CigarCraig's Blog

by Craig Vanderslice | March 23, 2025 · 10:18 am

Alec Bradley, El Mago, Bentley, and Plasencia Cigars

I spent some time this week smoking cigars that I got on my two trips to Florida this month. Three of them came from the outstanding Cigar Circus opening party, and one I picked up at Smoke Inn. Some I liked better than others, but they were all pretty good. I’ve been really trying to limit my consumption of sucky cigars. Anyway, I started with the Alec Bradley Post Embargo Blend Code B15. I remember picking up some Post Embargos nine years ago, might still have one somewhere, and them not really being up my alley. I misidentified this as Blend Code 815, upon closer inspection it’s a B. I thought it took them 815 tries to get to this, I would have given up well before 500. They have a large “Post Embargo” band covering the high priming Trojes Honduran wrapper, with a Honduran binder and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. This stares with a little hint of Mesquite wood, and it struggled with some minor tunneling. The second half redeemed itself, with some nice, medium milk chocolate and nuts. Not a bad smoke, interesting flavors. I think this came out since the STG purchase of the brand.

A cigar I picked up when I visited the Smoke Inn shop in West Palm a few weeks back was the El Mago Miami Disco. I have been hearing a lot about the brand, great story behind it, and the packaging is pretty spectacular. The Disco reached out to me, maybe it’s one of the brand’s newest offerings, or that the tube was quite nice. I like that the cigars are in cellophane and the tube skips the cedar sheet, that’s an expensive and unnecessary feature and adds nothing for me. This is a 6″ x 60 cigar with a dark Habano Oscuro wrapper, Criollo binder and Nicaraguan fillers. These are made at the MGE Cigars Factory in Esteli, one which I haven’t heard of previously. Upon lighting this I instantly regretted only buying one, and for a moment considered shelling out for a box, even though this is near the upper limit of my price comfort zone. The cigar started with a delicious Cayenne dark chocolate kind of thing, it really got my attention. This was my star of the week, it was a delicious cigar to the end. The Cayenne dropped off and it was pure dark chocolate til the end. Yummy cigar, and I need to try some of the other cigars in the line. I think Wooden Indian might have some, I owe them a visit anyway!

The Bentley Green toro was my Saturday afternoon watching hockey cigar. This was in the cigars from Cigar Circus, while Jon Carney, who owns the US distribution of the brand, was there with Hooten Young cigars. The Bentley line is owned by the Schusters, who are big cigar distributors in Germany, and made at Joya de Nicaragua. I like a lot of the cigas made at JdN. The 6″ x 52 toro has an Ecuador Rosado wrapper, and fillers from the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua. Flavorwise, his one gave me the feeling of dry cocoa powder, in a medium bodied package. It was a good cigar, maybe not my favorite if the week, but that bar was set high. I’d give it another go. I was a little surprised that the green was provided instead of the White, I thought the White might have a broader appeal, although I haven’t tried it yet.

Finally, one more cigar that was in the Circus pack was the Plasencia Reserva 1898 robusto. This is a cigar I had never seen before, although it looks like its a line that they have had for a very long time, and may have been for the international market. Is it a reprise? Would they put a discontinued cigar in a retailers swag bag? I’m confused. From what I can put together, this 4¾” x 54 robusto is a Nicaraguan Puro, maybe. Some sources list a Honduran binder. I’m really confused. I see this available at both domestic and international retailers, but it’s not on the Plasencia website. Nothing surprises me with cigar makers websites, El Mago has a search function and “Disco” had no results, yet it’s on the page. I digress. This cigar was pretty darned good! It was dark and rich, and quite strong I think. I noted espresso and cocoa, but a savory as opposed to sweet sensation. I had a sneezing fit in the final third, not sure what that was all about! From what I can gather this is a sub $10 cigar, and was very good.

That’s about all I have for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

Leave a Comment

Filed under Review

Tagged as Alec Bradley, Bentley, cigar, cigars, Disco, El Mago, Green, Plasencia, Post Embargo, Reserva 1898

