Tag Archives: Foundation

October 15, 2023 · 11:25 am

Some Foundation Cigars, a Big Payback and a Little Papas Fritas

I went and got a flu shot and a Covid vaccine yesterday and the combination has really kicked my ass.  Can’t recommend that pairing. Not sure which one gave me the fever and chills, but it was a miserable night last night, and I’m not exactly Mr. Happy this morning. We’ll see if the grass gets cut today or not, or if any cigars get smoked. Anyway, I stopped in to Cigar Mojo Thursday for their Foundation Cigars event with Eduardo Aguilar and Miguel “La Chaveta” Montanez for a quick visit. I probably could have stayed for a while, but I wanted to watch the Flyers game in the comfort of my own lounge, and I was fighting off a migraine, and a smokey lounge isn’t great for that.  So I did the grab and go thing, and went home and fired up a Tabernacle Havana Seed No. 142 Doble Corona and watched some hockey. The Doble Corona is a 7″ x 54 cigar, good for the pre-game show and into the second period. The wrapper is a Connecticut grown Havana No. 142, obviously, which is a hybrid seed which is dark and oily and really quite beautiful. The binder is San Andrés and the fillers are from Estekli and Jalapa in Nicaragua and JAmastran in Honduras.  This is a rich, spicy cigar with some sweetness. I also picked up a toro and a lancero, which I haven’t gotten around to smoking yet.  really looking forward to those. I love the original Tabernacle, but this one is something special.

 

Friday I grabbed a Foundation The Wise Man Maduro in the Robusto size. I like their Robusto because it’s 5½” x 50 and skirts the line between toro and robusto.  This was the sequel to the El Güegüense, which people fumbled over pronouncing. It seems it was easier to just call the maduro version by the translation: The Wise Man. Hard to argue the logic. This has a San Andrés wrapper, a COrojo 99 binder from Jalapa and fillers from Nicaragua. Being a fan of the Mexican wrapper, it’s hard for me not to love this cigar, it’s one of my favorites in the Foundation line.  It checks all the boxes for me, coffee, cocoa, some spice. I dig it.  I was disappointed that the new offerings from Foundation were a couple weeks out at the time they had this event. I was hoping to get the new Charter Oak offerings, even though I’m not sure I get the trend of budget lines coming out with premium offerings (Rocky Patel Edge, Brick House come to mind).  I still want to try them, I’m desparate for anything new at this point!

 

So desperate I am for something new that I decided to smoke the new Room 101 Big Payback Redux while watching hockey yesterday afternoon.  I figured this would be good for the better part of the game. Here’s what Matt Booth has to say about this cigar: “It has been my life’s mission to produce a combustible vessel so engorged and far more magnificent than its standard counterpart in cylindrical presentation, and it’s my greatest honor to offer our people such a product that overflows with both girth and grandeur.” If you’ve ever heard Matt, you just read that in his voice. This is a 7″ x 70 cigar, outside my usual comfort zone. I’ll do a 60 no problem, but a 70 is just unwieldy. I can count the number of 70 ring cigars I’ve smoked on one hand. This is a $9 cigar, and that’s the point of the brand, to give back to the loyal Room 101 supporters with a good cigar at a reasonable price.  I have to say, mission accomplished, it’s a tasty cigar. This is made in Honduras, using a Honduran Olancho San Augustin wrapper (STG must grow a crapload of this as it’s been popping up on just about everything in their portfolio for the last dozen years, including Cohiba), a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan, Dominican and Honduran fillers. I actually really enjoyed the cigar, which is good, because it’s a three hour commitment (a colleague noted a smoking time of 4½ hours!  In a row?). Smooth, sweet nuts and creamy coffee notes.  I can’t say this will be a regular for me, but if I find I need a three hour cigar, I won’t hesitate to grab one of these.  

 

In an effort to balance things out, and since the effects of the vaccines were beginning to kick in, I decided to have something small for mey Saturday evening smoke. I hadn’t gotten around to smoking the Drew Estate H99 Papas Fritas y

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et, and I had bought a few several weeks ago.  I figured I had smoked a behemoth cigar earlier, might as well off set things with something on the small side.  This is 4½ x 44 with a pigtail cap, and made from the trimmings of the Liga Privada line. Steve Saka launched this line when he was at DE to utilize some of the valuable bench trimmings, and named it after one of his favorite things.  Oh, I know, you think I’m being mean, but I’ve known Steve for over 25 years, and his favorite things are cigars, food and booze, gimme a break.  Anyway, the H99 version came out last year as one of the Freestyle Live packs, and I’m not sure it would have been a big mystery, although I never saw the Freestyle Live pack, it’s a fairly distinctive format.  This isn’t a pretty cigar, but it is tasty, and it burns well for a short

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filler cigar.  I like having some short smokes around, and this and the original Broadleaf version are good ones to have. I still haven’t had the Nasty Fritas.

