Tag Archives: Micallef

June 22, 2025 · 6:00 am

Camacho, Plasencia and Micallef Cigars

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

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March 9, 2025 · 10:15 am

Tobacco Queen Super A, Timeless Supreme and a Couple Cigars at Smoke Inn

A few weeks ago I featured some cigars from Cigar Ambassador in the Tobacco Queen line.  This is a company that has been a major leaf supplier to the Asian market out of the DR.  I was waiting for the right time to tackle the Tobacco Queen Super A, a 9¼” x 48 actual A size cigar, and that time presented itself this week.  Set aside a hair over two hours for this one.  I was surprised that this started out with a lot of flavor, many times A size cigars start mild, this one had some spice and cinnamon to start.  For such a long cigar, it burned perfectly, and had a reasonable consistent flavor all the way through.  It was a fun smoke, it kept my interest throughout, and I’d smoke it again.  As long as it keeps my interest, I like a long smoke.  

 

I had picked up a Ferio Tego Timeless Supreme 660 recently because I hadn’t yet smoked anything Ferio Tego branded yet.  I don’t know how this happened, I just know that I need to fix it.  The Timeless Supreme is a box-pressed Nicaraguan puro, made by Placencia.  The 6″ x 60 box pressed doesn’t feel too large, and it smoked perfectly.  This cigar was chocolaty with a hint of spice tingle, and I really liked it. Why haven’t I smoked this before? It could easily be a go-to cigar for me, it’s fits my preferences just right.  I will need to further explore the Timeless series. 

 

Friday morning I decided to make a Saturday visit to the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo in West Palm Beach, Florida.  I know, you’re saying “CigarCraig, you live in Pennsylvania, how can this be?”  Well, my wife got me a Frontier Airlines Go-pass that allows unlimited flights at short notice.  All I have to pay is the taxes, which in the last three trips to Florida are about $30 round trip. Of course, there are limitations: blackout dates, limited destinations and times, stuff like that.  One must also be willing to endure the discomfort of a budget airline, and I’ll put up with a lot to save a buck.  Anyway I booked flights to Palm Beach International Airport and picked the closest Smoke Inn location to the airport, not realizing that the Headquarters store wasn’t too much further away.  That’s how I ended up hanging out at Smoke Inn West Palm Beach for the day yesterday. 

This is a beautiful shop, with a complete bar, well stocked humidor and helpful staff. Considering it’s been winter here, and was sunny and 80 there, I sat out on the lanai, as the Floridians like to call a patio.  The patio had three TVs, and the music at a barely audible level so one doesn’t have to yell to converse, which I like a lot.  The regulars engaged in the ball busting that seems to happen in every lounge I visit. I picked up a handful of cigars I hadn’t seen before and lit up a Micallef Black Box Pressed Toro, a Smoke Inn exclusive.  This is a 6½” x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. I’m interested to see what Micallef does with this blend in the firecracker format, this is a much better value!  I regret not bringing some back with me. It’s about $9, with some spice and cocoa, just the way I like it.  I know that next weekend is the Great Smoke, and the stores there are going to be super busy.  Would it have been better to go then?  Perhaps, but the dates were blacked out and I was happy to hang out there with an old friend from the alt.smokers.cigars usenet days, Don Payne. It was great catching up with him.  I was home in bed before midnight.  This is two weekends in a row I’ve taken day trips to Florida, next weekend I’m staying home! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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June 16, 2024 · 9:14 am

Devil In Disguise, La Lina and Micallef Blue Cigars

It’s just after 8am on Sunday, Father’s Day, and I’ve just lit up a My Father El Centurion H 2K CT corona to smoke while I write this.  I love summer!  I can sit on the porch on a beautiful Sunday morning and enjoy a cigar with coffee.  This cigar is several years old (the price tag of $7.50 was still on it) and smoking well. Looking forward to a lovely day.  Yesterday Lina and John Remer of New Tobacco Vill

