Tag Archives: Firecracker

by Craig Vanderslice | June 28, 2020 · 10:30 am

Perdomo Firecracker, La Palina and JSK Nuggs Cigars

Last Saturday, 2 Guys Smoke Shop had their annual Firecracker release, and this year it was the Perdomo Firecracker. I typically pick up a couple to sample, and this year was no different. I was on the site at 10am with my order, and it seems like that was a god plan, because by early afternoon they had just about sold through the 1000 boxes that they had allotted. That’s a pretty big sales day! I also picked up a couple of the original Firecrackers, because I never tried one. I’ve just about got a complete set, I’m missing an LFD, and one from Tatuaje, I guess. One day I’ll sit down and smoke them all. My most memorable was still the Fratello Firecracker on the Spanish Steps in Rome. A cigar with an Italian name, made by a Spanish speaking guy, in a Spanish speaking country, sold by an Italian American, smoked in Italy on the Spanish Steps. Just too much irony for me to pass up. So I sat on the porch Friday evening with this wee Perdomo cigar for nearly an hour, pretty amazing for a 3½” x 50 cigar. This is based off the 20th Anniversary Sungrown blend, which I tolerate pretty well, although my favorite Perdomo cigar, hands down, is the 20th Anniversary Maduro. There is some spice and strength to this smoke, befitting the Firecracker line, although maybe not the boldest one of the bunch. Clearly Perdomo added a bit of ligero to the blend to punch it up, as he should have. It’s a tasty little smoke, I dig it!

As I’ve been doing lately, I dug out an older cigar from the humidor and revisited a La Palina LP 01 yesterday. When the LP 01 and 02 came out a few years ago the design was such a diversion from the norm for the company that I think many found it off putting. The cigars were good, however, I really enjoyed the LP 01. It was the Robusto, 5″ x 50, and has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Costa Rican binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. If I remember correctly, these are made in Honduras ar Raices Cubanas. After two years in the humidor, the cigar smokes very well, with a good draw and even burn all he was through. It had a nice sweetness from the Sumatra wrapper, and I’m partial to Sumatra wrappers lately. I typically enjoy the Maduro LP 02 more, but this one was very, very good. It’s still listed on the La Palina webpage, so I ASSume it’s still in their portfolio.

I’ve had a rough several days as far as migraines go, something in the atmosphere, I guess. I’ve been popping Imetrex like TicTacs, and the whole process wears on me. I figured this might be as good a time as any to try out the JSK Nuggs Natural cigar that Riste Riatevski gave me when I met him at the TPE show. Why do I see Riste’s last name spelt two different ways? I went with his Facebook profile, but some sources spell it Ristevski. I’m confused and will ask him when I see him again unless he chimes in here. Anyway, I would like to try this in the maduro, and will pick up some more when I get the chance. I’m not sure I felt any effects of the 20mg of CBD oil infused in this cigar. to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to feel, but I did awake with another migraine today (day 4, very upsetting to have a streak like that!), so that isn’t the answer to that issue! The cigar has a Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder, and Nicaraguan fillers and is infused, like I said, with 20mg of CBD oil. There is also a 100mg version available with something like a $25 price tag. The cigar had decent enough flavor, although there was something a little different, was it the CBD? If it was, then I’d be worried about the flavor of the 100mg version personally. Perhaps someone who has smoked it can chime in? It was smooth and nutty, woody and earthy with that odd flavor I mentioned. I supposed I hoped for a more noticeable”feeling”, but I didn’t quite know what to look for, I suppose. Worth trying, for sure, and something I’ll look to try again.

That’s about al for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2 Guys Smokeshop, cigar, cigars, Firecracker, Jas Sum Kral, JSK, La Palina, LP 01, Nuggs, Perdomo

by Craig Vanderslice | July 7, 2019 · 9:53 am

A Couple of Shop Visit, a Couple of Cigars and a Contest Winner!

Happy Sunday! I suppose it’s the end of a holiday weekend for a lot of people, I had Thursday off, and stopped into the CigarCigars shop in the King of Prussia Mall and picked up a couple cigars, one of which I smoked later to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Sure, I have plenty of natural Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivos, but I hadn’t had a Maduro in quite some time, so I picked one up. My wife spied a Foundry Compounds, Elements and Musings Uranium box with two cigars left in it, so I bought them and got the box. I’m pretty sure I’ve smoked Uranium before, although I don’t smoke many 7″ x 70s. The artwork is cool and I’ll rig a light in the box and it’ll be a nice shelf piece. Gotta give Mike Giannini credit for creative design! So my wife got a ring from Tiffany, and I got some cigars, it was a good day. The Exclusivo was exceptional, of course. I remember smoking my first one probably 20 years ago and they haven’t changed.

