Tag Archives: Flatbed Cigar Co.

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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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Arcana, CAO, Castle 919, cigar, cigars, Do Not Disturb, Flatbed Cigar Co., Panacea, Stokk, Stokkebye, Stolen Throne, Twisted Hitch

October 19, 2025 · 9:36 am

A Panacea Farmers Blend Habano and Foundation Charter Oak Especiales

Thursday I felt like crap for some reason that I haven’t figured out yet. I came home from work, went to bed until it was time for the Flyers Game, watched the game and went back to bed. I usually start my blog post smoking Thursday evenings, so this put me behind a little. I felt fine Friday, so when I got home I decided to tackle the formidable 6″ x 70 Panacea Farmers Blend from the “6 Shooter Sampler”. I was sure I had smoked this before and liked it, although, looking back through my notes, I smoked a 7″ x 60 version. I’m certain I can tell the difference, and noted in the blog post that the website listed the 6″ x 70 and not the 7″ x 60. Perhaps Paul at Flatbed Cigar Co. can weigh in. Anyway, I’m not a huge 70 ring gauge fan, I think I’ve smoked a handful of them in the 30 years I’ve been smoking premium cigars. The blend is the Sumatra wrapper, Cuban Seed (?) binder, Dominican Ligero x 2, Nicaraguan Ligero, Dominican Seco, and PA in the filler. This is a really good tasting cigar, I enjoy the blend. It has the cane sugar sweetness I like in a Sumatra. Maybe the last one I had was the Habano. It had an open draw, which beats a tight draw any day. You can always draw more gently with a loose roll, you can’t compensate for a tight one. I enjoyed the cigar, although when it got to the end I still felt like there was a lot of tobacco left! Paul always has a great offer on Panacea cigars, there’s links on both of my sidebars, with a special CigarCraig discount code, CCFS25. Please buy some cigar from him so he knows people are reading my site! 🙂

While I was feeling better Friday, but I felt like I was better off staying home Friday evening. I missed the Foundation Cigars event at the Wooden Indian with Nick Melillo. I have mentioned before that I have to talk myself into going out sometimes, this was one of the times I lost. One of the factors is that I know it would be 6:00 by the time I got there with traffic, and they close at 7. So I decided to take a ride out to Havertown Saturday and see what I missed. While I was there I picked up the two Charter Oak Especiales cigars that I’ve put off buying. Mark (right?) at the Wooden Indian recommended the Pegnatero, while my inclination would have been to buy the Pasquale. Naturally, I bought both. These two cigars honor Nick’s grand-fathers. I like grandfathers, I’ve had a couple, and am one myself. So I went home and smoked the Charter Oak Especiales Pegnataro. This has a Connecticut shade wrapper, Jalapa binder and Esteli & Jalapa fillers, rolled at A.J. Fernandez’ factory in Esteli. This is only offered in a box pressed 5½” x 48 vitola with a pigtail cap. This has loads of flavor. It’s buttery with a distinct citrus tang. It was a very nice cigar.

One of the things that made me take so long to get to these two cigars was the fact that they are $13, which seemed like a lot for a cigar in a budget line. I guess it’s akin to the Rocky Patel Edge anniversary cigar, or a Bricktoberfest being considerably more than the regular line. I got past it and realized that these cigars not only honor the grandfathers, but also honors state of Connecticut by using Connecticut wrappers on both cigars. The Pasquale has the Broadleaf wrapper, something that Nick Melillo is rather known for. This one has Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Jalapa binder and Esteli & Jalapa fillers, also rolled at A.J. Fernandez’ factory in Esteli. This is the same size at the Pegnatero, 5½” x 48. As much as I like a Toro, this sort of corona gorda extra is a nice size. I wasn’t expecting the utter lack of sweetness in this blend. To me it was bakers chocolate and espresso flavors, not a grain of sugar anywhere to be found. Not that I don’t enjoy that sort of thing, I do, it just took me by surprise. I loved it, it had the slight edge on the Pegnatero only because my preference is the darker leaf.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Charter Oak, cigar, cigars, Flatbed Cigar Co., Foundation Cigar Co., Panacea, Pasquale, Pegnatero

