Tag Archives: CAO

by | November 20, 2011 · 2:58 pm

A Monte Pascoal, an ORTSAC 1962, a CAO OSA Sol and a Video

My Wednesday “Take a Cigar for a Walk” c

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igar was a Monte Pascoal Belicoso courtesy of Wes Gensel at Monte Pascoal. I rec

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ently included one of these in a prize pack and figured it might be a good idea to sample one myself before I give them all away!  This is a 5½ x 52 belicoso that really burned well. It’s a Brazilian puro that has a very nice, well balanced flavor.  I often think of Brazilian wrappers being maduro, which this one is not, but I’d love to try this cigar with an Arapiraca wrapper.  One

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does not often find a Brazilian puro, but this is one to seek out and try.

 

Friday I took the heater out on the back deck an

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d fired up an ORTSAC 1962 Bulletproof Robusto.  I got this from the IPCPR show, where an old friend happened to be working in the booth.  Mike introduced me to Victor Vitale who gave me the tour. I  included a video of Victor talking about this cigar before (here).   I think the name ORTSAC is dumb, I don’t mind saying it.  However, it’s a well made and reasonably tasty cigar, although it wasn’t overly distinctive to me. One of the interesting things about this cigar is that it comes packaged in a ballistic nylon/kevlar “box”, which really does nothing to enhance the flavor of the cigar, but it is kind of neat and stands out on the shelf.  Again, dumb name, pretty OK cigar.

 

Saturday’s “Take a Cigar for a Walk” cigar was an CAO OSA Sol Lot 54.  This is a hefty 6 x 54 cigar that  I’ve enjoyed before.  I really enjoyed this one.  In the past, I’ve thought that the Lot 50 was better, and that may be true, but this particular example was much better than the previous one I smoked.  These have a “bright”, kind of refreshing flavor to them that I enjoy.  Good for a

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mile or so and the necessary “cool down” in the front porch afterward.

 

Since I don’t have too much to say this time around, so I thought I’d include a video from the IPCPR show.  I met Don Juan of Dignity Cigars at a General Cigar event which was held at a swanky night club.  I had just wandered in and was at the bar to get a Coke and he introduced himself.  We made arrangements to meet the following day on the show floor.  He gave me one of his organically grown and eco-friendly Costa Rican puros at the time and I recall enjoying it, although it’s really hard to pay a lot of attention to samples smoked at the show.  Needless to say, I didn’t take notes, but I will pick one up to re-sample the next time I come across one.  Here’s a little video from the show, standard volume disclaimers and apologies apply!  Thank you to Don Juan for taking the time to talk to me, he’s a super nice guy!

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

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | September 21, 2011 · 8:38 pm

Cigars So Far: Kristoff and CAO, A Schnorr, and Some 7-20-4s

I forgot to make mention of the cigars I smoked at the Delaware Cigar Festival. As I said, the format was that cigars were for sale at the vendors tables. $3.00 per cigar, with 100% of the proceeds going to charity, which was the family of a local police officer recently killed in the line of duty. I purchased a handful of cigars, some I wanted to try and some favorites I don’t see very often. Obviously, in most cases $3.00 each is an excellent deal for a lot of the cigars that were offered. I started with a Kristoff Corojo and I regret not getting a second one of these. Very nice cigar and a nice way to start the day. I also smoked a CAO OSA Sol Lot 50 that, while not as good as the first one I smoked, was very nice. Buy the time I picked up the OSA it had been out on a table most of the afternoon, not right out of a humidor. No worries as I did get another one of these. When I buy singles I like to buy in pairs for some reason. I also picked up some Murcielagos from Eddie Ortega as well as a bunch of other assorted goodies.

 

Sunday I closed out the weekend with a Berger & Argenti Mooch Schnorr which was a sample from the IPCPR show. I love the name of this, even though it’s a little redundant. For those who don’t know “Schnorr”

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is a Yiddish term for a mooch. I know this because I have a good friend who refers to another friend as such, and it cracks me up. So while I was at the show in July, having a Cuban coffee with Kiki Berger in his booth, he made sure I had some samples. In my limited experience at the IPCPR shows, Cuban Crafters has always been very generous with samples, however, a great many over the years have not been to my liking. This led me to avoid Cuban Crafters over the years, and it wasn’t until spending an excellent evening in Esteli with Mr. Berger that I re-thought that position. I’ve since enjoyed several other cigars that carry the Berger name. The Mooch Schnorr was really a very tasty cigar, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I would even go so far as to say it was the best cigar all week. It was smooth and flavorful and perfectly built. The sample I grabbed did have a small crack just below the cap line which gave me a few problems initially, until I patched it with part of the cap, which solved the problem completely. I smoked this down to a finger burning nub, and was sorry to see it end. The Schnorr is a nice size (robusto) and a tasty, well balanced blend. I can’t wait to dig into the rest of the samples from the show. I have some maduros and some more of the Entubar line to try.

