Tag Archives: BNB Cigars

by | 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 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. They 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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by | December 15, 2019 · 10:08 am

New Undercrown Shade and Flor de Cesar Cigars and an Editorial

I have been looking forward to smoking the Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Suprema since it’s announcement last summer, and finally had my chance this week. This large perfecto is 6″ x 50-54 and uses the same molds that the old Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto used. I smoked a bunch of the Chateau Reals in Maduro before they were discontinued in 2010 or thereabouts. I love the format, an I actually have a couple of the Chateau Real Maduros left from the box I bought in 2010, and a Connecticut as well. So I was looking forward to smoking the Shade in this size, and I really like the Undercrown Shade anyway. I’ll start out saying I think this is the best representation of the Undercrown Shade blend to date, in my opinion! It was slightly underfilled, which was which was OK, I just needed to slow my draw so as not to overheat it, after having a few overfilled cigars this week, I appreciated the effortless draw and the abundance of smoke! The smoke was rich and creamy and loaded with the flavors I expected from the cigar. It had me wondering if we might expect a limited edition of this shape in the Maduro and Sungrown versions of the Undercrown? What the heck, how cool would a Liga Privada be in this shape? Willy? Joe has my address, I’m between jobs, I have time to sample  😁.  The Undercrown Shade Suprema is a wonderful smoke!

 

Editorial

It was a funny week with lots of news! One interesting controversy that arose was the Avo Unexpected line being revealed to actually be the Avo core lines repackaged on Cigar Dojo’s Smoke Night Live. I’ll admit that the Smoke Night Live show hasn’t been on my podcast playlist until now, I have too many to possibly listen to as it is. But I had to listen to this one, and I was rather surprised to hear four prominent members of the Davidoff team reveal this news. Important to the story is that these four cigars were positioned as limited releases with a higher price point, and then were revealed to be the exact same cigars as four of the regular production Avo line. This prompted a rather visceral response from some very prominent retailers, one with especially close ties to Avo Uvasian himself, prompting him to sell off said stock as cost. I have smoked a few Avo cigars, they are OK, not a huge fan but I don’t dislike them, and I don’t have any ties to Davidoff at all, other than the fact that they make some great cigars and have been nice to me a few times in the past. I don’t think that the marketing plan behind this was a good idea at all, and it ended up tarnishing a prestigious brand. In all honesty, the repercussions probably don’t reach the rank and file Avo consumer so much as the few retailers that bought in to the Limited Editions and felt like they got burned, and maybe lost sales on something else because they had basically eight boxes taking up the shelf space where it normally would be four. Someone thought it would be clever, someone went about it the wrong way, and someone should apologize to the retailers who feel betrayed. That’s my unsolicited two cents. 

 

Last week when I was at BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill, PA (which is actually within the Philadelphia city limits), Vince there implored me to sample a few of their exclusive Flor de Cesar cigars, which I’ve enjoyed in the past. I managed to smoke the “lancero” last night, and I put  “lancero” in quotes because it’s actually 7″ x 42, so it’s not really a lancero technically. It’s actually a whole four ring gauges larger than a lancero, maybe it’s a super corona, or something. Call it what you will, if you put it next to a Gordo, it’s a lancero. The Flor de Cesar line is made by James Brown at Fabrica Oveja Negra, but, in my experience, it’s very different from other cigars I’ve smoked from that factory. First, I’ll say that this format, whatever you want to call it, was very comfortable to smoke. It didn’t need quite the babying that a 38 ring lancero needs, yet it still had that elegant feel. You know I think that small ring, wrapper to filler ration bullshit is poppycock, it all has to do with combustion, so the 42 ring strikes a nice balance for me, slow draws to not over heat and it’s a nice cool smoke. I loved the flavor. This had that rare flavor of spiced hard candy that I like, I gotta get a bag of grandma candy and figure out what exactly that is, but I love it and when I find it in a cigar I really dig it. I believe this was the 2019 Flor de Cesar Silver The Novin Lancero to be technically accurate, and it was delicious. I kinda want to try the Corona Gorda now! 