 

That’s all for today, I feel like the fever has made me drone on a bit.  I’ll read this later and maybe do some editing (probably not). Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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May 14, 2023 · 9:39 am

An Olmec Claro, a 601 La Bomba Warhead and a Video

Last December I picked up the Foundation Cigar Co. Olmec in Maduro and Claro.  I had smoked the Maduro, and gifted the Claro.  I happened to be shopping at The Wooden Indian a few weeks back and picked up

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another Claro,  because I wanted to smoke it!  I really enjoyed the Maduro, and I’ve enjoyed so many cigars made by Nick Melillo over the years. Of course, this is a cigar that is an homage to the original cigar smokers, the Olmec, and has a San Andres Claro wrapper, a double binder of Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa, and undisclosed fillers.  Odd the undisclosed part, must be something interesting in there, although, upon reading the website description, there seems to be some some confusion, the filler may be Esteli and Jalapa, it says two different things!  Anyway, this was a really good smoking cigar.  I liked the Maduro more, but that’s not unusual for me, but this had some nice creamy coffee flavor and was very rich in flavor. I may not drop $15 on these regularly,  but it’s a nice treat.  

 

On the same trip to the Wooden Indian I picked up an Espinosa 601 La Bomba Warhead VII, just because it looked s

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o tasty. The La Bomba line has been a favorite since the EO Brands days, when it was made at the My Father factory. This one is made at AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory in Nicaragua, has a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  It’s a 7″ x 50 Churchill, and it lacks the La Bomba “fuse” cap treatment.  I actually haven’t smoked enough of the Warhead series to know if that’s a thing or not. I really liked this cigar. The box press makes it feel like a smaller ring than it is, and it’s really reasonably priced at around $10. It was loaded with dark coffee/espresso flavors. This was a really good smoke, burn and draw were perfect. I’m a fan.

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Yesterday we attended the AC Cigar Social in Atlantic City, and I did a quick video interview with Jon Henderson (I had Jon Anderson on the brain for some reason…).  I’ll write a more indepth post this week about the event, but in the meantime, here is the video:

 

 

It was a really nice event, hopefully it’s one that can continue!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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June 27, 2021 · 9:48 am

Black Lion Luxuries May Cigar of the Month Club Offerings

I know it’s the end of June, but I’ve just gotten around to smoking my way through the May Black Lion Luxuries Cigar Of the Month Club Package. This pack featured three cigars that I hadn’t had a chance to smoke before, and had wanted to, and the other two were cigars I smoked before and liked, so it was a winner all the way around. There was also a trend toward connoisseur type sizes, as there was a lancero and three Corona Gorda sized cigars in the mix. Once again, the value can’t be argued, this was basically “buy 3, get 2 free” or better as the MSRP on the cigars individually added up to $54.86, and the COTM is something like $38 delivered. I’ve been impressed with the packaging and the condition of the cigars, they have been ready to smoke out of the package every time, even when I’ve ignored them for a month! I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but the way the cigars were placed in the bag resembled a left hand.

 

Being slightly CDO (that’s OCD in alphabetical order, LIKE IT SHOULD BE!), I  smoked the lance

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ro first because it stood out. Luciano the Dreamer is from Ace Prime cigars, which is a newer company that I’ve had absolutely no interaction with at all. They’ve come on the scene in the past few years, and it’s been a few years since I’ve been to an IPCPR show, so I’ve only been hearing about them through other outlets. I don’t even think they were working closely with Crowned Heads when I talked to Miguel Schoedel last year at the TPE show. My point is that I don’t know a lot about this line and I haven’t had any opportunity to sample any cigars from them. I think the closest I’ve come is the Juarez which is made in the same factory, and maybe the Mil Dias? The Dreamer is a 7½” x 38 Lancero, which is just about right for a traditional Laguito No. 1. I appreciate the attention to detail. This is a spectacular example of a lancero in my opinion. When smoked gently, it had flavors of sweet earth and leather. It could not have had a more perfect burn and draw, it was an absolute pleasure to smoke. The makeup of the cigar are an Ecuador Habano Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder and Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers, and I always appreciate a little Peruvian in a blend, there’s a little unique spice that it gives. This cigar is a winner.

 

The next cigar I smoked was the Montecristo 1935 Anniversary Nicaragua Demi.  This was the first of the three Corona Gorda-ish sized cigars, and another one that was new to me and was on my list of cigars I was looking forward to trying. I’ve heard how amazing this cigar was from a lot of people. This is made by AJ Fernandez and is a Nicaraguan Puro and is 5½” x 46. I may need to try this in a larger vitola,  because all I really got from this cigar was pepper, there wasn’t really much else to it. I was expecting a lot more flavor. That’s not to say it w

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as a bad cigar, it’s just that my expectation was set pretty high, and for a $10 cigar I think there should be more than just one peppery note. Might just be me, never claimed to have a good palate, but for me this one was a let down. In my defense, those who follow me and keep score know that many Altadis products appeal to me, however the ones that do tend to be made by AJ Fernandez. I do keep trying though.

