Tag Archives: Yagua

by | May 1, 2022 · 9:46 am

A Selection of Cigars: Hits and Misses

This is going to be a bit of a weird post. I, of course, smokes a bunch of cigars this week, and had some mixed results. I probably should follow the rule of not saying anything at all if you don’t have anything nice to say, but it’s not all negative. SOme of it is personal preference, some of it is something else. There are also some standout cigars that I’ve probably mentioned here before but merit repeating. Let’s start with the CAO Arcana Firewalker. This cigar is a nice, big 6½” x 56 cigar, with a massive band. It employs a strange method of fermentation for one of the Nicaraguan filler leaves where they bury the pilon in volcanic soil for two months. Sounds like a fun story, and I don’t doubt it, but this wasn’t where I had a problem. The cigar tasted fine, I rather enjoyed the flavors. It was kind of bready, with a little cocoa and some spice, very nice. When I received these samples they were bone dry, as measured with my Humidimeter. Bone. Dry. The first one I smoked just kind of flaked apart. I let them rest in the humidor for a couple months, I guess, to get some moisture into them. When one had achieved what I felt was an acceptable level of internal moisture content, I gave it another go. For whatever reason, the Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper on this one just wouldn’t burn. It was like the original H2000 wrappers 20 years ago. I would feel safe making childrens pajamas out of this wrapper, it was so flame retardant. I gave up on it with about 2 inches to go, after just about emptying my lighter relighting it. I guess I’ll leave the remaining samples in the humidor, and if I see some in a shop maybe I’ll try one to see if my batch was an anomaly. I hope it was because it was a good tasting smoke and I like the first Arcana a lot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is a miss.

 

One cigar I had which isn’t new, but one I really enjoy and bears repeating is the Crow Corona from Blackbird Cigars. I’m generally a toro guy, but I think I like this in the 6″ x 44 corona the best. The narrow ring adds a little more of an edge to the San Andrés wrapper that I like. I always like a good Mexican maduro, and this one really made me happy. I’m to understand that Blackbird has opened a new, larger factory in ght Dominican Republic. I’ve been a fan of their cigars, I can’t recall having a bad one, with the Crow being my favorite. They do a really nice job with Sumatra wrappers too. I will be putting some more Crow Coronas in my humidor, for sure.  In case you were wondering, this is a hit!

 

Another repeat is the Yagua. I smoked one from a 2021 box this week that was amazing. J.C. Newman just announced that they are shipping the 2022 release, with a second wave due in November. These have aged well, the one I smoked was practically round, which was strange. They say that this is wrapped in an “underfermented” Broadleaf wrapper. whatever that means, I ‘d say it works.  I had some distinct sensations of black licorice several times while smoking this cigar, and I really liked that. I enjoyed it so much I was tempted to smoke one the following day, alas, I should have followed my instincts! Again, a hit.

 

The Drew Estate Freestyle Live event is coming up on Thursday, May 12, and receiving a lot of buzz, so I figured I’d give the Mystery Cigar in the pack a try and see what the deal was. I tried the 6″ x 60 gordo first. This digital event is happening on the eve of the Florida Barn Smoker, and the cigars in the pack happen to be the same sizes that the 20 Acre Farm Mystery cigars were presented, leading some to believe there may be a connection. It’s possible, although many cigars are offered in robusto, toro and gordo, so that’s a bit of a stretch. I personally didn’t really like the cigar I smoked, it was heavily woody to me, and that’s not my preference. I don’t like FSG tobacco, so there could be something there, and I’m also not a big fan of the original Herrera Esteli, so it could be a variation on that. I don’t think it’s a riff on the MUWAT, as I grabbed a fiver of Baitfish yesterday and forgot how good those little guys are!  I’ll suffer through the rubusto I guess and see what I think of that size, maybe it’s different. I’ll be very disappointed if those guessing it’s in the Nica Rustica line are right. Big miss.

 

Let’s finish strong. OK, I lied. I picked up an Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Toro yesterday because I’ve been wanting to try it. It’ a 6″ x 54 with a “Nicaraguan Café” wrapper, and Aganorsa Leaf binder and fillers. I’ve been having trouble finding cigars in the Aganorsa range that suit my palate, quite honestly. Sadly, this was another one that did not. I’m sure it’s a great cigar, it certainly performed well, but the flavor left me wanting. This was another that I’ll call wood heavy in the flavor department. I also found it slightly drying. It was a bit sneaky strong. Everyone has different tastes, that’s what makes cigars so much fun, this one wasn’t for me. I’ll keep working thought the range, and I know there are a lot of cigars made by Aganorsa that I like! Unfortunately a miss.

 

That’s it for today, I’ll be smoking a few favorites today!  My part-time retail experiment has come to an end. ore on that, maybe, another time, but it was fun while it lasted. My Friday evenings are now free, who wants to herf?  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 28, 2022 · 6:39 pm

News: J.C. Newman Ships 2022 Yagua Cigars to Retailers

Here’s some news from J.C. Newman. I’m actually about to light up a 2021 Yagua after I finish writing this. I really enjoy them, they are a special cigar. I really need to make the trip to Tampa to visit the factory one of these days. It’s been on my wishlist for a while, and is especially so now that they have renovated the factory and have tours. I’m a big fan of a lot of J.C. Newman cigars, and have been for many years.

