Tag Archives: macanudo

June 15, 2025 · 9:51 am

Partagas, Macanudo and El Rey Del Mundo Cigars

We have a General Cigar Company centric post today.  General Cigar is kind enough to send me samples of their new stuff from time to time, the curious thing about all these new releases is that I rarely see them on retailers shelves for some reason.  Now, I don’t get out much, and my sample size is pretty small, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of these get a lot of traction.  I can pull out a handful of Macanudos and Partagas cigars from my humidor that most people probably have never heard of or seen. Many of them are really good cigars too, it’s a little bewildering.  I should stop biting the hand that feeds me. I’ll have to do a vintage GCC cigars post one of these days.  Anyway, the latest batch of new releases included new lines from Partagas, Macanudo and El Rey Del Mundo. We’ll start with the Partagas.  Interestingly, the Partagas Y Nada Mas Santiago, isn’t made at General’s factory in Santiago, perhaps that’s what the name alludes to?  It’s made by William Ventura. I’ve not liked a great many cigars I’ve smoked made in this factory. This cigar was a pleasant surprise.  It has a Habano 2000 wrapper, Sumatra binder and a filler blend of Piloto, Corojo, Ecuadoran something and Broadleaf.  I really liked this cigar, it had a toasty spice kind of thing going on.  I smoked a few of these and would be interested in trying the toro and gordo sizes, although I think the 5″ x 50 robusto size burned a good long time. 

 

Next up was the Macanudo Gold Label Limited Edition Torpedo. This is a 6½” x 52 torpedo, with a Connecticut Shade (Capa Especial) wrapper, a Mexican binder, and a filler blend of Mexican and Dominican tobaccos.  The wrapper and binder are lower priming tobacco, second priming for the wrapper.  The first one of these I tried a couple weeks back was a dud, it refused to burn for some reason.  The second one I smoked yesterday was perfect, as 99% of the Macanudos I’ve smoked in my life have been.  It was a good smoke.  It wasn’t overly mild, it had some flavor, it was a little nutty, a little creamy. I guess it’s a Macanudo with the strength bumped up a notch. It was a very pleasant smoke, one that would be good in the morning with coffee.  Speaking of that, it’s midway through June and it hasn’t yet been warm enough to have that morning cigar yet, and that annoys me! 

 

El Rey Del Mundo is a brand that was in my rotation back in the 90’s.  I smoked a lot of the tissue wrapped Rectangulars, and I had one a few years ago and it was still really good.  I think JR Cigars/Santa Clara might be a little peeved that General is taking this brand national and they (JR Cigars/Santa Clara) had an exclusive on this for many years.  There was a size that was named after JR Founder Lew Rothman’s wife, the Flor de LaVonda, with was a pyramid size. I think Lew had a lot to do with the brand.  The El Rey Del Mundo Appointment is a nw cigar made at the HATSA factory in Honduras.  The wrapper is Julio Eiroa’s Cameroon seed grown in Honduras, with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan and Ecuadoran fillers.  The Partagas also has Ecuadoran filler, with no mention of varietal, which I find odd.  Anyway, it would be hard for me to imagine a cigar burning better than this one did!  All the tobaccos burned at exactly the same rate, leaving the ember flat and the burn straight. For a cigar under $10, this is a real winner.  The flavor was on the savory side, with some wood, spice, and a little sweetness. I really enjoyed it, and the 5″ x 50 robusto smoked for well over an hour.  This is another cigar I’ll look for on the larger sizes.  

 

That’s all for today. Happy Father’s Day. I have my traditional Father’s Day cigar lined up, an Esperanza Para Los Niños from 1999, now 26 years old! The Esperanza Para Los Niños project is mentioned in this Cigar Aficianado article (linked).  These still smoke well, at least the one I smoked last year did!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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April 20, 2025 · 9:23 am

Some Macanudo and Punch Cigars

I wasn’t even really thinking that I only smoked Macanudo and Punch cigars for this week’s post, it just sort of happened that way!  I was really impressed with the Macanudo Emissary España last year, it’s really good, and on the stronger side for a Macanudo.  It has tobacco grown in Spain, and the new one, the Emissary France, believe it or not, has tobacco grown in France! The tobacco cultivated in the Mugron River Valley, where it gets an Atlantic sea breeze.  Emissary France has an Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper (10-Year Aged), a USA Broadleaf Binder (10-Year Aged), and a filler blend composed of Dominican Piloto (10-Year Aged), USA Broadleaf (8-Year Aged), Brazilian Arapiraca (7-Year Aged) and French (4-Year Aged). This was a really interesting cigar, another Macanudo that’s up my alley.  It’s bold, it has a lot of espresso, and a hint of Mesquite.  Very interesting and entertaining!  The last few weeks cigars have been more therapeutic than usual, an

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d this one, although too short at 5″ x 50, was a hit.

