Tag Archives: Perla del Mar

PCA 2022: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. with Eric Newman

Can’t say we’ve had the best week here at Casa Vanderslice.  I, naturally, quickly passed the Covid on to my wife, so we are both feeling crappy.  I tried a couple cigars, but I think my sense of smell is all but gone, which effects cigar flavor significantly.  I expect I’m going to take a break for a while longer.  I need to get back to work and get caught up there, as stuff stacked up (literally) last week while i was “on vacation”.  Not the way I wanted to use that Paid Time Off.  Let’s continue with the video interviews I did at the PCA show.  I want to thank Ed O’Neil for helping out with the camera work. He had been at the show with Kevin (CigarProp), and needed something to do on Sunday and generously offered to help me out.  My set-up isn’t as fancy as Kevin’s, but we got the job done. I had a nice talk with Eric Newman of J.C. Newman, makers of some of my favorite cigars.  In the video he talks about the new El Baton cigars, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond, and the Cuesta Rey made in the Tampa Factory.  Of course, their booth featured a cardboard replica of the El Reloj factory in Tampa, which was quite impressive.

 

 

Thanks to Eric for taking the time and to Sydney for her hospitality!  I was able to finally meet Adria, who has been my contact there for several years, in her last official event with the company. Maybe we’ll see her around Philly sometime! That’s all for today. until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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Perla Del Mar Connecticut, Bolivar Cofraida and Aganorsa Leaf Cigars and the Contest Winner

As I mentioned in my Friday news post, the last half of my week was disrupted with some unexpected drama. This has thrown me off my game a little, I missed my Friday night shift at Son’s Cigars just because I was exhausted from the previous evenings ordeal with the pain and the morphine and all, I was passed out at home well before the shop closed. I came home to some Chinese take-out, smoked a Punch Fu Manchu (which isn’t a bad inexpensive cigar, by the way! I ‘m not sure I get the marketing of  Punch line with the Chinese food, but they are good smokes at a great price) and crashed. Hard. For the sake of my CDO though, I’m going to rewind a bit to Tuesday when I smoked the Perla Del Mar Connecticut Toro. This is a relatively new rebranded Perla Del Mar Connecticut from J.C. Newman, made in Nicaragua. I really like this line, although I can’t say I’m a fan of the PDM on the band. I liked the old bands better, this new one could have been better. I get it, it’s a budget brand, it could easily be presented in a bundle insead of a box, so I’ll take it as it is. These are fantastic cigars. Even for someone who’s first choice isn’t a Connecticut shade, this is a solid cigar. It’s creamy, with a lot of flavor. There are a few shade cigars that make my “rotation”, this might sneak in there. It has a richness without being grassy. I like it. I like the Corojo and Maduro better, but this Connecticut is very good, I’d reach for it over a lot of other shade cigars.

 

Yesterday I got around to the Bolivar Cofraida Lost and Found EMS Toro that I had on deck for Thursday evening. I had picked this up, along with the Punch, when I stopped in to the CigarCigars store in Downingtown, PA to drop off a bag of cigars for OP:Cigar For Warriors, as they are a collection point. I’m not sure why I didn’t get the Oscuro, seems out of character for me, perhaps they only had the EMS, I really don’t remember. This line is a collaboration between Justin Andrews of Forged/Scandinavian Tobacco and Robert Caldwell, where the marketing materials say they blended the cigars from bales of tobacco that they came across in the HATSA factory in Honduras. So these aren’t “found” cigars, but “found” tobacco, in this case. This is another reasonably priced cigar, in the $7-7.50 range, I think. Ten years ago I’d find that to be a fairly pricey cigar. Now it’s cheap. Anyway, I remember the Bolivar Cofraida cigars that JR Cigars used to sell were on the strong side, this one not so much. It was well balanced, medium bodied, with some pleasant, fruit notes. Nice afternoon smoke while I refilled the hot tub and sat around waiting to see if my kidney stone was going to cause me trouble.  

 

Last night I took a look in the tray of cigars I put the cigars that I got at the TPE show that I hadn’t smoked yet, the “new to me” tray. I settled on the Aganorsa Leaf Aniversario Robusto that Terence Reilly gave me at the show. This is the 5″ x 52 box pressed Nicaraguan puro with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper. The paper sleeve isn’t there to hide anything, the wrapper is really pretty. This was another really tasty cigar. I was in one of my rare moods for a shorter smoke. I was tired, a hockey game was on during nap time! This cigar falls into the leather and nuts flavor category for me. It’s not a sweet coffee, cocoa cigar. It burned perfectly, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Smoking more of the Aganorsa cigars is on my todo list, oddly it’s one of the brands that I don’t get around to as much as I should. I’ll fix that. Good smoke, less of what I personally look for, but good nonetheless.

