Tag Archives: maduro

by | May 21, 2017 · 9:25 am

Epic Cigars with Dean and Mick at the Wooden Indian

EpicMaduroGordoFriday evening I went down to the Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, PA to smoke some Epic cigars with brand owner Deans Parsons and his national sales manager, Mick, and of course, Dave and Dan at the shop. I first was introduced to Dean at a cigar shop in Colorado the night before the 2014 Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival, by Eric from Cigar Dojo. Dean is one of those cigar manufacturers that I make a point to visit and support whenever he makes an appearance close by, he and Mick are just really likable guys, and the Epic cigar line is very, very good. As is my custom, I bought a handful of Epic cigars to add to my inventory at home, and lit up an Epic Maduro in the 6″ x 60 Gordo size. As always, this is a great smoke with sweet coffee/cocoa notes that’s well made. this line, to my memory, used be called the Maduro Reserve but that’s been simplified over the years to just Maduro. The Combination of Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, a Cameroon binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers are rolled in the Charles Fairmorn factory in the Dominican Republic as is all of the cigars bearing the Epic name. The largest output of this factory is the Kristoff line. I love all of the cigars in the Epic line, but I always default to the Maduro for some reason (OK, I know the reason, 90% of the time I default to maduro!) I continued my Epic cigar run through Saturday.

 

Epic_SmokingShieldsExclusiveOne of the special projects Dean recently worked on was a cigar for the Smoking Shields Cigar Club, a fraternal organization of cigar smoking law enforcement officers out of New York. I had the opportunity to purchase one of these special cigars at the event, so I jumped on it. After lightning up the Epic Smoking Shields Exclusive yesterday, I want more! Holy crap is this a great cigar for my palate! It’s a 6″ x 54 Toro, with the Brazilian maduro wrapper again, this time with a Dominican Olor binder and Dominican fillers (translated from a German e-tail site that carries the marque, Atlantic Cigars has them too). It’s a beautiful cigar, bearing the Smoking Shields band primarily, with the Epic band in the secondary position. It starts out straight espresso, that great, rich, a little bitter, but delicious flavor that makes a shot of espresso special!  Right about the time the Epic band needs to be removed, it shifts from medium to full in strength, something that Dan at the Wooden Indian mentioned and turns out to be true (I’ve found that Dan has an excellent palate). Some of my favorite cigars recently are the Mi Querida, the Tabernacle, Nica Rustica (all broadleaf, by the way) , but this is a cigar that fits into the same category, and it burned as perfectly as a cigar could burn, effortless draw, straight as an arrow and all the tobaccos burned at the same rate leaving a nice, flat ember when ashed. the folks at Smoking Shields are lucky to have such a great cigar to represent them!  Great job on this one Dean!

 

EpicLaRubiaSGAlmost a year ago I smoked a pre-release sample of the Epic La Rubia, the Connecticut shade offering in the Epic range. Since then I’ve had a few of the 4½” x 60 Short Gordos in the humidor waiting for the right time to smoke. Oddly, I love this size. It’s a little bigger than the Nub line, shorter than a 6″ x 60, just right for me if I have to smoke a 60 ring cigar (not that I don’t smoke my share of 6″ x 60s). Not a commercial, but my friends at Best Cigar Prices like this size too, they have a whole bunch of exclusives in what they call the Robolo, many of which I’ve sampled and enjoyed.  I guess that was a bit of a commercial. Anyway, Dean told me long ago that his Canadian customers requested this size, which is curious and unexpected in my mind. So after dinner and before a movie was the perfect time to bust one Epic_LaRubia_ShortGordoif these out and light it up. As with all of the other Epic cigars in my experience, it burned well. Like the pre-release sample I smoked last June, this was a solid medium bodied cigar, with a hint of the Ecuador Connecticut twang and a good core flavor. This has a San Andrés binder that gives it a little extra sweetness to offset the grassyness of the wrapper, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. Another winner from Epic, it’s a great anytime cigar that is neither boring nor overwhelming. I’m happy I have more of these on hand!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | October 28, 2016 · 7:59 pm

Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve Cigars and Tommy Bahama Accessories

