Tag Archives: Stolen Throne

by | November 25, 2021 · 9:42 am

La Sirena Mexican Mermaid and Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms Cigars

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers who celebrate it! I trust that you have some excellent cigars picked out to smoke at some point or points throughout the day!  I generally smoke something special, I’ll figure that out tomorrow!  But for today I have a few new cigars I want to talk about. First is the newest cigar from La Sirena. Many of you may not have heard of this brand (you haven’t been reading here long!), or have wondered what’s become of it, it’s still around! It remains one of my favorites! I smoke the classic line, now made at La Zona, often, and enjoy many Merlions and Oceanos. The La Sirena LT is among my favorite shade cigars.  While they are hard to find, they are around, and the Mexican Mermaid is the latest addition to the line. This is a variation on the Tenth anniversary cigar that came out a few years ago (the brand launched the same year as CigarCraig.com!). I came by some samples of the box pressed Toro, which is 5 ¾” x 54, which made my day, I’ve been looking forward to trying these. These are made in Hostos Quesada’s new factory, Tabacalera La Isla, and have a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and binder, and Mexican and Dominican filers. I cut my teeth on Mexican cigars in the nineties, but this doesn’t taste like anything I remember smoking before.  The cigar has a very unique and interesting flavor, I can’t even put a name to it, but it transcends the heavy earthiness of the Mexican puros of old. It’s unique, and takes a bit of getting used to, but is a refreshing change. I can’t wait to add this to my La Sirena rotation. It’s not at all like the Tenth Anniversary in my recollection, although that is a stunningly good cigar. I wouldn’t say it’s better, but it’s different, and I like it a lot.

 

I picked up a couple of Stolen Throne Cigar‘s latest release, Three Kingdoms last weekend, ahead of Sunday’s event at Son’s Cigars.  I wanted to smoke a few before finally getting a chance to meet these guys face to face. Nothing worse than smoking the cigar in front of the brand owners and having a visceral reaction to it.  They tend to react poorly when you light a cigar and then ask the shop owner to bring a bucket 😁. I kid, that rarely happens. Still, I was anxious to smoke this new cigar with a Habano wrapper. I smoked a couple of the box pressed Toro size, of course we all know I’m grabbing the toro first. Lee Marsh, the brand owner, and blender of the line, said I have to give the robusto a try, and I have one of those, but I’ll pick another one up Sunday to smoke. I actually talk with Lee in a group video chat fairly regularly, but I haven’t met him in person. I’m looking forward to that, and meeting his team. Anyway, this is another cigar that falls into the “I like a great deal” column. This is a terrific desert cigar, it has a candy sweetness that I enjoy. I get that in some Sumatra wrapped cigars. It’s bold, without ever being overly strong. It’s just a pleasure to smoke. I’ve been impressed with the cigars I’ve smoked made by Noel Rojas, this is another one that’s really good. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Remember, let me know if you want to get in on a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa! So far, it looks like it’s just Lonnie and I exchanging, not much of a secret, but I’m OK with it. The more, the merrier, ya know! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 18, 2021 · 9:30 pm

Patina Habano and Stolen Throne Call To Arms Cigars

Last weekend when I stopped by Son’s Cigar Lounge I picked up a few cigars I hadn’t smoked before. Even though they are still filling the humidor (it turns out my guess of 15% of capacity in Sunday’s post was spot on as confirmed by Vince), they have an impressive selection of boutique cigars. I bought some Patina Habanos, having not had that before, and having recently enjoyed the Maduro. These are made in the same factory that Dunbarton’s Mi Querida and Umbagog are made. This cigar has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania fillers. This cigar is another example of a cigar that I enjoy in the Habano over the Maduro. There is a sugary sweetness that that I really enjoyed throughout this cigar. This is definitely an enjoyable cigar that I quite enjoyed.  I’ve been hearing about this line for a while on the Sultans of Smoke podcast, on which the brand owner, Mo Maali is one of the hosts. 