 

In the spirit of the season, I finally completed an experiment.  Back in March of 2020 I found a Macanudo 1968 that had been inadvertently left out and was on the dehydrated side. It measured only 35% on the Humidimeter.  I labeled it with the date and humidity, and stashed it in a corner of one of the humidors. I hate to complain, but it actually took me a while to find it, I had forgotten which humidor it was i

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n.  This  cigar was from a box that I was given in 2011 when I went to tour General Cigar’s operations in Santiago.  I might still have one floating around somewhere, I don’t think this was the last one.  Anyway, I took a Humidimeter reading and it was right around 60% so I lit it up yesterday while watching a movie. The Macanudo 1968 was probably the first of the stronger Macanudos, so I wasn’t worried it had aged out, more concerned with the dehydration.  It actually smoked really well, tasted like an older cigar, mature, with some spice.  It shows that resurrecting a cigar is possible, and probably didn’t take 5 years, I just kept forgetting about it!

 

Let’s move away from Macanudo and on to one of it’s stablemates, Punch.  Punch is an old Cuban brand, with roots in the English market.  So it stands to reason they would come out with seasonal releases with Chinese themes.  It was food for a bit, then fireworks. This year’s is the Bottle Rocket. It comes in a single size ,  a 4½” x 50 figurado. It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, a Nicaraguan Estelí binder, and Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Honduran fillers.  I have enjoyed ll of the cigars in Punch’s lunar new year series, and they are priced well.  I was in The Wooden Indian Tobacconist yesterday grabbing a few cigars (sadly they were sold out of the WIT60, their 60th anniversary cigar made by Espinosa), and I saw the Bottle Rockets and they really are packed with a stick attached, my samples were sans stick.  My notes said “tasty little bugger”, full bodied, loads of cocoa and a deceptively long burn time.  I think I got over an hour out of this one. Another winner from Punch.

 

While at the Wooden Indian I grabbed a Punch Dad’s Home Movies and smoked it last night while not watching home movies. This is another perplexing branding theme for Punch.  Every year ahead of Father’s Day they come out with some k

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hy themed cigar, this was last year’s and I’m just now getting around to trying it.  I was especially critical of the “Dad Bod”, hated the name, the stupid necktie band, and samples I had were mostly damaged.  I had one last week and it about fell apart. This one is more my speed. It’s a 6″ x 50 box pressed toro, made in Honduras with an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and not a hint of Honduran tobacco!  This one started out with a dry cocoa powder flavor, then sweetened slightly.  I’ll tell you what, for under $8 you could do a lot worse, I quite enjoyed this one.  The branding is less egregious than the Dad Bod (which won a HalfWheel packaging award, go figure). 

 

That’s all for today. If you’re given to celebrating the holy days this time of year, I hope they are enjoyable! Don’t forget to check the Flatbed Cigars Daily Deal on the left sidebar (or on their page), there’s always a great deal on some great cigars. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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November 3, 2024 · 9:29 am