Friday evening I took a ride up to Suburban Cigar Lounge in Mount Penn, PA, which is near Reading. This is a really nice lounge run by Gary, over top of what is, by all reports, a very nice restaurant, which, if I’m not mistaken, his wife runs. I went to meet up with Boston Jimmie, of Stogie Press fame, who took his sweet time showing up. If you advertise that you’re going to be someplace from 7-10, showing up at 8:30 is not acceptable, I don’t care how things are done in Florida. 😜Anyway, Gary has a nice lounge with a friendly clientele, and his humidor has a modest but diverse selection from which I purchased some Alec Bradley Magic Toast Gordos, and RoMaCraft Aquitaine Mode 5s, and lit up a Magic Toast. I love this Magic Toast, it’s my kinda smoke. The dark, oily Honduran wrapper is beautiful, and the flavor is equally dark and lush. I smoked a Mode 5 next, and while I prefer the CroMagnon, the Aquitaine is damn tasty. This is a great example of how the wrapper can completely change the flavor of a cigar, as the wrapper is the only difference between the CroMagnon and Aquitaine lines. Jimmie finally showed up and hung out for a while. I hadn’t seen him since the 2017 IPCPR show, so it was nice seeing him again. Suburban Cigar Lounge is a great place to hang out of you find yourself in the area. I’m sorry I didn’t let long time reader Corey know I was going!

Last night I smoked the 2Guys Smokeshop exclusive Pistoff Kristoff Firecracker. Every year they do a special Firecracker release, last year it was the Mi Querida, prior to that it was the Fratello. I’ve managed to smoke a bunch of them, except for the original ones. It’s a small format, 3½ x 50, in a stronger blend. This was the second Pistoff Firecracker I smoked and I thought it was very good. I’m OK with the Pistoff blend to begin with, so I figured I’d be OK with this, and if I wasn’t, it wasn’t going to be a large time commitment. I do, generally, get an hour out of the Firecrackers, smoking them slowly. Because of the closed foot, a trademark of Kristoff, and usually a Firecracker trait, it starts with a blast of wrapper flavor, and some concern that the draw will be tight, once the wrapper burns, this one opens up to a perfect draw and has a good, bold flavor. It was strong, but well balanced. It looks like these are sold out, as is the case with most of the limited Firecrackers, but often the have second runs, and I would recommend these and others if you like small, strong cigars. They have all been exceptional in my opinion.

Contest

It’s time to select a winner in last weeks contest. To recap, I am giving away some great, in my opinion, Don Juan Calavera cigars from Danli Honduras Tabaco (from my own humidor, to protect the innocent), a Herics Cigar Tape, and a Cigar Prop and Light Bleed Tool from CigarProp.com. It’s possible some other goodies could fall into the box while I’m packing it up. There were 42 entries, and according to the random number generator, the winner is Bob Langmaid! I seems like Bob wins everything all the time, but I could only find one instance of him winning one of my contests, and that was almost 4 years ago. I’d rather have someone who hasn’t won before win, but Bob’s name came up, and he’s been fanatically religious about entering my contests for many years, so fair is fair! Please send me your address Bob!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2 Guys Smokeshop, Alec Bradley, cigar, Cigar Prop, cigar store, CigarCigars, cigars, Contest, DOn Juan Calavera, Firecracker, Foundry, Kristoff, padron, Pistof, RoMaCraft, Suburban Cigar Lounge, Uranium

by Craig Vanderslice | June 25, 2019 · 6:07 pm

News: Mi Querida Triqui Traca Offered at 2019 IPCPR Trade Show

Tuesday news from Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust. I haven’t tried the Triqui Traca, and I’m a little sad about that. I’ve smoked a bunch of the Firecrackers (I am waiting for delivery of the latest Firecrackers, by the way!), and I can’t wait to get ahold of the Triqui Tracas! I am a big Mi Querida fan and the extra oomph in that blend is extra special.

Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust® will be showcasing its Mi Querida® Triqui Traca of handcrafted cigars at this year’s 87th Annual Convention of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 28th through July 2nd, 2019.

“Mi Querida Triqui Traca, pronounced ‘me kay-ree-dah tree-kee trah-ka’, is arguably our boldest cigar released to date,” shares Founder and Master Ligador Steve Saka. Adding, “At its core, it remains our quintessential Mi Querida blend with its earthy, sweet broadleaf notes, but with the incorporation of a couple refinements. The capa has been switched from the traditional Connecticut Broadleaf Mediums to the rarer No. 1 Dark corona leaves plus a unique, high octane ligero grown in the Dominican Republic has also been introduced into the liga. The resulting cigar retains its inherent sweet loam and chocolate characteristics, yet delivers a significantly heavier smoking experience.”

