Search Results for: arandoza
Merlion Maduro, Arandoza Defcon and Norteño Edicion Limitada Cigars
The cold I managed to get after traveling to California somehow morphed into a sinus infection mid-week, so I took a few days off from cigars. In truth, smoking was the last thing I wanted to do. But before that all set in, I smoked a Merlion Maduro robusto from La Sirena Cigars. These are made at the La Aurora Factory, and are the maduro version of the Merlion made at the same factory. This was Merlion_Maduro_Robustoa sample from the 2016 IPCPR show where I got to spend a little time hanging out with Arielle and her family, who are all involved in the brand. Previous to this release, the only glimpse we had at what a Merlion Maduro might be was the single maduro version that was in the limited edition Sea Lion box. The Sea Lion is a cool little perfecto cigar, and I finally smoked the maduro version last year and was amazed by it (which was my fear, considering these were impossible to come by). Luckily, this years Sea Lion release, although limited, is the opposite, with nine maduros and one with the original Ecuador Corojo wrapper. So I was excited to smoke the Robusto, and put a box of the toros in the humidor anyway. The maduro wrapper in a San Andrés from Mexico, and the Brazilian Sumatra binder and Brazilian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers from the original release stay the same. To be honest, I liked the Ecuador Corojo Merlion, but about as much as I like a lot of the La Aurora output, which is to say I want to like them, but most don’t suit my preferred flavor profile. However, slap a San Andrés wrapper on it and I’m in. I found the smoke to be milder than I thought it would be, but that could have been the impending nose condition. I love the sweet earthy flavor and look forward to smoking this in the toro size with healthy sinuses and maybe warmer weather. I have almost filled the top shelf of the cabinet with La Sirena cigars, I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet. I still have some of the old My Father made Churchills and Salamones hanging out there too, and I need to get some of the new Connecticut Shade to have on hand as well. Continue reading
Filed under Review
IPCPR Cigars – Arandoza 5th Anniversary Toro
My appreciation for the Arandoza line goes back to early in 2013 when I smoked my first Arandoza Blue. I have since smoked a number of Blues, a bunch of Whites, my favorite, the Red, and some of the Defcon they released last year. I love them all, but particularly the Red, which is a heavy, lush San Andrés maduro with some horsepower. This year Robert Arango celebrates his fifth year with his fifth release, the limited edition 5th Anniversary. This is limited to 500 boxes of ten, is a Nicaraguan puro with a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. It’s offered in a 6″ x 52 toro only, and, like the rest of the line, is made in Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory. At the show I spent the better part of an hour just hanging out with Robert and his wife Pilar just talking about dogs and family and normal, regular stuff. It was one of my favorite moments of the show, just having real life conversations with friends. Continue reading
Defcon from Arandoza, El Gueguense, and Epic Maduro Reserva
No events this week! I was going to stop at a local shop that was having a Rocky Patel event, but I wasn’t feeling particularly well and wanted to spend the evening at home. I have been able to get back to smoking some trade show samples and really enjoying them. I admit, as I’ve been going through the samples looking for something to smoke there are some cigars I come across that I don’t remember getting! I suppose I’ll have to do some research when I decide to smoke them. So far I haven’t run across any duds, but I try not to select bad cigars if I can help it. Thursday evening I grabbed a cigar that I’ve been looking forward to trying. I’ve been quite enamored with the Arandoza line, and made a point to meet Robert Arango and his wife, Pilar, at the show. They are really nice people and they are responsible for some really nice cigars. They debuted their fourth cigar in the Arandoza line, Defcon, at the show and after loving the Arandoza Red last year, I was excited to try this one. The cigar has a rustic Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I really enjoyed the cigar. It may have been a little bit less refined than the Red, which is a powerful smoke on it’s own, but it had the power accompanied by some bitterness with a hint of sweetness that I really like. This is a really nice addition to a line of cigar that I really appreciate. One more to add to the list of great cigars from Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory. Continue reading
A Great Big Toxic Cigar, Half a Toscano 1492 and an Arandoza
This isn’t going to be too long a post, we went to a local Vietnamese restaurant for dinner tonight and apparently Vietnamese cuisine isn’t a good match for my digestive tract! Scratch that one off the list! We have a shopping center within a half mile of the house that has a bunch of interesting eateries, and we’re working our way through. So far Cheeburger Cheeburger is a winner for dinner, and The Bacon Press is an obvious choice for breakfast and lunch (not open for dinner, the Mac and Cheese with Bacon and Jalapeño was really good). Something about the rice noodle wanton soup didn’t do it for me. Anyway, if you want to hear about digestive woes tune into The Cigar Authority show, we’re here to talk about cigars! Continue reading
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CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways 2014 Day 12: Arandoza Cigars
Day 12 brings us the third offering from Arandoza Cigars. The Arandoza Red Label features a spicy San Andrés wrapper and is a strong, delicious cigar. Once again, this comes from the La Zona factory in Esteli. In addition to the Mexican maduro wrapper, it has a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan triple ligero filler. I really like all the cigars in the Arandoza line, but the Red Label is my favorite. Many thanks to Robert Arango at Arandoza Cigars for his enthusiastic support this year! Continue reading
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