Tag Archives: Kings

Neya, Villliger, Kings and a Couple of Cigars from Drew Estate at the Wooden Indian

It’s Labor Day weekend where we ironically get an extra day of work off, and that means the guy remodeling my bathroom also took today and tomorrow off. We had a frustrating day with plumbing yesterday, but more on that later.  I hope everyone is enjoying this last weekend of summer, a milestone which passes every year and just depresses the hell out of me.  I like summer, sue me. Soon we’ll be back to bundling up, turning the heaters on, and not just being able to walk out to get the paper in your bathrobe (or, the winter bathrobe comes out if you’re a robe fan). Autumn sucks, Winter sucks and Spring is OK because it means it’ll be summer soon.  That’s enough of my bitching, I manage to enjoy cigars year round despite the weather, and I certainly did that some more this week.

 

Duran Neya_YankeeI received two samples of the Duran Cigars Neya F8 cigars from Miguel at the IPCPR show, and I selected the Yankee which is a 6″ x 60. My alternative was the “Big Jack” at 7″ x 70, aptly named after Jack Toraño, Duran Cigar’s Marketing/Sales manager. 7″ x 70 is a time commitment. I did smoke the Yankee, and it was a great tasting smoke. This cigar is made in Nicaragua, has a Ecuador Habano wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler and is priced in the $7 range. It wasn’t particularly powerful or “in your face”, but it had nice, smooth subtle flavors.  It almost made me wish I had smoked the larger cigar, as it would have been that much more enjoyment. I know my local shop carries some Duran cigars, and I’m going to have to see if they have the Neya, because it’s one I want to smoke again.

 

Villiger_Celebration125Two years ago Villiger celebrated their 125th anniversary, and the cigar they released in the U.S. to commemorate the occasion was a really nice smoke.  It turns out they had an even better version that they released in Europe, the Celebration 125th Anniversary, and this is starting to be distributed in selected shops here now. The sample I received was a 6″ x 50 toro, and was packed in a reusable black gloss tube, the kind that “pops” when you open it quickly. I have a collection of tubes and I like having these around for the odd occasion I carry a single cigar around, or have one un-cello’d that I want to protect (assuming it fits!).  The blend is top-secret, it’s been rumored to contain some Cuban tobacco, although I’ve had European Villiger execs infer that the machine-made Export has some Cuban tobacco in it too. I suspect it wouldn’t be hard to get away with that,  but I remain skeptical (not to say the little Villiger Export isn’t a tasty smoke). The tube is probably a good idea for this cigar because the wrapper color is just plain weird. It’s got an olive tinge to it, somewhere in the shadows between the beige of Connecticut Shade and Candela. To my eye it was unappealing, and I would pass over it on a tobacconist shelf based just on the color of the wrapper. However, this is a great tasting and performing cigar, and it should be as it commands a hefty price. It burned perfectly, was subtle with some sweetness, and nothing I would guess as Cuban, although there are those who get the flavors of Havana cigar. Despite what I consider an ugly colored wrapper (although it was smooth and uniform, just not the color I look for) this was another great cigar.

 

Kings_KingofKingsBroadleafI’ve been questioned as to whether I love every cigar I smoke, and the answer in “of course not”, but I just choose to feature cigars I rather enjoy here, and I value my cigar time such that I shy away from smoking cigars I don’t like!  Another cigar I do like quite a bit was the Kings Cigars King of Kings Broadleaf. I got to try this cigar at the IPCPR show when we caught up with the very fun group from Kings: Anwar, Pete and Greg. We met these guys when they debuted King’s at the 2013 IPCPR show and developed a raport. Unfortunately I never see Kings Cigars on my local shelves, so I had been missing out on this Pennsylvania Broadleaf monster. The King of Kings vitola is a 6″ x 64 box press, and, looking at the website, it appears that they also have this in Brazilian Arapiraca as well as the original Habano. Damn, there’s another cigar I have to try to find!  This cigar is a heavy, dark chocolate flavor bomb, a perfect desert cigar, sweet, but also savory, quite a nice smoke.  I savored this one until my fingers nearly burned. I had, on a whim, double punched this one, giving me a bit of a figure 8 hole, and that worked perfectly, I never had the need to open it up. I was impressed, as I have been with the Kings line. These guys make some good cigars.

