate with those tabacos, but did have a nice, sweet woody flavor. It was medium bodied at best, and quite tasty.  I typically am not a Adventura fan for the most part, but this was quite nice.  Thanks to Craig for allowing me to try this!

 

I had a couple more cigars I picked up at last week’s Wooden Indian visit, and smoked a Aganorsa Leaf Signature Maduro in the toro size. To be honest, I wasn’t going to get this, until I was informed I had a $5 credit on my account and figured, what the hell, I’ll put that towards another cigar!  Perfect cigar logic right?  Why take the discount on the cigars I’m buying already when I can get one more for $5 off?  It made sense to me at the time.  Anyway, this looked like one I’d like, and, for the most part, it was. This 6″ x 52 Toro has an Aganorsa Corojo wrapper, over Aganorsa binder and fillers, all gown in Nicaragua.  Apparently there’s some media tiempo in the blend, I would expect that to give it some oomph, but the cigar was so packed at the head that it was a snugger than normal draw. It was good, some nice spice and good tobacco flavor.  I can’t seem to remember which Aganorsa cigars I really like and which one’s are just OK, until I try another, this falls into the latter category.  I should find a place to write this stuff down! 🙂

 

Non-cigar related, my wife and I took a little road trip to see Patterson Great Falls in Patterson, New Jersey yesterday, we had no idea there was a waterfalls in New Jersey.  It was pretty nice, I hope the guy who found it wasn’t canoeing down the Passaic River! Apparently Alexander Hamilton founded the city around the falls and built an industrial complex after the Revolution.  Neat history and cool waterfalls.  On the way home we stopped at Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County, PA, which has a boulder field that some of the rocks ring when hit with a hammer.  Strange to see this naturally occurring boulder field, again, I wonder who figured out that they ring? Anyway, I came home to a losing Flyers game and had a cigar.

 

The cigar I chose was another Great Smoke release, this one from a few years back, the DTT-EX-38, another secret Santa gift, this one from Mitch (TY!).  This one was an exclusive for the ’21 Great Smoke, which was the one that was virtual, an 8 hour telethon style event.  I think Carlito Fuente stole a Sakasquatch on the broadcast. This was a cigar Saka had been working on for several years using a Costa Rican Morron ligero if I understand correctly. He made some for the Great Smoke, and is either still working on the blend, or has given up, hard to say.  This was a fascinating cigar. It was 5″ x 46 with a pigtail, nice size for the time I had before dinner. It was very chocolaty, but a weird, chocolate that coates the palate. Loads of flavor. This had a long finish, I might still taste it 17 hour later and having had another cigar after it.  I think the people that were able to get these had a special treat, and I’m fortunate that I had the chance to try one.  

 

Finally, as I was leaving last week’s Aganorsa event, Fabien handed me a JFR Corojo Robusto “to smoke on the ride home”. I didn’t, of course, it wasn’t that long a ride.  This is another Aganorsa puro, featuring the Aganorsa Corojo wrapper.  It’s a dark wrapper, I had to look at the band to determine if it was the Corojo or the Maduro.  I have to smoke more of these JFRs, I think.  This was a good smoke, burned well, was fairly strong and had a lot of spice.  I liked it.  I’m not sure if it was the cigar or not, but I had weird dreams all night, the kind that you wake up, then spend the better part of an hour trying to figure out WTF that was all about, then falling asleep and waking from another weird dream.  I ended up getting up around three and watching Shazam on TBS until I fell asleep again (which didn’t take too long). Very strange. I didn’t eat anything spicy or anything like that, strange how the brain works.  Won’t prevent me from giving the JFRs more attention.  