Last summer I wandered into a Tommy Bahama store in a local mall because they had a sale, and I was looking for a very specific shirt, which they ended up finding for me and I shelled out what to me is quite a decent sum of money for clothing, something I generally don’t do. I was impressed with the service, the follow up e-mail from the store manager the next day, and especially, the fact that a Island Lifestylemainstream store had a nice selection of cigar accessories prominently displayed. I was excited when I received an e-mail from Ryan Frailing,  the Vice President of Island Lifestyle Importers, the exclusive designer and manufacturers of Tommy Bahama cigar accessories, asking if I would like to try out some of the cigars that they were making, along with their accessories. They are going to be distributing the Tommy Bahama line of accessories to traditional tobacconists as well as the Tommy Bahama stores, and created the Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve cigars to go along with them. The accessories were a large, durable ashtray with chrome, movable rests. The ashtray looks like a fine ceramic, but is actually a melamine so if you drop in on your porch it won’t break. It’s emblazoned with the Tommy Bahama logo and is a very nice piece. The other item was a rugged travel humidor, which will hold five 60 ring cigars, or 10 robustos, so it’s a little wider than a traditional Otterbox type case. The fit and finish are very nice, and it comes with a small bead-based humidifying element. It also has the Tommy Bahama logo on the top. They have a nice selection of cases, humidors, lighters and ashtrays.

 

Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve Maduro ToroThe cigars in the Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve range are Nicaraguan, and while I wasn’t able to find out where they are made, the ones I smoked were nicely constructed, and of the highest quality. They come in three wrappers, a Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro, and in six sizes, Robusto, Corona Grande, Toro, Churchill, Torpedo and Gordo. I had the pleasure of smoking all three wrapper types in the Toro size, which is a 6″ x 54.  Obviously, I started with the Maduro, which was nicely IslandLifestyle_Sungrown_Torobalanced with a touch of the sweetness along with a little coffee bitterness one would expect. I enjoyed it greatly. The next night I went with the Sungrown, which was similar with more earthiness  than the maduro, but still a nice, well balanced smoke. I finished up the trio the next night with the Connecticut (pictured above), which, oddly enough, was my favorite of the bunch. It had a pleasant grassiness typical of that wrapper, and, much like the other two, was a solid medium bodied cigar. There was a little bit of dryness to them, which led me to mistakenly think there was some Dominican in the blend, but the information I got with the cigars says “aged tobaccos from Nicaragua and Connecticut”, so who am I to argue?  I’d smoke these again without hesitation, and, more importantly I think, wouldn’t think twice about sharing these with others. I’m very interested in finding out where these are produced. Thank you to Ryan for allowing me the opportunity to sample your products.

 

I was going to post this on Wednesday as I usually do, but I got lazy, so here is a rare Friday post.  I hope this doesn’t cause anyone any undue stress!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 10, 2016 · 10:53 am

Señorial, Perdomo, Illusione at Goose’s and CAO Flathead Cigars

Senoreal_Maduro_Longsdale RefinadoIt’s almost half way through January already, we’ve had no snow, it’s going to be 60 today (but raining) and, once again, I did not win the Powerball! What are the odds I didn’t win the $900,000,000 jackpot? I think something like 292 million to one. it’s kind of a long shot, and the next couple days are going to be ridiculous at the places that sell lottery tickets as it’s over a billion dollars now since nobody won. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to rely on winning the lottery to smoke nice cigars right now and lat week was another good cigar week.  I started off with a Señorial Maduro in the Lognsdale Refinado size. This is a 6½” x 44 lonsdale size cigar, and I’ve found a discrepancy. The sticker on the cigar is spelled “Longsdale“, everywhere else it’s listed as “Lonsdale” (except for the Las Cumbres Tabaco website, which does not feature the six month or more old Maduro line at all…C’mon José! You’re supposed to be hip to this whole internet jive!). Call it whatever you want, it’s a great cigar. I picked up a few of these at an event with José at the Wooden Indian a couple of months ago and I’m happy I did. Loads of flavor from the San Andrés wrapper, perfect construction and a wonderful smoking experience.  Great cigar from a great guy. I see a Freyja in my future, it’s been a while since I smoked one of those.

 

PerdomoNoirA couple of evenings this week were pretty darned cold, not that I should be surprised, it is, January anyway, but I wanted something shorter, with lots of flavor (cold and subtlety don’t mix!) so I reached for a Perdomo Champagne Noir Robusto. I didn’t care for the regular Champagne AT ALL. I would be hard pressed to try another one based upon the experience I had with the first, but the Noir is another story. It’s a Nicaraguan puro, it’s got the cocoa/coffee flavors I like and is a very nice cigar.  I will eventually revisit the Connecticut wrapped 10th Anniversary Champagne, but I have an aversion to spending my cigar time with something I didn’t like the first time.  If I don’t know I don’t like a cigar it’s one thing.  Anyway, the Noir may be my second favorite Perdomo next to the 20th Maduro, but there are a lot of enjoyable cigars in the line. I actually wouldn’t mind taking the  Perdomo factory tour one of these days.