September 14, 2025 · 8:33 am

El Baton Cameroon, El Mago El Cubano and El Whippoorwill Cigars

I selected an interesting batch of cigars to feature this week. The first two I bought from 2 Guys Cigars, who held their 40th anniversary festivities this weekend. One of these days I’ll make it back up there for a visit. I actually had a bad dream last night about moving to New Hampshire, we bought a run down house and I was against moving north, if I ever move, it won’t be north! Anyway, I picked up some of the newly released El Baton Cameroon Firecrackers by J.C. Newman and United Cigars. This branding confuses me. El Baton isn’t a budget brand, but it’s not on the Diamond Crown level, it’s a mid-line brand I guess. I love them, they are really tasty smokes (I smoked a belicoso after smoking the Firecracker). To my knowledge, it’s never had a Cameroon wrapper, where as they have made a Cuesta Rey with Cameroon. Is Cuesta Rey not a strong enough brand to carry the firecracker? Not sure what the thinking here was. Anyway, the Firecracker is 3½” x 50 with a fuse cap, and aren’t inexpensive at $9.29 each. It started on the bitter side, then the nutty Camerooniness© kicked in, just in time for it to be done. It’s too short. Like I said, I followed it with the El Baton Belicoso, and I can see where it’s in the same family. Fun smoke, happy to have added some to my firecracker collection.

When I ordered the Firecrackahs, I added on a few of the El Mago El Cubano toros, as I’ve been having good luck with the El Magos and wanted to try more. Seems like I’m doing a lot of complaining today. Neither the tube, which is very nice, nor the bands, also nice, say El Mago on them anywhere. This confuses me. This is a new brand that needs all the exposure it can get, because, in my limited experience, they are making great cigars. They can’t rely on imagery to identify the brand just yet. I’d like to see “El Mago” on the packaging somewhere. I’ll admit when I ordered these I didn’t even look at the blend, I may not have ordered them had I known they were shade wrapped cigars. But I did, so I smoked it. It was very heavy on the citrus tang, made it on the sharp side in flavor. Like other cigars in the brand, it burned very well and I enjoyed it for what it was, but it wouldn’t be my first pick. I may take one out of the tube and see if some age smoothes it out. I’ll continue sampling through the El Mago line as I come across them.

Finally, Flatbed Cigar Co. rarely has a new release. Their Panacea line is very good, please check out the daily deals on the left side of my page. You can get some great cigars at a good price. Paul announced a new line last week, the Whippoorwill, so I bought a pack to try. Despite the title of this post, it’s just Whippoorwill, not El Whippoorwill! This falls in the Homestead line, and has a Habano Oscuro wrapper, at least on most of it. The first half inch is just binder, which is Nicaraguan, and the fillers are Nicaraguan and Dominican. Once the burn reaches the wrapper, this is a really good cigar! I say that because I thought it started out a little harsh, but when that wrapper kicked in it was terrific. It smoothed out to a spicy, sweet treat, had a perfect burn and draw, and it’s 6″ x 52, my favorite size. It lasted all the way through the Thunderbolts movie, which I found entertaining (the Red Guardian cracks me up!). Good smoke, keep the great cigars coming Paul!

That’s all for today! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2 Guys, Cameroon, cigar, cigars, EL Baton, El Cubano, El Mago, Firecracker, Flatbed Cigar Co., J.C.Newman, Panacea, United Cigars, Whippoorwill

July 13, 2025 · 9:27 am

Panacea, Curivari, and Some Raices Cubanas Cigars

I’ve been trying out different sizes in the Panacea line, this time I went with the Panacea 760 Red Label in the Grande line. Obviously, this is 7″ x 60, a reasonably large cigar. The website description confuses me a little. It says: “This Red label is our Cuban seed Habano. A Brazilian Maduro wrapper with a Dominican grown Habano binder. The interior is Seco Cubano, Ligero Piloto Cubano, Ligero Olor Dominicano, and Ligero Nicaragua.” The wrapper looks like a Habano, not any Brazilian maduro wrapper I’ve ever seen. Maybe I haven’t seen all the Brazilian maduro wrappers? Doesn’t much matter, this is a tasty smoke. I do think I like it more in the smaller sizes, but if you have two or more hours to kill, this isn’t a bad option. It started out with an odd minty prelight draw. I don’t generally concern myself with a prelight draw, I generally just get down to business, what’s the point? These are made to be smoked. It was on the sweet side, with some nuts and wood. I’ll smoke these again.

A few years ago I was gifted a Curivari Reserva Limitada Cafe Noir. It’s a brand I’ve heard a lot of good things about, but hadn’t tried. This was a box pressed toro, 6″ x 56. Oddly this size isn’t listed, but it was right there on the barcode label! Closest size listed is 5½” x 56. Weird. It’s a Nicaraguan puro, and has a darker wrapper, hence the Noir in the name I guess. I liked this a lot, it had some interesting dark dried fruit kind of flavors, along with the espresso that I like. The burn and draw were perfect. I think it was the Buenaventura from this company that I’ve tried before and it was a really good, well priced cigar. This was so enjoyable that I originally wasn’t going to include it here but decided to anyway.