 

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

 

Craig

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by | January 21, 2024 · 10:38 am

Some Aganorsa Rare Leaf and Statesman Cigars

Thursday evening I found myself faced with a dilemma, go to an event at the Cigar Mojo shop a mile from home, or a pop-up event at the Wooden Indian 15 miles from home.  The subject matter of the Wooden Indian event was far more appealing to me, so it made the choice easy, otherwise I’d have made a token appearance at Mojo and gone home to watch hockey.  It happened that Fabien Zeigler and Mike King of Aganorsa Leaf Cigars were in the area and were hanging out at the Indian, so I went, picked up some cigars, and hung out. Now, I’m hit or miss with the Aganorsa line, but there are a lot more hits than the event going on a the other place, and liking the people involved means more than liking the cigars in some cases.  I hadn’t seen Fabien since he left Drew Estate, and it’s always nice hanging out with Mike King and I feel right at home at the Wooden Indian.  I bought a selection and lit a Rare Leaf Maduro, it the Toro shape.  Their Toro’s are 6″ x 54, which suits me fine, and the wrapper is a San Andrés over Nicaraguan Aganorsa tobaccos.  I managed to pay attention to this one enough while conversating to know that it’s not one of the Aganorsa cigars that I don’t care for, it’s a perfectly decent, earthy mexican maduro with some rich cocoa and a little spice.  I’d definitely smoke this again, although it’s not replacing any favorites.  

 

I decided to follow it the next night with the Rare Leaf Corojo, also in the 6″ x 54 Toro size.  This has what they call a Nicaragua Café wrapper, Aganorsa Corojo 99 binder and Aganorsa fillers, sounds like a Nicaraguan Puro to me.  My impression of this one was that the flavor was largely on the wood end of the spectrum.  It was a good smoke, performed well, had some interesting flavors, a little citrus tingle here, some pepper there. When it comes to the woody and leathery cigars, I tolerate them, but it’s not something I’m going back to, unless I  forget and buy one again (which is becoming more and more likely!). I grabbed a couple more toros, and I’m pretty sure I smoked them before, and maybe even liked them!  I’m still way ahead of the game if I had gone to the event at the other shop.  There will be plenty of people coming to the shop by my house, I can miss one here and there. 

 

I received an email from Tommy Allen of Statesman Cigars in California asking about getting some exposure for his brand, I was intrigued.  Any time someone decides to start a cigar business in California I get curious. Is this guy nuts?  I need to know more.  So I figured he might be a good subject for the next video interview, which I’ll work on arranging, my “studio” is on the cool side this time of year. He sent me a couple cigars to sample, which I smoked yesterday. The cigars arrived in individual sealed pouches, and he shipped them separately in USPS Priority Mail boxes, which was unnecessary and overy costly.  He said it had to do with making sure the recipient got “as excellent an experience as possible”, which is a good thing.  Still could have put two cigars in one box, I’ve personally gotten ten in one of those!  Who am I to criticize though?  Taking  care of the customer is job number one, and it’s becoming less and less of a thing.  I started with what I believed to be the Bella Donna, their Habano blend.  Their cigars are all figurados, this was a 6″ x 56ish perfecto. I should have measured the ring gauge, but I did measure the length. This size isn’t listed on their site, which was a little confusing.  Regardless, or irregardless, depending on where you fall on that linguistic debate, it was a really nice smoke.  It burned well, once getting past the nipple, and had a perfect draw. This had the cane sugar sweetness I like, but it was pretty subtle, not at all cloying or overpowering.  Nice.  

 

The Maduro offering in the Statesman line they call the Nightcap, probably because one would smoke it in the evening, not because it looks like a hat one would wear to bed.  This is another perfecto, this one was 5 3/8″×52, not small, but smaller than the previous Habano cigar.  I definitely have to get into a video interview with Mr. Allen, I have a ton of questions.  They do say that the cigars are made in Esteli, nothing about who makes them, or any real info about the tobaccos.  The quality is good, the cigars are a little on the rustic side, but I not poorly priced at $11 for a figurado.  I’ve had a lot of more expensive cigars that weren’t as good.  The Maduro was a cocoa/coffee maduro with a little bit of strength, although approachable.  Good smoke. Like I said, I have lots of questions, stay tuned for more on Statesman.  