A Special Blackbird Cigar and Some New Macanudos

I had the opportunity to purchase some cigars a few weeks in advance of their release thanks to Tyler Caldwell at Smokingpipes.com.  I met Tyler a few years ago at the Stillwell Star release event at Low Country Pipe & Cigars in South Carolina.  I hung out with him again at the last PCA show I attended, super nice dude.  He had a hand in blending the new Blackbird Cigars Flamingo, which is a Smokingpipes.com exclusive.  You may recall that Smokingpipes.com (Low Country is their retail outlet) is owned by Laudisi Enterprises, and recently acquired Caldwell Cigars (Tyler Caldwell/Caldwell Cigars? No relation, but it’s a bit funny!).  They have a great shop if you find yourself in the Myrtle Beach area.  Anyway, the cigar is called the Flamingo, has a pink band and a really nice hat if you’re a hat guy. I might have to become a hat guy, they are piling up over here.  It’s a 7″ x 38 lancero format, has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Broadleaf, Nicaraguan and Dominican in the filler. That’s a lot going on in a Lancero!  It’s made in Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I like Jonas, I like his cigars, this should be a treat. If I had a complaint, it would be that it’s too short!  This is a delicious cigar, it’s bold, has some warm, savory spices, and some light floral notes in the background. I smoked a couple of these and really enjoyed them. Smoking time was around an hour and fifteen nimues, and I was careful not to oversmoke it, but it was so darned tasty I might have smoked faster than usual (puffs per hour, not overdrawing).  Jump on these when they become available later this month, all parties involved did a great job. Thanks to Tyler for allowing me to purchase cigars early! 

 

I recen

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tly received some new Macanudo cigars from the folks at General Cigar Co., and I was excited to try them.  The first one that jumped out at me was the Macanudo Emissary España Limited Edition Torpedo. I really thought the Emissary España in the robusto was a great cigar, not at all what one expects from a Macanudo. This cigar has a U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Claro wrapper, aged 5 years, a Nicaraguan Condega binder, aged 6 years, with Dominican Piloto (aged 5 years), Colombian (aged 5 years), Nicaraguan ASP (aged 6 years),

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and Havana seed tobacco grown in Riolobos, Spain (aged 10 years).  The wrapper is described as Claro, but I thought it was pretty dark, not maduro dark, but not light).  The torpedo is 6″ x 52.  The Broadleaf is apparent, it’s loaded with cocoa, and I get a citrus tang. It’s a heavy cigar, recommended unless you’re expecting a Macanudo Legac

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y or Inspirado experience. If you don’t go stronger than than an Inspirado White, this one might be troubles

ome.  Great cigar, I really like it, and want to try it in a Churchill. 

 

The Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll series has eluded me until the No. 3, which means they didn’t send me No.s 1 and 2.  I wouldn’t have gone looking for these, being a non-drinker I don’t hunt down cigar with any liquor associations.  I will try them when they are presented to me, but I certainly have no frame of reference for anything alcohol related.  These aren’t flavored, of course, but have tobacco that is aged in French Oak barrels that was used for Flint Knoll’s 2021 Royal Appointment Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s offered in a beefy 7″ x 52 double corona they call a “Churchill”.  The blend is Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, US Broadleaf binder and Brazilian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Dominican fillers.

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  I only smoked one sample so far, I had a strange time with it.  Flavors were delightful, it had some sweet wood and baking spices.  Perhaps this needed to be a little bit dryer, is alternated between producing rich mouthfuls of smoke, to requiring double/triple puffs to get anything. very strange. At some point I’ll dry one down a little and give it a try, fr

om what I could tell it was a delicious, sophisticated, medium bodied cigar.  Folks with better palates than I  rave about it. 

 

That’s all for today. I have some cool plans for this coming weekend, involving hockey, cigars, a cigar factory and a farm.  Guesses can go in the comments, maybe I’ll have a giveaway for a correct answer! Next Sunday’s post may be a little late. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

 

 

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September 24, 2023 · 10:36 am

E.P. Carillo, Cavalier Geneve, Macanudo Vintage and Punch Golden Era Cigars

I split up the work week this week with a day trip to Atlantic City to sit on the beach one last time, do you know they don’t allow smoking on the beach in New Jersey?  That sucks! Having a cigar is about the one thing I enjoy about going to the beach!  The stupid thing about the smoking ban is that we all know it’s really another litter law, because a certain group of smokers can’t seem to pick up after themselves!  There’s already litter laws, how about enforcing them! Anyway, I had picked up a few new to me cigars last week and smoked them this week!  The first one was the E.P.Carrillo Allegiance in the Confidant size. This is a 6″ x 52 toro with a box press, and has a pretty Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers which all come from, and is manufactured by, Oliva Cigars.  It’s kinda funny that when Ernesto started his factory, I think he was more interested in making cigars for other people, then he had success with his own brand (again), and now he’s having other people make his brand!  I’ve loved Ernesto’s cigars since the mid ’90s anyway.  This one was a surprise, or maybe not.  I got a large dose of the cane sugar sweetness I often get from Sumatra, and it stuck around through the cigar.  I liked it a lot, it was a nice change. I definitely want to smoke this again, I’d like to smoke this with a friend to compare notes, I think that would be interesting.  Great smoke in my opinion.

