Tag Archives: Cameroon

September 21, 2025 · 9:50 am

Morphine, Rocky Patel and Wooden Indian Cigar’s Annual Pig Roast

I didn’t plan well this week, as I made a last minute decision to go to the Wooden Indian’s annual pig roast yesterday.  Not sure why it was a late call, I try to make an appearance every year.  But first, a couple of new-to-me cigars.  A few weeks back when I stopped in the The Cigar Authority of Chester in Cochranville, PA , I picked up a Black Label Trading Co. Limited Edition Morphine 10 Year Anniversary Perfecto.  It looked neat and I like sampling BLTC’s stuff, I generally like what they make.  This is a 5″ x 50 perfecto, which is much smaller than a robusto because of the severe tapers on either end. This cigar needs to be smoked slowly, lest it overheat and get bitter.  The flavors are heavy with black coffee that’s been on the burner for a while. Generally I like this kind of cigar, but the format is tricky. It burned well and was enjoyable, but required concentration.  This will be a theme this week!  BLTC has stood the test of time, ten years is an overnight success in the cigar industry.  I’d love to visit their factory some day.  

 

I got a couple Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon toros in one of those Smoke Inn’s “too good a deal not to buy” samplers a few weeks back.  It’s impossible to pass up 5 cigars for $20 delivered when they are good cigars that I either want to try or have enjoyed in the past.  If I’ve smoked the RP Cameroon it’s been a long time ago, which is possible because this cigar has been around a long time. I like that Rocky adds a bonus half inch to a lot of his toros, 6½” x 52, with a Cameroon wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. While I don’t tend to smoke a lot of RP cigars, I rarely have one that’s distasteful to me, and I think I can smoke most of the Vintage line and be happy.  This is no exception, although, like I alluded to above, this one needed to be smoked slowly to avoid it becoming foul.  The Camerooniness came on right off the start. Sweet nuttiness with well aged tobacco.  This is a nice cigar and worth at least twice what I paid for it! 

 

While it was distressing to see that Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust’s Golden Megasquatch doll (action figure?) was stolen from their Intertabak booth, at least we can confirm that booth theft isn’t a strictly American thing. Steve is probably relieved that he doesn’t have to ship it home.  

 

Yesterday I went to the Wooden Indian‘s annual charity pig roast, which I’ve attended most years in one way or another.  Last year (or the year before, who can keep track, they celebrated their 60th anniversary, this year it’s the 20th anniversary of Dave Mayer’s ownership.  Dave is one of my favorite people in the cigar biz.   More on what they have going on for the 20th next week if all goes to plan.  The weather could not have been better for this event, in previous years we’ve sweated, froze and been rained on, one year it was postponed because of a hurricane.  Drew Estate sponsors the event, and Pedro Gomez and Calvin Zimmerman were on hand.  The event was raising money for Operation: Cigars for Warriors, and had auction items donated by the family of Brandon Jones, who was a huge Drew Estate ambassador and passed away tragically last year.  I knew Brandon, he was a great dude and loved all things Drew Estate. I smoked a couple of the new Nica Rustica Shade cigars, in the 5″ x 66 Gordo and the toro, and ate and fraternized with the folks at the event.  The Nica Rustica Shade is a really good shade cigar for under $10. It was the last Freestyle live cigar.  As always, it was a great time and I would have stuck around longer if I didn’t have other stuff to do.  If you find yourself in the Philadelphia area, a visit to the Wooden Indian is a must.  

 

When I got home I sat down with a Blackened M81 Lancero, which is a new line extension this year apparently.  I saw them in the humidor and picked up a couple to try. I seem to have misplaced one, which is really weird for me, I’m usually really good about keeping track of my cigars!  Anyway, I am less concerned about it after having smoked one. This is a 7″ x 40 lancero, a little fatter like the Liga L40.  I was intrigued, then I smoked it. I like the M81 line when I want a heavy maduro cigar, which this is. The Lancero format didn’t seem to lend itself to this heavy blend.  Yes, once again, this needs to be smoked slowly, but even “sipping” the smoke was a little overwhelming. Too much burnt cocoa, espresso for me.  I rarely speak ill of a cigar, but I think this is one that didn’t need to be made. Also uncharacteristic of me to say, but this would probably be OK in the S84 blend. I’m not going to go crazy looking for that missing cigar. 