 

Liga9Yesterday I installed a pedestal sink in our powder room, which took much profanities, irritation and trips to the hardware store. I also had to fix the screen on the front door twice, as Macha the three-legged pitbull realized that it took little to no effort to go through it. I still have a little swearing to do at the plumbing work today, but I got to a stopping point yesterday and headed down the The Wooden Indian Tobacconist in Havertown, PA to stop by their annual charity event with Drew Estate benefiting TECHO, who builds housed for the underprivileged in Nicaragua (of which there are many). There is generally a huge auction of Drew Estate stuff as well as some Original art by Jessi Flores and his Subculture Studios. The turnout was impressive, and I only hung around for a Liga Privada No.9 Parejo, a little over an hour. After the frustrations of the day I felt I deserved to treat myself to a LP. Of course the Liga was excellent, and after a short conversation with Pedro Gomez, the DE Factory spokesmodel and Cigar Safari master of ceremonies, I decided that Ligas are great, but if I can get two NicaRustica_RobustoNica Rustica’s for the price of one Liga I can be very happy. When I got home, I set about testing this theory, which may be considered heresy by many. I got one sample of the Nica Rustica in Robusto at the IPCPR show, and picked up a handful at the event, so I took to the porch and lit up the show sample. I’m right, of course. I find the Nica Rustica to be as pleasing to me, if not more, than the Liga No.9.  I found it to have a similar dark cocoa espresso flavor and just as rich. I make sure I always have these on hand, it’s one of my go-to cigars. I like them so much I over paid for a bundle of the Bellys when we went to the release party in Louisville in July (that worked out pretty well because I won a MUWAT ashtray too). I won’t turn down a Liga Privada and they remain special occasion cigars, but the Nica Rustica is an awesome smoke.

 

That’s it for me, off to spend Labor Day weekend trying not to labor too much. whatever you do to celebrate, be safe, and enjoy a fine cigar, I know I will be!  Don’t forget to go back to my last post and enter to win some cool Ventura Cigars and Psyko Seven stuff! Contest ends Wednesday. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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A Post-Flyers-Loss Liga Privada UF-13, a Toraño and a Pre-Flyers-Win Kings Cigar

UF-13 DarkCigars are funny things, they can be a celebration, or they can pick you up when you’re down. Sunday I needed a pick-up cigar after the Flyers lost to the Rangers in a playoff game they needed to win.  I went for one of the best cigars I have in my humidors, a Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico UF-13 Dark. I’ve had the good fortune to have smoked a bunch of these and, I have to say, I like them. The size (5½” x 52) works very well, its perfectly balanced and satisfying. It’s consistent in flavor and always burns perfectly. UF stands for Unico Fuerte, and I suppose these are a strong cigar, but I don’t take them as much stronger than any of the other Unicos, or Liga Privadas for that matter. These aren’t inexpensive, but they certainly are a nice treat every now and then. I give it a 98, but very close to a 99.

 

Torano_1916_ToroMonday I chose a cigar from the Toraño 90+ sampler that I broke into a couple months back after giving it a one year rest.  This cigar was the 1916 Cameroon toro, a traditional 6 x 50 wrapped in a cedar sleeve. As I joked on my Instagram picture, one is to remove the cedar sleeve before lighting.  You think it’s funny until you’ve seen someone try to do it. Not cool.  This cigar commemorates the year Santiago Toraño moved to Cuba and got into the tobacco business.  I’m personally glad he made this move, as the Toraño company is one of my favorites.  This cigar is really tasty! It’s sweet and medium to mild, and maybe even creamy. I enjoyed the heck out of this cigar, if I had one complaint it would be that the ash didn’t hang on too long, but that’s a very minor complaint. It had the Camerooniness that I really like. I should smoke more Cameroon wrapped cigars! It’s another 98 on my rating scale.