Saka explains, “’Triqui Traca’ is Nicaraguan slang for oversized firecrackers that are connected by fuses in a long serial string. These explosive ropes are then laid down in the center of a street and sometimes stretch multiple blocks. Ignited from one end, they explode in a cascading line of powerful concussions and blinding light down the entire length of the street. Triqui Traca are often lit in celebration of important religious and national holidays. This cultural icon is an ideal moniker for the explosive nature of this cigar.”

Mi Querida Triqui Traca will be offered to Select Purveyors and will be initially available in only two formats: No. 552 – 5.00 x 52 and the No. 648 – 6.00 x 48. The cigars will feature a red band and chevron on the box corner to easily identify them from the core Mi Querida liga. Packed in 20 count SBN boxes, the MSRP ranges from $10.75 to $11.75 respectively per cigar. Initial availability of these cigars will be extremely limited due to tobacco constraints.

The anticipated ship date to those Select Purveyors who order at this year’s trade show is September 2019.

About Steve Saka

Regarded as a cigar expert throughout the industry, he is credited as being an experienced cigar blender and maker, a prolific author regarding cigars and black tobaccos, a forefather within the online media segment and a dynamic tobacco industry executive. In 2000, he worked directly for Lew Rothman, the former owner of JR Cigar, as an executive consultant for four years and he subsequently served as the President, then CEO of Drew Estate from 2005 through 2013. In 2015, he established the family held Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust to craft and distribute traditional handmade puros.

For more information, please visit: www.dunbartoncigars.com. ®Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and Mi Querida are registered trademarks of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust and/or affiliated companies.

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Firecracker, IPCPR, Mi Querida, Triqui Traca

by Craig Vanderslice | June 18, 2019 · 8:58 am

News: Two Guys Smoke Shop Announces Release of 2019 Firecracker

I’m a sucker for the Firecrackers, they are a great little smoke with a big cigar taste. One of my favorite cigar memories was smoking a Fratello Firecraker on the Spanish Steps in Rome. I just thought there was so much irony in that, and it was a great cigar for walking around that wonderful city. I’ll look forward ordering some of this year’s Kristoff Firecrackers too!

2019 Edition of the Firecracker To Be Released On June 24th

In 2006 Two Guys Smoke Shop owner David Garofalo came up with a concept that would become one of the most sought after limited edition cigars each Independence Day. The cigar came to fruition when Don Pepin Garcia was visiting Two Guys Smoke Shop for a series of events. It was at one of these events that Garofalo asked Garcia to roll a cigar with a fuse on it. After some hesitation Garcia rolled the cigar that would become a signature release for the New Hampshire based retailer.

Since 2006 the cigar has seen versions from My Father Cigars, Tatuaje (in the form of an M80), La Flor Dominicana, RoMaCraft, Fratello and DTT’s Mi Querida. In addition the cigar sees an ongoing production version from Jose Dominguez.

This year the first Firecracker release comes from Glen Case and Kristoff Cigars. It’s based off the Pistoff Kristoff blend which features a San Andres wrapper over Indonesia binder and Nicaragua fillers. The blend starts off with a bang and continues right through the explosive finish.

The Pistoff Kristoff Firecracker which is limited to 250 boxes will go on sale at 10am on June 24th via their online website 2GuysCigars.com.

They will retail for $6.99 each or boxes of 20 with a discounted price of $119.99.

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Firecracker, Kristoff, Pistoff, Two Guys Smoke Shop

by CigarCraig | July 1, 2018 · 11:17 am

Mi Querida Firecracker, Island Club, El Borracho, and Chopo™ Cigar Cutter

It’s been a busy news week, and I think it will continue to be busy leading up to the IPCPR show. I assume there will be a lull in the news, at which time many of my colleagues who will be at the show will be pushing loads of content out from the show, so I’ll see what I can do to break up the monotony for you, maybe smoke some old timey cigars or something. I’m sure there will be a lot of great stuff coming from the show, but one recent edition of the Prime-Time podcast with Cigar Coop and Aaron Loomis featured Dion Giolito (Episode 58). Dion doesn’t do a lot of interviews and it’s a damn shame, because he’s articulate, funny, and is a triple threat of perspective as a retailer, manufacturer and consumer. In addition to the excellent interview about the Illusione line, including the re-issue of the One-Off brand, he brought unique points of view to the show’s deliberations segment at the end. It’s recommended listening (or watching, I guess. It’s available in audio and video, I only listen to stuff).

