Tag Archives: cigars

February 1, 2026 · 9:33 am

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Camacho and Maestranza Cigars

We are saddened here this week by the passing of our beloved dog, Macha.  Many have met Macha over the years, she even made an appearance on the Cigar Authority once, and she was a large part of our household.  We suspect she was 14 or 15 years old, so she lived a long life, especially since the last 12 were with three legs.  We adored here and she leaves a hole on our hearts.  I appreciate everyone’s condolences.  I smoked a Padron 1964 Anniversary that I got in 2014, the year we adopted Macha, in her honor.

 

A few weeks back I walked into a local shop that I haven’t been to in a while, and asked the owner what was new and exciting.  He said that they just got the Colonel E.H. Taylor San Andrés and it was selling well.  I don’t know anything about this brand, I suspect it’s a Meier and Dutch (CI) creation. It, obviously, has a San Andrés wrapper, Criollo binder and Nicaraguan fillers and is made in the Dominican Republic (La Isla, I generally like their stuff).  It isn’t really budget priced, I think it was around $12.  I smoked it, and my first thought was that I should have asked Jeff what was good, not what was new.  It was OK. I would think it would be better at half the price.  I know E.H. Taylor is a bourbon brand, and I didn’t get any boozy flavors, but I really wouldn’t know one if I tripped over one.  It was a typical dry cocoa, San Andrés cigar. Nothing special. My notes say that the E.H. is for eh…

 

For obvious reasons (welcome Davidoff to the CigarCraig family! thanks for the support!), I feel the need to get back into some of their lines, such as Camacho and Avo. This week I revisited the Camacho Triple Maduro in the gordo size. This 6″ x 60 has a Honduran wrapper, Mexican binder, with a filler blend from Brazil, Honduras and the DR.  The website is a little out of date, it says it’s the only all maduro cigar, a category which now includes the Drew Estate Blackened.  Fun fact: Abe Dababneh, owner of Smoke Inn, coined the term Triple Maduro and licensed it to Christian Eiroa when he owned Camacho. Davidoff bought the brand and I want to say they paid Abe off. (Edit: Abe tells the whole story on the latest Prime Time show with Cigar-Coop, which I listed to a whole 24 hours after writing this post.) I remember smoking this a long time ago.  This was a really good cigar.  It’s heavy and rich, with a load of cocoa and some sweet earth.  I enjoyed this and will pick up some more.  

 

Finally, I was in yet another store nearby and picked up a couple of the RomaCraft Maestranzas Caballería Valencia (6 x 52).  These were very reasonably priced, around $10 I think.  This is a core line cigar that’s been out for a year or two and this is the first I’ve come across them in the wild (granted, I don’t get out much).  This is another San Andrés wrapper cigar, with a Brazilian binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.  It’s made at the Nica Sueńo factory.  I’ve been a fan of the Nica Sueno output going back to 2011 or thereabouts. Fortunately the new ownership of the local CigarCigars stores brought in RomaCraft stuff, so I have a local source now.  I enjoyed this 6″ x 52 cigar quite a bit, although it didn’t have the intensity that I find in most of their stuff.  Again I got a dry cocoa predominantly. I’ll be grabbing more of these, as well as the Cromagnons, next visit.  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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January 18, 2026 · 9:59 am

Romeo y Julieta, Knuckle Sandwich and The Lost Angel Cigars

I see myself diving into some, perhaps, older cigars that I haven’t posted on here over the coming weeks.  It’s a slow time of the year, so I’m picking up stuff I’ve overlooked in the past here and there.  I’ve also found myself smoking a lot of the Bariay 1492 Red and Black recently, which has moved other stuff to the back of the queue.  I may just smoke cigars that are called Red and Black this week, that leaves me with a few options. Anyway, I’ve had this Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro in the humidor for a long time and I realized I hadn’t had one yet.  This cigar is made in Nicaragua, with a Nicaraguan shade grown Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  The tobaccos are grown by the Plasencias, one would assume it’s rolled in their factory also.  This wasn’t a mild shade cigar.  It started with an odd combination of cream and spice, which eventually turned into a bright citrus.  I regret passing this over for who knows how long it was in the humidor. It came out in 2018.  It was a good smoke, I enjoyed it.

 

I stopped in one of the local CigarCigars shops on the way home one day and picked up a few of the TAA releases that I hadn’t seen there before.  Since the ownership of the chain changed last year, I’m not sure how the TA membership works, so I’m just going to keep picking them up there when I see them.  I know some people who write about cigars ignore the TAA releases, but I do what I do, it’s new to me I’m going to write about it!  as the kids said 20 years ago, whatev.  One of the ones I grabbed was the Knuckle Sandwich Off Menu, the 2025 offering.  This is made by Espinosa in AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, part of Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich cigar line. It’s a butt kicker.  It has a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and is a 6″ x 54 toro.  $16 is at the high end of my range, but it looked good and I wanted to smoke it.  This has a spicy, dark coffee and cocoa flavor profile, and it was powerful. It was exhausting to smoke, but quite satisfying! Definitely have a meal before smoking this one.  Recommended. 