I stopped at a local show which has recently changed owners and there have been improvements. I finally have a local source for RoMaCraft cigars, and they had the new Raices Cubanas cigars available. I picked up some of each, and started out with the Raices Cubanas Liga De Reyes Toro. This is a fairly new brand out of a fairly old factory. Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras is probably best known for Alec Bradley and older Illusione cigars. Since AB has sold, and may or may not be manufactured there, the Raices Cubanas brand has emerged. The Liga de Reyes is a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos, in a 6″ x 54 format. I’ve smoked a great many cigars over the years and I don’t recall ever tasting some of the tastes I got in this cigar. It seemed to start with some baking spices. I likened it to spice cake, with some floral notes along the way. It was very unique and enjoyable, I’m interested in trying it again to see if I get the same flavors.

The other cigar I picked up was the Raices Cubanas C5 Black (Corte Cinco) in, of course, Toro. This toro is 6″ x 52, and has a Honduran wrapper, and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. C5 stands for Corto Cinco, and indicates they use the 5th priming, usually ligero, somewhere in the blend, but I can’t seem to find information on whether it’s the wrapper or what. This was a darker cigar, which appealed to my eye. This one was also very different. I likened the flavor to an exotic wood, like mesquite, but not mesquite, if that makes any sense. Like the Liga De Reyes, this wasn’t like any other cigar I’ve smoked. If you come across these, pick some up and give them a try. I think they had some other lines at the show as well, I’ll pick some up on another visit.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 760, C5 Black, cigar, cigars, Curivari, Flatbed Cigar Co., Grande, Liga de Reyes, Panacea, Raices Cubana, Red Label, Reserva Limitada Cafe Noir

January 12, 2025 · 10:11 am

Flatbed Cigar VLI, Don Pepin Garcia and Plasencia Cigars

I’m working on plans to get to the TPE (Total Products Expo) in Vegas at the end of the month, it’ll either be a one day, quick in and out, or the whole three days. It’s an interesting show, as I’ve chronicled before here, I’m not sure what comes out of it, but I hope to see some old friends. If you’re going, let me know, I’ll tell you where to find me. Anyway, I’ve been rummaging for new things to smoke, there’s some stuff in the pipeline, and I came up with a few for today. First up is the Flatbed Cigar Co. VLI from their Homestead series. Flatbed Cigar Co. makes their cigars in the Dominican Republic, the factory is a closely held secret. I’ve been quite impressed by the majority of their offerings, especially their value. Please note their Daily Deal on the left sidebar, always something good at a great price. It was one of these daily deals where I ended up with the VLI. The VLI, and I can’t seem to find out what that stands for, is a 5½ x 52 with a Pennsylvania wrapper (presumably broadleaf), Dominican binder and Pennsylvania and Nicaragua fillers. Let me tell you, this is right up my alley. This is a bold cigar, with rich, dark flavors, along with some spice, but not overwhelmingly so. There’s a dry cocoa component, and it’s perfectly constructed. I really enjoyed this and I recommend it highly. Check out this small, boutique company based right here in PA., the cigars are very good.

I was looking for something new and interesting and came across a Don Pepin Garcia cigar I hadn’t seen before. It turns out it’s a TAA exclusive, for now, called the Don Pepin Garcia E.R.H., comes in three sizes (robusto, toro and gordo) and is priced in the $8-9 range. I had to grab a 6″ x 52 Toro to try. E.R.H. refers to José Garcia’s first factory in Little Havana, El Rey de los Habanos. This has a striking red band and foot ribbon, I was surprised to see this, and didn’t realize it was a TAA cigar until I looked it up. It has a Sumatra Oscuro wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It was a really nice looking cigar. I got some sweet woody kinds of flavors, and I really enjoyed it. It’s an oasis in a desert of $15 TAA cigars, it’s quite a good value and one I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again.

I had heard some good things about the Plasencia Cosecha 151 recently and decided since the DPG was so affordable I would pop for the more expensive Plasencia. This is one of the more reasonably priced cigars in their offering, running around $16. The 151 refers to the Plasencia family’s 151st harvest,dating back to 1865. So when the US was wrapping up the Civil War, a Plasencia was planting tobacco in Cuba. Wild! This is another Toro, called the La Tradicion, and is listed at 5.9″ x 54. This has a Honduran wrapper, binder and fillers. This was a very good cigar. It had some woody, nutty, coffee flavors and while not 100% my flavor preference, it was very nice, nothing objectionable. I found that the strength crept up on me, and I put it down probably where most people put cigars down, instead of smoking it under an inch like I do with most cigars. I liked it, glad I tried it, given the choice between this and the Don Pepin, I’d probably get two of the DPGs. While pricey, I’ve generally had good experiences with Plasencia cigars.