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age in Whitehall, PA launched a cigar called the Devil in Disguise, a toro made by Espinosa Cigars.  I believe this to be exclusive to New Tobacco Village and I’m quite sure they can be ordered through their website. I stopped in this store once and it was a really nice shop. It had a very welcoming feel, and loads of great cigars.  I regret not stopping in yesterday when they launched the new cigar.  The Devil in Disguise is a toro with a Habano Rosado wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I smoked one Thursday and found it to be really quite good, it started with a pretty good dose of a citrus tang, which lessened through

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the smoke, but remained there.  It was quite enjoyable.  Burn and draw were perfect and I dug it.  John and Lina are nice people, I remember the first time I met John, he was doing one of his Facebook lives from an event and was standing right next to him and commented on the post, which he read, then someone told him I was right there.  It was a little funny. 

 

Speaking of Lina, she is the proprietor of New Tobacco Village, and, I assume, who the La Lina cigar was named for.  John and Lina got married at a Vegas wedding chapel at the last PCA trade show, which was attended by a star studded cast of characters.  I was invited, but wasn’t in town at the time.  I’ve actually had this La Lina toro in my humidor for a few years. I ran into John and Lina at a TPE show and was given this cigar.  The La Lina Limited Edition is also a toro, and appears to also be available on their website.  This cigar has an Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper, Indonesian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.  I found it to have a leathery flavor, with some sweetness in the background. It was a very good cigar, and well priced for an LE. There are links above to purchase both of these cigars, not a paid ad, but the cigars were provided to me gratis.  A couple cigars get you a lot here at CigarCraig.com!

 

I ordered some of the latest Firecrackers from 2 Guys Cigars and added a couple other cigars I wanted to try but don’t see locally often. As long as I’m paying for shipping, right?  One of the cigars was the new Micallef Blue in a toro size.  I really liked the Micallef Black, and who can argue with the prices of these?  They are both good $8 cigars.  The Blue has a Mexican San Andrés Sumatra wrapper, Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. I smoked this soon after receiving it, but I gave it the Humidimeter check and it was ready to go. 2 Guys always does a great job fulfilling orders quickly with great communication.  The predominant flavor on the Blue, to me, at least, was leather. I didn’t get any sweetness at all. I didn’t not enjoy it, I just prefer the Black in this case. It’s great that they are producing affordable cigars, especially good affordable cigars, especially when the came on the market not too many years ago with very expensive cigars. I suppose the next cigar in this line will be a claro of some variety. White would be the clichè choice, with Red for a rosado.  Whatever they go with, I’m sure they will be decent cigars.

 

At some point today I’ll smoke my traditional Father’s Day cigar, the Esperanza Para Los Niños, which is a 25 year old cigar at this point.  Thank you to my old friend Roger F. for allowing me to continue this tradition! You can search this site for the whole story, but this cigar was made by Christian Eiroa when her still owned Camacho and the blend was chosen by a group of guys from  the alt.smokers.cigars usenet group. It was sold to benefit children orphaned by hurricane Mitch which devastated Honduras in October of 1998. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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December 17, 2023 · 10:05 am

A Micallef and Some New Cigars from Cayman Cigar Co.

Before I get into a couple cigars, check in here tomorrow morning for a special giveaway.  I keep remembering back a decade ago when I was doing the 12+ days of giveaways and thinking about how much fun that was, but how many hours I spent on it!  It consumed me!  I have a few good giveaways up my sleeve yet, I can’t let this time of year pass without giving some stuff away! Stop by any time during the week and leave a comment on the contest post to enter!  Along the holiday festive spirit lines, my Secret Santa was local and dropped off a generous package to me this week.  I had a problem that I was able to solve Friday evening so I dug right into the cigars and selected the Micallef Gomez/Sanchez Family 1934 Reserva Churchill.  This is a beautiful 7″ x 52 double corona, and I believe this is a the Limitada Privada that was among the first Micallef cigars to come out, carrying a higher price tag.  I’m not sure if knowing this was a super expensive cigar would have changed my decision to smoke it when I did or not, I was feeling pretty celebratory, having the kitchen sink clogged all week and fixing  it without calling a plumber felt pretty good.  This cigar had what I call bright tobacco flavors, with some floral, almost perfuminess especially in the second half.  It was medium bodied and sophisticated and complex.  Quite a nice smoke, and I thank my friend with the excellent first name for the special gift.  He managed to present me with a selection of cigars that were almost all new to me, no easy feat.  