 

By the time I was ready to sit down and enjoy a cigar on Monday it was getting fairly late. I was rooting through the humidor looking for something small and settled on the 7-20-4 Dogwalker that Kurt Kendal gave me when I met him at the 2010 IPCPR show. Don’t know why it took so long to get around to this one, it jsut did, what can I say.  The Dog Walker is a handsome little cigar, 4¼” x 40, with the same straight “pigtail” as the rest of the line.  It was defi

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nitely full flavored and may have been on the verge of being strong,  I enjoyed it quite a bit and it lasted close to 45 minutes before I put it down to go in for the night.  I don’t have a dog to walk, but my cat, Frank, hung out with my on the porch while I smoked it.  Nice little cigar and Kurt is a nice guy.

 

I visited Kurt at this years show and he gave me his 7-20-4 1874  blend to try.   While the regular line is made in Honduras, the 1874 is made in Nicaragua, with a lovely Nicaraguan wrapper.  This one had a very open draw, so I smoked it slowly.  It was a really nice smoke, I think it was a little bit milder than the Dog Walker, but had a more balanced flavor.  There was a taste in there that I really liked, can’t place it, but it was good. The sample I smoked was a robusto and I would happily smoke it again.  Nice job on this line extension.

 

As long as I’m ending on a 7-20-4 thing, here’s a little video Kurt took with me at the show.  Standard disclaimer applies: Don’t forget to turn down your PC speakers after watching so you don’t blow your speakers on the next Windows Error chime (or whatever weird sounds Macs make)!

 

 

That’s it for now, don’t forget to go to my previous post and enter the current contest!  Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | September 4, 2011 · 10:21 am

It’s Contest Time! An Alec Bradley, An OSA Sol, A Macanudo and a Lighter Review

I realized that my last post had “and Some News” in the title, and I failed to include said news.  Bad form on my part!  While I go back an

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d edit the title, I’ll say here that the news I was going to mention, while no longer breaking news, is that José  Blanco joined Joya de Nicaragua this week in the capacity of Senior Vice President.  I met José at the IPCPR show, as well as Dr. Cuenca, his new boss, both are fine gentlemen.  I had the pleasure of visiting the Joya de Nicaragua factory last March and, while I loved their cigars before, I developed a special fondness for them that comes from having a personal connection.  If I can blend what I think is an excellent cigar at that factory, José will be able to do amazing things there.  Best wishes to José and Joya de Nicaragua from everyone here at CigarCraig.com!

I had purchased an Alec Bradley American Classic Blend for myself for Father’s Day, and I came across another one  in my IPCPR samples, and I was in the mood for a big cigar, so I grabbed this 6×60 Gordo and took it for a walk to the store.  It’s got a beautiful band, and a really nice looking wrapper, made me really look forward to smoking this one.  This is made at the Plasencia Factory in Esteli, and had a Honduran Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I really enjoyed the flavor, although I wish it had produced copious mouthfuls of smoke so that I could get more of the flavor.  It took a little bit to get a good mouthful of smoke, which was a little frustrating considering the huge girth on this cigar.  I’ll happily try this cigar again, and will try to get some different sizes in the future.

 

Friday brought the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, so I grabbed a CAO OSA Sol Lot 54 and enjoyed it on the front porch.  This 6x 54 version didn’t impress me quite as much as it’s 5x 50 little brother, but it was a darned fine cigar.  I don’t know exactly what made the 2 cigars different to me, maybe the Robusto seemed a little cleaner to me if that makes any sense. I suppose there are a dozen variables to consider, what I had to drink and eat, the weather, my mood, so my opinion really doesn’t matter in the end! Perfect burn and draw and a pleasing flavor.  Lasted a good hour and a half on a beautiful late summer evening.   I look forward to the CAO website having some information on it about this new cigar! 😉

For my Saturday evening walk to the store, I selected a Macanudo Crü  Royale Robusto that I received at the IPCPR show.  I had gotten one of these at the show last year and thought it was a really nice cigar, and this one was no different.  It’s not a mild cigar and, along

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with the 1968, is a really good, flavorful cigar.  It goes without saying that the quality of the construction is excellent.  I’ve smoked Macanudos that I could barely taste, but th

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ey’ve ALWAYS been perfectly rolled.  I like these a lot and they are priced well and they will be releasing a couple new sizes (if they haven’t already) in a tinned 4 3/16″ x 36 and a Poco Gordo at 4 x 60, to satisfy that 60 ring gauge demand.  Nice cigars for sure, something that any cigar smoker is sure to enjoy.  While I’m thinking of it, head on over to the  Macanudo Millionaire site and enter their contest to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a Million bucks.