This is the first Yagua release of 2022

 

Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. began shipping 1,250 boxes of its acclaimed Yagua cigars to premium cigar retailers in the United States. This is the first release of Yagua in 2022. A second release is expected around Thanksgiving.

 

“Yagua is one of the oddest cigars on the market,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation cigar maker. “Because Yagua breaks all of the rules for how premium cigars should be rolled, it continues to shock me that many cigar enthusiasts love Yagua and that the brand has gained an almost cult-like following.”

 

 

Yagua is a recreation of a farm-rolled cigar from Cuba. It is handmade at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Estelí, Nicaragua with an underfermented Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. These special cigars get their unique shape from being tied together with pieces of the Yagua tree. Yagua is a 6” x 52 toro with a suggested retail price of $8 per cigar. Each box contains a Yagua-tree-wrapped bundle of 20 cigars.

 

“Our factory hates rolling Yagua because it is harder and slower to make cigars like they would have been rolled on a farm,” said Newman. “No two Yaguas are the same. They are truly one-of-a-kind cigars.”

 

The following is the story of Yagua:

My family has worked with tobacco for many generations. Growing up in Cuba in the 1940s, I spent countless hours with my grandfather in the tobacco fields of Pinar del Río. At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses. To keep his cigars safe, he would tie a handful of them together using pieces of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. When he was ready to enjoy his personal cigars, he untied the bundle. He loved how every cigar had its own unique shape. He called these cigars Yagua Palmiche after the palm tree and its bright red seeds. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve recreated Yagua Palmiche, rolling them the exactly how my grandfather did a century ago. These are the Cuban cigars I remember.

Lazaro Lopez, Co-General Manager
J.C. Newman PENSA Cigar Factory
Story as told to Drew Newman

 

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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by | September 26, 2021 · 10:26 am

J.C. Newman’s Yagua and Oscar Valladares 2012 Maduro Cigars

My least favorite time of the year arrived this week, Autumn.  Summer flew by, I feel like I didn’t get to do many of the things I would have like to have done, for one reason or another, and now it’s another long, cold winter ahead to look forward too. One can only hope that these months pass as quickly as the summer did. Here I am, wishing my life away! Time really needs to slow the heck down. On the one hand, I have a humidor full of cigars and not enough time to smoke them, on the other hand, I have a humidor full of cigars! On another subject, does anyone know how many consecutive Sundays I’ve managed to publish a blog post?  It’s gotta be some kind of record.  Anyway, I smoked a bunch of cigars this week, a couple were new. The Yagua, while not necessarily new, is the 2021 version. J.C. Newman makes this at the PENSA factory in Nicaragua, using what they call and under fermented US Broadleaf wrapper. I suppose the idea is for it to finish fermenting while aging in the bundles wrapped in the royal palm leaves. The one I smoked came from the center of the bundle so it had a hexagonal shape, these definitely are reminiscent of the Henry Clay cigars of the 90s in shape, and they had Broadleaf wrappers as well. They too were bundled wet and you never knew what shape you were going to get. I really enjoyed the flavor of this cigar, it’s got something a little different than other broadleaf cigars. Maybe there’s a meatier flavor, it’s not as much the expresso or cocoa that I usually get. It’s very different than, say, a Triqui Traca, which Saka confused this for on a Facebook group (I admonished him to wear his glasses!). I think there’s a lot of reasons to try this cigar, I might try another one today! 

 

Yesterday afternoon I was looking for a shorter cigar and remembered I had an Oscar Valladares 2012 Maduro Short Robusto which I had picked up a few months ago as I was walking out of the humidor at the Wooden Indian. I certainly had enough cigars in my hands already, but these caught my eye, and I hadn’t yet sampled anything from this line. This is a 4″ x 50 box press cigar, good for and hour or so. It has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and nicaraguan fillers. These looked really good when I walked by them, like little chocolate bars, which is what made me pick them up. Smaller cigars tend to age in my humidors as I tend toward toro and larger cigars. I need to make a concerted effort to smoke the robustos on the weekends when I smoke more than one cigar, I guess. If I smoke a larger cigar I don’t have time for a nap! This was a delicious cigar, it was heavy on the black licorice, which I don’t taste much in a cigar. I found it intriguing. I guess it’s time to check out some more of the Oscar Valladares line. I think I know the broker in my area. 

 

Please join me in extending Happy Birthday wishes to my friend, and long time reader and friend of CigarCraig.com: Kevin Shahan!  You might know Kevin better as Mr. CigarProp, from his cigar accessories, and wildly popular YouTube and other social media properties.  I’m not sure how Jessica puts up with him, but he’s all right in my book!  Happy Birthday Buddy!  (pictured here with myself and Sandy Cobas at El Titan de Bronze a couple years ago in a photo taken by Jessica).

