Tag Archives: Iconic Leaf

TPE2022: Recluse Cigars and an Amadeus Los Cabos

I first learned of Iconic Leaf and Recluse Cigars at the 2012 IPCPR show where I talked to them about their cigars. I was pleased to see Scott Weeks at the TPE after not having seen him for several years. I still have a handful of Recluse cigars in my humidor, but one I never got around to trying was the Recluse Amadeus Los Cabos.  The original Amadeus has a bit of a sentimental place for me, it’s a nice Connecticut wrapped cigar, and the Habano version is very nice, so this is the third in the series. It’s named for Cabo San Lucas in Mexico because that’s a popular vacation spot, and a cigar is a little vacation, which is something I’ve said for years: it’s my daily vacation. It has a San Andrés wrapper over a Sumatra binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.  It’s box pressed and, like all of the cigars made in this factory, rolled entubado. The burn and draw were excellent, and it was a tasty smoke. It has some dark fruit and earthy flavors, with hints of coffee and cocoa.  I’m sorry it took so long for me to try this one, I guess I’m going to have to get some more, as I only mooched one of these off of Scott at the show. I wanted to smoke the Factory Production Run sample that Scott talks about in the video, but time wasn’t on my side this week.  

 

Today’s video with Scott Weeks from the TPE runs quite a bit longer than most of my videos. If you know of Scott, you’ll understand, he’s not prone to brevity. Scott is the king of folksy clichés, and sprinkles a few here and there throughout the video. He’s a good dude, I always enjoy spending time with him. 

 

 

This week is going to be tricky as my wife and I are taking a long weekend to a tropical location. I’ll try to get some content posted before leaving, then i should be back for my usual Sunday BS, where maybe I’ll have something to talk about from the trip. Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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Another CigarMojo Event, an Alec Bradley, a Recluse and a CAO Cigars Contest

Thursday came around and one of our favorite lounges in the area was having an early Father’s Day event, so we (my wife and I) took a drive to King Of Prussia PA for a visit.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Philadelphia area, King of Prussia is the home of the larges shopping mall on the east coast.  It’s big, actually two malls, and it’s evolved from a strip center in the ’60s to what it is today. There is a cigar shop in the mall with a smoking area, which is nice when your wife wants to shop and doesn’t require you  to play the part of Sherpa.  Cigar Mojo is down the street a bit, occupying a free standing building nestled between a cemetery and a Wawa (another fairly regional convenience store chain with a nearly fanatical following).  They were concurrently having an Alec Bradley event with “The Player” Jon Lipson, a Xikar event with local rep Rich, and a Cigar Rights of America membership drive with Alan Price.  Having stocked my humidors with Alec Bradly cigars at the last couple events I’ve been to, I perused the generously stocked humidor and came out with a handful of reasonably new singles. Trae does a very good job of having the newest releases on hand. I picked up a couple of the new Tattoo from Tatuaje, some Leccia Luchador El Castigo, a Cro Magnon, and a Nica Rustica. I always get the CigarCraig discount, where they add 10% 🙂  I smoked one of the Luchadors, which I really think is my favorite cigar to come out in the last year.  I hadn’t smoked this size, which is the  6″x60, and it was great.  I love the interplay of sweet and spicey that goes on. Once again, The guys there at Cigar Mojo put on a great event, if you ever find yourself in the area, check them out.

 

Mojo_Google Streetview

 

AB_Lineage_ToroFriday I took my usual evening walk with a cigar that was generously gifted to me by Jon Lipson, the new Alec Bradley Family Blend “The Lineage” in the toro size.  This cigar has a nice caramel colored wrapper with a pigtail cap which is from Honduras. The rest of the cigar is a mix of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. I should have given this cigar some more humidor time, I think, because it smoked a little bit moist. It has been raining here all week, so it’s damp everywhere.  Still, the cigar had very nice flavor, was solidly medium bodied to me, although if it were drier it may smoke a little more on the full bodied side. I’m looking forward to trying this one again because the flavor was very appealing and the finish was clean.  It opened up in the last third and gave an indication of its potential for me.

 

CubaAliadosCRASaturday I had two cigar opportunities, one sitting in my favorite beach chair out back soaking up some sunshine. I smoked another Cigar Rights of America cigar that I’ve had for a few years. This one was a Cuba Aliados Miami, and I hadn’t smoked a Cuba Aliados in years. Back in the day, Rolando Reyes made the Puros Indios and the Cuba Aliados. The Puros Indios were tasty, but almost always had a draw like a dowel rod.  This one was a nice smoke, medium bodied, fairly normal good tobacco flavor and burned well without dropping ash anywhere it shouldn’t have. I had the Perfecto Cigar Holder clipped to the chair arm, which reminds me, I need to do a whole post on some accessories I’ve been using lately. I enjoyed the cigar and had a very relaxing time sitting in the sun reading a book. Don’t forget to let the FDA know how you feel about regulation of premium cigars, and if you aren’t already a member of the CRA, join!