 

Well, that’s all for now, it’s coming up on Christmas all of the sudden. It’s occurring to me that I don’t have much in the vault for giveaways this year! There were a few years there were giveaways were going crazy this time of year, sadly no longer. I’ll see what I can do to put something together! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | December 8, 2019 · 10:39 am

Random Cigars and a Dunbarton Event at BnB Cigars in Philly

I already posted this week about the new cigar I smoked,  and I’ll get to the other one in a bit, but first I want to recap a few other cigars I revisited during the course of the week. I’ve been busying myself helping out a friend and continuing my job search. It’s a bad time of year for this sort of thing, but I did it once in 2002, so I should be able to pull it off again. so I’ve been continuing my evening routine of having a cigar and taking a walk, weather permitting. It’s been cold (or advancing age has reduced my tolerance), so I’ve been choosing more robustos, so one day this week I grabbed a La Aurora 1962 Corojo Robusto. Since I bought my first box of cigars in 1996 (La Aurora Bristol Especiales), I’ve always had some La Auroras in the humidor. It’s a sentimental choice for a few reasons. My celebration cigar when my grandchildren were born was the 2003 Puro Vintage, and I have two stashed for the next two grand children, but I suspect they will be very well aged by the time I’ll be smoking them. My daughter’s name is Aurora, which might be important information in this story, ties it together, I suppose. She may still have that old box from 1996 someplace. Anyway, the 1962 Corojo uses a Dominican Corojo wrapper, Ecuador binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and is a medium bodied cigar with nice flavor. It’s one of those cigars that I can’t really pinpoint flavors but it’s flavors I like, and I know I can just grab one and have a good experience. Honestly, I’ve only ever smoked the 5″ x 50 robusto, so I’d solve to try this in the toro or Churchill size one of these days. I want to say the the 1903 Cameroon and 1987 Connecticut have the same binder and filler, with only the wrapper being different, I like all three.

 

If I were going to do something crazy, like have a cigar of the year, my next cigar would be in the running, or at least the brand would. I might just do it, because the Don Juan Calavera line from Danli Honduras Tabaco has really captured my corozón! I smoked the Connecticut this week, because it’s hard for me to not smoke these all up. I’m at a serious crossroads as to which of their three offerings is my favorite, Connecticut, Sumatra, or Maduro. The Connecticut is atypical, it is creamy, but not grassy, and not at all mild. Like every cigar I’ve smoked from the line, the construction has been excellent, burn and draw have been perfect. I’m trying to find out the best pathway to purchase these, so far e-mailing them, using the form on their website, or contacting them via Facebook seems to be the only way to buy them. As soon as can provide an easy to follow guide to purchasing these I’ll post it, because everyone should be enjoying these. Edit: I just received word that at this time contacting the manufacturer is one way to get them, but two stores in Virginia carry them, Blacksburg Pipe & Tobacco (Blacksburg VA) and Milan Tobacconists (Roanoke VA). Try calling these stores to purchase the cigars.  I should save some gushing for that cigar brand of the year post! Shh…don’t tell anyone! 

 

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to smoke the Mi Querida Triqui Traca, and I did so at BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill, PA. They were having an event there with Steve Saka and Dave Lafferty (Cindy Saka was there too) of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, with a bunch of test blends that Steve had accumulated over the years as add-ons to purchases. I smoked one which was obviously a Mi Querida Gordita with some variation of the wrapper, although who could tell? It was delicious. Of course, I always learn stuff hanging with these guys, and the store is a cornucopia of boutique cigars. I highly recommend a visit there, if not in person, check them out for your online shopping, as Vince has curated an amazing selection of cigars. The lounge is comfortable and the clientele is friendly as well (which will mean nothing if you shop online). Anyway, the Mi Querida Triqui Traca I smoked was the 648, which is a clever name, as it’s 6″ x 48. This blend is based off of the Mi Querida Firecracker blend that Steve made for Two Guys Cigars last year, so it’s got a little more oomph than the Mi Querida line. I really enjoyed it, although it’s too early to tell if I like it more than the regular line, I don’t think I really need to have a preference actually, I can like them both equally! The Triqui Traca had the great espresso and spice that I love with more of the ligero power. I was told that the strength manifests itself more if you keep it in your mouth while smoking, which I don’t, so I guess I missed out on that aspect. It, as always, is great seeing my friends and spending time with them. I was surprised there weren’t as many Saka fans there, but I’m sure many wish they could have been. 

