We were going to take a roadtrip this weekend, but decided against it early in the week. After a week of rain and overcast, it was going to be a beautiful weekend and we had some stuff we needed to get done around the yard. Today my back is feeling it. Anyway, I figured I’d smoke some cigars this week! Wednesday I have a 
regular group therapy session that we call “The Round Panel”, or, sometimes, the “Secret Society”, which is usually good for around 2 hours of hysteria. I tend to grab a larger cigar, and this week I went with a La Unica #100. This cigar is a beefy 8½” x 52, Connecticut shade wrapper with Dominican fillers, made at the Fuente factory. Back in the mid-90s, this was the first premium cigar to come in a bundle, or was it the first bundle cigar to be premium? I think they are presented in a box now. This is a really nice shade cigar. Shade cigars aren’t really my preference, although there are a few that I like. It’s creamy and mellow, certainly not without flavor. My only gripe was that it smoked in about an hour and a half, which is my usual smoking time for a Toro, not sure why that it, I’ll have to smoke another one and clock it. La Unicas are great cigars, always have been, at a wallet friendly price.
You’ll recall I had gotten a sampler of Illusione cigars a few weeks back, and decided to finish it off this week. The Garagiste has been one I’ve been anxious to try since it came out a few years ago. I had the 6″ x 54 Gordo size (the whole sampler was 6″ x 56, I like the size!). This is a bit of a departure from the usual Illusione range, as it’s a rather strong cigar, with a lot of pepper to start out. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper with Criollo 98, Corojo 99 (both Aganorsa staples, with Ligeros from two Nicaraguan regions. Like I said, the Ligero is apparent in the strength of the cigar. I found this to be a very enjoyable cigar, there are certainly more in my future.
The last cigar I had from the Illusione sampler was the Original Documents MJ12. This was another 6″ x 56 cigar, with a Corojo Rosado wrapper from parts unknown, and the Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 in the fillers. Let me start by expressing my displeasure with the tinfoil wrapper. It was a pain to get off, and the only identification on it was the barcode label. It’s not big enough to make a hat out of, so why bother, let’s see the beautiful cigar! The cigar smoked perfectly, and was really a pleasure to smoke. It had some spice, but more citric than the pepper that the Garagiste had. I’d certainly smoke this again, but I’m afraid I’d avoid it because of the foil wrapper.
Finally, I smoked the new Angel Cuesta from J.C. Newman in the Toro size. This is another cigar with a Rosado wrapper, along with what the company describes as tobaccos from three continents. I had the opportunity while I was at the factory last December to see some of these being rolled, ironically, by a gentleman named Angel. This line is named after Angel Cuesta, who was one of the founders of the Cuesta Rey brand. I got to see the aging room filled with these cigars as well. I was fortunate enough to get a sampling of all three sizes of this, and started with the 6¼” x 52 Toro with a pigtail cap. This cigar smoked wonderfully, and I can’t recall, but I’d bet it has some Florida Sungrown tobacco in the blend, it has that tang to me. It’s not a cheap date, heck, it’s made in the USA, ranging from $18-22. Definitely worth a try.
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
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