 

Contest

Sticking with the Macanudo theme, General Cigars provided me with some of their Macanudo Millionaire  4 packs featuring 6 x 60 versions of the Cafe, Maduro, 1968 and Crü Royale cigars.  I’m going to select 2 winners on or around Wednesday, September 14, so leave a comment on THIS post saying something a little more substantive than say “comment” or “hello” to enter!  This time, as an added twist, I’ll count tweets which include @cigarcraig and the link to this article, doubling your chances to win!  Usual rules apply, Lloyd is ineligible this time around!  🙂

 

All of my cigars this week were ignited by a lighter that was provided to my for evaluation by Aaron at ButaneLightersWolesale.com.  The lighter is the Ergonomic 4.5″ Cigar & Pipe Butane Torch Lighter, which is a nice looking lighter.  It’s hefty, which makes it a little heavy in the trouser pocket, but has a nice feel in the hand.  My initial complaint is that on the lowest flame setting it doesn’t light for me, and on the highest setting the flame is just adequate. I let Aaron know this and he is looking into it with the manufacturer, which is a good sign that he’s a internet retailer with integrity.  This particular model wouldn’t be my personal first choice, but my wife thinks it’s cool looking, which it is.  Check out the site,  http://butanelighterswholesale.com/,   he seems to be concentrating on the “good lighters at a reasonable price” market segment, which fits my lighter philosophy just right.  I’ve owned a couple of fairly expensive lighters in the past and they’ve all crapped out after a while, and the cheaper lighters seem to last forever.  I’ll keep using this lighter exclusively and see how it holds up, and see if I can adjust the flame setting a little better.  I like to see a good 2″ blue flame on my single torch lighters.  Thanks again to Aaron for thinking of me.

That’s it for now, ent

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er the contest, visit my sponsors and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | August 14, 2011 · 8:47 am

Sunday Cigar Recap: Joya de Nicaragua, Brick House, Berger & Argenti, Broadway and a Contest Winner!

Here’s a few cigars I smoked this week:

Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Robusto – I just love these cigars.  I loved them before I watched them being rolled in the factory, and I love them more every time I smoke one.  Such a good cigar.  Well balanced, great tasting and beautifully constructed.  To me they are special because I watched them rolled in Nicaragua, and they are reasonably priced (which is astounding considering the extra steps taken in the rolling process), and suite my taste buds.  If you haven’t tried these, you should.  I will purchase a box of the lanceros at some point, it’s just a matter of time…

 

Brick House Mighty Mighty 6¼” x 60   – For some reason I’ve been in the mood for large cigars, and this was a big one. This line has been around a while and received glowing reviews and is another reasonably priced cigar.  I picked this one up on my Father’s Day cigar run.  Very nicely made with rich flavors.  A most enjoyable 90 minute vacation in a cigar.  This line received an award from Cigar Journal magazine for the best value Nicaraguan cigar last month at the IPCPR show, an event which I was fortunate enough to attend.  This is made by the folks at J.C.Newman in Nicaragua based on one of the company’s first brands in the US. Again, a very nice cigar for a fair price.

 

Berger and Argenti Entubar Double Corona (7 5/8” x 54)  – Another large cigar, this one carrying a warning band at the foot advising to toast the entire foot, not just the protuberance of ligero, under penalty of death.  I was tempted to ignore this sage advise, but having spoken to both Kiki Berger (who gave me this sample) and Al Argenti at the show, I decided not to risk it and did as instructed.  There is something to be said for the entubado method of construction as the burn and draw were spectacular on this cigar.  It tasted good too, the Ecuadorian ‘Desflorado’ Connecticut wrapper, which seems to be all the rage these days, was very nice (I believe “Desflorado” means “deflowered”, and I was under the impression that all of the tobacco plants except for the absolute healthiest and strongest specimens have the flowers removed, so I’m not sure what this means in the description, but it is a cool sounding word!).

 

Broadway by La Aurora – I picked this up last March on a family trip to NYC at De La Concha. This is a cigar that La Aurora made specifically to help New York tobacconists survive after the 75% Tax on cigars was put into place. I picked up similar themed cigars from Alec Bradley and Gurkha while I was there. This is a nice cigar that starts out with a little kick. It’s a 5¾ x 54 with a unique double wrapper of Ecuador Sumatra and Nicaraguan, with Dominican Corojo binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers. Mine burned fairly well, although my son, who smoked one with me, had some trouble with the burn on his. We may need to check his humidor, I can imagine with a double wrapper, the right humidity is going to be the key to a good burn with this. I’m trying to figure out how they manage to reduce the manufacturing cost of this cigar for sale in New York, but use two wrappers. It seems counter-intuitive, but I suppose it works, because the cigar is pretty tasty.

