I saw Jack Heyer at the Camacho booth at the Smoke-Onos event last month, and, funny enough, I received some samples of the new Camacho Limited Edition 2025 last week. I’ve smoked a lot of Camacho cigars over the years, going back to the ’90s when Christian Eiroa owned the company. I even went through a box of the Camacho Candela Monarcas. This new cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Dominican fillers. It’s offered in a 6″ x 52 Toro and they come in tins of 20 priced at $17.50 each. I smoked a couple of these, it’s unusual for me to smoke the same cigar over a week’s time, but the first one I smoked was so good, I had to smoke another one. These suit my palate ( but not necessarily my wallet!). It’s a really good cigar, loads of espresso, with some spice. This is an excellent cigar.
My youngest son has taken to getting me a couple cigars for Father’s Day the last couple years. He stops in CIgar Mojo in King Of Prussia, PA and they have done and excellent job of recommending cigars that I haven’t had before. This year one of the cigars was the new Plasencia Alma De Cielo Amancer, the Hexagon pressed 6″ x 60. The press isn’t as the Alma Fuerte Sixto, which has sharper corners. This isn’t a surprise, given that the wrapper appears to be quite thin. It looks like a shade wrapper, but it’s actually a Nicaraguan wrapper from Condega, which they say is grown at 1300 meters above sea level. They say it’s the highest Elevation cigar on the market. The rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan as well, binder and filler, obviously made at the Plasencia factory. This is on the milder side, which starts out a little drying on the palate. There’s a sweet cream sort of thing going on. As it heats, it rounds out, losing the press. I’m always embarrassed when my kids give me cigars, especially when they spend so much, it was a very generous gift. A great gift is something I wouldn’t buy for myself.
A cigar on the opposite end of the spectrum in several ways is the Micallef Black Firecracker. Like the Camacho, it has a San Andrés maduro wrapper, with an Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The format is 3½” x 50 with a fuse pigtail cap. I’ve smoked many of the seasonal Firecracker releases, I try to buy them from Two Guys Cigars when they come out, I think I missed a couple here and there. The most memorable was probably the Fratello that I smoked on the Spanish Steps in Rome. I keep a bunch around for those times when I don’t have a lot of time. I also like the Micallef Black blend, I’m a fan. This was a strong little cigar. It started out with a blast of pepper, the mellowed slightly, although never dropping below strong. The burn was perfect, and it was a very enjoyable cigar. The only problem is that it’s priced a touch higher than the toro (and the box pressed toro that’s a Smoke Inn exclusive, also excellent), but it’s a different cigar, and requires a bit more work to make.
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