 

Next up was another cigar I picked up on the same shopping foray, a Cavalier Geneve Inner Circle Toro.  This is made at the company’s factory in Honduras, Fábrica Centroamericana de Tabaco S.A., and does not have the signature gold leaf diamond applied to the wrapper.  The wrapper is Nicaraguan Habano, Honduran Habano binder and fillers from Dominican Republic, Honduras , Nicaragua  and Pennsylvania. Considering the blend, especially the presence of Pennsylvania leaf in the filler blend, I was surprised that this was as mild as it was. Oddly, I got a hint of white sugar on this one, maybe I have a sweet tooth lately.  It was very nice, mellow, with subtle sweet tobacco notes throughout, some light coffee perhaps.  Whenever I see PA tobacco in the blend I buckle my seatbelt, not needed in this case. I couldn’t have been happier with the gracefulness of this cigar, it was a delight.

 

A few weeks ago I mentioned picking up a Captain America Invicta case to repurpose as a travel humidor, and this week I put some foam trays in it. I bought a pack of 12″ x 12″ acoustic foam “tiles” from Temu for a little over $10 delivered.  I cut four of them to fit the case, and, if I’m being anal retentive, can put 24 large cigars in the case. Of course, it’ll fit way more than that if I cram cigars in.  So if you picked up a case at Harbor Freight, or a Pelican case if your well off, or got your hands on one of these Invicta watch cases, and were wondering where to get foam trays to lovingly cradle your precious cigars for safe travel, here’s your solution! I chose red because I thought it looked cool with the case, they have other colors. I suppose now I’m going to be expected to show up toting this case with me whenever I go to events now…

 

I had a few cigars from General Cigar Co. left to smoke that I had been saving for the right time, and yesterday was the time.  I say that because they are robustos, and I often like to take longer to smoke than a robusto will give me. I know, it’s a hard problem to have. I took the afternoon yesterday, since it was rainy, to work on starting to winterize my porch, which is my smoking lounge. This was a great time to light up a Macanudo Vintage Maduro 2013 Robusto.  I’ve always liked the Macanudo Vintage Maduro offerings, this one was a surprise.  The wrapper is a ten year old Connecticut Broadleaf, the binder is Honduran Olancho San Agustin, and the fillers are Dominican Piloto Cubano (two different primings), Nicaraguan Jalapa and Brazilian Mata Fina.  This was a very bold cigar, surprisingly so for a Macanudo. A pleasant surprise, for someone who can be frustrated by a mild cigar. The cigar started with a shot of espresso, and didn’t let off too much from there. It had loads of roch coffee and cocoa with some spice and we really quite heavy.  It frequently distracted me from my project, and reduced the profanity level significantly.  I may remove the cedar from a few of these for long term aging, I’d hate to see these become too woody. That reminds me, I have a side by side experiment with some Diesel Esteli Puros I need to do one of these days.  

 

Finally, a cigar I’ve been looking forward to trying is the Punch Golden Era.  Like the EPC Allegiance, this is another partnership, this time General Cigar worked with Justo and Julio Eiroa and made this cigar at Fabrica Puros de Aladino SA in Honduras.  You know the Punch Rare Corojo that doesn’t actually have any Corojo in the blend? This cigar does actually have Corojo, and it’s Corojo from the undisputed masters of Corojo.  Funny enough, this and the Macanudo were switched for me, where I expected this to be a powerhouse and the Macanudo to be milder, this was the mild cigar.  The Punch Golden er

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a was bready, creamy and maybe a little nutty, not at all what I expected. It wasn’t anything like an Aladino, or an old Camacho, or any Punch I can think of.  It was quite nice, but very surprising for an all Corojo cigar.  If you like Corojo, and you want a different (in my opinion) take on it, give this a try. If you like smooth, creamy, elegant cigars, also give this a try! It’s certainly a tasty cigar, but ch