 

Recluse_Amadeus_ToroLast night I took a walk with a new cigar from the folks at Iconic Leaf, the Recluse Amadeus. This is a box pressed Ecuador Connecticut wrapped beauty in a toro size, 6¼” x 50.  Iconic Leaf uses the entubado method throughout their lines, and this one smokes no different, nice, open draw and even burn. This is another Connecticut Shade cigar with a little more spice and body. I’ve always liked the flavor that the Connecticut wrappers have as a change of pace, so this trend of slightly stronger shade cigars is welcomed.  This sample came without bands, but I’m to understand they will be using a similar design in white as opposed to the black bands they use on the OTG and Draconian lines.  Tremendous cigars all around. Interestingly (to only me, probably), Trae’s, of Cigar Mojo fame, uncle came to him with a scap of paper with the name Recluse Draconian written on it as a cigar he was looking for. I was able to educate Trae and his uncle on the line. Perhaps he’ll look into stocking something from Iconic Leaf.

 

Contest

 

CAO_Signs Contest2It’s, once again, time to give away some CAO goodies!  This time we have two of the cool tin CAO Flathead signs and a four pack of the new Flathead Spark Plug, which is a delicious little box pressed 4½” x 50 smoke.  I’m doubling up the signs because, quite frankly, it cost me a bundle to ship these things.  I’ll have one more contest coming up with these, I’ll look for  more cost effective shipping method for sure. Anyway, my problem, not yours! Leave a comment to win, and I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday. Thanks again to Gary and Ricky from CAO for providing these goodies.

 

That’s it for now, Happy Father’s Day to everyone who either is, or has a father. I’m going to enjoy my special traditional cigar, a Esperanza par los Niños from 1998. I was recent;y gifted more of these by my dear friend Mike Perry, so I can continue the tradition through 2020!  Thanks!

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CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways 2013 Day 2: Iconic Leaf/Recluse Cigars

You know, I was expecting a large turn out for yesterday’s contest, and, once again, Gurkha Nation exceeds my expectations!  336 entries, and almost 1500 page views yesterday alone. A new CigarCraig.com record!  It was a stunning turnout and really made determining the winner difficult! A couple requests for the future: please don’t ‘reply’ to comments but leave a new comment as it interrupts the timeline. Also, there’s no need to proactively send me your address just in case you won.  I want you to come back the next day to see if you won!  Anyway, after hours of deliberation, the winning number was 177, which matches up with Angela Torres! Congrats!  Send me your shipping info so I can get this out to you!  I really enjoy reading all the comments, by the way, thank you all!  Let’s see what goodies are offered in today’s giveaway…

 

Day 2

I’m very excited about today’s present.  I’ve been a fan of Recluse Cigars from Iconic Leaf Cigar Co. from their beginning.  I’ve had the pleasure of talking to JR Dominguez and Scott Weeks at the last two IPCPR shows and these guys make cigars the right way.  Every cigar is constructed using the entubado method, and they ferment their tobacco differently from most, using at least eight fermentation cycles.  They have generously provided a box of Recluse Draconian Robustos for today’s present.  The Draconian is the second release from Iconic Leaf. This is a box pressed robusto with a Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper and a mix off fillers including a Brazilian hybrid leaf and an exclusive Ligero. I’ve smoked the “Sidewinder” in the Draconian line and it’s an exceptional cigar!  These will be an awesome addition to someone’s humidor!

 

Recluse Draconian Robusto

Thanks to Scott at Iconic Leaf for providing today’s present!  You know what to do next!

Rules

Here’s how you enter: leave a comment.  That’s it, plain and simple.  Tweets don’t count, but feel free to spread the word, only comments on this page count as an entry.  Each day there will be a different prize and the winner will be drawn from that day’s comments. The winner will be announced on the next day’s post. The contest is open to everyone, even if you’ve won one of my contests in the past six months, but once you’ve won, you are ineligible to win again in this series of contests. All prizes will be mailed as soon as I get a chance to go to the post office, or whenever the sponsor decides to ship, whichever is the case, so don’t make me chase down your address!  Please e-mail your contact information to craig@cigarcraig.com as soon as possible!

That’s it, leave a comment to enter and good luck. Check back tomorrow to see if you won and enter tomorrow’s contest!

