Tag Archives: TAA

News: TAA 2021 Exclusive Cigar ‘Brick House Beginnings’ Ships

This looks interesting, I really like the Brick House cigars, and I have a TAA retailer nearby, so I’ll have to check them out. I still want to get to Tampa to visit the remodeled factory, I have a pretty good feeling I could get in…check out this news from J.C. Newman.

 

Before we could start on the major restoration we just completed at our El Reloj Cigar Factory in Tampa, our team had to clear out almost 70 years’ worth of items from the building. During this process, we uncovered some hidden gems.

 

One of those was a trap door from the 1930s with a secret staircase that went from the General Managers’ office down into the basement where he could hide when the Tampa Mafia would come through looking for payroll cash. Another was J.C.’s travel trunk that accompanied him on his voyage from Hungary to Cleveland in 1889. But perhaps the most exciting find for fans of our brands was a stash of 10-year-old Brick House cigars that was tucked away in the basement years ago to age and wait for a special occasion to arise. When we rediscovered them during our 125th year, we thought that sharing them with our TAA retailers would be a perfect fit.

 

 

Fans of Brick House will recognize the flavor of its distinctive blend but will taste some notable differences in this aged version. The many years that have passed since these were rolled have created a smooth and balanced taste that only time has the ability to do. Through the aging process, the flavors have married and created a cigar more mellow and a bit less spicy than its contemporary counterpart. Discover a taste of history and savor this once-in-a-decade Brick House.

 

 

This cigar has now shipped and will be arriving on TAA Retailers’ shelves soon.

Brick House Beginnings – TAA Exclusive Original Aged Blend
Mighty Mighty Maduro (6 ¼” x 60)
10 cigars per box

Mighty Mighty Natural (6 ¼” x 60)
10 cigars per box

Churchill Natural (7 ¼ x 50)
10 cigars per box

 

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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CAO Expedición TAA Exclusive and A Recent Guest Appearance

One of the cigars I picked up when I visited CigarCigars in Berwyn, PA last weekend was a CAO Expedición, the latest TAA exclusive. This is a 6 1/8 x 52 Toro, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to it. One of the other reasons was that it was a CAO with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, which I have had good experiences with. Many of my favorite CAOs have Broadleaf wrappers. Like the Bones, this also has a Connecticut shade binder, which is very interesting. The wrapper and binder are around fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Now that I think about it, the Bones also has fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and the DR. I’m sure they use different fillers, as they are very specific about the varieties used in the Bones, and they make the Expedición in Honduras and the Bones is made in Nicaragua. There’s also the fact that the Expedición seemed much smoother to me than the Bones. I really enjoy both, but I’ll stop comparing the two now and concentrate on the Expedición. It was very good. It had the nice, rich espresso with some sweetness and a little underlying nuttiness from the binder. It wasn’t the typical bold Broadleaf cigar, the shade binder adds a uniqueness that’s really interesting. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable cigar.  

 

Monday evening I was a guest on the I’d Tap That Cigar Show‘s Impromptu Night Live show along with Dave Mayer and the staff of the Wooden Indian Cigar Shop, one of my favorite local cigar stores. I’ve included the video here, but I’m let to believe that I won’t be allowed to embed videos at some point. This is a drag, because I have over 100 videos of my own on YouTube and I only ever really used that as a place to store videos and embed them on my site. I don’t want to have to send my readers off of my site to watch the occasional video content I may decide to present. Anyway, watch it here while you can, and check you Kevin’s channel, he always has some great guests. 

 

 

Don’t forget to go back to Sunday’s post and enter the contest to win some great cigars, a fantastic ashtray and a nifty hygrometer! That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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Villiger TAA 2020 Exclusive Cigar

Villiger Cigars has a couple of firsts with this cigar. It’s their first TAA cigar, exclusive to participating Tobacconists’ Association of America stores. Looking at the listing on the website, I’m not entirely sure they have the name right, they have it listed as “Villiger 1888 Edicion Regional USA”, where the band just says TAA Exclusive 2020. Considering this second point, it doesn’t have any relationship with the Villiger 1888, except that it’s made in the Dominican Republic. The second first for Villiger is that this is the first time they’ve worked with Ernesto Perez Carrillo Jr. to produce a cigar. It’s a box pressed toro, 6” x 54, with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.

 

When I lit this cigar up, before I looked at the blend and where it was made, I was 99% certain it was a Sumatra wrapper. It had that nice, sweet hard candy flavor I love. I wasn’t surprised when I read who made it either. Ernesto is a huge Sumatra fan, and he used a wonderful tasting Sumatra leaf on this cigar. I absolutely was enamored with the flavor of this cigar! It was a fantastic smoking experience. Like I said, it had that great Sumatra sweet flavor that I love, and it was medium bodied and not overpowering, very well balanced. Of course, as I got to the band it lost some of the sweetness and became slightly stronger, but don’t they all? Later I smoked the Villiger Cuellar Black Forrest toro (yummy), which, up until smoking the TAA, was my favorite Villiger to date. I suppose the limited nature of the TAA will force me to rein in my desire to stock up on these, my local Cigar Cigars stores are TAA members, and one can hope that they have these in stock (if I ever get out to visit one of them again!). By the way, if anyone from Cigar Cigars reads this, let the folks who run the TAA website know that they have the wrong website address listed for you! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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News: Drew Estate Unveils Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive for 2020

Here’s some news from Drew Estate. I suppose it’s hard to say when you’ll be able to see these on your tobacconist’s shelves at this point, but give your local TAA shop a call and, hopefully, they are offering curbside service or shipping. I’m quite looking forward to trying a Broadleaf Herrerea Esteli!

Drew Estate unveils today the 2020 Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive release.