 

Another TAA cigar I grabbed was the 2023 from The Crowned Heads. Obviously I have overlooked this cigar since it came out in 2023, but there are a lot of Crowned Heads cigars I’ve overlooked so that’s not really unusual I guess.  This cigar is made by Ernesto Carrillo in the DR.  It has a Ecuador Sumatra hybrid wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and fillers from the DR, Mexico and Nicaragua.  It’s 6″ x 54, which seems to be the size I smoked most often, doesn’t it?  I wish there were more Churchills out there.  Anyway, this is a dark, oily wrapper, which started with some bitter cocoa and sourness, which wasn’t off putting and smoothed out over time.  There are probably other Crowned Heads Cigars I like better, and there are probably other TAA cigars I like better, but this was was an interesting cigar. If you like them and can’t find them, I know a place.  

 

That’s all for today. It’s snowing here, so I’ll probably shovel some, and have a cigar with a movie this afternoon.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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December 21, 2025 · 9:43 am

Tatuaje, Knuckle Sandwich and a Don Emmanuel Cigar

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

 

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December 14, 2025 · 8:28 am

Cert Maith Bruscar, Los Gallos and OM Cigars

I woke up this morning to 8 inches of snow and counting. While it’s pretty to look at, I know it’s going to cause some inconveniences, and lower back pain.  I do like the quiet that comes with the early morning snow.  OK, enough snow for this Winter, can we move on to Spring?  Anyway, i smoked a few cigars that were new to me, and probably most people, this week.  I’ll start with the Cert Maith Bruscar from Trash Panda/CigarProp/Kevin Shahan. This is slightly different from the original Cert Maith Bruscar, besides the band being different.  I’m not sure why he didn’t change the name slightly, as this is the result of the factory (Sinistro via Artista), not having a component of the original blend. It’s available in the 6″ x 52 toro (not listed on the website…get on that Kevin!).  I ordered these and knew I was going to be seeing Kevin so I told him to save the shipping (which is free), and just hand them off. If you order these, and I don’t have any skin in the game apart from supporting a friend, do like Kevin says in the description and let the dry out a bit.  I gave them a few weeks and dug in.  This is a tasty cigar. It has a San Andrés wrapper over super secret, undisclosed fillers. I got some dried fruits and cocoa flavors. Financially, the ten pack is a better deal, these are good cigars. I should smoke one of the originals to compare, I think I have a few around.  Good stuff.

 

I visited with the guys from Los Gallos Cigars at the expo I went to a couple weeks back.  Had a nice chat with Christian, one of the owners.  It seem that he spent some time living in Honduras and developed some relationships in the cigar industry.  I was drawn to the poultry imagery on the bands, and purchased a couple to give a try.  I smoked the Los Gallos Noche Negra in the short gordo size. They had Robustos and this 4″ x 60 gordo on hand, and I thought maybe the gordo would be a little longer smoke than the robusto. It turns out I thought wrong.  This uses a dark Habano wrapper, and that’s all the website says about the blend.  I got a bit of a rootbeer note on this, which I almost never get, and find interesting. It’s almost a spice, along with a leather and cocoa. It’s got more of a bright flavor rather than the darker flavors I would think a maduro cigar would have. I found it to be a fascinating cigar, and wished it had a longer burn time, a 6″ x 54 or 60 would have been perfect.  These guys are fairly local, I hope to get a chance to connect with them again sometime soon. 

 

Another cigar I got at the expo was from Osvaldo Morales of OM Cigars.  I met Osvaldo at the TPE a few years ago, although he didn’t remember me. It was at one of the hotel bars after hours amongst a collection of my “cigar media” brethren. I think the fact that he didn’t remember me means I didn’t make much of an impression.  Anyway, I had a bit of a preconceived notion about this brand based on my initial interactions.  I smoked the OM 5th Anniversary Edition, a 6″ x 60 with a slight box press.  This is made at El Galan in the Dominican Republic. this cigar has a Habano 2000 wrapper, Corojo 2012 binder and fillers from Pueblo Nuevo, Condega, Estelí Nicaragua.  Five years in the cigar industry is halfway to overnight sensation, to be honest, I don’t know how old this cigar was, maybe OM is older than that, must be since it was the 2020 TPE where I met Osvaldo.  This cigar surprised me. It was absolutely delicious, with some dry cocoa, and that root beer flavor I got in the Los Gallos.  I have been indulging in the occasional root beer barrel candy here and there, but hadn’t had any inthe few days prior.  Perhaps the flavor memory is there, do they call that recency bias or something?  Anyway, I really enjoyed this cigar, burn and draw were great and the flavors kept me interested to the end.  