 

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

CigarCraig

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September 14, 2025 · 8:33 am

El Baton Cameroon, El Mago El Cubano and El Whippoorwill Cigars

I selected an interesting batch of cigars to feature this week.  The first two I bought from 2 Guys Cigars, who held their 40th anniversary festivities this weekend.  One of these days I’ll make it back up there for a visit.  I actually had a bad dream last night about moving to New Hampshire, we bought a run down house and I was against moving north, if I ever move, it won’t be north!  Anyway, I picked up some of the newly released El Baton Cameroon Firecrackers by J.C. Newman and United Cigars.  This branding confuses me.  El Baton isn’t a budget brand, but it’s not on the Diamond Crown level, it’s a mid-line brand I guess.  I love them, they are really tasty smokes (I smoked a belicoso after smoking the Firecracker).  To my knowledge, it’s never had a Cameroon wrapper, where as they have made a Cuesta Rey with Cameroon.  Is Cuesta Rey not a strong enough brand to carry the firecracker?  Not sure what the thinking here was.  Anyway, the Firecracker is 3½” x 50 with a fuse cap, and aren’t inexpensive at $9.29 each.  It started on the bitter side, then the nutty Camerooniness© kicked in, just in time for it to be done.  It’s too short.  Like I said, I followed it with the El Baton Belicoso, and I can see where it’s in the same family.  Fun smoke, happy to have added some to my firecracker collection.

 

When I ordered the Firecrackahs, I added on a few of the El Mago El Cubano toros, as I’ve been having good luck with the El Magos and wanted to try more.  Seems like I’m doing a lot of complaining today.  Neither the tube, which is very nice, nor the bands, also nice, say El Mago on them anywhere.  This confuses me.  This is a new brand that needs all the exposure it can get, because, in my limited experience, they are making great cigars. They can’t rely on imagery to identify the brand just yet.  I’d like to see “El Mago” on the packaging somewhere.  I’ll admit when I ordered these I didn’t even look at the blend, I may not have ordered them had I known they were shade wrapped cigars.  But I did, so I smoked it.  It was very heavy on the citrus tang, made it on the sharp side in flavor.  Like other cigars in the brand, it burned very well and I enjoyed it for what it was, but it wouldn’t be my first pick. I may take one out of the tube and see if some age smoothes it out.  I’ll continue sampling through the El Mago line as I come across them.

 

Finally, Flatbed Cigar Co. rarely has a new release.  Their Panacea line is very good, please check out the daily deals on the left side of my page. You can get some great cigars at a good price.  Paul announced a new line last week, the Whippoorwill, so I bought a pack to try.  Despite the title of this post, it’s just Whippoorwill, not El Whippoorwill!  This falls in the Homestead line, and has a Habano Oscuro wrapper, at least on most of it. The first half inch is just binder, which is Nicaraguan, and the fillers are Nicaraguan and Dominican.  Once the burn reaches the wrapper, this is a really good cigar!  I say that because I thought it started out a little harsh, but when that wrapper kicked in it was terrific.  It smoothed out to a spicy, sweet treat, had a perfect burn and draw, and it’s 6″ x 52, my favorite size. It lasted all the way through the Thunderbolts movie, which I found entertaining (the Red Guardian cracks me up!). Good smoke, keep the great cigars coming Paul!

 

That’s all for today! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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August 31, 2025 · 10:12 am

Stolen Throne 919, Tatuaje Cohete Corojo, Howard G Cigars and the Giveaway Winner!