by Craig Vanderslice | March 16, 2025 · 9:23 am

Serenity Now, Montecristo Exclusive, Hooten Young and Julius Caeser Cigars

Thursday night I went to a Flyers Game, their second meeting with the Tampa Lightning. You may recall that I went to Tampa last November to the game there, and they won in a shootout. It was a fantastic experience with the Diamond Crown cigar lounge and all, Kevin and I had a great time! This time I took my youngest son, and I smoked a Serenity Now from Asylum/CLE Cigars. I figured this would be an appropriate driving cigar! I got this at the TPE show, embarrassed to say I don’t remember the reps name who I talked to , but Tom Lazuka was there. This is a cigar that Christian Eiroa came up with, Tom is usually the idea man for the Asylum line. It’s my understanding that we wasn’t very happy with Christian at first. This comes in a box with a San Andrés sibling, the Insanity Later. Serenity Now uses a Connecticut-seed wrapper, which may or may not be grown in Honduras, over tobaccos from Honduras and an undisclosed South American country. There are a lot of references to CLE having a farm in South America, which is a big place. I thought this was a little bitey for a shade cigar, on the tannic side. It was a nice road cigar as it burned well and was inoffensive. Full flavor yet medium strength. I’d try it again, but am more interested in trying the maduro, which I would have called Profanity Later, but that’s just me.

Last week when I visited the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo lounge in West Palm Beach, one of the cigars I bought was a Montecristo Nicaragua Great Smoke 2023 Exclusive. This was priced higher than I usually like, but when in Rome (more on Rome, see below) you know! Yesterday was The Great Smoke put on by Abe at Smoke Inn, and it looks to have been a good time. In honor of that, I decided to smoke the Montecristo. This is a Nicaraguan puro, blended by Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez and made at the AJF factory. Montecristo (and a lot of Altadis cigars) aren’t generally my cup of tea, although the exceptions are the ones made by AJ Fernandez. This has a dark wrapper, is a 6″ x 52 Toro, and performed spectacularly. It has a distinctive flavor, I wonder if this is what people refer to as “black walnut”? I don’t like walnut, but this was a good tasting cigar. I didn’t regret dropping $20 on this cigar, it was a souvenir, of my trip, and I really enjoyed it. Once again, I can’t overstate how nice an experience my visit to the Smoke Inn shop was, I will have to get back down there and go to some of the other shops.

Another cigar I picked up on my recent travels was the Hooten Young Ma Deuce. I saw Jon Carney at the Cigar Circus event and he, apparently, had been working with the Hooten Young folks, and hooked me up with a couple of their cigars. I probably should have watched “Black Hawk Down” yesterday while I smoked this, but opted for something a little lighter. Norm Hooten, one of the co-founders of the company, is a Veteran of the mission in Somalia which the movie “Black Hawk Down” is about, and there’s also a connection to Jon Carney’s home town in Maine. This is an interesting vitola. It’s 6½” x 60, but it’s shaped like a .50 caliber cartridge. The Ecuadorian Connecticut and San Andres Maduro wrapper combo is arranged to emulate the different metals in the bullet and casing. It has a Nicaraguan binder and filler. They come in boxes that look like ammo cans. Everyone has a different palate, I got a sourdough flavor off the start, which continued through out. Of course, I like this flavor in a cigar, so it was good. I smoked it for the better part of two hours, and the tapered head makes it very much unlike a 60 ring cigar. It was fun to smoke. I’ll watch “Black Hawk Down” one of these days when I’m in the mood.

Finally, I couldn’t let March 15 go by without smoking a Diamond Crown Julius Caeser cigar. Here’s something I wrote last year that I was pretty proud of, although I might be the only one who was impressed with it…

We all know that March 15 marks the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. We know the exact date because he invented the calendar we use. He instituted that just a year before his death. Anyway, he was a heck of an Emperor, but I guess his friends thought he was a dick, so they stabbed him. I may be oversimplifying things a little. A few millennia later some Hungarian folks named their son after him, and US immigration screwed up the spelling on his paperwork and Julius Caeser Newman started a cigar company that makes some great cigars.

The Diamond Crown Julius Caeser is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, has an Ecuador Havana wrapper, Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. I smoked the Pyramid vitola, which is 6½” x 52. I might have gotten this when I was in Tampa for the Heritage Festival in ’22. I was kind of hoping to smoke the new Trouble Maker vitola, but I didn’t end up getting my hands on any. This is a great cigar, with a woody profile that’s a nice change of pace for me. I probably don’t smoke this line as often as I should, there are some good memories associated with it, beyond the historical and literary tie-ins.