 

Last week I heard from an old friend, Anthony, who I met back in 2011 on a trip to the Dominican Republic.  He was a blogger then, and has since been a broker and done some other work in the cigar industry.  I feel bad that I didn’t get a chance to catch up with him during a brief time when he was living up this way, but it was during that odd time in history around 2020 when things were weird and some of us didn’t get out much. Apparently he’s working with the guys at Cayman Cigar Co. in the Cayman Islands and had them send a couple of their newest blends.  Yesterday seemed like a good day for aquatic themed cigars, since I managed to break a pipe in an upstairs bathroom sink that had always been really slow to drain.  It resulted in cutting out wet drywall in a downstairs ceiling to find a hole in the pipe, and a bit of a mess. My project for today is fixing that problem.  I love plumbing problems…so while I was trying to get a plan together I smoked the Mariner. This cigar has a Corojo wrapper, and is 5¼ x 50.  Best I can figure, this is rolled in the factory in the Cayman Islands, by Maria Delvis Hernandez, their master roller who learned her craft in the Partagas factory in Havana. This had an interesting and different tobacco flavor. I don’t often get “salty”, but I think this one had it.  Maybe that was the Mariner imagery in my head, or maybe it really was salty, but it was good, and it help prepare me for wet ceiling drywall and leaky drain pipes.  

 

The other new cigar from Cayman, and one Anthony worked with them on developing, is the Caravel. Another 5¼” x 50, this one is made at Tabacalera la Isla, Hostos Quesada’s factory, in the Dominican Republic.  One of my favorite cigars, the La Sirena Mexican Mermaid is made at this factory. This Robusto has an Ecuador Connec

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ticut wrapper which is on the darker side, it could almost be confused for a Habano.  It has fillers from the DR and Nicaragua. To me, this one was loaded with a citrus tang, I found it very refreshing. I may smoke another today after I fix the plumbing.  Aside: the guy at Home Depot gave me a perfect setup last night: he asked if I was handy with a torch. I said, “sure, if I’m lighting a cigar!” For the record, I shy away from sweating pipes, using a torch in proximity

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to 60 year old rafters and waste pipes with possibly volatile gasses gives me the willies. I digress. I suppose I smoke enough cigars to be considered jaded when it comes to deciding whether a cigar is full bodied or not, this is described as full bodied, I found it pleasantly medium.  This line is a bit more financially approachable than  some of their others, I suspect the manufacturing costs are higher in the Cayman Islands thank in the DR. I’d love to visit some winter and see the factory ;-). 

 

That’s all for today.  Next Sunday will be Christmas Eve, so I’ll have to write a short post, announce the contest winner, and go shopping!  Just kidding. Maybe. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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November 12, 2023 · 10:45 am