Photo credit Micky Pegg

Here we are, 16 years of writing CigarCraig.com!  After all this time I still have to talk myself into going to a cigar shop after work!  It’s nothing personal, and I always regret it when I pass up an opportunity, but it’s a struggle for me to leave the comfort and safety of my home smoking lounge!  Weird, right?  I’m actually an introvert, but I do my best to hide it.  Anyway, Thursday evening I visited the Wooden Indian where Lee Marsh from Stolen Throne Cigars was doing an event. I consider Lee to be a friend, and it wouldn’t have been right for him to be in the neighborhood and miss seeing him.  I love some of his cigars, add the Castle 919 to that list.  I picked up a couple of the new Castle 919 cigars, a Robusto and a Belicoso, the only two sizes offered.  Castle 919 has an Habano Claro wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made at the Rojas factory. I smoked the Belicoso, which is 5″ x 54 (the Robusto is 5″ x 50), and was delighted.  This has the sugar cane sweetness I enjoy and was really good to the last drop!  This may rise to the top of my Stolen Throne list of favorites, although the Crook of the Crown and Three Kingdoms will always rank highly.  It was a treat to see Micky Pegg there as well and learn that All Saints Cigars is healthy!  It is disappointing that they dropped my favorite size from their lines (Churchill), but glad they are still around!  Lee and I stopped by Cigar Mojo – The Grove afterwards where I smoked a Yorktown Fleet Robusto, which is still not my favorite, but growing on me. Lee is deeply hurt that I don’t care for this blend (or the Call to arms). 

 

Friday was my birthday, my whole family (8 of us) went out to a nice dinner.  It makes me happy having all of us together.  We got home a little late, so it was the perfect time to smoke a 4″ x 50 Tatuaje Cohetes Corojo that I had picked up when I visited Cigar Mojo – The Grove.  I should get over there more often, it’s literally a mile from my house, refer back to the first couple sentences of this post. This is the first Cohetes I’ve smoked in the Tatuaje line, it’s curious to me that it exists along with the 4 3/8″ x 52 T110, they are different blends, but similar sizes.  This was a really good little smoke. It started out with spice, but an interestingly different spice.  Starting with spice is expected, but this was a different flavor.  It sweetened slightly as it smoked, and was a really delicious little smoke, that lasted at least an hour for me.  Looking forward to the T110 Corojo I picked up as well to see how they compare. 

 

Once again, a Smoke Inn special sucked me in, who can pass up $20 for five cigars delivered to your door in a couple days?  This one was two Rocky Patel Cameroons and three Howard G Cameroons.  It’s a no-brainer. While I was interested in trying both, the Howard G cigars were my first priority. I think I met Howard at a trade show, it would have been outside the bar in the Venetian,  but I don’t recall formal introductions.  I’ve been hearing good things, so I wanted to sample the brand, and I like Cameroon, always have.  It looks like this is in the Magic Stick line, which also has a Habano and Connecticut. I notice that they also have a Golf themed line which has a Front Nine and Back Nine. I hope Ryan Gallimore (check out the new Cigar Circus site!) is OK with that, as he had a Front Nine and Back Nine in his Swinger Cigars line many years ago.  I will be on the lookout for the Magic Stick Habano, but this Cameroon wasn’t bad!  It has a raw nuts sort of nuttiness, and I seem to get some kind of nuts flavor from Cameroon.  It was a fairly bold flavor, the cigar smoked very nicely. 

 

OK, now to announce a winner in last Sunday’s big giveaway.  Apparently I guessed right on what the mystery Freestyle Live cigar was. which surprises me more than anyone.  It’s a really good smoke, and I look forward to getting my hands on them when they hit stores.  I consulted Google’s random number generator, and 4 was the number, and the number of the counting was 4.  This corresponds to Jeff W., who needs to email me his contact information so I can get this out. I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with some more stuff for future giveaways!  Thank you all for reading over these last 16 years!  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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May 8, 2022 · 9:42 am

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon Cigar and Random Thoughts