 

That’s plenty for today. I have a Sobremesa Brulé on the menu for today, I actually haven’t smoked regular production versions yet, so I’m looking forward to it. If I have the time there might be other goodies from yesterday to smoke. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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by | October 28, 2018 · 8:14 am

A Cohiba, a La Flor de Ynclan, a Flor de Cesar and a Herrera Esteli Cigar

I’ve had a lot going on this week as I started a new job. In this week’s contest post, which everyone should go back and enter if you haven’t already, because it’s pretty darned special (a beautiful Big Papi Humidor from El Artista Cigars, go HERE to enter!) a few people asked about the new job. It occurred to me that in nine years of writing this blog, I’ve never been forthcoming about my day job details. I’ll  continue to keep that close to the vest, except that this position is in retail management and logistics in consumer electronics area. It’s a small, local company, not a big box, national company or anything. So far the first week has gone well, and I’m looking forward to learning all the ins and outs. I appreciate everyone’s well-wishes!  Of course, I smoked some cigars this week to celebrate.

 

One of the adjustments I’ve had to make was the schedule, having spent the last 15 years working nine to five, then the last six months not working at all,  having an unusual schedule is going to be odd. This week I just worked until six, not too bad to start.  Tuesday I started off with a Cohiba  Spectre.  This is an interesting cigar that was released at this past year’s IPCPR. This double corona is 7¼” x 54 and is a blend of eight tobaccos from five countries. The wrapper is a rosado high priming Ecuador Sumatra, there’s Dominican Piloto Cubano from a 1995 crop which was aged in “tercios”, bales wrapped in palm bark.  There’s also Nicaraguan filler aged in Sherry casks and Honduran filler from San Augustin, Jamastran and La Entrada.  They used on;y one pair of rollers to make 1800 cigars, which have an MSRP of $90 each. I think I’ve only smoked one cigar that had a higher price tag than this, and that was a Cuban Davidoff Dom Perignon from the 1980s a dozen years ago at a wedding. I figured this was as good an occasion as any. It was a pretty tasty smoke, it was medium bodied, with a nice sweetness. I’d like to be able to say it burned dead even, but it meandered a little, and needed a few corrections, which I didn’t expect from a cigar with this hefty of a price tag. Overall, I found it very enjoyable and worthy of the occasion! I’m deeply appreciative to General Cigar Co. for the opportunity to try this cigar.

 

Earlier this year Villiger released the La Flor de Ynclan in a limited edition Lancero Especial, a 6¾” x 43 cigar with a Ecuadoran wrapper, Indonesian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers made in the ABAM factory in the DR. This is basically a Lonsdale as opposed to a Lancero, or a Dalias in the Cuban Vitolas de Galera. Call it whatever you want, it’s a wonderful size and an excellent tasting cigar, and provided a very nice smoking experience. When I smoked one of these a few months ago it smoked terribly, what I could taste was promising, but it smoked very “wet”, wouldn’t stay lit, just didn’t burn well at all. several months later certainly made all the difference. I enjoy this blend in other sizes, granted I haven’t yet smoked the Churchill, which I look forward to, why haven’t I smoke that size yet? I love Churchills! How did I let the summer slip by without smoking a La Flor de Ynclan Churchill?

 

Flor de Cesar is a cigar that’s made at the Fabrica Oveja Negra by James Brown for BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill, PA. I smoked the Robusto a few months ago at the shop and Vince there gave me a Toro Larga (6½” x 50) to try.  I meant to try this sooner but got distracted and came across this in the humidor and figured this week was a good time to smoke it. This cigar has a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, an Ecuadoran Binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. This is a different flavor profile than other cigars I’ve smoked from the Black Works, Black Label family, to my palate, admittedly, my experience is limited. To me, the cigars I’ve smoked from Black Works are darker flavored, which I like, but the Flor de Cesar has brighter flavors. I really enjoyed the light spices and sweetness that I enjoyed throughout this cigar that burned perfectly. I’ll be sure to pick some more of these up the next time I’m visiting Vince at BnB.