That’s all I have for today, no travel this weekend! until the next time,

CigarCraig

Leave a Comment

Filed under Review

Tagged as Asylum, cigar, cigars, CLE, Great Smoke, Hooten Young, J.C.Newman, Juli, Ma Deuce, Montecristo, Serenity Now, Smoke Inn, The Great Smoke

by Craig Vanderslice | March 9, 2025 · 10:15 am

Tobacco Queen Super A, Timeless Supreme and a Couple Cigars at Smoke Inn

A few weeks ago I featured some cigars from Cigar Ambassador in the Tobacco Queen line. This is a company that has been a major leaf supplier to the Asian market out of the DR. I was waiting for the right time to tackle the Tobacco Queen Super A, a 9¼” x 48 actual A size cigar, and that time presented itself this week. Set aside a hair over two hours for this one. I was surprised that this started out with a lot of flavor, many times A size cigars start mild, this one had some spice and cinnamon to start. For such a long cigar, it burned perfectly, and had a reasonable consistent flavor all the way through. It was a fun smoke, it kept my interest throughout, and I’d smoke it again. As long as it keeps my interest, I like a long smoke.

I had picked up a Ferio Tego Timeless Supreme 660 recently because I hadn’t yet smoked anything Ferio Tego branded yet. I don’t know how this happened, I just know that I need to fix it. The Timeless Supreme is a box-pressed Nicaraguan puro, made by Placencia. The 6″ x 60 box pressed doesn’t feel too large, and it smoked perfectly. This cigar was chocolaty with a hint of spice tingle, and I really liked it. Why haven’t I smoked this before? It could easily be a go-to cigar for me, it’s fits my preferences just right. I will need to further explore the Timeless series.

Friday morning I decided to make a Saturday visit to the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo in West Palm Beach, Florida. I know, you’re saying “CigarCraig, you live in Pennsylvania, how can this be?” Well, my wife got me a Frontier Airlines Go-pass that allows unlimited flights at short notice. All I have to pay is the taxes, which in the last three trips to Florida are about $30 round trip. Of course, there are limitations: blackout dates, limited destinations and times, stuff like that. One must also be willing to endure the discomfort of a budget airline, and I’ll put up with a lot to save a buck. Anyway I booked flights to Palm Beach International Airport and picked the closest Smoke Inn location to the airport, not realizing that the Headquarters store wasn’t too much further away. That’s how I ended up hanging out at Smoke Inn West Palm Beach for the day yesterday.

This is a beautiful shop, with a complete bar, well stocked humidor and helpful staff. Considering it’s been winter here, and was sunny and 80 there, I sat out on the lanai, as the Floridians like to call a patio. The patio had three TVs, and the music at a barely audible level so one doesn’t have to yell to converse, which I like a lot. The regulars engaged in the ball busting that seems to happen in every lounge I visit. I picked up a handful of cigars I hadn’t seen before and lit up a Micallef Black Box Pressed Toro, a Smoke Inn exclusive. This is a 6½” x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. I’m interested to see what Micallef does with this blend in the firecracker format, this is a much better value! I regret not bringing some back with me. It’s about $9, with some spice and cocoa, just the way I like it. I know that next weekend is the Great Smoke, and the stores there are going to be super busy. Would it have been better to go then? Perhaps, but the dates were blacked out and I was happy to hang out there with an old friend from the alt.smokers.cigars usenet days, Don Payne. It was great catching up with him. I was home in bed before midnight. This is two weekends in a row I’ve taken day trips to Florida, next weekend I’m staying home!

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

CigarCraig

Leave a Comment

Filed under Review, Stores, Trip Report

Tagged as Casa de Montecristo, cigar, cigars, Ferio Tego, Micallef, Smoke Inn, Timeless, Tobacco Queen, West Palm Beach

by Craig Vanderslice | March 2, 2025 · 11:06 am

Cigar Circus Grand Opening in Clearwater, Florida

Yesterday I took a little day trip to Florida! I left the house around 4:30 am and got a flight out of BWI in Maryland because I couldn’t get the flight I wanted out of Philly. Got to Tampa around 11 and had a Diamond Crown Robusto No. 4 while I waited for Kevin (CigarProp, Trash Panda) and Jessica, to pick me up. Many thanks to them for the ride and friendship! Additional thanks to Keith for the ride to the airport and keeping me company! Cigar Circus is a new business in Clearwater, Florida. It’s spearheaded by Ryan Gallimore, formerly of Drew Estate and before that Swinger Cigars. This is a Cigar Distribution operation, E-Commerce operation with a large retail showroom and a lounge. Yesterday they held their grand opening celebration, which is why I flew down. In addition to the 150 or so attendees, there were 20 or more cigar company representatives, none of whom were there selling, they were there interacting with the attendees. Generally at multi vendor events there are lines and not a lot of time to just hang out with the, in many cases, faces of companies. This was one of my favorite parts of this event. Every attendee got a cool bag with an ashtray, mug, lighter, cap and a bunch of cigars. Ryan used to buy the swag for Drew Estate, so it was all top notch. There were a bunch of circus performers on hand. Ironically (or maybe not), that part of Florida has a rich circus history. They also had food! Brisket, pulled pork, two different sausages, slaw and potato salad, and there were more than enough coolers with water and soft drinks, and a substantial bottle collection (don’t drink, didn’t look into it any further). This was a really well done event, although one thing Ryan learned from Drew Estate was to have a very loud DJ. I’m old, I don’t want to have to yell at people, unless they deserve it!