This week J.C. Newman announced the release of the Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon to celebrate the 127th anniversary of the company.  It’s going to be a factory exclusive, so one will have to visit the El Reloj factory to get them.  The cigar is a 6½” x 42 lonsdale with an African Cameroon wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Dominican fillers.  They’ve put a $15 per cigar price on this and will sell them in 5-packs.  Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but

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it seems to me that Cuesta Rey No 95 used to be sold in three or five packs in most pharmacies that sold cigars. There were bundles of Craftsman’s Bench in several varieties, Berings, a bunch of cigars in tins, Macanudo Ascots, and Cuesta Reys.  I’m quite sure I’m remembering this right.  I don’t think I ever bought any cigars at the drugstores, they weren’t in humidors, and, at the time when the drugstores still sold tobacco, I had plenty of good options to get properly stored and curated selections of cigars. It was nice to know these were available in an emergency! I do understand why pharmacies got away from selling tobacco products, but they sell a whole lot of other unhealthy stuff there, so it’s a little hypocritical. Anyway, here’s a little excerpt from the J.C. Newman press release:

 

“After the Cuban Embargo was imposed in 1962, my grandfather, Stanford J. Newman, scoured the world for new types of tobacco. He discovered exquisite African Cameroon Wrapper (ACW) and was the first premium cigar maker to use it in the United States. Stanford wrapped ACW with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and long filler tobaccos grown in the Dominican Republic to create the Cuesta-Rey No. 95. It was smooth, elegant, and flavorful, and became the top-selling premium cigar in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.  Sixty years later, we are proud to have recreated the original blend of my grandfather’s most famous cigar, the Cuesta-Rey No. 95.”  – Drew Newman
 

Cuesta-Rey No. 95 Cameroon is handmade in J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida.  It’s a 6.25 x 42 cigar that retails for $15 each.  Beginning today, J.C. Newman is selling this special cigar in limited edition packs of 5 cigars as a factory exclusive.  Cigar enthusiasts who visit J.C. Newman’s cigar museum, take a factory tour, or attend a special event at its El Reloj factory will be able to enjoy this very special cigar.   

 

It’s impressive that the cigar is made in the Tampa factory, which accounts for the price being what it is.  I had the good fortune to smoke a couple of these this week. It’s been a long time since I smoked a 95, a long, long time. I want to say the standard No. 95 is made by Fuente in the DR, and do

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esn’t have the Broadleaf binder, but I could be mistaken.  Had I taken the time and thought about it, I would done a comparison, but I’ve been lazy lately.  I’ve found myself smoking a lot of cigars that I like lately and not smoking new stuff. Selfish, I know. Anyway, this was a really good tasting cigar. Actually, the first one annoyed me a little as the first half failed to burn very well and didn’t really get going until the second half, but the second one was perfect.  It had the nutty “Camerooniness” that I expect, with some sweetness from the broadleaf.  It was unique enough to be special, and worth trying. Visiting El Reloj is on my list of things I want to do in the near future, it’s just a matter of making my way south sometime soon. 

 

Since I spent the week smoking some cigars I know I liked, I really don’t have much else to talk about today. I was impressed with the mentions of cigars on NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby yesterday. I know cigars are a tradition there, but they could easily have censored them.  There was probably something stupid that someone did or said that I thought about talking about, but I can’t think of it now.  I did hear that the Smokin’ Tabacco CFCF Charity Raffle has been extended, so check out https://go.rallyup.com/smokintabacco/Campaign/Details and get in on that.  Also, don’t forget the Red Meat Lovers Club Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event in June. Tickets are available here. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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August 23, 2020 · 10:46 am

A Liga Privada Serie Unico “A” and Some JRE Aladino Cigars

Friday wrapped up my first week at the new job, and I felt like it was a success, and my boss expressed his satisfaction, so it seems like it’s going to be a good gig. As I often do, I rummaged through

