Tag Archives: CIgars.com

by Craig Vanderslice | December 24, 2023 · 9:16 am

Mule Kick, Metropolitan, Maria Lucia and the Contest Winner!

It only just occurred to me that that the last three cigars I smoked started with M, must be fore Merry Christmas! Of course, today is Christmas Eve, so it’s time to start your Christmas Shopping guys! It’s also the day I’m announcing the winner of the contest sponsored by Cigars.com, but I’ll get to that later! In the spirit of the season, I smoked some gifted cigars this week, the first of which was from Steve from Tampa, who was up visiting on business a few weeks ago. He gifted me a Crowned Heads Four Kicks 2023 Mule Kick LE, a 5 7/8″ x 52. Funny, I thought it was a toro, but I was off by an eighth of an inch. This one has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over a Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, and is made in the Tabacalara La Alianza factory by Ernesto Carillo. I think this is the seventh iteration of the Mule Kick, and probably the first I’ve had, the Crowned Heads stuff isn’t ever really on my radar, I don’t see them in the stores near me that often. This was a great smoke, loaded with dark chocolate and spices. Ernesto has been a master of Sumatra for as long as I can remember, which, in this case, is a long time (my memory is suspect, short-term and names is terrible, long term isn’t so bad). Many thanks to Steve for the opportunity to smoke this, I look forward to your next visit, who knows, I may get to your neck of the woods before you get back here!

Next up were a couple of selections from my Secret Santa this year. Quick bit of housekeeping: If you participated in the CigarCraig Secret Santa (The CCSS moving forward), and have not fulfilled your obligation, please do so. I know of one package that’s in transit. Everyone that’s been involved has done it multiple times, so I don’t worry, and I try to be hands off and just a participant. Feel free to let me know if you have comments of concerns. My CCSS was a fellow Craig and in my area, so much so that I ran into him while out shopping Friday! So I selected the Nat Sherman Metropolitan Host Maduro Hampton, a 7″ x 50 cigar. You might be saying, “Craig, Metropolitan is a Ferio Tego brand now” and I’d say you are correct. You also might not know that Nat Sherman closed their doors in 2021 and Michael Herklots bought the rights to the names and kept the brands alive. This particular cigar is one of the older ones, purchased at the Nat Sherman Townhouse in NYC. I believe it has a Broadleaf wrapper, over Honduran fillers, made by the Eiroas if I’m not mistaken. This was milder than I imagined it would be, but it was loaded with sweet cocoa flavor and very tasty. Perhaps any strength it had was tempered by time, but it was very good. I enjoyed the crap out of this and it’s one that I’ll likely never see again. Thanks for the opportunity Craig!

Another cigar in Craig’s CCSS pack was the Luciano Cigars Maria Lucia, another Broadleaf wrapped cigar. This is a tribute to Luciano Meirelles’ mother, who passed when he was twelve, and has the artwork of his daughter on the band. The cigar is 5¼” x 54 with the Broadleaf wrapper, double binder of Ecuadorian Sumatra and Ecuadorian Habano 92 tobaccos, and a fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. This is going to sound strange, especially given the source, but the flavor was bready to me, like a dark bread, a pumpernickel or the brown bread that comes in a can. It was on the heavy side, which I liked, even though I smoked it before dinner (after a nap). I have met Luciano a couple times, and have enjoyed his cigars. I would like to explore more of his work, I think. Good stuff.

Let’s give some stuff away! You might recall, Cigars.com has provided me with a really nice Montecristo travel humidor, along with a RoMEo cap and a Romeo y Julieta can cozy. I am going to add some cigars to the humidor before I ship it, they will be Cigars.com exclusives from my humidor, more or less. The sponsor doesn’t know I’m doing this, but I can’t send out a package without cigars! Anyway, I’ve consulted the Google Random Number Generator and Tim McCabe is the winner! Please send me your address so that I can get this stuff out to you! Remember if you buy from Cigars.com, or JRCigars.com, please use the affiliate links on the left sidebar, I could use the cash!

That’s all for now, enjoy the Holidays! I guess I need to scrounge up some goodies for a New Years Giveaway! Stay tuned! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, CIgars.com, Contest, Crowned Heads, Four Kicks, Host, Luciano, Maria Lucia, Metropolitan, Mule Kick, Nat Sherman

by Craig Vanderslice | December 18, 2023 · 7:00 am

Contest! Travel Humidor, Cap and Coozy from Cigars.com

It’s that time of year, and thanks to the folks at Cigars.com, we have a cool giveaway for you! They have provided me with a Montecristo Travel Humidor, a RoMEo Cap, and a Romeo y Julieta Can Coozy. I have seen a lot of travel humidors, but I was surprised when I opened this one up and it had wood inside instead of foam! This is a really nice item. I think everyone knows me well enough by now, I’ll be adding a few surprises to the humidor before I send it to the lucky winner! I can’t send out packages without cigars! Don’t worry, they will be consistent with the theme of the contest! This should make someone’s holiday a little brighter!