 

I’m to understand that there will be a multi vendor event on Saturday, May 4 at Goose’s in Limerick, PA.  I’m looking forward to this event, I’ll have more information as it becomes available.  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | January 8, 2023 · 10:05 am

Reinado Grand Apex, JTrain, Fosforo and Rocky Patel Cigars

First week of 2023 is in the books.  I managed to smoke a few new-to-me cigars this week!  First off was the Fosforo Toro, a 6″x 50 cigar with a Ecuadorian habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Condego and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.  This is a creation of Jeff Mouttet of Riverside Cigars, and is distributed by Pospiech Inc., Mike Szczepankiewicz’s distribution company.  Ironically, I also smoked a Guaimaro yesterday, also distributed by Pospiech.  This cigar, while it looks like it could come out of Nica Sueno (RoMaCraft), it’s actually made at Garmendia, the factory which makes West Tampa Cigar Co.’s cigars.  The cigar is tasty, some earthiness, some espresso and cocoa, very much up my alley.  Burn and draw were perfect, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Thanks to my Secret Santa, once again, for sharing this with me!

 

I may be going out of order, but I’m probably the only one bothered by that! I also smoked the Rocky Patel The Edge 20th Anniversary, which I picked up on a recent visit to Goose’s Montecristo Lounge.  I’m probably one of the few people who haven’t smoked a whole lot of RP Edge cigars, I’ve probably only smoked a couple, to be honest.  Not sure why, just is.  I felt like I wanted to give this anniversary cigar a try, and it’s a little pricier than the regular Edge line.  It’s advertised as having 10 year aged tobaccos, although exactly which tobaccos are aged isn’t clear.  The wrapper is an Ecuador Sumatra, with Nicaraguan and Honduran files and binder.  I’m used to Sumatra having a unique sweetness, and this one started out with a cloying pepper spice that I wasn’t ready for. it was tongue coating.  Eventually it smoothed out, and was a very nice smoke.  I’d smoke this again, and I suppose I should samply my way through the Edge line, I think there’s 23 different cigars in that line? 🙂

 

Almost a year ago I saw John Remer at the TPE and he gave me his JTrain cigar, made at La Zona by Protocol Cigars. It has the Protocol logo in the band at least.  John has a web show called Johnny Smokes Uncut, and a facebook group of the same name. I’m not sure what’s up with the “uncut” part of the name.  Obviously one can’t smoke a cigar uncut, I have to assume it refers to the videos being unedited. This Robusto is 5″ x 50 and has a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper,with  Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers.  There are several cigars from this factory which are among my favorites, the La Sirena, and most of the no longer produced Cornelius and Anthony line (Someone recently compared the C&A Meridian to the new Knuckle Sandwich, the y may be similar, but all of the C&A cigars had some Virginia tobacco in them that I don’t think is available to La Zona any more).  The JTrain cigar hit me with a really different flavor, it was almost acidic, with an odd spice. It must have turned out OK because I stopped taking notes, a sure sign I am enjoying a cigar.  I have an FTrain that John gave me at the PCA show on deck, anymore I am not satisfied by a robusto, I save them to fit certain times, and I have a crapload of robustos in my stock.  

 

Finally, I smoked a Reinado Grand Apex Gordo this week. This is a 6″ x 60 cigar that has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers and is made at Aganorsa’s TABSA factory.  I’ve known Antonio Lam, the owner of Reinado Cigars, for a very long time.  When I met him he was making cigars with Yadi Gonzalez, maker of Flor de Gonzalez cigars.  We had some amusing times trying to record pieces at the IPCPR show a few years back. Antonio is a Jersey guy, and the Grand Apex has an altruistic side to it, as some proceeds go to Dementia Society of America.  Anyone who’s been reading here for any period of time will know that this cigar is my kind of cigar.  Maybe not so obvious is that many cigars that come out of Aganorsa aren’t particularly interesting to me.  I try, of course, but I haven’t found one that hits me just right. This one, however, does.  It’s got my espresso, along with some dark fruits, and I really dig it.  It’s definitely on my “buy” list, even in this size.  Great job Antonio and Aganorsa!  

 

That’s all for today. I was hoping to get to a shop today, but it looks like the grandkids are coming by, so that will have to wait, some things are more important!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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