 

Contest

OK, it’s time to select a contest winner! To recap, the giveaway this time was for a cool Drew Estate 20 Acre Farm case with five (5) 20 Acre Farm toro cigars. It’s possible some other goodies could fall into the box before it leaves the CigarCraig.com offices! It’s been known to happen! The winner is Xolotal! Send me your coordinates so I can get this out to you. As always, thanks to the folks at Drew Estate for their support! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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Alec and Bradley Blind Faith, Perla Del Mar Corojo Toro and Platinum Nova Corona Cigars

While we were driving home from South Carolina a few weeks back we took a rest stop at the JRs in Selma, NC. It’s been a few years since we were there, it’s downsized a bit. We were expecting to shop for some bed linens, alas that part of the business is gone, and it’s just a tobacco store. Right inside the door of the cigar department was a large area of stuff marked down 50% off. I immediately rescued a partial box of Sobremesa, and a box of RomaCraft Intemperance. I was told that it was stock from another store that had closed. Upon catching wind of my purchase, Saka (who, by the way, for some reason hasn’t bothered to share any of my Stillwell Star posts, while sharing other content creators work, I thought we were friends…I’m not mad, just disappointed) put his people on JRs about this. My assumption is that he has an agreement with his accounts that he’d rather buy back inventory than have it discounted. I just wanted to spare him the indignity of having it on the discount rack (and get a killer deal on some Short Churchills!). This is all a lot of words leading into talking about the Alec and Bradley Blind Faith. My wife was actually suggesting I buy a box of these, and I didn’t want to without having smoked a few. I know it’s a ridiculous problem to have, and sounds like bragging, but I’m pretty strapped for storage space. I had to shoehorn the little box of Intemperance in, no way I’d fit a box of A&B. Anyway, I bought a couple singles, and I smoked one this week. It’s weird, you know, I went into it hoping I didn’t love the cigar and kick myself for not listening to my wife! When your wife tells you to buy a box of cigars you should do it, right? Anyway, this has a Honduran wrapper, Honduran/Nicaraguan double binder and NIcaraguan fillers, made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. I would have tolerated having a box in the humidor, but I’m not kicking myself for walking away, let’s put it that way. It’s a good smoke, tasty. Nothing wrong with the burn and draw, nice presentation, and it’s a shame that these were on the discount rack. Honestly, there was a LOT of stuff that was in that area that shouldn’t have been. I could have gone broke, but I’d have had to go back to using coolers for storage. 

 

Last year J.C.Newman re-packaged the Perla Del Mar line, and introduced the Corojo to the mix. Late this year they added the Toro to the Corojo family. I’ve long been a fan of the Maduro, but the Corojo might be my new favorite.  This line is another great example of how the wrapper changes the flavor of the cigar. They use the same blend across all three lines, with only the wrapper changing, so smoke all three to get an idea of what the wrapper adds. In the case of the Corojo, which covers Nicaraguan binder and filler, by the way, it adds an almost candy sweetness, as opposed to a dark chocolate sweetness in the case of the maduro. It’s a terrific cigar, well made, nicely box pressed, I just wish they had been a little more creative with the band, the old one was prettier, the new one makes me think of another cigar company. It’s a great cigar and well priced, so screw the band, I’m a fan.

 

Last night my wife and I went to the movies, probably the first time in nearly two years. The dine-in feature was sub-par, had to order at the bar and food was served in takeout containers, whether that’s life in the pandemic world or life in the short-staffed world, I’m not sure. Call me old fashioned, but if I’m asked to put a gratuity on my check up front without knowing what kind of service I’m going to get, I’m going to tip conservatively. Maybe that works against me? I have no way of knowing. The food was pretty good though, and the movie was entertaining (discount tickets). We got home and I hung out on the porch to watch the last period of the Flyers game with a Platinum Nova Corona from the 2020 TPE. I’ve been passing by these because they are fairly small for me, but it was late, and I didn’t want to be up all night. This is a (ridiculously) expensive cigar, at $23, it’s a pigtail capped 5″ x 43 Ecuador H2000 wrapped cigar with Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Dominican fillers. The cigar ended up being good for nearly an hour and a half, but I had to relight it a few time. It had a definite floral flavor, nearly perfumy. I rarely get this flavor, it’s not one I’m particularly fond of. I smoked an Undercrown 10 earlier in the day that was more to my liking, much less flowery. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that it’s not one I’d gravitate to on a regular basis. not offensive, not bad, just not me. 

