Tag Archives: Oktoberfest

IPCPR Cigars: Quesada, Foundation and Cordoba & Morales

Quesada_Oktoberfest2016_NicTripBockHausI dug into the IPCPR samples humidor in the latter half of the week and gave some new cigars a try. The first out of the three was the Quesada Oktoberfest 2016 in the Nicaraguan Triple Bock Haus size, I comfortable 6″ x 56. I’ve smoked some older versions of this in the Uber size, the massive 6″ x 65 and enjoyed them, and this one was quite enjoyable as well.  I am aware that Oktoberfest isn’t until September, and I’m aware that not being a drinker the whole premise of pairing it with beer is lost on me. The Oktoberfest line has cigars that are made in both a Dominican and Nicaraguan blend, differentiated by the secondary date band, the Nicaraguan having the red band, with the DR line having a blue one. The best I can find about the blend is that it’s a Nicaraguan Puro, made by Placencia in Esteli, no other details were available. I like the cigar, it has a nice, bold flavor that was satisfying, but I was a bit distracted by the draw. Humid evenings will do this to some cigars sometimes, so I can’t assign blame to the cigar, and I just checked the IPCPR samples humidor and it’s being Boveda controlled at 68%, Maybe I’ll try to bring that down a little, although the next few cigars I smoked from the same humidor (spoiler alert!) smoked spectacularly. Good smoke though, please let me know how it works with beer!

 

Foundation_Tabernacle_ToroSaturday afternoon I enjoyed a new cigar from Nick Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co., the Tabernacle.  This is Nick’s Connecticut Broadleaf blend, and there have been those who compare is head to head with the Mi Querida from Steve Saka. Sure, Nick and Steve blended the Liga Privada No.9 for Steve’s palate, so there is definitely going to be some parallel, but let’s let these two great cigars stand on their own and not compare them to each other or the Liga No 9. The Tabernacle is produced at AJ Fenandez in Esteli, yet another great cigar from that factory. It has a Broadleaf wrapper over a San Andrés binder, with fillers from Esteli and Jalapa, I love the cigar already! The cigar had a perfect burn and draw, so there was no missing the great rich flavors of the broadleaf and Mexican, a nice sweet and earthy flavor. I say this often, but this is a cigar I’ll want to have in my humidors. I look forward to trying Nick’s other new blends, the Charter Oak, and maybe even the Upseters, although I’m always a little shaky when it comes to infused cigars. The Tabernacle is a winner.

 

CordobaMorales_Platino_DCLast night I went searching for a cigar for my evening walk, and I settled on the Cordoba & Morales Platino Double Corona, a big cigar at 7 ½”ish by 54 by my measuring (because there’s np mention of the Platino line on the website!). This cigar had a “bun” style pigtail cap and a covered foot, so I snipped off the cap and went right into lighting this so I got the full effect of the blast of flavor from the wrapper. I couldn’t find much out about this line, but I believe it to be a Sumatra wrapper. The first thing that came to mind when I lit this was that is had a savory, grilled beef kind of flavor, it was really quite different and appealing. This was another cigar that burned perfectly, with only a slight touch-up near the end, I don’t think that’s too uncommon with cigars this size. Oddly, this was the first Cordoba & Morales cigar I have smoked, and I look forward to smoking more of them. The Platino is an awesome smoke.  Here is a re-run of the video interview I did from the IPCPR show in case you missed it the first time around.

 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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Roberto P. Duran and Azan, La Flor Dominicana and Quesada Oktoberfest Cigars and News

RobertoPDuran_Cacique GuamaIt’s October, hard to believe it’s autumn already and summer is gone. I’ve been all over the place in my cigar selections this week, only one minor theme this week, and that was sampling some of the new cigars from Roberto P. Duran. Last year I smoked a couple of the Azan line last year and was enthralled with the White, very high quality and unique flavor. I was excited when Gabriel Piñeres of Creativas, who is the PR firm for Azan/Roberto P Duran, sent me the new Roberto P. Duran cigars, along with the Azan Maduro Natural.  The cigar I smoked was the Cacique Guama (6×60), which has a beautiful light brown Ecuador Criollo 99 wrapper, with Nicaraguan and Central American fillers. Cacique Guama was a Tainos Chief from Baracoa and great fighter against the Spanish occupation of their land, the line pays homage to Roberto Duran’s family and his family’s city of origin in Cuba.  This cigar smoked very well, although some humidor time will benefit the samples I received.  It’s apparent that quality materials were used, it’s a very smooth and flavorful smoke with a hint of strength.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, this company is making some very nice cigars.

 

LFD_AirBender_TorpedoMonday I selected a cigar that came from the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival that I haven’t smoked before, but has been on the market for a while. The La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Torpedo appears to be a Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) exclusive shape, as I don’t see this shape listed in the regular production. This is listed as a strong cigar, as many in the LFD lines are, but I found it to be reasonably mild for some reason.  It had a really nice flavor, and burned perfectly. I’m a reasonably recent convert to the LFDs, and I’ll be interested in trying other sizes in the Air Bender line, as I enjoyed the flavor, but maybe this size, ot this particular example, just wasn’t ideal for me. I generally like shaped cigars (actually, I don’t really discriminate), perhaps the chisel shape or a robusto will be a better fit for me.

 

Axan_Maduro Natural_CampanaTuesday I took my evening walk with the Azan Maduro Natural Campaña.  The Campaña size is a traditional Cuban vitola, the Bolivar Belicoso Fino, the Romeo y Julieta and Sancho Panza Belicosos fall onto this category. It’s 5½ x 52 with a tapered head. The Azan line began in Cuba in the 1920s by a Chinese immigrant,Kwan Ben Sen, who adopted the Cuban name Domingo Azan.  Roberto Duran is descended from this family.  As I said before, I loved the Azan White, and given my affinity for maduros I was excited to try this cigar.
The wrapper is a high priming Corojo grown in Ecuador, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Esteli, Jalapa and selected tobaccos from other Latin American regions.  This cigar was a treat. It was solidly medium bodied and had very nice flavors of cocoa, coffee and earth.  It burned well and should age well. This cigar exceeded my expectations.

 

Quesada_Oktoberfest_KroneTonight, since it’s October first, I thought I’d smoke the Quesada Oktoberfest Krone, a 5″ x 43 corona. Now, I know I haven’t been a beer drinker for the better part of 25 years, but I do know that Oktoberfest is in September, but it still seemed appropriate.  This cigar is blended to pair with Marzen style beers, I chose a root beer as usual.  This is a strong Dominican cigar that’s loaded with flavor. The only other Quesada Oktoberfest cigar I’ve smoked was the Smoke Inn Microblend Dunkel, which was excellent. This corona was equallly excellent. It had bold flavors, burned perfectly, and my only complaint was that it was too small, I would have liked to have smoked it longer. Still, it was good for an hour or more, and look forward to smoking this line again.

 

I’m running out of videos from the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. Here’s on with Terence Reilly of Quesada Cigars:

 

 

News

 

Travis Lord, formerly of Famous Smoke Shop, Best Cigar Prices and PipesandCigars.com launched a new website called www.Cigar.Careers which is a Monster.com, if you will, for the cigar industry.  You can submit a resume and look at available job postings.

 

In other news, Facebook has been abuzz with rumors of a major announcement today.  Jonathan Drew posted his press release on his Facebook timeline tonight: “HERE IS MY PRESS RELEASE: “I’m back on Weight Watchers” – JD” Good luck to JD on his future endeavors.

 

That’s it for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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