 

Kings_Baron_RobustoLast night, before the Flyers staved off playoff elimination, I sat out in the garage and smoked a Kings Cigars Baron, which is their Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigar. I had the robusto size, and this either came from the IPCPR show, or from a package I received from them just before the  show. I really like the Conde, which is the San Andres maduro offering, and the Habano wrapped enormous King of Kings is tasty. The guys behind the brand are fun guys to be around too. Anyway, this was a nice, mild smoke that was up the middle for me. The flavor was good, but didn’t really distinguish itself from other cigars in the Connecticut category, which I admit I pass over more times than not. It was very well made, burned well and wasn’t offensive at all, and it was satisfying. While my personal preference is for something different,  I think this is a good example of a Connecticut cigar. I give the Baron 96, but the website gets a 91. I love these guys and they are innovative and creative, but the website is a pain in the butt to get any information from, and not being able to silence the audio turns me off (warning to those who click the links here).  Flashy isn’t always better, at least in my opinion.

 

This is going to get old fast, but it’s important that we make our voices heard with the FDA.  I have to say that Halfwheel.com published and excellent piece on why $10 is a ridiculous reference point for the FDA to deem a cigar to be “Premium” and, therefore, exempt from regulation.  FIVE REASONS WHY THE FDA’S $10 PRICE EXEMPTION WON’T SURVIVE

 

Here’s the link again to voice your opinions on how they define “Premium” Cigars.  http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2014-N-0189-0001

 

I can’t stress the importance of convincing the FDA to exclude cigars from regulation (at least for now) by letting them know that the price and weight of cigars is irrelevant in determining that they are “Premium”, that they are hand made from all natural ingredients (and that can include ‘flavoring’ as far as I’m concerned) is all the criteria needed. As Charlie Minato at Halfwheel properly points out, the state of New Hampshire has a recognized definition of a premium cigar, it being: “Premium cigars are cigars made entirely by hand of all natural tobacco leaf, hand constructed and hand wrapped, wholesaling for $2 or more, weighing more than 3 pounds per 1000 cigars, and kept in a humidor at the proper humidity.” (Thanks to Dave Garofalo and Victor Vitale and all those who worked to write this definition! It’s close enough).  Anyway, hit the link above and let them know what you think.

 

Well, tonight is Game 7 of the Rangers and Flyers and I hope the Flyers play like they did last night!  I’m not quite ready for hockey season to be over, although it does free up my schedule to smoke larger cigars!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways 2013 Day 6: Two-fer Tuesday! Flor de Gonzales and Kings Cigars

I can’t believe this thing’s almost half way over!  The response continues to be enormous.  I was looking at some numbers and this week alone will come close to the total number of visits I had the first year I was online with CigarCraig.com.  Amazing and humbling, thank you all for visiting, that’s one of the reasons I run this annual giveaway. For those interested, chekk12 did come through with his address and his Atabey sampler will be shipping his way today. Today I need John Hateley To kindly send me his address, as he is the winner of the Tortuga and Ora Vivo sampler from Victor Vitale at Legacy Brands! I smoked an Ora Vivo last night and these, along with the Tortuga 215 Reserva, are really very special cigars. I encourage you to give them a try!  On to today’s giveaway!

Day 6

I try to do one thing a little different every year, so this year I’ve decided to have a “Two-fer Tuesday”!  There’s a mess of stuff under the tree today!  First, from Flor de Gonzales we have a five-pack of their cigars, a T-shirt and a pen. I’ve long been a fan of the Flor de Gonzales line, and there’s one from each line represented here. The 90 Miles 1980 is particularly exceptional, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. They are all very flavorful and perfectly constructed cigars. Even their bundle line (not represented here) is a great cigar for around $2. My thanks to Yadi Vargas for providing this fine present.

FlordeGonzales

 

Our second gift comes from Kings Cigars.  We met the Kings folks at the IPCPR show last July and they were the life of the party.  Their cigars are darned good too.  In today’s gift bag is a couple Kings Cigars T-shirts, some hats, long matches, a nice stainless steel cutter, and a five pack sampler of their excellent cigars. I’ve smoked the King of Kings and the Conde and enjoyed them greatly! These guys are new to the market, but their cigars are three years in the making and they are doing it right. Thanks to Anwar, Pete and Marlene at Kings cigars for sending this gift bag!