 

That’s more than enough from me today. What do you all think about doing a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa again?  Weigh in in the comments. If we get more than one person I’ll make it happen! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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Perla Del Mar Corojo and a Diamond Crown Cigars

The  folks at J.C. Newman recently shared some cigars with me, so I figured I’d smoke some of them. I’ve been a fan of the budget-friendly Perla Del Mar line for a while, and I was quite curious to try the new Corojo they recently released. I can’t say that I’m overly enthralled with what they’ve done with the bands, I thought the old bands were pretty cool, and the new bands with just PDM in the middle bring to mind another brand, and I don’t find it as classy as the old ones. I get it if that’s not what they are going for and it’s none of my business really, and isn’t going to make me like the cigars any less. I looked in my local shop for the Corojo a few times over the last few weeks to no avail, and was thrilled when some showed up in my mailbox. These are made in J.C. Newnan’s PENSA factory in Nicaragua, with a Corojo wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I was fortunate to come in to possession of the Corona Gorda vitola, which would be my second choice after the Toro. After the Toro, I do like the 5½” x 46 size the best, I think. These are box pressed as well. This is a really tasty cigar, with a sweetness like I enjoy in the Sumatra wrapped cigars, with some nuts and leather as well. For about $6, you can hardly go wrong with this one, recommended.

 

The Diamond Crown is a sentimental favorite of mine.  Back in 1998 I was at a cigar event in Vegas that was hosted by, among other people, Steve Saka, before he was actually employed in the cigar industry. He was writing for a website called CigarNexus at the time, and it was a gathering of folks who contributed to the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet newsgroup. At the time, Diamond Crown was only available on the West Coast (Opus X was only available on the east coast), so it was a treat to get to smoke one. My wife and I smoked these large cigars, probably the 7½” x 54 No. 2 size, I don’t think it was the No. 1, but that was a long time ago and memory isn’t what it was. All of the cigars were 54 ring gauge, which was enormous at the time. I always remember this event when I  smoke a Diamond Crown. I admit that my preference is for the maduro or the Maximus nowadays, but the Diamond Crown remains a Connecticut Shade cigar that I can always smoke. I smoked the No. 7, a torpedo measuring 6¾” x 54 and found it to be medium bodied and delicious. It has a Connecticut grown shade wrapper, Dominican binder and five fillers from the Caribbean and Central America. It’s made at the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic.It’s a flavorful cigar, with a nuttiness, and creamy coffee flavor. It’s certainly a great cigar, and will always be special to me. 

 

Thats all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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News: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Reintroduces Perla Del Mar

I’m pretty excited about this news. I really like the Perla Del Mar Maduro, and I look forward to trying the new Corojo. They are reasonably priced and well made and taste good. Always a good combination! I do have to say that I really like the old bands over these new ones. I think they remind me too much of another brand, and look too bundle-like. The old brands were elegant and classy! What do I know? 


A storied cigar from Cuba and Tampa is reborn in Nicaragua


Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. began shipping its new Perla del Mar cigars to brick and mortar retailers across the United States. Handmade at J.C. Newman PENSA in Nicaragua, the new Perla del Mar is a significant refinement of the Perla del Mar cigars that J.C. Newman launched in 2012.



“Although our Perla del Mar cigars were good, we were not totally satisfied,” said Drew Newman, general counsel and a member of J.C. Newman’s fourth-generation. “We wanted to make them better – and that’s exactly what we did. After two years of effort working to perfect the brand, we are thrilled to reintroduce Perla del Mar.”



Perla del Mar’s existing Shade and Maduro blends have been strengthened with aged Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, and a new flavorful Corojo blend, rolled with a robust Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, has been added to the family. Perla del Mar cigars are now shaped in a classic Tampa-style press and packed with traditional bands and boxes. Each blend comes in four sizes with an MSRP of between $6 and $7.

 

 

“Although our family has been rolling cigars for 125 years, we do not rest on our laurels,” said Newman. “We are constantly working to improve everything that we do, and we are very pleased with the new Perla del Mar.”


Perla del Mar is a historic cigar brand that traces its roots to Cuba. In 1905, four Cuban brothers started hand rolling cigars using tobacco grown on their family’s farm in Cuba. They named their company Perfecto Garcia Brothers and called their cigars “Perla del Mar” because of the beautiful Caribbean waters that surround Cuba. As the popularity and demand for their cigars grew, the brothers built a large cigar factory next to J.C. Newman’s El Reloj factory in Ybor City, Florida. Perla del Mar was one of the leading premium cigar brands in the early 1900s. J.C. Newman’s new Perla del Mar cigars honor the brand’s historic legacy.

 

 

About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.


Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. J.C. Newman rolls its El Reloj, Factory Throwouts, and Trader Jacks cigars by hand-operated, vintage cigar machines at its historic cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. It also hand rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. With its longtime partners the Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.

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