 

Tonight I smoked a Call to Arms Robusto from Stolen Throne Cigars.  I’ve smoked the Crook of the Crown on several occasions, I was always drawn to the San Andrés wrapper on the Crook of the Crown, which is delicious, but I haven’t seen the Call to Arms until I saw it on Saturday. Of course, I picked up a couple robustos. The Call to Arms has a Sumatra wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I like the wrapper slightly closed over the foot of the cigar. I went into this cigar with an idea of what I thought I should be tasting, always a mistake. I didn’t get the sweetness I wanted, but it was a good smoke. It was on the earthy side, I suppose, and it burned perfectly. I have another one to which I will pay more attention, as I was involved in conversation while smoking this one. I certainly didn’t not like it, it was a perfectly good cigar, but I’m leaning toward the Crook as far as personal preference goes. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 4, 2021 · 10:07 am

A Plasencia Cigars Sampler and the LouLiga Lounge Grand Opening

At the end of last year when everyone was posting their top ten cigars of the year, I, being the rebel, posted my top cigars I hadn’t smoked yet. A little bit of me did it to test Halfwheel’s Consensus process, to see how closely they paid attention, and it appears they either do, or I’m just that far under the radar any more, I have made appearances on the consensus in the past though when I’ve done a list. Anyway, I had said that I hadn’t smoked any of the Plasencia Alma series last year, so I ordered a nice sampler from my friends at Fox Cigars, and smoked them this passed week. I had smoked the AlmaFuerte Sixto II not long ago and was thrilled to get my hands on another one. Somehow getting one as a part of a sampler felt better than buying one at

the store for $22, and I don’t see the sampler listed anymore, and I forget what I paid for it. It was five cigars, the Alma Fuerte in Robustus I and Sixto II, Alma Del Fuego in Concepciòn Toro and Candente Robusto, and an Alma Del Campo Tribu Robusto.  I always joke that these are named after my grandmother, Alma Vanderslice, but I’m sure that’s not the case. I quite enjoyed the flavors in all of these, although I thought the Alma Fuego was just too darned strong for me, that is to say I became tired of it being so strong by the end. The Del Campo seemed to be to more medium bodied to me, and all three were excellent examples of Nicaraguan cigars.  They all had rich dark tobacco flavors, with the Fuerte especially having a slight sweetness on the lips pre-light. The weird thing was that, and it might have been the weather or something unrelated, but I got migraines each night after I smoked one of these. Probably a coincidence, as I’ve smoked plenty of Nicaraguan puros before without issue, and gotten plenty of migraines before without having smoked Plasencia cigars! Anyway, Thumbs up on both Plasencia cigars and Fox Cigars for exceptional customer service! 

 

Yesterday I took a drive into the Fishtown section of Philadelphia to visit the grand opening of the LouLiga Cigar Lounge. If you follow cigars on social media, I’m not sure how you could avoid having heard about this place, or at least it’s owner, Luis Rodriguez. Luis has been a long time cigar ambassador, and had realized his dream with this new lounge in a very cool area in the city. It’s in the same block of buildings as The Fillmore, which is a music venue, The Punch Line comedy club, and Philadelphia Distilling, with the Rivers Casino and Convention Center more or less across the street. When I arrived, the place was packed. To be honest, if I hadn’t seen my old friend Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars, watch for his new cigar, the Grand Apex), I probably would have bought a handful of cigars, snapped some pics and gone home. However, I lit up a Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown Toro and hung out with Antonio and his fiancé for a few hours.

The Lounge is nice. The air handlers work well, it has an industrial feel which is consistent with the building. The furniture is comfortable, there’s plenty of TVs and the humidor is huge. While the humidor shelves were fairly sparsely stocked, what was there was very high quality and fairly pried for a city location. Luis knows his stuff and is very in tune with the boutique brands. I’m not sure how this will relate to the casual, fresh out of the concert, distillery, comedy club, etc, patron who is stopping in for a cigar and know Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Cohiba and that’s about it, but it’s going to be a great place for cigar geeks. Luis was an excellent host, greeting everyone who came in warmly. When I got home I tried one of Luis’ own cigars, from an undisclosed, yet prominent, factory. It was quite good, a robusto with some spice in the beginning, and some floral near the end. It’s certainly a place to visit if you find yourself in Philadelphia. 