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allenged my expectations.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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May 28, 2023 · 9:30 am

ATL and Luciano, Macanudo and West Tampa Tobacco Cigars

The highlight of the week for me was my interview with Marvin Samel (see video at the end of the post, or go back to the Friday post).  I really enjoy doing these interviews, hopefully they are enjoyable for you.  I didn’t mention it on the video, but I smoked a Liga Privada No. 9, the cigar I smoked for the first time when I met Marvin in 2009. Marvin was smoking a Havana Cohiba from a box he had bought in the Netherlands ten years ago. I guess we should have talked about the cigars, but I thought the behind the scenes movie stuff was really fascinating!  Anyway, I smoked some other cigars this week, starting with the Foreign Affair Toro Extra from Luciano Cigars.  Luciano debuted this cigar at this year’s TPE show, which I did not attend.  This cigar has a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper, Nicaragua & Ecuador binders, and fillers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Dominican Republic. One does not see a lot of cigars with Costa Rican fillers.  This cigar smoked very well, had a really interesting sweet spice, almost a ginger sort of flavor. I love a Sumatra wrapper, and this one was really nice, and probably accounts for the sweetness.  It was very good.  

 

The next cigar shares so

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me traits with the Foreign Affair, in that it’s made in the same factory, since ATL Cigars partnered with Luciano for distribution, and one of ATL’s founders, Peter, has taken on an executive roll with the Luciano company.  I found the ATL Magic to be an exceptional cigar, very special.  I tried the ATL Wise Blood in the Gordito size, 4″ x 60 and was impressed.  This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado HVA wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and fillers from three Nicaraguan regions. I happened to take Friday off, and after running some errands and doing some stuff, I smoked this cigar.  It had a hint of sourness, kind of the sourdough bread kind, which was interesting in a good way. I’m one of the odd set who doesn’t mind a 60 ring, I think it’s best in the shorter lengths, it’s certainly ridiculous in anything longer than six inches. Good smoke, looking forward to trying other sizes.

 

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Continuing on the short and fat vein, yesterday morning I lit up a new Macanudo Gold size for 2023, the Gold Nugget.  This is a 4½” x 60, with the classic Macanudo Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and Piloto Cubano and Mexican fillers. The wrapper leaves come from early primings, making them smoother and cleaner looking than higher primings because they get less sun exposure.  I was trying to reupholster the seat on my scooter, and needed a cigar to reduce profanity.  If I can give any advice to someone who wants to try this, it’s to just buy an OEM seat cover and be done with it, it’s worth saving yourself the headache. So, as the scooter waits for it’s seat to come in, I enjoyed this Macanudo Gold. Fun fact, this blend is (or was) the favorite of Victoria Jaworski, the queen of public relations for Scandinavian Tobacco Group.  I smoked it early in the day, and it is a milder, creamy smoke, but it’s not without flavor, and delivered a really nice smoking experience for this guy who isn’t a huge fan of the Connecticut shade genre.  Like the Macanudo Inspirado White, it’s one I’ll go back t

o happily, whenever that shade mood hits me.  

 

Finally, I’ve been smoking a bunch of the West Tampa Tobacco Co. Red cigars lately after finding them in stock at my local shop.  I grabbed another robusto yesterday afternoon after smoking one earlier in the week. When I talked to Ricky Rodriguez last month (video HERE), we talked about the similarity between the Attic and the Red, they share all the same components, which are Mexican San Andrés Maduro, Condega Nicaragua Binder and Condega Viso, Esteli Viso, Esteli Ligero.  The robusto is a powerhouse compared with the Toro and Gordo, it

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packs a punch! There’s a lot of cocoa and coffee, which I love, and, especially the Robusto, a healthy amount of pepper spice. I think the Red is slightly less refined than the Attic, there must be some priming difference somewhere in the blend.  This isn’t a knock, by any stretch, it wouldn’t make sense to have the exact same cigar with different bands and prices (although inside sources tell me that the Attic is sold out at WTCC). I love this Red, and it seems like I’ve been smoking a lot of the Reds and Black’s recently! Great cigars from a great family company.

 

That’s all for today. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, so take a moment and think of those who perished so that we can relax with a great cigar. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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