Trash Panda Connoisseur Club Over-Runs, All Saints and Micallef Cigars

I had a little different idea about how this week’s smoking was going to go.  I got one each of the Connoisseur Club Over-Runs from TrashPanda, which are on sale for a ridiculously low price, by the way.  These came with the caveat that they needed to be dryboxwd, as they had been sealed in the humidibags for several years.  I opened them out and left them on the desk for a week (I think the house has been around 52% RH this week) thinking they would dry down sufficiently. The Foundation Lonsdales did, the Aganorsa Robustos did not, so you’ll have to wait until next week to read about that cigar and how there;s some left!  I can tell you that the  is quite a treat, and if you don’t go to TrashPanda.com and pick some up you’re foolish (and there’s nothing in it for me, at $25 each and buy one, get one, there’s probably not much in it for Kevin either!). the cigar is  6¼” x 46, has a Habano Nicaraguan grown wrapper, Habano Ecuador binder and fillers from Estelí and Jalapa. This is going to be a great cigar for the holiday season, because it has some really interesting warm spices, kinda like mulling spices.  I thought it was very unique and delicious, and quite different from what Nick usually does.  Maybe it’s close to something he’s come out with in the past two years that I haven’t gotten around to smoking? For $2.50 each you can’t go wrong, you might need to beat me to the checkout.  I might note that TrashPanda is transitioning away from selling the rare and vintage cigars, and moving toward selling their own branded lines, so there are some great deals to be had all over the site. Again, nothing in it for me! (I just placed an order…as if I need more cigars…)

 

I’ve probably said this before, but I find that I have to talk myself into going out after a long day at work.  I get home, eat dinner, and I just want to grab a cigar and retreat to the peace and quiet of my porch and enjoy that cigar for an hour and a half or thereabouts. Friday evening I had some choices to make, and I talked myself into heading to the Wooden Indian to celebrate All Saints Cigars 4th anniversary with Micky Pegg. When I arrived, Jim from Great Cigar Reviews was several hours in to his live podcast, which I assume was streaming on Youtube?  Micky threw me to the wolves and sat me in front of the mic and Jim and I had a nice chat for a while. I had decided early in the day that I was in the mood for a Saint Francis Churchill, which was a motivating factor in going, I’ll admit.  The cigar, as always, was delicious, it’s probably my favorit

e in the line.  I came to be in possession of the new Solamente, which is going to be an annual release. I think I have one of the originals still in the humidor someplace.  This is a 5″ x 58 cigar in the round, where the majority of the All Saints line is pressed.  The Solamente comes in a box of 23, next year’s will be in a box of 24, and so on. How’s that going to work going into 2030?  This is a $20 cigar, box buying is going to get a little cost prohibitive as the years progress.  Anyway, I smoked it yesterday as I wanted to smoke it on a fresh palate. This. has an Ecuadorian Habano oscuro wrapper with Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers.  I found this to be on the leathery side of the flavor spectrum, with some coffee notes, with a nice burn and draw.  It was a fine cigar, but I’m in love with the Saint Francis and it’s hard to get me off that one right now, it suits me perfectly.  It was fun hanging with Micky, I look forward to smoking the All Saints Collection Plate (my suggestion, doubt he’ll remember!).  The Wooden Indian always has great events, they have a great staff and Dave, the owner is among the best guys around.

 

Of course, Micky Pegg wears two hats, when he isn’t a co-owner of All Saints, he’s the president of sales for Micallef Cigars, and I picked up a couple of their new  toros as I’d been hearing good things about them. When it turned out that the Aganorsa Connoisseur Club  cigars were still too wet to smoke, I grabbed one of the Micallef Black Toros to smoke last night.  The first thing I notice when doing some background research on their website is that the have the measurements goofed up on this cigar. It’s 6″ x 52, not at all 5″ x 62 like the website says. Perhaps they should fix this.  This has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  This is a cigar that appeals to me.  The construction was perfect, it was a good, solid maduro cigar with a nice chocolaty flavor, and it was just a good cigar at a great price. I don’t know what more to say about this that hasn’t already been said by others, I’m late to the game, but it’s good, and at $8 it’s great, can’t go wrong if you like nice, medium bodied, sweet, earthy maduro cigars. 

 

That’s all for today.  I figure I should get the temperature i n the room about doing a Secret Santa agai

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n this year.  I’m fairly sure I know one person who will be interested, but who else would like to get in on a cigar exchange?  Let me know in the comments.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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