 

Two that I have smoked before, and enjoyed, are the Highclere Castle from Foundation Cigars and the CAO Zocalo Robusto. The Highclere Castle was the Victorian, with is the Habano wrapped line, and a very good smoke. I’m actually not sure if I’ve smoked the Connecticut wrapped Edwardian,

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yet, although I know I have one around someplace. I do like the Victorian a great deal, it’s a delicious cigar, and this was the “corona”, which is a 5½” x 46. The CAO is the 5″ x 52 Robusto, which is fairly new, it’s a line extension to the Zocalo line which was originally only a 6″ x 60. It’s a nice San Andrés wrapped cigar with some Spice and cocoa. If you enjoy that genré of cigar, as I do, you’ll find the Zocalo to your liking. Once again, both where in perfect condition and ready to smoke.

 

Finally, I smoked the HVC Serie A Perlas, a true Corona Gorda at 5 5/8″ x 46. This cigar has a Corojo 99 wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and I believe it’s made at the Aganorsa factory. Can I just say that it makes me a little nuts when cigar companies don’t have websites to link to? Can I also say that I seem to be the only cigar blogger who links to the cigar makers websites? I do it because I figure it makes it easy for the reader to get more information about the brands if they feel so inclined and I’m there already half the time and it only takes a second to copy and paste. Anyway, I found this Serie A to have nice, bright flavors, with some sweet spices. It wasn’t a heavy cigar, and I liked it. It was different than the others in the selection and I appreciated that. The COTMs from Black Lion Luxuries have proven to provide not only a good value, but an excellent variety. I recommend them heartily.

 

Thursday evening I stopped by the Wooden Indian for their first in person event since March of 2020, which featured Pedro Gomez of Drew Estate. It was well attended all things co

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nsidered, and they raised some cash for Cigars for Warriors, like they always do. It was a good time, and I smoked an Undercrown 10 Corona Doble which was pretty darned good, although I think I’m preferring the Toro so far (big surprise there). It was nice seeing people at an event again and talking to people face to face.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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December 20, 2020 · 10:46 am

CigarCraig’s 2020 Holiday Giveaway!

OK, I know it’s not the CigarCraig’s 12 Days of Giveaways, it’s been 5 years

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since that whole thing ended. We had a good run, but when the FDA scared all the cigar companies off of giving cigars away, it complicated things. I knew that trying to do twelve days of swag giveaways wouldn’t fly, and adding cigars out of my own humidor would break me (shipping already puts a hurting on me!). So it went the way of the Dodo. Fortunately, I find myself with some goodies accumulated over the year, so I put together one great present to close out the year! First, let me get something off my chest. Yesterday I smoked a Deadwood Leather Rose, which I really enjoy. It irks me when people call this cigar, and the other cigars in the Deadwood series, “infused”, or dare I say it, “flavored”. They are not. Sure they have a sweet cap, there are several traditional cigars that have a sweet cap. I don’t count the sweet cap as flavored. I really wish the folks at Drew Estate would be more vocal about this. I’d love to be able to reference a link on their site that states boldly “this (and the Larutan, for that matter) is NOT an infused cigar”. It uses non-traditional tobaccos, Syrian, Perique, Latakia, tobaccos more traditionally used in pipe tobaccos. I hate seeing social media posts that start something like “I don’t usually smoke flavored cigars, but I smoked a Sweet Jane…”and I feel compelled to say “you still didn’t! I feel like Drew Estate should help me out a little here! Heck, I’ve seen people argue with Vaughn Boyd (who owned Deadwood) for crying out loud! OK, enough of my ranting, I really enjoy the Leather Rose, and her sisters, and the Natural/Larutans too, although I don’t smoke many for some reason. They have a lot of flavor, and I like that.

 

Let’s get to the Giveaway!  We have a lot of stuff s buckle up. Back in August I went to a Golf tournament Sponsored by Goose’s Montecristo Lounge, and Goose was very generous and supplied me with some Montecristo swag which included a Montecristo cap, a really nice Montecristo table lighter and a cutter in a humidor bag. I am adding a Montecristo Espada from my humidor, and I might find something else when I get to