OK, lets rip through some cigar highlights of the week. This week the Mi Querida Firecracker went on sale. The Firecracker is a 2 Guys Smokeshop exclusive, last year’s was the Fratello Firecracker (I smoked one recently on the Spanish Steps in Rome for the irony of it, and it was one of the best cigars I’ve smoked all year because of the setting and it’s a fantastic blend. Before that it was the Cromagnon, also excellent. This year was the year of the Mi Querida Firecracker. Another entertaining podcast is last week’s Cigar Authority show with Steve Saka, loads of laughs, but also great information about the cigar, and how he put some extra filler in the front of the cigar to make a 3½”x 50 cigar burn a little longer. I noticed that the draw seemed a little more snug in the beginning, and I managed to get nearly an hour out of this little beauty, which is slightly stronger than it’s similarly sized Gordito. It’s very rich and has the espresso flavors I love in the Mi Qurida line, which is easily one of my favorite cigars of the last couple of years. There were 500 boxes of these produced, and the majority sold out within the first few days. I wouldn’t be surprised if these make another appearance, like the Cromagnon Firecracker is rumored to be.

Earlier this week I reported on Island Lifestyle Importers entering into a distribution agreement with Ventura Cigars, and I had some pre-release samples of one or their upcoming projects, the Island Club, so I decided it was the right time to smoke one. Island Club is an Ecuador Connecticut wrapped, Nicaraguan cigar that’s priced in the under $5 price range, which is nice, but I find slightly confusing coming from a luxury brand. They will offer it in five sizes, Robusto, Corona Gorda, Toro, Torpedo and Churchill, in bundles of 20, and if it’s a mixed fill cigar, it certainly doesn’t smoke like one. Honestly, it smoked like a much more expensive cigar, I would certainly select it over many more expensive cigars based on performance and flavor, I was that impressed with it. This is a home run for Island Lifestyle, I think, and combined with the distribution muscle of Ventura, this should give the whole brand a lot of visibility, because the Aged Reserve series cigars are all really good (and no matter what trickery I’ve employed, I can never get them to reveal what factory makes them!)

I’ve been using the Screwpop® “Chopo™” a lot recently to give it a good try, and find that it works remarkably well. It makes a nice, clean cut. It takes some work as it’s not spring-loaded, so one has to manually open it the desired amount then quickly snip the cap off the cigar, but it’s a serviceable back-up, for sure. As I’m sitting here thinking about it, unless I were sitting on an assembly line cutting cigar after cigar for hours on end, it’s not like I risk getting a repetitive stress injury from manually opening a cigar cutter once or twice a day, but one can’t argue how nice it is to flip a switch and have your Xikar, Colibri, Tommy Bahama, or similar cutter of choice snap open and be ready to snip your cigar. Anyway, the Chopo™ is a vast improvement over their last iteration of a scissors type cigar cutter, and is a worthy addition to the key ring. I used it to cut an El Borracho Toro last night that I came across buried in the humidor. This was from last year’s IPCPR show, and I’m embarrassed that this bag of cigars from Dapper Cigar Co. got overlooked. Dapper Cigar Co. goes into Saka-esque detail about the blends on their website, the El Borracho is made up of Wrapper: Mexico / San Andrés Natural / San Andrés de los Perros S.A. de C.V.; Binder: Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Habano Rosado / Oliva Tobacco Co.; Fillers:, Nicaragua / Esteli / La Joya / Oliva Tobacco Co., Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Oliva Tobacco Co., Nicaragua / Condega / gk Relleno / Oliva Tobacco Co.. That’s a lot of detail, and probably more than we need to know. One interesting thing: I think the wrapper comes from the same farm in Mexico that the binder on Saka’s Sobreamesa is from. We’ll see if anyone reading can confirm that, or I’ll go back and review the video from the 2015 IPCPR show where Steve talks about that. Anyway, this was a really tasty cigar! I didn’t find it to be particularly strong, but it was full flavored and had some cocoa but more cedary than cocoa. Very interesting cigar that held my attention. I have a couple more cigars from this company that I’ll try to get to this week. I’ll have to look into this company further.

One honorable mention this week is another pre-release cigar from Epic Cigars. This was a big Solomon with a Brazilian Cubra wrapper that is yet to be named. I’m very much looking forward to seeing these come to market as it was a really tasty cigar, although the wrapper on the sample I smoked was very delicate and the middle portion flaked off a bit. It was still a great cigar, worthy of the Epic name. That’s enough for today, Until the next time,