Tag Archives: drew estate

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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August 24, 2025 · 9:28 am

Saint Luis Rey and Drew Estate Free Style Live Cigars and a Giveaway!

I didn’t have a lot of new stuff to write about this week, so I figures a classic CigarCraig giveaway was long overdue.  Stuff has been piling up and it needs to find a new home!  More on that after I talk about a couple cigars!  First up is the Saint Luis Rey Natural Broadleaf Rothschild.  I’ve always liked the Saint Luis Rey brand, and really need to check out some of their newer offerings.  I remember when they were made for Altadis by the Eiroas, boy were they good back then!  This is a 5″ x 54 with a severe box press, not really a Rothschild at all.  Obviously, I would have gotten a toro had it been available, but this is what the shop had. I thought this was quite a nice cigar.  It had a rich, spicy sweetness, burned well and was very nice.  These should be around $7 each, so are a really good cigar at a great price. 

 

Drew Estate will be having a Freestyle Live event this Tuesday, 8/26/25, at 7 Eastern on YouTube and Facebook to reveal what the cigar in their most recent Freestyle Live pack will become.  The pack consisted of three cigars (all Toros), and a 40 ounce Tumbler.  I’ll be honest, previous FSL packs had a little more substance.  The tumbler is nice, I should probably use it myself, but it will be included in the giveaway below, along with some stuff from a previous FSL event.  The cigar is obviously a mystery for now.  I can tell you a few things about it, though.  It has a lighter wrapper, and may be a shade wrapper, based on what I perceived as a breaddy sweetness.  My money is on Nica Rustica Shade, but I’m never right about these things.  It’s a really good smoke, I’ll be delighted if it’s in the Nica Rustica price range.  The pack comes with three cigars, and is probably still available in retail, so it’s a good deal if you need a tumbler.  Tune in to Drew Estate’s broadcast Tuesday to find out what it is.  

 

OK, giveaway time!  I hope you read the paragraphs above and didn’t just scroll down to the free stuff section!  OK, you know how this works.   Leave a comment on this blog post to enter.  Not on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads or anywhere else, just here.  I’ll select a winner at random and announce it in next Sunday’s post.  Here’s what I’m including, other stuff might fall in the box when I pack it up,  and I’m not listing cigars, but the humidor will be full of selections from my humidor.  First, from Drew Estate, there’s the Freestyle Live Tumbler (and a cigar), the ten count travel humidor from the last FSL event (which I will fill with cigars!), which includes a lighter.  Then there’s some various swag from last year’s Barnsmoker, a hat, spray can lighter (hard to believe I got that through TSA!) and cutter.  From J.C. Newman there’s a pair of Brick House Bricktoberfest pint glasses (stock photo since they are already nicely wrapped for shipping). I’m also including a melamine Romeo y Julieta ashtray, and, like I said, whatever I might find laying around in the meantime. 

Any cigars I include will have been featured on my site at some point, and or are personal favorites. They won’t suck.  So hit the comments, let me know what you think!  I just remembered, next week will be the 16th anniversary of CigarCraig.com, so there’s a good reason to celebrate with a giveaway! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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March 30, 2025 · 9:34 am

Drew Estate Freestyle Live Cigars, a 20 Acre Farm and an Undercrown Shade

I watched the last Drew Estate Freestyle Live show a few weeks back and was a little intrigued.  I was curious about how exactly a Dominican cigar with a sweet cap could be a game changer, but I was interested in finding out.  Low and behold, a package shows up with the Freestyle Live pack inside from Drew Estate.  The gear included is nice. A Cigar Caddy 10 count Tackle Box travel humidor  which was just announced in January by Quality Importers (and doesn’t appear on the site yet), a Palio Pistola dual jet lighter, and a dog tag.  These are still available around for $40ish, depending on where you live or where you buy.  There’s four cigars, a Gordo, Toro, Robusto and a pigtailed petit corona.  I smoked the Gordo and the Toro over two evenings and had similar notes.  First thing is I can’t say that shade wrapped cigars are my favorite, nor can I say Dominican cigars are something I lean toward, but I really like a Diamond Crown, or any other number of cigars from the DR, so that really doesn’t mean anything.  I don’t mind a sweet cap on the right cigar either, although a little bit goes a long way.  We should find out next month what Drew Estate is going to brand these, and what the price point will be, but I hesitate to say that this cigar isn’t aimed toward the same smoker who likes an Undercrown or Liga Privada. In the case of both cigars, the sweetener on the cap was overwhelming, and stuck around through the entire cigar, to my palate covering the taste of the Ecuador shade (one would assume) wrapper. Buth cigar burned OK, and they weren’t completely off putting, but they wouldn’t be what I would consider a premium offering.  I hope that these target more of a budget smoker, more of a broad appeal sort of thing.  Unlike some of the past Free Style launches, this probably isn’t going to be on my to-buy list.