 

Illusione_HLYesterday I wanted to get some of those Powerball tickets everyone is talking about, and I know that the seller of the winning ticket gets a nice little bonus for selling the winner, so I headed over to Goose’s in Limerick, PA and bought my lottery tickets and a handful of cigars, and settled into the lounge with an Illusione HL to watch the Flyers game. I haven’t smoked a great many Illusione cigars, and I need to change this. I’ve met Dion a bunch of times, I think he knows who I am, yet, my experience with his line is sorely lacking. The HL is the 7½” x 40 lancero in the “Original Documents” series which has to be about 10 years old, right?  I didn’t really do my due diligence on this one, so I’m going to guess that this was the Habano wrapped version as it certainly wasn’t candela (on my wish list) and it didn’t strike me as San Andrés Maduro. As I was watching the hockey game in Goose’s lounge, a couple of flavors stood out to me, leather with some sweetness. I enjoyed the heck out of this perfectly constructed lancero, it was perfect for two periods of hockey, at which time I ran home to catch the end of the game.

 

CAO_Flathead_660CarbFor my Saturday evening walk I selected Cigar Aficionado’s number 3 pick on their top 25 list, the CAO Flathead 660 Carb. I’ve heard some sentiments expressed to the negative about this choice for CA, but I, who have been a fan of the line from the start, think it was a solid selection.  I was out of these, so I picked some up at Goose’s (I was actually surprised they were in stock). Obviously, the 660 Carb is 6″ x 60, but it’s severely box pressed, so it really doesn’t feel like a 60 ring cigar. I punched this one, as is nearly mandatory with the flat cap, and got a great burn and draw. I find punching is the easiest way with these (and the RoMaCraft Neanderthal), but I’m going to try some other methods in the future just to see how they work. I guess I just like the neatness of the punch in this case. A large bore punch is best, my Screwpop 2.0 punch is 9mm (the 1.0 was 7m, not that you asked). I love the Broadleaf wrapper on these, and I love the fact that the different sizes present a different smoking experience. The 660 is smooth, but loaded with the great espresso, dark chocolate and tobacco flavors I love. This marque is on my shortlist of box buys right now I just don’t know which size I like best!

 

I would like to ask that anyone who was a winner in the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways who did NOT receive your winnings please let me know. No need to publicly heap praise upon me, although the sponsors wouldn’t mind, just want to make sure everyone is happy. That’s it for now, off to enclose the back porch for the winter to make it more comfortable for cold weather cigar smoking!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | July 16, 2014 · 9:44 pm

MBombay Classic and Maduro Cigars From Bombay Tobak

This week I want to highlight a new cigar line from Mel Shah, the owner of Fame Lounge, an upscale cigar, wine and microbrew lounge located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. You may be asking yourself where the MBombay name comes from. Mel was born in Bombay, India, before the name was changed to Mumbai. When he wanted to name his wine Bombay, he found that there was a gin company who had the trademark for Bombay, so he named it MBombay. When he created the cigars, he used the same name, the bands on the cigars are the same as the wine bottle label.  The company is called Bombay Tobak.  The MBombay is available in two lines, the Classic and the Maduro. The blends and sizes break down as follows:

 

The Classic Line

Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut 2001

Binder: Dominican Republic

Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Peru

 

The Classic line is available in five sizes: Corona (5″ x 43),

Robusto (4.5″ x 48), Belisoco (5″ x 52), Perfecto (a figurado 6 x

50) and Churchill (7″ x 48). The retail price ranges from $8.50

to $11.50.

 

The Maduro Line

Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina 2007

Binder: Peru

Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, and Dominican Republic

 

The Maduro line is available in four sizes: Robusto (4.5″ x 48), Perfecto

(a figurado 6 x 50), Churchill (7″ x 48) and a Double Corona (7″ x 52).

The retail price ranges from $10.00 to $13.50.

Interestingly, to me at least, these are made in the same factory in Costa Rica that makes the Atabey, Byron and Bandolero cigars for Nelson Alphonso (distributed by David Garofalo of Two Guys Smokeshop, United Cigar Retailers and The Cigar Authority). They are pricey, but compared to the Atabey and Byron lines they are downright reasonable. These are showing up in stores in the southern California area now, and I hope these receive wider distribution so everyone gets a chance to try them. I’ve smoked the Maduro Churchill, the Classic Belicoso, and the Classic Churchill over the last few days.

 

MBombay_Maduro_ChurchillThose who have been following me can guess which cigar I selected first.  Monday I reached for the MBombay Maduro Churchill. The Churchills in this line are nearly the classic size, 7″ x 48, and have a dark and oily Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper.  This cigar was a real delight to smoke. It was perfectly constructed, drawing perfectly with a V cut.  The burn was dead even, and the ash dropped in solid one inch chunks.  The flavor was a delicious mix of cocoa and coffee, with a hint of spice and fell solidly in the medium bodied range.  I enjoyed this one until it threatened to burn my fingers, it was among the most enjoyable cigars I’ve smoked in a long time.