 

Until Tomorrow,

CigarCraig

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CAO Flathead, Alec Bradley Nica Puro, Recluse and Drew Estate Nica Rustica Cigars

It’s Thanksgiving Eve, and I’m sure most of my US readers are getting ready for a nice turkey dinner tomorrow. Don’t forget to pick out some great cigars to smoke after dining with family. A big Happy Thanksgiving from CigarCraig.com!

 

I’ve been smoking some new, but familiar to me cigars this week. It’s gotten wintry cold around here and I wanted to smoke some cigars that I knew wouldn’t get lost in the frigid outside conditions. Sunday I picked out a CAO Flathead Camshaft (5½x54) for a late afternoon walk. I gave this one a punch cut, but, as with the other examples I smoked, the cap just popped off. I trimmed it up with the scissors and hit the road. I really like this cigar. It’s deep and dark. It’s severely box pressed. It burns and draws well, is big enough to handle with gloves on, but not too big. It holds a nice ash too. I want to try the other sizes in the line, I just haven’t gotten around to looking for them in the shops yet. I personally am pleased with the last several offerings from CAO, they are tasty and well priced. I have an irrational desire to get my hands on a couple of the Angry Santa and Evil Snowman holiday releases to see what they are all about. Perhaps they could release a “Mildly Irritated Elf” for a morning smoke.

 

Alec Bradley_Nica Puro RobustoMonday evening I pulled out another Alec Bradley Nica Puro (5×50) for my walk. I think Monday was about the coldest it’s been in quite some time. I don’t like it. Not one bit. Anyway, unless it’s windy or precipitating or both, I find that I don’t get too cold if I keep moving, which is one of the reasons I’m always taking my cigar for a walk. The dog needs the exercise too, as do I. This Nica Puro is a tasty smoke. It’s syrupy sweet tobacco flavors really appeal to me. The wrapper has a reddish hue which is easy on the eyes. It’s a fantastic cigar, I’m glad I bought a few to have on hand. There’s something about cigars with “Nica” in the name that are really appealing to me. Great smokes, it’s not often I have the same cigar twice in a week!

 

 

Tuesday it was raining, so I took the dog out for a quick little walk/run (yes, I ran a little bit…) and came back and had a Recluse Robusto (5 x 52) from Iconic Leaf Cigar Co. in the garage. This is another box pressed maduro, not unlike the CAO. Perhaps the Recluse is a little more refined in flavor. I love the rich cocoa that this cigar has. Since it’s rolled entubado (and I think you’ll find that many cigars are rolled this way, although they may not necessarily make mention of it) and box pressed, it’s almost guaranteed to draw well. I purchased this example at the same local shop that I got the Nica Puro from, only it was sometime last spring, I think. I’ve really enjoyed the Recluse line since being introduced to them a year and a half or so ago. If you can find them, give them a try, great smokes.

 

Nica Rustica_El BrujitoTonight I took a walk with another Drew Estate Nica Rustica El Brujito (6×52).  Have you ever smoked a cigar that tasted like old newsprint wrapped in kraft paper?  This is nothing like that.  Burn: perfect.  Draw: pretty good.  Flavor: loads of it.  I still think the prototype I brought back from Nicaragua with some Nicotiana rustica was a little more interesting, but this production version is a delicious smoke, and the price point makes it very accessible.   It’s a heck of a good smoke.  Hopefully my week of repeats wasn’t too boring!

 

I’m still working on the 12 Spectacular Days of Giveaways, hopefully it will all go off without hitch! I’m going to have a busy week at work the week the contests start too, so I’m trying to get as much set up in advance as possible. Be ready for some great presents this year!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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IPCPR 2013 – Iconic Leaf and Recluse Cigars

Yesterday I visited with the folks at Iconic Leaf and J.D. Dominguez showed me his newest creation, the Recluse Draconian Sidewinder, in what looks to be a 7″ x 60 box press. I’ve loved these guys since I met them last year at the show and pick up a recluse cigar or two whenever I see them in my local shop (one of them carries them!).  I smoked the cigar that was featured in the video at the show (the only cigar I smoked on the show floor yesterday) and it was fantastic. Rich and full of great flavor and burned perfectly.  It’s more of a good thing, that’s for sure.  the only drawback was that I was frequently distracted and it lasted 2 hours or so!  If you haven’t tried the Recluse line, hunt them down.

 

Here’s the video:

 

I’m off to celebrate my wife’s birthday by seeing the Cirque du Soliel LOVE show at the Mirage next door.  We’ll see where the night takes us after that!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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