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rooting around. Speaking of Drew Estate, since they canceled the Barn Smokers this year, they very kindly sent out they Barnsmoker swag. I’ll be honest, I was on the fence about giving up the backpack, it’s really nice, but I have a ton of backpacks, and I talked myself into giving this one up (my wife talked me into it as well). There’s another lighter and cutter (here’s a secret, this lighter you can get away with stashing in your luggage when you fly!), a bottle opener and a cigar stand. I put together a samper of Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua cigars from my humidor to go with it. Next there’s a nice Villiger ceramic ashtray, to which I’ve added some Villiger cigars (again, from my humidor, unsmoked!), and finally, a Foundation cutter (I forgot to add a Foundation cigar to try it on, one will be added!).  So that’s an OK present, right? A little something for everyone, goodies for you, a hefty USPS bill for me! (I might do UPS since USPS has been sketchy as of late). Many thanks to my friends who generously provided these goodies! You know the rules! Leave a comment on this post to enter. No comments on Facebook, twitter or anywhere but this blog post will count. You must be of legal age in your jurisdiction to win (and prove it), and if you are selected as the winner, you need to e-mail me your information, please don’t make me track you down! I like to think the folks who win my contest are regular readers and, therefore, will see that they won! I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, December 27, 2020. Let’s see a ton of entries! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, whatever you like to celebrate.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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November 22, 2020 · 11:04 am

Tabernacle Goliath and a Mi Querida Triqui Traca Cigars

Let me start out by bitching a little about the USPS messing with my plans for this post a little. I had ordered some of the new Triqui Traca sizes because I was unable to find them locally, and they were supposed to have been delivered yesterday and they weren’t. How USPS manages to goof up Priority Mail that ships Tuesday and is scheduled to be delivered Saturday (already a stretch), is beyond me. A few weeks ago I sent a box to Washington state on a Saturday and it was delivered on Monday. Sure, it cost me more than $8, but c’mon. And I recently cashed in some rewards points for an Amazon gift card and they are mailing it….what sense does that make? OK, now I’m just bitching about stuff for for the sake of bitching…forget about that last part. Point is, I

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had to switch up my whole plan for this post at the last minute. Fortunately, it’s not hard for me to convince myself to smoke a great cigar, so I made other plans.

 

Last week when I was at Cigar Mojo, one of the cigars I picked up was the Foundation Cigar Co. Tabernacle Goliath. I probably should have gotten both the David and the Goliath, but I was trying to moderate my spending. In retrospect, it would have made this post easier, and perhaps, more interesting. Apologies. The David and Goliath are perfecto shaped cigars, both have a gorgeous Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicarag

uan and Honduran fillers. I would venture a guess that the blend is the same as the regular Tabernacle line. The Goliath is a 5” x 58 perfecto, it’s chubby. The David is 5” x 54 and is more of a pointy perfecto. This is where I regret not buying both and comparing the two, because the shape can make a big difference in the flavor. The Goliath was a wonderful cigar. Despite the fact that once it burns past the first quarter inch its basically a gordo or fat robusto, the burn was perfect. It was loaded with the rich espresso and cocoa that I love, with the spice and earth from the San Andrés and the fillers. This was such a good cigar, and burned nice and cool all the way down to the nub. Again, now I need to go get the David, because I can imagine that the smaller ring and the pointy shape would sharpen the flavors some and cause a different experience. Darn my frugality. So if you like the Foundation, you should love the Goliath!

 

As I alluded to above, I was hoping to receive some of the new sizes of the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca, the 652 and the 764. So I followed the Goliath (after dinner, of course, not immediately) with a Triqui Traca 552. I realized that I had never really featured that size on these pages, and I’ve smoked a few

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. I like the 648, it’s close to a Toro, and I’ve been looking forward to trying the 652, and I just figured “Why not” on the 764. It’s a ridiculous size, but people rave about the Mi Querida Gran Buffalo (same size, next on my list to try). The Triqui Traca is another Broadleaf wrapped cigar that is based off of the Mi Querida Firecracker blend (of which a third, and tweaked, release is imminent. Damn, that’s another order I’m going to have to place with 2 Guys…) which is an amped up version of the Mi Querida. I’ll be honest, I love them both. If the Mi Querida is a Hershey’s Special Dark bar, then the Triqui Traca is one of those dark chocolate bars with the hint of cayenne pepper. It’s got some extra kick, but not too much, just enough to keep things interesting. Of course, it burns perfectly, if it didn’t, Saka wouldn’t sell it. Here’s a secret, because I’ve known him as long as I have, and he’d kill me for revealing this: he makes each cigar a half an inch longer than advertised and personally smokes a little bit each one to make sure it’s right before the cap is applied and it’s banded and packaged. That’s how much he cares! :-). (Before someone believes this and Saka comes after me for defamation and slaps me with a cease and desist, it’s a joke. He only does it with about half). If you like the Broadleaf cigars, you can’t go wrong with either cigar mentioned in this post, and of course they share some common ancestry.

 

So far there is a tie for the CigarCraig Readers Poll Cigar of the Year, so get your votes in! Please e-mail me at craig@cigarcraig.com with your choice for the 2020 cigar of the yea

r. I’ll compile the results and post them on December 31. Please be as specific as possible. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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