 

I figured as long as I was smoking shade cigars, I’d smoke more of Drew Estate’s offerings in that category.  I selected a 20 Acre Farm cigar that I received at the Florida Barn Smoker last year.  This was one of several, the Barn Smoker is held at the literal 20 Acre Farm, so it makes sense that the brand would be featured. This was a previous Free Style Live release, by the way. I had some hockey to watch, so I chose the massive 20 Acre Farm Corona 25th Anniversary Belicoso, which is exclusive to Corona Cigar Co., and measures 7″ x 54.  This cigar has a Connecticut Shade wrapper, Honduran Sun Grown ‘99 binder and fillers from Nicaraguan (Jalapa & Esteli) & FSG (Florida Sun Grown Corojo).  The FSG twang is present, and it’s a very nice, medium plus shade cigar. There’s some nutty sweetness along with the twang.  While I’m not particularly enamoured with FSG tobacco, it ads a little something different to whatever blend it’s in. Nice smoke, got me through two periods of Hockey.

 

I had some options for Drew Estate shade cigars, I could have smoked a very old Chateau Real, I could have chosen a Blackened S84, I even might have smoked a unicorn, a shade wrapped Liga Privada No. 9, but I went with an Undercrown Shade Churchill instead.  This has been in the humidor for quite a long time, I don’t recall where it came from.  This cigar is 7″ x 48, and I don’t think it’s still in production.  It has the Ecuador Shade Wrapper, a binder from Ecuador, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I like the Undercrown Shade, it’s definitely in my top ten of shade cigars, and I like a Churchill.  This was a really enjoyable cigar, my favorite of the cigars mentioned in this post.  It’s toasty, nutty and loaded with flavor. The burn and draw were perfect, and it made for a very enjoyable two hours.  I wish I had more of this vitola.

 

That’s about enough from me today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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December 29, 2024 · 9:30 am

CigarCraig’s Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza!

It’s been a busy week and I decided ins

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tead of smoking some newer cigars and writing about them I’d go through some of the goodies I have strewn about the office and put together a mega-prize and do a giveaway.  I have been reminiscing about the days of the Twelve Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways I did from 2011 to 2015, it was a lot

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of fun but took up a whole lot of time and resources! So, in homage to those good old days, I try to put together one good giveaway during the holiday season. I’m off to a late start this year, but better late than never, right?  This is going to be an epic haul, including some goodies from Drew Estate, Miami Cigar and Co., Villiger and Dunbarton. I’m not going to list cigars, but rest assured any case or humidor is going to be filled!  It’s hard to tell what other treats might fall into the box!  There’s a couple lighters and cutters, some cigar rests, a mug, a hat, some luggage, a wallet, an ashtray, a notebook, a rocks glass, all sorts of stuff!

 

All of these items are included, plus cigars to fill the cases, and whatever else happens to fall into the box! The cigars will not suck.  Rules are simple, leave a comment on this post to enter. Please leave a new comment and not a reply to another comment.  Comments on social media posts will not be counted. You must be of legal age to enjoy cigars in your jurisdiction, and willing to provide proof. United States address only please, it’s going to cost me a small fortune to ship this anyway, shipping abroad would bury me!  Those are the rules!  One entry per person.  Thank you to the companies who provided the SWAG!  I love it, but I love sharing it with my readers more!  Thanks to those of you who have chosen to waste time reading my nonsense over the last 15 years! 