 

Here is a quick video of Kiki Berger from Cuban Crafters at last month’s IPCPR show. I’ll take this opportunity to thank Don Kiki again for taking the time to talk to me, hooking me up with a Cuban coffee and some samples, and giving me this spiffy new Perfect Cut cutter. I’ve been using this a lot in the last few weeks and I like it a lot. Unlike similar cutters that I like a lot, this one has a resin (plastic) body that is very light in the pocket. My other favorite cutter is all stainless steel and quite heavy. This one does a great job, has a cool hole in the back so you can cut a torpedo and doesn’t drag your trousers to the ground!

 

In the News

Here are a few interesting links I came across this week, the first is about an old brand that was made up the road from me in Reading, PA. The second one isn’t really cigar related, but is a cool article about a Beatles themed bar in Havana.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=325430#.TkPxXgeipfs.email

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/world/americas/08havana.html?_r=3

 

Also, many thanks to our local newspaper, the Daily Local News for including this site on their Blogtown page and featuring it on the front page of their site yesterday!

 

Contest!

I need to select a winner of my General Cigars prize pack.  As you can see, the prize pack has doubled since I announced it a week ago, thanks to Victoria at General Cigars for sending along some more goodies.  Be sure to get on over to http://www.macanudomillionaire.com and enter to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a million bucks.  We had 17 entries, with one being disqualified since he won in the last 6 months.  So I entered  16 into the random number generator and it spit out the number 11 which corresponds to Paul.  Please drop me an e-mail with your address so I can get this out to you!  I hate to have to work too hard to give stuff away, so get your contact info to me with me having to chase you down! 🙂

 

That’s all I have for now, and I think we can all agree that it was enough…so until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | August 7, 2011 · 5:55 pm

General Cigars Week, a Macanudo, IPCPR Booth Tours and a Contest!

First off I’d like to thank and welcome Bonita Smoke Shop, our newest advertiser! Please give them a visit, either if you’re in Bonita Springs, FL, or by clicking on the graphic on the right! Nice folks with a great selection who were among the first shops with an internet presence back in the wild west days of the ’90s!

 

We left off having smoked a series of CAO cigars, and, since CAO is now part of General Cigar, I figured I’d wrap up the week with some more General products and a contest!  In an unrelated note, I had been approached some time ago by the marketing folks for a jazz artist named Anders Holst to review his CD, but it seems like I procrastinated and reviews have appeared on several other blog sites.  I don’t want to be repetitive, so check out Barry’s interview and review at ACigarSmoker.com.  I was going to try to tie it in with a review, but decided it’s been done, so thanks to Anders and the folks at his PR company for thinking of me.

 

The other evening I enjoyed a Macanudo 1968 Robusto again, I punched this one and the draw was excellent. I have really been digging these lately. A good friend related a story to me that when these were initially released he offered them unbanded, in a Havana cigar box, at an event and people thought they were Cuban. I don’t know about all that, and the power of suggestion can’t be discounted, but I really don’t draw a comparison. That’s not to say the Mac 68 isn’t a fine cigar, it is. It’s well made and very tasty. Since they lowered the price on these a few months back, it’s even a better cigar.

 

Saturday brought a migraine, which I tried to sleep off in anticipation of visiting a hookah and cigar lounge that’s opened in West Chester, PA (which is a few miles up the road from us). They are supposed to have a belly dancer on Friday and Saturday nights, and we’ve been trying to get there for a smoke. I’ve never tried the hookah, but I’m not repulsed by it and they do include cigars in the name of the place, so I’m open to try it out. I also was going to drive out to Lancaster PA to a cigar shop to meet up with a few folks, notably some of the guys from StogieReview.com. In the end, the migraine, along with my wife getting home from a business event later than anticipated, won the battle and we stayed in.

 

While I’m thinking about it, head on over to http://www.macanudomillionaire.com and enter the contest to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a million bucks. From the press release:

“Between now and September 30, consumers 21 year of age or older can enter to win an all-expense paid, three-day, two night trip to the in Las Vegas. While in Sin City, each winner and their guests will be treated to a VIP evening at the Playboy Club. There, a trio of Playboy Playmates will stand in for Lady Luck when each of the contestants and their guests play a high-stakes round of poker. If either the contest winners or their guests have a straight flush or higher, Macanudo will award the $1,000,000 prize.”

 

Here are a few videos I shot during my tour of the General Cigars booth at the IPCPR show. As always, these are raw videos, and, due to the ambient noise in the aircraft hangar they call an exhibition hall, they aren’t all that easy to hear. Thanks again to General Cigars for rolling out the red carpet for me again. They have quite a few exciting items again this year.

 

 

Contest!

 

Leave a comment to enter to win at least a five pack of General Cigar goodies, maybe more, but it will be at least five, I may be able to scrounge up more goodies. Contest will run for one week, with the winner being drawn on Sunday, August 14, 2011. Usual rules apply.  The prize may grow over the course of the week, hard to say!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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