 

Kings Cigars

There you have it.  A bunch of T-shirts, goodies and excellent cigars!  Thanks again to Flor de Gonzales and Kings Cigars for making Two-fer Tuesday possible! You know the next step, load up the comments!

 

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,

CC_Logo_xmas_s

 

 

CigarCraig

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The Sport of Kings with Kings Cigars, a UF-13 and a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve

OK, it’s time to get back on track! Monday was Labor Day, the last Monday holiday that most of us get off for the year, and the unofficial end of summer. Of course, those of us who are in massive denial will swear to you that September 21st is the end of summer, so there’s still 3 weeks left!  Personally, since August was unseasonably cool, I think we need at least another month of summer! What can I say, I like summer!

Monday my wife, her dad and I went to Delaware Park. I don’t mind dropping a couple buck playing the ponies from time to time, especially when I can enjoy a fine cigar in the process.  I selected a King’s Cigars King of Kings, which is their box pressed, 6” x 60, Habano wrapped beauty that Anwar and Pete said I should let rest for a while as they weren’t quite ready yet.  I figured it had been six or seven weeks since I received the cigars, so it was time to try one.  If you recall, we enjoyed spending some time with the guys from Kings at the IPCPR show, and I really enjoyed the Conde Churchill, which has my favorite San Andreas wrapper.  This cigar has a Habano wrapper, Habano Criollo binder and their proprietary filler blend. I had a heck of a time getting this sucker lit, as it was pretty breezy at the track, and once I finally did get it burning well it started to rain!  It rained off and on while we were there, so we spent a few races sitting in the grandstand under the roof. My main complaint about this cigar, it’s one major failing, was that it failed to discourage a couple with two small crying children from sitting directly behind us.  I don’t understand, since the cigar produced copious amounts of smoke, and there were plenty of empty seats in places where crying children wouldn’t be so much of a bother. It’s not like I walked up and parked myself in front of them with my cigar. A smoke billowing cigar should create a buffer zone around oneself in a place like that! I guess there’s the old fart in me coming out…anyway, great smoke, looking forward to revisiting this in another month or two, and the Barons and Condes remaining in the humidor are calling my name.  Nice smokes, nice guys, have no idea what the price points on these are as I haven’t seen them on any local store shelves. My IPCPR interview with the guys from Kings Cigars is here.

 

 

LigaPrivada_Serie Unico_UF13When I got home I took the dog for a walk with a Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico UF-13 Dark which came back with me from Nicaragua last May. I may be able to confidently state that this is my favorite among the Unico series, I think I like it a little better than the Dirty Rat, however my sample sizes have been pretty small on the other sizes. It’s a happenin smoke, thats for sure. I always seem to lose the fancy fantail when I pull the cigar from the cello, but that’s OK since it’s coming off anyway.  I appreciate the work that goes into these special cap treatments, but it seems a shame since they get lopped off anyway.  Darned yummy friggin cigar!

 

 

Reinado_GER_CGTuesday I grabbed a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve Corona Gorda, which is a new size in the line which was released at the IPCPR show along with the Toro and the Petite Lancero.  This is one of my favorite sizes at 5 5/8” x 46 and punched perfectly with my Screwpop punch.  This dark and oily, rich flavored cigar is described by brand owner Antonio Lam as a flavor bomb, and I couldn’t agree more. I really love the cigars in this line, they really have everything I look for as far as flavor and construction.  I just wish I could get them cheaper!  These are fantastic smokes and if you like the dark side (heavy, dark espresso/cocoa flavors) like I do, seek them out and give them a try. Here’s a video with Antonio from the IPCPR show:

 

 

That’s it for now.  I’m going to hunt down something interesting for tonight’s walk and start getting ready for another weekend!  I would love it if every week was a 3 day weekend and a four day work week.  I have to try to find a situation like that.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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