Let’s talk a about a couple of completely different cigars! Yesterday I was out and about and I decided to stop in my local shop on the way by and see if they had anything new. There are shops in the same chain a few miles east and west that I would probably have had a better chance of finding newer stuff, but I had been running errands for a while and was tired of driving around. The only thing that struck me as new (judging by the self talker that said “new arrival”, which may or may not have actually been “new”), was the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Nicaragua. I picked up a few toros, what the hell. Historically, there have not been a lot of Romeos that have tripped my trigger in the 25 or so years I’ve been smoking cigars, at least not the ones made outside Cuba. I have to confess an affection for the RyJ Coronitas en Cedros as I bought a box to share at my daughter’s wedding that was spectacular, so that’s a sentimental favorite. It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, what’s more romantic than a cigar named after a couple who committed suicide together in the name of love? Anyway, the cigar is a 6” x 52 Nicaraguan puro made by Plasencia for Altadis, who is owned by someone now.
Quick aside: with all the discussion of General Cigar splitting off a bunch of their brands into the new Forged Cigar Company, has anyone considered that they could be positioning their portfolio of legacy Cuban brands for sale? It seems funny to me that they have placed all of the old Cuban brands under this umbrella, leaving the brands that have the brand ambassadors, like Macanudo, CAO and Cohiba (not a legacy Cuban brand, but a post-embargo brand), with General Cigar. It seems like a nice package deal to sell to, I don’t know, maybe whoever just bought the Altadis brands like RyJ, Upmann and Montecristo (along with the portion of Habanos). It would tie things up pretty nicely from a trademark standpoint. Just a thought, probably doesn’t make sense, but what makes sense? Wait, Punch isn’t included in Forged, that throws a monkey wrench into my theory, and why does “Forged” have to be so similar to “Foundry”? Couldn’t they come up with something more original? There’s something funny about the Punch trademark that I can’t recall. It’s all very confusing.
Back to the 1875 Nicaragua, it’s a nice cigar. Oddly, still not my cuppa tea for some reason, but a perfectly good cigar. The construction was perfect, and it smoked for a good two hours plus. Why is it that the cigars you love don’t seem to smoke long enough and the one that you tolerate last forever? It was woody, with some subtle spices, but more on the leathery/earthy side than I prefer, which seems to be the trend with the RyJs to me. I think the Reserva Real Nicaragua was one I liked, which seems consistent because I recall liking the original Reserva Real. Different strokes, right?
Back in May of 2018 my wife and I took a trip to Rome, Italy to see the sights. Of course, I took some cigars with me, but I picked some up while I was there. Toscanos were very inexpensive there, and I bought some that I hadn’t seen here. I’m pretty sure I had Toscano Garibaldi’s before they were available in the US. I think a 5-pack of Toscanos was €7 or something. I probably still have some I haven’t opened. That was also at the time that you could still legally buy Cuban cigars abroad. I don’t desire a lot of Cubans, but I do like one now and then, so I picked up a five pack of Montecristo No.5 and a five pack of Partagas Serie D. No.6, both small cigars. I hadn’t smoked any of them until last night when I was looking for a short smoke and came across the pack of D No. 6 and opened it up. This is 3½” x 50, a nice little smoke for under an hour. Of course, it’s a Cuban puro, and one never knows if you’re going to get the one that’s plugged or not. Cuban Roulette? This one wasn’t, and it was a good smoke, typical Cuban twang, and what I like in a Cuban Partagas, which is my favorite Cuban brand anyway. This was a pretty cool little smoke, I’m sorry I didn’t get more than one of the five packs.
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