 

Finally, I smoked another Lonsdale (in addition to the delicious Cornelius Lonsdale, that’s three this week!). When I was at the Wooden Indian at the Joya de Nicaragua event, Alex, our local Drew Estate rep, slipped me a Herrera Esteli Brazilian Maduro Lonsdale. I’ve been really looking forward to trying this new line which was announced earlier this year, and I don’t even know if these have made it to stores yet. Since I didn’t get to the IPCPR show, I didn’t get a chance to try any of the new releases, so I was thrilled to try this cigar. This was a home run by Willie Herrera, certainly one he should be proud to have his name on (not like he isn’t proud to have his name on the rest!) In the Herrera Esteli line I tend to really like the Norteño, and the rest are just OK. I know that’s heresy to many, but that’s how I roll. This cigar was brilliant! It maintained the medium bodied, sophisticated, subtle complexity of the Herrera Esteli, while adding the sweet, dark fruit and cocoa notes from th Brazilian maduro wrapper that I love. yum, frickin, yum. I can’t wait to try all the sizes of this cigar.

 

That about wraps things up, I’m off to work on a Sunday for the first time in a while. It will be nice having weekdays off here and there I’ll admit. Don’t forget to enter the contest! Also, check out the IPCPR’s new website,  www.cigaraction.org , which is kind of a parallel to the Cigar Rights of America in that it allows you to easily contact your elected officials about cigar related legislation. Use it, use both, let the people you elect know that you want them to protect our rights!

 

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

CigarCraig

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by | September 23, 2018 · 11:12 am

Two Events at BnB Cigars: Southern Draw and Cornelius and Anthony Cigars

I had a relatively busy week this week, making the drive into Philly two days in a row to visit Vince at BnB International Cigars in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, Robert Holt of Southern Draw Cigars was making an appearance there, and I hadn’t seen him since the 2017 IPCPR show. I had a bone to pick with Robert, as I had stopped receiving his media e-mails over the last year and was trying to figure out which thing it was I did that might have offended him, I thought we had left off on pretty good terms. As it turns out, he had replaced a lost phone or something and had missed getting my address back in his database, and had been wondering why he hadn’t heard from me! We got it sorted out like gentlemen, it’s all good now, keep an ear out for the next episode of the CigarCraig Podcast this week featuring Robert.

 

Flor de CesarAnyway, I had a great time at BnB hanging out with Vince and Frank, and had a chance, finally to smoke their Flor de Cesar, which is their own cigar made at James Brown’s Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli. Vince told me they were going for something different from other cigars in the Black Works portfolio, and I’d have to agree, the Flor de Cesar was a very nice cigar with a sweet spice, almost floral side to it which was very nice. These have a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper that Vince tells me is the same as a wrapper that RomaCraft uses on the Wanderlust (right?), but a lower priming, which they bought all of for this cigar. It has a Honduran binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Brazil. I thought it was well-balanced and medium bodied and a pleasure to smoke. I have a Toro on deck to sample, which I look forward to, but the Robusto was of exceptional quality, and is reasonably priced. BnB Inernational has an online store where these can be purchased, which is not to be confused with the BnB Tobacco which has been a long time advertiser on CigarCraig.com.