 

Happy New Year! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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November 17, 2024 · 8:50 am

A Quick Florida Trip, Part Two: The Drew Estate Florida Barn Smoker

Last Friday, after finishing up a long and excellent day at J.C. Newman, I hopped in my rented Polstar 2 and made my way to the Orlando area.  Traffic sucked, and I never really got to see what that car could do. It was about the cheapest rental I could find, and I only spent about $22 charging it after driving it around all weekend.  I forgot to mention in my last post about the “lunch” I got from the La Segunda Bakery a short walk from El Reloj.  Not the healthiest choice, but the cinnamon rolls and apple turnovers were delicious, and filled me up for the day. The iced coffee was darned good too. I could do some damage there under different circumstances.  Also notable was the park the Newmans have built across from the factory, the Cigar Workers Park. It was a beautiful place to pre-game before our tour.  Now that I’m caught up, it’s on to the Barn Smoker.  I left the hotel early, and got to the Florida Sun Grown Farm about two hours before the event opened, so I got a good parking spot.  I managed to get in line with some folks who manage two of the CigarCigars shops in Sarasota, so we had some mutual friends. CigarCigars has a bunch of stores in my

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area. I’ve been to Barnsmokers in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, so I had an idea what to expect, and I’ve toured the FSG farm before.  I went into this one to enjoy myself, and see some old friends.  Amongst the friends I spent some time with were Rebecca and Jason of Ash Quarterly Magazine. I met them at the last PCA show I attended and Jason and I hit it off. I was very happy to be able to hang out with them for a while.  As I’ve done in the past, I smoked the Liga Privada Serie Unico A, as I never have any faith that a cigar that long is going to survive the trip home.  It was excellent, although t didn’t burn particularly well. 

The grounds were set up nicely, with a lot of room to spread out.  Of course, there was a big tent with tables (as per tradition, most of the ashtrays were stolen early).  DJ Eli was playing music, too loud in my opinion. It always mystifies me that companies get 6-800 people together and drown out conversation with loud music.  They had a live band playing later in the day.  I made my way around all te activation stations early before they got crowded. There only seemed to be one educational portion, in the past it was very scheduled, with the crowd broken into several groups who rotated through several stations with various people, WIllie Herrera, Pedro Gomez, Jon Drew and usually the farm owner, giving talks on various aspects of the life cycle of a cigar.  Another thing that was different from other events I’ve attended was the food. There was a buffet/food line after the educational portion in the past, this time they had several food trucks with coupons for each. This was a better way to do it, from my standpoint.  Folks were free to get food at their leisure.  There were also a lot of liquor stations, in which I was not interested. They did have plenty of water and soft drinks available at all times. The food was good, I sampled smash burger and some BBQ pork sliders with mac and cheese. 

 

Only because I know somebody, I snuck in the back of the  “Black Widow Saloon” for the tasting seminar that was going on.  This was an inflatable, air conditioned structure for the VIPs (I was just a P). It was packed with people, and had a nice spread of cookies and brownies and assorted goodies.  Rob Dietrich, the master distiller of the Blackened Whiskey, and JD were leading the tasting.  Again, booze isn’t my thing, but I’m g

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lad I got to see inside the saloon. This would be a nice place to cool off if it wasn’t so crowded. The baked goods were excellent.  

 

I stayed until the end, my flight home wasn’t until 5am Sunday, so I didn’t have anyplace else to be. Traveling alone, I sometimes get bored, this time I knew and met enough people there to  occupy my time.  It was a good time, people were well behaved for the most part, almost surprising given the amount of booze available.  Cigars were plentiful and delicious.  Everyone should go to at least one of these events, remember to bring $10 to “buy” your pack of cigars at entrance.  The swag was very nice (picture above), not over the top.  I did have an interesting experience with the spray can lighter going through TSA, they had never seen anything like it before and it took much examination and scrutiny to get through. I would have surrendered it rather than cause any trouble, but it got through fine (the actual working lighter in my other bag went undetected). It will probably end up in the Christmas Givaway!  Thanks to the folks at Drew Estate for including me. I wish communication would have been better between some parties, that would have made the weekend a 100% success.  I spent the week smoking some of the cigars I got there, it annoys me that I like the 20 Acre Farm as much as I do, and the Blackened S83 has grown on me. There wasn’t a bad cigar in the bunch.  

 

I’ve opened up the annual CigarCraig.com Secret Santa, if you want to join in, here’s the link: CigarCraig’s Secret Santa 2024. We’ve had a small, but high quality, group in the past.  Jump in, it’s a lot of fun sharing your favorite cigars with people! That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

 

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