 

That’s all for today. It’s the Fourth of July, so, as with every year, it’s also my wedding anniversary (34), so I’ll be finding something good to smoke. Be careful out there!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 23, 2020 · 11:05 am

More Platinum Nova Cigars and a Stolen Throne Cigar

I dipped into the stash of Platinum Nova cigars I brought back from the TPE show again this week and started with one of their Limited Editions, the Park Avenue. This is one of their more expensive offerings, coming in a a whopping $31 per cigar. This has an Ecuador 2000 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. If I understand correctly, their factory is in Palm Beach, Florida, which will account for the price tag. Since last posted about Nova, they entered into a distribution arrangement with Sutliff Tobacco, who also distributes Regius Cigars in the U.S. now. The Park Avenue is a 6¼” x 54 toro. It’s a nice looking cigar with a flawless milk-chocolate brown wrapper, and the burn and draw were just fine, what one expects in a cigar of this caliber. As with the other Nova cigars I’ve smoked, there is a unique flavor that I can’t describe except that it’s very elegant. Perhaps the price point is in my head a little, but there is something special in the flavor of the Nova Park Avenue. It’s probably not a cigar I’d personally spring for, but I’m quite glad for the opportunity to have smoked it.

 

A few weeks ago when I visited Cigar Mojo, Wade, one of the owners, gave me one of the new cigars that they had that was moving well and he was impressed with for me to try. I was unfamiliar with this cigar, so I looked it up when I got home and only found a Facebook and Instagram page. The cigar is the Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown and it was a 5″ x 50 Robusto. Fortunately, Lee, who is behind the Facebook page, and presumably the, or one of, the brand owners, is quite responsive via messenger, because I had questions as I was really enjoying this cigar yesterday! He confirmed my suspicion that it has a San Andrés wrapper, and told me that it has an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. He let me know that it is made at the Flor de San Luis factory in Esteli under the supervision of Noel Rojas. I thought this was an incredible cigar. There’s a lot of things I don’t agree with Wade at Mojo upon, but he was right about this cigar. It had a rich cocoa and coffee flavor, but every now and then an interesting floral taste snuck in. It was quite entertaining to smoke while I watched a very good Flyers matinee on the porch. It did have some nicotine kick to it. I will take a look at these the next time I’m in Mojo. By the way, don’t forget, Cigar Mojo carries my favorite cigars from Danli Honduras Tabaco, including the new The Clown and the Box Pressed Marchetti maduro! Good stuff. 

 

Last night I grabbed another Platinum Nova cigar. I don’t really know if I’m supposed to call them Platinum Nova, or just Nova…When I was introduced to them by Ann at Sutliff, and I’m starting to connect the dots there, something might already have been in the works, they were just introduced as Nova, with is the most prominent word in their branding. For my own ease I’m going to go with Nova from here on out, I’m beginning to get that they are Platinum level in quality! I selected the Leo X, which is the personal blend of Leonor Abzaradel, the CEO of Nova Cigars. it’s a 5¾” x 50 with the Ecuador 2000 wrapper again, and Dominican HVA binder and Dominican fillers. I’d say that it was a very sophisticated blend, with some floral notes, and a lot of flavor. It didn’t surprise me that this was the favorite of Leonor, it struck me as a cigar one could smoke over and over without tiring. It was light enough to not fatigue the palate, yet loaded with interesting flavors. It certainly was not a girly smoke, and I don’t want to sound chauvinistic. I’d smoke it, I DID smoke it and I loved it! It’s a great cigar, and falls somewhere between their LE line and the regular line on the price scale in the $21  range, so, again, not a cheap date, but one you won’t forget. 

 

In an odd twist, my wife and I were only Friday talking about low airfares to south Florida and how if I had known a few days earlier I could have flown down for the Great Smoke and seen of one of the vendors needed some booths help or something, and doesn’t CigarProp Kevin post on his way to the event that he has an extra pass? talk about bad timing! A day or two earlier and I could have been a special guest helper at the I’d Tap That booth! Damn! That’s about all I have for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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