 

SD_Jacobs Ladder_LanceroSince it was a Southern Draw Cigars Event I lit up a Jacobs Ladder Lancero out of the white Ignite jar. They had both the white and black jars on the counter, and one had a white band and one had a dark band, but they were the same cigars. Give the upcoming podcast episode a listen for information on the Ignite project, it’s a charity cigar, and Southern Draw is all about giving back, which is admirable, and I’ve seen a lot of cigar companies with good intentions end up failing, and Robert is doing the exact opposite. my only criticism is that if you don’t know what this is, the bands really don’t identify it, no where on either band does it say “Southern Draw” at all. I suppose I should have asked Robert about this at the time, I didn’t really even notice until I got home and put cigars away. If you know, you know, but if you don’t, you’re in for a rough research project. I can see a conversation in a cigar store something like “I had this great cigar, it has a band that said “Top Rung”, do you have that, I want to buy a box. it had a white and copper band with some Latin on it too.”  Like when I worked in a record store and people would come in and say “I heard this song on the radio, it went something like la la la love la la…. do you have that one?” Anyway, I’m a big fan of the Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder, as a matter of fact, last winter it was wicked cold and I was walking Macha and I was wearing mittens and smoking my last Jacobs Ladder Toro. I was almost home and realized I no longer had the cigar in my hand.  I panicked and turned around and retraced my steps to find my cigar on the street, fortunately undamaged, so I could finish it. I love the larger ring gauge in this blend, but the lancero version is spectacular as well. Robert loves that format, so his lanceros always seem to be on point. Smoked slow, the dark, bitter espresso flavors are right there, over smoked and it will be too harsh, but a nice, slow pace and this lancero is good to the last drop.

 

CnA_Gent_ToroThursday brought a Cornelius and Anthony event back at BnB. I decided to brave rush hour traffic and spent a good half an hour longer than usual on the Schuylkill Expressway and head back to see my friends Todd Vance and Miguel Montanez, along with Vince and Brian. Bnb is a great little shop packed to the rafters with great cigars, I recommend visiting if you find yourself in the Philadelphia area. Anyway, I grabbed myself a Cornelius and Anthony The Gent Toro and repaired to the rocking chairs on the sidewalk in front of the store with Todd to enjoy the cigar. The Gent is quickly moving up my list of favorite Cornelius and Anthony cigars, I’ve now smoked the Robusto, Gordo and Toro, and, as per usual, the Toro stands out as my favorite, although it’s a very fine line in this blend, they have all been quite good. The price is really good on these too, it may be the lowest priced cigar in the Cornelius and Anthony line, and it’s the only box pressed cigar. This is a cigar that may become a household name around here. I know my amigo CigarProp Kevin dug this one, as well as the Cornelius, and who can blame him on that, what’s not to like?  Hunt down CigarProp on Youtube and check out Kevins videos, by the way. Speaking of Cornelius, I smoked a Lonsdale earlier in the week which was spectacular! It’s right up there with the Toro as my favorite of the brand. I dream of one day seeing a classic Churchill in the Cornelius blend, I think the 7″ x 47 would be drool-worthy. Spoiler alert: I’m going to go through the humidor and pick out some cigars for a contest coming up this week, definitely stay tuned.

 

SouthernDraw_300Manos_CoronaGordaRobert gifted me a 300 (trescientos, gotta remember that!) Manos Corona Gorda at the event which I eagerly smoked Friday afternoon. This cigar has Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a binder from Cameroon, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers and is the “natural” version, with the 300 Hands being the Maduro version having a Nicaraguan wrapper and Indonesian binder. These two cigars are meant to spotlight the number of people involved in making a premium cigar, and is another project that gives back to those people through charitable donations by Southern Draw. Again, check out the upcoming podcast episode where we talk about this in detail. This is a very reasonably priced cigar, considering the quality of construction, flavor and the fact that some of your dollars are going to help people. There is a lot of nice, clean tobacco flavor in this cigar, the Cameroon binder adds that neat nutty little sweetness that I like, and the cigar just tastes good. this is a winner and I can’t wait to try the 300 Hands.

 

I smoked a bunch of other cigars this week, a Cornelius and Anthony Venganza, a Wiseman Maduro, a Protocol Lancero, a Providencia El Santo and a Punch Diablo, which were all excellent, and have either been covered here before, or I have future plans to write about. All of them were yummy, not a bad cigar in the bunch, I’m enjoying a good stretch of cigars, at least, I could use some luck in some other areas! Again, watch for an upcoming podcast and contest!  So, that’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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