The usual process applies: Leave a comment on this post to enter. One entry per person, you must be of legal age in your jurisdiction, and the winner must contact me with your shipping details. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday, December 24, 2023. I might be able to find a little something to give away next week too!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, CIgars.com, Contest, Montecristo, Rome y Julieta, Romeo

by Craig Vanderslice | September 5, 2023 · 8:30 pm

Havoc by A.J. Fernandez Toro Cigars

This is another Cigars.com/JR Cigars exclusive, Havoc, made by A.J. Fernandez. This is a Nicaraguan Puro, made in four sizes, a Robusto, Toro, Belicoso and Gordo sold in boxes of eleven at a very reasonable price. The imagery is of gladiators, which ties into the eleven cigars, as it was said that if a gladiator won eleven times he’d gain his freedom. The toro can be had for under $7 a cigar when bought by the box (even cheaper if you use CCRAIG10 on Cigars.com!). If you are a fan of A.J. Fernandez cigars, and like strong cigars, this might be a great cigar for you! This cigar starts out with a spicy punch. It’s realy well made with a perfect draw and burn. I really have been enjoying these, I especially like the 6½” x 52 format, it’s a half inch better than a classic 6″ toro. After the initial punch, it settles into to a sweet, yet still fairly heavy coffee flavor, with some cocoa. While the large band is a little much, it comes off without issue, and the colors and design are visually appealing. I find myself enjoying the heck out of this cigar, if you enjoy a lot of the same cigars I do, this is a great option.

As with previous Cigars.com/JR Cigars exclusives featured here, the cigars were supplied by the vendor, and the links are affiliate links, so purchase made through them, or the links in the left sidebar, potentially help me out a little financially. Thank you. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, CIgars.com, Havoc, JR Cigars

by Craig Vanderslice | August 1, 2023 · 9:11 pm

Romeo y Julieta Devocion Lust Toro Cigars

A few weeks ago the folks at Cigars.com sent me some of their exclusive Romeo y Julieta Devoción Lust Series Toros to try, and try them I did. I’ve been hot and cold with Romeo y Julieta cigars over the years. Of course, it’s one of the best selling brands out there, and there have been some I’ve enjoyed, and I’ve had a sentimental attachment to the brand, as it was the brand I had to commemorate my daughter’s wedding nearly 16 years ago. I like to try Romeo y Julietas when they come along, and there have been some I’ve enjoyed. This one is made in Honduras, where the post-revolution Romeos were made. It has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper that is a nice, light brown. The binder and fillers are all Honduran.

I first thought that this was a mild cigar, but it must have been what I had eaten or something, because subsequent examples were far more flavorful, and solidly medium bodied. Of course, there’s a creaminess, with some leather and nuts. There’s also a nice Café con leche sort of flavor. I take my coffee black, but I’ve had Café con leche when there was nothing else offered. The several cigars I smoked all burned perfectly and were quite enjoyable. If you have an interest in trying these, or anything else from Cigars.com, you can use CCRAIG10 for a discount, and click though the link on the left side of this page to get to the site (it’s an affiliate link, which I, historically haven’t had a lot of luck with, please help me turn that around!). The Romeo y Julieta Devoción Lust Series is a tasty cigar.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, CIgars.com, romeo y julieta, Romeo y Julieta Devoción Lust Series

by Craig Vanderslice | June 20, 2023 · 7:00 am

Oracle Toro Cigar a Cigars.com Exclusive

I was talking with some folks representing Cigars.com (and JR.com, but we’ll keep the focus on Cigars.com for this exercise), and they suggested I try out their Oracle brand of cigars. Being generally bored, and open to such things, I agreed, and there are not a whole lot of Placencia made cigars that aren’t good. So I’ve smoked a handful of these 6″ x 50 Toros and I think they are really quite good. First, let’s examine the bend: It has a really pretty Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, which is a café con leche color. The binder and fillers are also Nicaraguan, specifically from Estelí, Ometepe, Jalapa and Condega. That covers most of the growing regions in that country. As far as the smoking goes, every one I’ve smoked has burned perfectly, with just the right draw, and a firm, light grey ash. These definitely smoke above their price level. The flavors are smooth, but rich tobaccos, with some sweetness and coffee, as well as a little spice. I’m not sure how one makes a Nicaraguan cigar without a little spice! The packaging is nice, to the point that my wife immediately put dibs on the box and all the bands. Not sure what craft plans she has in mind for them, but I’m sure it’ll be cool. So, for around $8, these are a really good cigar, and I’m enjoying them and might have to keep some on hand. These are available at Cigars.com (don’ t forget the “s”, it makes a difference!).