 

Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 19, 2020 · 8:25 pm

J.C. Newman’s Yagua and Viajante’s Sweet Grass Gringo Cigars

I’ve been hoping to try J.C. Newman’s new Yaguera since seeing several of my cigar media brethren posting videos opening the boxes of these unique cigars, and after posting their press release about this unique cigar last month.  This is a 6″ x 54 toro, my favored size, that comes in various shapes due to being rolled without molds, and wet backed in bundles and wrapped in palm leaves, so that the cigars assume strange shapes. I’m reminded of the old Henry Clay Brevas, or Brevas ala Conserva, maybe both, that were made this way, and were the same shapes, and, ironically, also had a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. My friend CigarProp Kevin was kind enough to send me a couple, and I couldn’t wait to smoke one! This is a terrific smoke, heavy and rich, not dissimilar from those Henry Clays I remember, but perhaps with more sweetness, and a more modern feel. This is a Nicaraguan cigar, without a doubt, and it smoked very well. it wasn’t pretty, it had no symmetry, might have been seven sided, with no two sides being the same, but it sure smoked well and I loved it. It’ll be on my list of cigars to acquire more of when I get the opportunity. Many thanks to Kevin for sharing this cigar with me.

 

If you are one who watched cigar videos on YouTube, and you aren’t watching Kevin’s I’d Tap That and Cigar Prop YouTube shows, you should subscribe and watch. He’s definitely one of the hot shows out there. He’s flirting with 4000 subscribers, if you aren’t one of them, please subscribe so he can hit that milestone and keep growing. Kevin has been a great friend of CigarCriag.com over the years, we’ve supported one another  in many projects and I consider him one of my great friends! 

 

One of the other cigars Kevin shared with me, and there were a bunch recently, was a cigar made by another guy with a popular video series, Viajante’s Stogie Road. From what I know, Kerr Viajante, which I believe is a pseudonym, started a vlog  chronicling his travels to cigar shops, then launched and ecommerce site selling boutique cigars, and developed his own brands with Dr. Gabby Kafie in Honduras. His latest cigar is the Sweet Grass Gringo, a barber pole with Connecticut Shade and Candela wrappers intertwined. I was intrigued. There’s a lot that could be off putting with this combination, especially if someone prefers dark, heavy cigars. The cigar is 6½” x 52, which is a nice size. Prelight has a distinct minty flavor on the head, very interesting. I’m not sure where that comes from. I didn’t find this cigar to be necessarily mild, more medium, which was a bit surprising, and it had a really refreshing, bright flavor. It wasn’t overly grassy, as one might expect, you could taste the candela and Connecticut Shade, but neither were overwhelming, they seemed to compliment one another well to make a smooth, well balanced cigar that was a really nice change of pace. I really enjoyed this cigar in a much different way than I enjoy a more full bodied cigar. It was still satisfying, and very clean on the palate. 

 

First few days on the new job are going well, I think this one might be a keeper! It’s been over two years since I worked a normal schedule, so I need to get used to that! It is only a three mile commute, so I don’t spend a lot of time in the car! That’s all for today, until then next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

 

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by | July 28, 2020 · 9:38 am

News: J.C. Newman Introduces New Cigar: Yagua

Here’s some news from J.C. Newman. I’m looking forward to trying this new, rustic cigar from their Nicaraguan factory. I love the size! 

 

J.C. Newman Introduces Yagua, A Cigar Recreated from the 1940s Cuba

 

J.C. Newman Cigar Co. introduces Yagua, a classic cigar from the tobacco fields of Cuba that the Newman family has recreated in Nicaragua. The Yagua story is one of Cuba from the 1940s. The cigar was inspired by J.C. Newman PENSA’s General Manager, Lazaro Lopez, who shared the following with Drew Newman (Fourth Generation Owner, J.C. Newman Cigar Company) over dinner in Esteli, Nicaragua last year:

 

“At our family farm, my grandfather would take fresh tobacco leaves from the curing barns and roll cigars without any molds or presses. In an attempt to give his cigars a traditional shape, he would tie a handful of them together using pieces of the Cuban royal palm tree, known as the yagua. When he was ready to enjoy his personal cigars, he untied the bundle. He loved how every cigar had its own unique shape. I still remember the rich aroma and taste of my grandfather’s cigars. Today, I’ve recreated Yagua, rolling them exactly how my grandfather did a century ago.”

 

 

“After hearing Lazaro describe the beautiful Yagua cigars he remembers from his youth in Cuba, I asked Lazaro if he could make this special cigar at our factory in Nicaragua,” said Drew Newman. “We are calling it Yagua, after the palm leaves that give the cigars their distinct shape.”

 

J.C. Newman is releasing 1,000 boxes of Yagua from its aging rooms this year. Each box features 20 cigars, which measure approximately 6×54.

 

“Because the cigars are pressed together and bound while they are still wet, each one has a slightly different shape. Each cigar is truly unique,” said Newman

 

Yagua will ship from El Reloj, the J.C. Newman Cigar Company factory in Tampa, FL beginning next week, and should arrive on select retailers’ shelves in early August.

 

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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