Providencia El Santo and El Padre Cigars

Yesterday I had the luxury of smoking two cigars, so I decided to make it a “theme day” and smoke two that were new to me from Providencia Cigars. The cigars are made in Honduras with Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco in two blends, the El Padre and the El Santo, The Father and the Saint respectively. Based on the fact that the El Padre is a Connecticut and the El Santo is the maduro, any guess which one I went to first?  Of course, I grabbed the El Santo Prensado, the box pressed, 6″ x 52 toro size. This also comes in a Robusto Gordo which measures 4½”x 58. The details on this cigar are vague according to the information I was provided, it lists the wrapper as Sumatra Nicaraguan Maduro, and “a proprietary blend” of Honduran tobaccos that they grow on their own plantations, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s impressive that they have their own farms and, one would assume, process their own leaf. small tangent: I think it’s equally impressive that they only produce 25,000 cigars a year between the two blends, and they are priced at $8 each across the board. There is no mention that I could find that they own a factory or in what factory they are produced.  Back to the El Santo. The cigar had a soft box press and was very comfortable in the hand. I lit it up on the back porch as I was receiving text alerts about thunderstorms, which isn’t a problem in an enclosed porch unless the wind gets crazy, which it did not. I had no complaints about the burn and draw, both were exceptional. I generally expect sweetness and cocoa from a cigar that looks like this, but I was pleasantly surprised that it had more of a savory, steak-like feel to it. I liked that it wasn’t your standard maduro (I love standard maduros!), it was interesting, entertaining, and delicious. My mouth watered. Thunderstorms ensued, although not distracting me from the enjoyment. Now I’m looking forward to smoking the Robusto Gordo quite a bit (that’s a size I like to). Providencia El Santo Prensado gets two thumbs up.

After dinner and a couple of Game of Thrones episodes (I’m way behind the curve, I read the book a long time ago, but only recently had the access to the HBO series and they were playing it all weekend). I took a walk with the Providencia El Padre in that Robusto Gordo size. This also comes in a 6″x 52 torpedo, which was their first cigar. The El Padre lists a Connecticut Nicaraguan wrapper, which is not all that common.  The wrapper was a flawless blond leaf with fine veins as one would expect. My only complaint would be that it took a little coaxing to get the bottom side of the foot properly lit, but one it got going it burned like a champ. Smoke production was great with the El Padre as it was with the El Santo, and there was little mildness about it. It was rich and, dare I say it again?, meaty. Not strong, but full-bodied enough to know you’re smoking a cigar, for sure. The wrapper added a creaminess to the mix, and it was an extremely pleasing cigar. After twenty years of sampling all kinds of cigars, from un-known cigars in the boom of the 90s that were just terrible, to boutiques like this one, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon anymore, almost hating the idea of wasting my valuable cigar time with an unknown. It’s cigars like these that keep me doing it (and the strange desire to share my thoughts on a website), the surprise of being entertained and satisfied by something new. Are there the new cigars that I try that meet my sometimes negative expectation?  Sure there are, but lines like Providencia are what keep me experimenting. The fact that they sell for $8 each doesn’t hurt. Good job to the guys behind this line. These are available for sale on their website as well as select tobacconists (listed on the site).

I’m testing a prototype of Cigar Prop‘s new portable prop, a two piece design that when apart is roughly credit card sized. It works, it holds up a cigar, much like it’s less portable brethren. I have a feeling it will not work well in my wallet flying to Vegas next week, TSA may frown upon it, I’m not quite sure. I have to say, I use one of the Cigar Props every day, whether it’s just to take a picture for Instagram or, as it’s intended, for a place to rest my cigar when I need to do something else.  A handy and good-looking solution to a common problem!

That’s all for now. Some may have a long weekend for the 4th of July. I have to work tomorrow, so weekendus interuptus for me, but Tuesday will require some special cigars. One for the anniversary of the USA and one for my wife and I celebrating our wedding anniversary. Guaranteed one of those cigars will have “anniversary” in the name. Stay safe, don’t blow off any body parts, and have a great weekend! Until the next time,

CigarCraig