 

MBombay_Classic_BelicosoTuesday we went out to dinner to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and it was raining buckets when we got home. I opened the garage door and lit up the MBombay Classic Belicoso. This great looking 5″ x 52 figurado is dominated by the ornate and rather large band.  Once again, the construction is perfect, and once again, I used a V cut, but eventually I lopped the end off with my scissors just to see if it made any difference.  It made the draw a little more open, but I could easily have fully enjoyed the cigar with the V cut, even though it was a Belicoso.  The flawless Ecuador Connecticut wrapper gave it a creaminess that was really nice, and while it was milder than the Maduro, it was very flavorful.  Another winner.

 

MBombay_Classic_ChurchillTonight I chose the MBombay Classic Churchill for my evening walk.  Like the other cigars, this cigar features an uncut foot, so it lights very easily and gives a nice blast of the wrapper flavor right at the start. I like the unfinished foot feature on a cigar, it’s far more useful than a fancy pigtail head. This also had the creamy flavor of the Belicoso,  and shared the exceptional construction of the other two. Once again, I smoked this one to a finger-burning nub. The Classic line appears to be another excellent cigar in the genre of the flavorful Connecticut Shade cigars.  I found them all smooth, well balanced and a very satisfying cigar experience. This particular factory in Costa Rica seems to be routinely producing exceptional cigars, and the MBombay is apparently another. The three cigars I smoked over the last three days were so good I’m afraid whatever I pick for tomorrow evening will be a let down!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

 

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by | October 3, 2012 · 6:41 pm

Maduro Cigar Week! A La Hermandad, a Recluse and a Chateau Real Maduro

After enjoying the heck out of the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapped J.C.Newman Brickhouse, I decided to continue the Arapiraca theme with a La Hermandad Robusto from Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo. These are made by Abe Flores of PDR Cigars at his factory in the Dominican Republic. This was a nice, dark 5” x 50 cigar with a pre-production band that Sean gave me at the trade show. The cigar burned perfectly (a trend I’m happy to report I’ve noticed lately, cigars burning well. Nothing is more annoying than a cigar that burns poorly). and drew well, and was a powerhouse of strong, dark flavors. Sean Williams is a very cool guy and I had a chance to catch up with him at the trade show, here is a short video from his booth.

 

http://youtu.be/QxLHu_2nw0Q

 

Monday evening I continued the Arapiraca trend with a Recluse corona from Iconic Leaf Cigar Company. I’ve see a couple reviews of the Toro recently, and I also received samples this week, but they are going to rest for a while. I spoke to them at the show (see my post with video here) and had some pre-release samples in addition to the samples they gave me at the show, so I opted to smoke the corona. I also have a double corona, but it was just too large for the time I had allotted for my evening smoke, and the Kanu #1 is almost too pretty and interesting to smoke! This is another perfectly constructed cigar, a lovely box press that had a rich and dark wrapper. The flavor was equally dark and rich. I enjoyed this cigar to a finger burning nub. The mystery behind these cigars continues, their website states “Iconic Leaf Cigar was founded by two very well known and well respected legends in the cigar industry. They have chosen to keep their identities private in a pursuit to make the very best premium boutique cigars that can be found anywhere in the world without the influence of their names.” I’ll be very interested to find out who these legends are, and J.R. Dominguez certainly wasn’t spilling anything when I talked to him at the show! It’s a terrific cigar, give it a try if you can.

 

 

Tuesday evening I switched it up and went with a San Andreas Maduro wrapper. I selected a favorite from my dwindling supply, a Drew Estate Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto in Maduro. Sadly, these are discontinued, but there are still some around here and there. I bought this box about two years ago and they just keep getting better. These are a really smooth and delicious Maduro with coffee and cocoa flavors that are good to the last drop. I liked these so much that I had them in mind when I created my own blend at Cigar Safari a year and a half ago. My blend turned out to be just what I wanted, loads of smooth and chocolaty flavor without a lot of power. The Chateau Real Maduro is refined and classy and I wish it hadn’t been discontinued, although I probably couldn’t have gotten such great deals on the boxes I bought if they hadn’t been I suppose. This is a perfect cigar for my tastes and I’ll miss them dearly when they are gone, there’s nothing I don’t love about this cigar.

 

For some reason Autumn makes me lean toward the Maduros, always been that way.  I have to go see what else I can scrounge up to keep the trend going.  Maybe I’ll find a nice Broadleaf or another San Andreas wrapped cigar to smoke tonight.

 

That’s it for this installment. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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