 

Check out the discount codes in the right sidebar, there’s one for Panacea and one for Bariay 1492 Cigars. Both have great offerings, give them a try!  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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December 7, 2025 · 9:38 am

Some Alec Bradley, Panacea, Stolen Throne and CAO Cigars

I didn’t do anything as interesting this week as I have the last few weeks! I have been working on the daunting task of putting my Secret Santa package together, I hope everyone who participated is having an easier time.  If I recall, I got stiffed last year, so the person who had me wasn’t invited back. If anyone was going to get the short end, I prefer it’s me anyway.  It’s nice getting goodies, but I prefer the giving part.  If only buying my wife gifts was as easy as sending cigars!  Anyway, I managed to get some new-to-me cigars in this week, more or less.  Starting out with a new release from Forged and Alec Bradley Cigars, the Do Not Disturb.  The press release explains the name: “Alec Bradley’s latest offering encourages cigar lovers to press pause, unwind and let the world wait.”  Honestly, that’s pretty much every cigar for me.  Anyway, this cigar comes out of Tabacalera La Isla, which makes other cigars I like, so I was looking forward to trying this. It’s a Ecuador Connecticut shade cigar, which doesn’t really excite me, with a Dominican Criollo binder (not a big criollo fan), and Dominican and Mexican fillers.  My first thought was along the lines of “gee, another shade cigar”, but I smoked it and it was very nice. My notes say sweet cream with a hint of bitterness, which. doesn’t really sound as good as it was. This held up well as an end of the day smoke, but would be really nice in the morning with coffee (in the summer).  I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

 

Next up was the Twisted Hitch from Panacea/Flatbed Cigar Co..  Of course, Panacea is an advertising partner here, and I probably use all of the ad revenue to buy Panacea cigars. There’s always a discount code (CCFS25 for 25% off and Free Shipping on your First Order) and there’s a widget on the left sidebar with daily specials.  There’s some great cigars at good prices there every day. I encourage people to try this Dominican brand that’s been around for a long time.  Anyway, I saw that the Twisted Hitch was recently released, so I picked up a 4 pack.  This is a 6½” x 55 Toro Grande with a Brazilian Maduro wrapper, Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filers.  This is a fairly full bodied cigar with an interesting light spice, nuts and maybe a little dark dried fruits.  I think it’s got some similarities to the White Label. Looking forward to smoking more of these. 

 

I smoked the Stolen Throne Castle 919 in the belicoso vitola a while back and was enamoured with it. I had picked up a robusto at the same time and lit it up yesterday. I needed a sweet treat after a hefty lunch, and this was it.  This has an Ecuadorian Habano Claro wrapper,  with a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan & Dominican/Peruvian fillers.  The robusto is 5″ x 50.  I didn’t get much of a difference in flavor between this and the belicoso, maybe it was a little shorter smoke.  I get white sugar on this, it’s a flavor I enjoy in a cigar, and I really enjoyed this one.  I’d pick up more, but my local shop has been low on Stolen Throne, and I haven’t been out to the Wooden Indian recently, it looks like they have them in stock. Personally, I’d pay the 50¢ more for the slightly larger belicoso, but that’s me.  You aren’t going to go wrong either way, just like it’s hard to go wrong with Stolen Throne cigars (I don’t like the Yorktown, apparently some people do). Oddly, this isn’t on their website yet. 

 

I have had some mixed results with the CAO Arcana line. I really liked the Mortal Coil and Thundersmoke, but thought the Firewalker was an abomination.  The Stokk is an interesting addition to this line.  It uses some Adullo, Cyprian Latakia, some Honduran fillers , A nicaraguan binder all wrapped in US Broadleaf.  It’s only available in an 6½” x 52 Belicoso, where as the rest of the Arcanas are Toros.  I think it’s called Stokk because of the collaboration with pipe maker Stokkebye, I doubt it’s a coincidence. The Latakia is mostly used in pipe tobacco. This pipe tobacco thing in cigars is becoming a little over done.  There is the Deadwood line, Stillwell Star, Outcast, now this. Does anyone remember Sam Leccia’s Bumpy Root? That might have been the first.  Anyway, the second one of these I smoked was way better than the first, moving it ahead of the Firewalker in my rankings.  While note my favorite in the range, it has some interesting flavors in the beginning, transitioning to some nice, sweet tobaccos in the end. 

 

That’s all I have for today, until next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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