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the humidors looking for a cigar, and I wanted something befitting the occasion, but not only did I want something to celebrate the end of the work week (by the way, this is the first time since April of 2018 that I’ve worked Monday to Friday, 8-4:30, like a regular person!), but I also wanted something that would get me fairly deep into game 6 of the Flyers, possibly clinching, playoff game. I was in the NewAir CC-300H and spied a pair of Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico “A”s, one each from two of the Barnsmokers I’ve been to on the top shelf. I also have a coffin with two that’s probably 6 years old in there, but these two were just sitting there on the shelf, vulnerable, so I took one to smoke. I figured this was a great occasion for a 9¼” x 48 cigar. I must have smoked one of these sometime over the past few years, because I should have had one more I think, but I can’t really remember. I took a walk, my usual one mile loop, and got back and had a double corona. By the time the Hockey game started I had a Churchill. The cigar got me through the first two periods. The timing was excellent. Flavorwise it was a nice cigar, T-52ish on the Liga scale. It has the Stalk Cut Connecticut Habano wrapper, which is amazing that the grow the leaves that large.  It starts a little milder than a normal Liga, but the smoke has a mile of tobacco to filter it. It was a great tasting cigar, not overly unique or exciting, but interesting enough to not get bored with it over the two and a half hours I spent smoking it. Would I smoke another one? You bet! 

 

I’m smoking an JRE Aladino Connecticut Robusto as I type this, more as we go along. CigarProp Kevin sent me an Aladino sampler and apart from the Maduro, Toro and Lancero I really haven’t smoked any JRE cigars. I’ve been working my way through the sampler this weekend. I started with the Aladino Corojo Reserva. One can’t help but notice the similarity between the Aladino band and the old Camacho bands, and the similarity extends to the authentic corojo in blend and the fact that the flavor of the cigar harkens back to the many Camacho Corojos I smoked in the 90s and early 2000s, when Julio Eiroa and his son Christian owned Camacho. I actually smoked my first Camacho in 1996, but it was pre-Christian’s involvement I think. This is a bold smoke with rich leather and spice and I liked it a lot, as much for the sentimentality as the flavor. It was perfectly constructed, and a pleasure to smoke.

 

The Connecticut is very flavorful, not at all mild, and quite tasty! Perfect with coffee and staying lit while I’m ignoring it for long stretches while I type my nonsense. I was quite intrigued by the JRE Aladino Cameroon. Any time I see a Cameroon made by someone that’s not Fuente, La Aurora, Partagas, or someone who’s been making Cameroon cigars for decade

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cy

s, I look forward to seeing the interpretation. I love Cameroon, it’s a great tasting wrapper, and even when used as a binder it adds a little something extra (look at the CroMagnon, it has a Cameroon binder and I think that is part of what makes it unique). This is another Aladino that burned perfectly. They really know how to make cigars right in this factory. I’m guessing the whole Bayer Crop Science processes they use on the farms extends to the factory as well, with regards to the quality control processes. The Cameroon had the nutty flavor on top of a fairly full bodied core which is a little different. Cameroon was almost a background flavor and not domina

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nt, as it is in many cigars with that wrapper. That was my take on it anyway. The same can be said for this Connecticut I’m smoking now, although the shade wrapper flavor is a bit more dominant, but the slight sweet grassiness is there, but it’s got a bit off ass to it! It’s no wimpy smoke. I have to say, my favorite Connecticut wrapped cigars hail from Honduras, and this ranks right up there. Very nice. 

 

So far, I have to say that to my palate, the JRE line suits me more than the CLE line. I’ve known Christian personally for many years (and he’s never once given me a cigar, btw 😁, no that it factors in to this), but I haven’t yet found a CLE cigar that trips my trigger. The Asylums I like. JRE, in my limited sampling, are outstanding, remind me of the tons of Camachos I smoked years ago, and get my attention. Thanks again to Kevin for sharing. Speaking of Kevin, and there will be more on this later, but head over to Smoke Inn and buy one of his samplers in their Battle of the Bands! All of the contestants are great, all of them are friends of mine, but I think Kevin is the new guy on the block and the underdog, and has a great sampler. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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