Yesterday I attended the Smoke-Onos event at Best Cigar Prices in Drums, PA, but more on that later. First I want to talk about a couple cigars I smoked this week. First up was the Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva. This is a 6″ x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. These are made at the Villiger de Nicaragua factory in Esteli (Until I’m told otherwise, I believe this is a sub-factory within Joya de Nicaragua). I was disappointed that René Castañeda wasn’t at the event yesterday! This cigar is $22, is limited to 1000 ten count boxes, and uses tobaccos aged at least two years with a year of post-roll aging. Of course, the size of the cigar is right, I really liked this cigar. It started with some cocoa and spices which kept going all the way through. This was a really enjoyable smoke, if they were half the price I’d be all over them!
To those who don’t know, Smoke-Onos is a portmanteau of Smoke and Poconos. To those who don’t know what a portmanteau is, go ahead and look it up! The Poconos is a sub-range of the Appalachian mountains 
located in the north-east part of Pennsylvania. It has nothing to do with Yoko Ono. Best Cigar Prices has their operation, with includes the Best Cigar Pub, in Drums, PA, which is kinda between Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. Despite being in a relatively remote area, it’s a very popular cigar destination. The Smoke-Onos event covers several days, with events Thursday and Friday evenings, and a large multivendor event Saturday, an afterparty, then something on Sunday. I attended the Saturday event on a press pass, which got me in the door. If you are anywhere near this area, go to this event.
Many of the major players were there, the swag looked very impressive, with a duffle/backpack full of swag and cigars. There was a band that was loud (I was impressed when I heard them playing Hocus Pocus by Focus), the Drew Estate booth, which was smack dab in the middle of the event, was loud, and the crowd was large. I bet there were a couple thousand people there. I’ve been to these sorts of events, and for only the second year, this was up there with the best. I saw a great many friends there, both attendees , other media outlets and exhibitors. Many thanks to BCP for including me!
After getting home, I settled into my usual spot on my porch with a Crowned Heads Mil Dias Maduro Edmundo to watch this week’s episode of Curse of Oak Island. After 15 years they still haven’t found any treasure. The Maduro is a completely different blend than the Habano, with a Broadleaf wrapper, Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This is apparently made in the factory formerly known as Tabacalera Pichardo, TacaNicsa. I really like the Mil Dias Habano, and I was hoping to like this more. It’s a tasty cigar, starts peppery, and the pepper continues throughout. I think I expected more sweetness, and there was some espresso, but no sugar. This might be one of the rare cases where I prefer the Habano over the Maduro, usually Maduro is my jam. Anyway, it was good, the 5 3/8″ x 52 size fit the time I needed it to fill, and I was not unhappy.
That’s all for today. There was another cigar I smoked this week, but I didn’t care for it, so I’ll leave it for another time when I can smoke one again and form a better opinion! Until the next time,
CigarCraig
Hey buddy! That Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva sounds like I’d enjoy it, too. But not at $22 a stick.