Happy Winter Solstice! While I generally don’t like that today is the shortest day of the year, it gives me hope that for the foreseeable future the days will be getting longer! I prefer sunlight to darkness. Anyway, its uphill from here! Perhaps I have seasonal defective disorder or something. Anyway, I still smoke cigars, thank goodness for electricity! This week some of my “new to me” cigars aren’t really new, but this time of year one can’t be picky. I’ll start with the Tatuaje Avion 12, the smallest size in the Avion line, 5 5/8″ x 52, a cute little perfecto by today’s standards! I know I’ve smoked the Avion 13, which has a broadleaf wrapper instead of the Ecuador Habano that this and it’s larger sibling, the 11 has. The Habano surrounds Nicaraguan binder and filler. Something makes me think the Avion is an offshoot of the Fausto line, but in perfecto shapes. I like the shape, and I believe these are reasonably priced. That this cigar has been on the market for 13 years and this is my first go around with it is a failing on my part. There’s a sweet, dark fruit flavor I get, and it’s a fairly loose draw so I take care not to oversmoke it. I think it’s a really good $9 cigar.
Another cigar I smoked this week is a Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Robusto. This is a cigar that Espinosa Cigars makes for Guy Fieri, the TV cook dude. This is the most successful celebrity cigar todate, with Guy actually doing events to support it. This guy (can you call guys named Guy guy?), is a super busy guy, who recently injured himself requiring surgery, and still makes it to events. It’s good for cigars to have a celebrity, who nearly everyone with a TV knows, show cigars in a positive light. OK, the core line Knuckle Sandwich Maduro uses a Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. While it’s different from the Red Meat Lovers cigars, it’s definitely in the top two of culinary themed cigars. There’s rich cocoa and nutty flavors and I like it a lot. I can’t remember where I got this, it might have been in one of those Smoke Inn samplers I keep buying for n0 apparent reason. I really like these Knuckle Sandwich cigars, there’s a whole bunch of Limited Edition cigars in this line I haven’t tried, and probably won’t. I’m sure they are good, I just never seem to see them.
Gabe Piñeres, PR guy to the stars, send me a flight of the Don Emmanuel cigars, Toro, Robusto and petite corona to sample. These cigars are blended by Eladio Diaz, who was the blender for Davidoff for many years. The “about” page on the website says that Don Emmanuel is a cigar sommelier, apparently world renowned, who I haven’t heard of. Eladio Diaz I’ve heard of. I could do some digging if I wanted to. They debuted at this year’s PCA show, and have one line so far, the Don Emmanuel Annunaki, a name which appeals to my affinity for the Ancient Aliens show. If there’s a TV celebrity more well known that Guy Fieri, it has to be Giorgio Tsoukalos, right? OK, he’s a nut who’s made a name for himself, I get it, I should be so lucky. The Anu (which I believe is some sort of fertility god in the Sumerian lore) is the toro, which I smoked. The wrapper is Dominican with a Mexican binder and Dominican fillers.It’s a interesting flavor profile. I want to say cedary, with some bitter flavors. Maybe there’s something mushroomy in there, but that could be a preconceived notion. These are flavors that don’t line up with my preferences, but they do for others. No complaints on the construction, it was well behaved. It’s a $16 cigar, not terribly by today’s standard, and it worth a try if you like cigars that I don’t! Not saying it’s a bad cigar, just not one for me (it happens! ask Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne). Maybe I’ll like the robusto and petite better.
The next few weeks have Christmas and New Years falling in them, so please temper your expectations for the next few Sunday posts. Not that any of them are spectacular, but maybe the next few will be shorter, ’tis the season. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Saturnalia, etc, to those who celebrate. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