 

The Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive is a 6 x 52 toro featuring a rich Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, bold Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and lush Nicaraguan fillers. Blended by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera exclusively for the TAA, this cigar is a testament to the complexity and quality behind the Herrera Esteli line. For 2020, the boxes have been re-designed to complement the other Herrera Esteli lines and also feature the bold red banding that signifies Willy Herrera’s exclusive projects.

 

From La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Esteli, Nicaragua, Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera notes, “My goal with this blend was to take the lush Connecticut Broadleaf capa tobacco and apply my Miami style to the blend. This cigar shines right from the cold draw and gets better with every puff. I’m thrilled that now the boxes match the rest of the Herrera lineup, they will pop on the shelves.”

 

The Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive is packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $147.17/box and will be shipping immediately. A total of 800 boxes have been produced for this year.  

 

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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Tatuaje TAA and Cuesta Rey Cigars and some UK News

Last week when shopping I picked up this year’s Tatuaje TAA release, the 51th, a box pressed robusto, with the “America” in Tobacconist Association of America crossed out on the band and “Mexico” written over it. It also has a sombrero wearing cactus in place of the Native American in the logo. I guess this has a Mexican wrapper! Previous TAA releases have had Connecticut Broadleaf, This years has the San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler in a 5″ x 52 box pressed robusto. Being a cheapbastid that I am, I’d much prefer the $12 toro over the $12 robusto, but it was my anniversary and I was treating myself. I had a long day Friday, so when I got home late, a shorter cigar was in order anyway, so a good, shorter cigar was a perfect choice. This, my friends, was such a cigar. I like Tatuaje cigars, I like San Andrés cigars, and I really liked this cigar! It checked all the boxes for me, and if it had been a toro it would have been perfect! I even like the box press. It had the espresso with some spice that I like, and a hint of bittersweet chocolate, it was the perfect way to wrap . up the day. I’ve smoked a few of the Tatuaje TAA releases and have yet to be let down.

 

Please direct your attention to the J.C. Newman Perla Del Mar graphic on the right sidebar (or elsewhere depending on how you view the site). Clicking on it will direct you to a contest where you can enter to win a nice humidor and cap. I’ll make it easy, here’s the link—> https://www.jcnewman.com/perla-del-mar-humidor/ . The Perla del Mar is a nice smoke, and that humidor is pretty sweet. I know Bob Langmaid has probably entered already 😃. Anyway, the folks at J.C. Newman surprised me last week with some goodies, and one item stirred some memories, so I’m compelled to bore you with a tale. When I received a box of ten Cuesta Rey Centenario Pyramid No. 9  it took me back to a cigar event I attended in 1999 in North Carolina. There was a guy there who I had met for the first time who I had only previously known from his usenet newsgroup postings, much like many of the other people on that cigar crawl. Mike was a strong personality, extremely likable and overly generous. I was a young guy, had a young family, and was just starting my cigar  journey, I barely had one humidor at the time! Mike won a box of Cuesta Rey Centenario Pyramid No. 9 and gave it to me. It wasn’t to his liking, or he had plenty and felt like sharing, or whatever the reason, but I was humbled and treasured the gift. At the time, having a box of cigars was very special to me, even a box of ten! So when I received the same box, twenty years later, I was moved. what makes it more special is that Mike had passed away a dozen or so years ago (and he was a few years younger than I), so  I was able to think of Mike again and remember some old times. Last night I smoked one of the Centenario Pyramid No. 9s. It’s been a long, long time since I smoked one, so I can’t really recall if they are the same or not, I have to imagine they are close, just because companies like J.C. Newman are in it for the long haul, and pride themselves n consistency, and it’s made at Tabacalera A. Fuente. I will say that it was a very enjoyable mild to medium cigar. It has a Connecticut Shade wrapper, but it doesn’t taste like a Connecticut shade cigar, if that makes sense. It’s been added to the classic section of my humidor, with some other Fuente cigars. I’m thankful for the chance to remember a departed friend who’s generosity touched me.

 

News

From across the pond, C.Gars Limited announces that they are opening a second La Casa del Habano in the UK. The first La Casa del Habano is in Chester. At this writing, no photos were available, the photo here is from Google Street view.

 

C.Gars Ltd is delighted to announce the opening of our 2nd La Casa del Habano franchise in Knutsford- Cheshire on the 24th July.

La Casa del Habano – Knutsford

10 Minshull street

Knutsford, Cheshire

WA16 6AG UK

We look forward to welcoming the Cuban Ambassador as well as Jemma Freeman of Hunters & Frankau as guests of honour to the to the opening event.

The premises comprise of a ground floor cigar shop and walk in humidor with client lockers and a first floor comfortable sampling lounge. The full range of La Casa specialities including Coleccion Habanos books and limited edition humidors will be well represented.

LCDH- Knutsford will be managed by Turmeaus tobacconist trained team Andrew, Liz and Sandra under the guidance of Sara and Calum ( Master of Cigars ) from LCDH – Chester.

Managing Director Mitchell Orchant said ‘Opening a second La Casa del Habano is very important and allows us to continue our substantial  growth in Havana cigars sales. It will enable us to have additional availability of La Casa specialities to satisfy our customers insatiable demand.’

About C.Gars Ltd:

C.Gars Ltd was launched in 1997 and is the largest specialist cigar merchant in the UK. This family business sells premium cigars and related goods from its website, 24/7, every day of the year. C.Gars Ltd owns and operates specialist cigar shops in the UK and has an associate company in Ireland.

 

Please welcome Fox Cigars to the CigarCraig family! I’m happy to have them on board, they have some great deals and have great shops in Arizona.  Click the banner on the left to get to their site and watch for some special things we’ll be working on with them in the future. That’s all for today! Next Saturday is the Drew Estate PA Barnsmoker. If you’re going to be there, please find me and say hello! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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