I smoked a few cigars over the course of the day, I didn’t smoke anything I hadn’t smoked before because at this kind of event one doesn’t have a chance to think too much about what one’s smoking! I had an AJ Fernandez New World Dorado Corona and a Diesel Vintage, both very satisfying! After the event I met up with my friend Keith and we went over to Corona for a quick little Tatuaje Cojonu before he dropped me a the airport. It was a great day, glad to see a lot of old friends and meet some new ones.

I have two months left on my Frontier Go-Pass, so if anyone has a suggestion on where I can go for a quick visit, within a couple hours flight from Philadelphia, let me know! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

Leave a Comment

Filed under Events, Trip Report

Tagged as cigar, Cigar Circus, cigars

by Craig Vanderslice | February 23, 2025 · 9:52 am

Grace O’Malley, Big Papi HOF and Fratello Bianco Nero Cigars

Info about this cigar isn’t going to be officially released until next Saturday, but I’m going to get ahead of things here. I hope Kevin isn’t pissed at me. When I was in Tampa last November, I was fortunate enough to accompany Kevin (CigarProp, Trash Panda) to Single Barrel Cigar Company to drop off the cigars that would become Grace O’Malley Pirate Queen Cigars. The Robusto size cigars, which were made by JSK Cigars, are 5″ x 54, and may be a tweaked version of the JSK Red Knight.

Here’s a quote from Kevin on the barrel selection:

We partnered with the crew at Single Barrel Cigar Company, aligning our pirate theme with the perfect aging vessel: a rum barrel. But not just any rum barrel. We selected a Sazerac Rye barrel that had previously held Myers’s Rum before making its way to Big Storm Distillery, where it finished yet another rum. This multi-layered history of spirits infused our cigars with unparalleled complexity.

The cigars were placed in the barrel on November 7, 2024, and remained there for 94 days, emerging on February 9, 2025.

As I’ve said ad nauseum, I haven’t had a drink in 35 years, so I don’t have much of a palate for spirits, and when I gave it up, the highest quality rum I drank was Bacardi (no offence to Kevin, I know it’s a staple for him, but it’s not a high end sipping rum). After smoking the Single Barrel Blanton’s Gold Maduro and enjoying it, I had some expectations for a cigar aged in a rum barrel. I was expecting sweet, it was a tasty cigar, but more of the barrel char flavor to me than sweetness. I did make a mistake though, I wish I had mooched a cigar off of Kevin before being put in the barrel, although at the time I had no expectation that I would get to sample the finished product. I smoked a couple of these, and they were consistent, and I enjoyed them for what they are, a quality cigar, with a boozy aroma from the start. Like I said, I’m not the guy for anything spirits related. However, I was able to figure out the proper way to use the cannon carriage cigar rest!

I smoked a couple more cigars I got at the TPE show a few weeks back this week, starting with the Fratello Bianco Nero, which was released last year. Omar gave me this cigar knowing how much I enjoy the Bianco, and this Bianco Nero (Italian for White Black for some reason), is a tweaked version. It’s a 6″ x 58 box pressed perfecto, with a Maduro San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. They only made 500 ten count boxes of these, and I wouldn’t mind having one of those in my humidor. This was a spectacular cigar, possibly richer in flavor than the regular Bianco (big fan of the Boxer), with loads of espresso flavors. I’ve had some really good cigars so far this year, and this is near the top of the list so far. Delicious.

Another cigar that came home from the TPE show with me was the Big Papi HOF from Artista Cigars. This was a 6″ x 54 toro, they also have a limited edition figurado that’s reminiscent of a baseball bat, and they only made 541 boxes, which is the number of home runs he hit during his major league career. Artista is a funny brand for me personally. I have a good relationship with Kevin Newman there, but there are only one or two cigars in their portfolio that really work for my palate. There are a couple other brands like that, and I keep trying, because I like the folks and want to support the brand. It’s kind of weird, I guess. Anyway, I smoked the Big Papi HOF yesterday and enjoyed it. It has a San Andrés wrapper, although not a dar maduro color, with Indonesian binder, and a proprietary filler blend, which one would assume is largely Dominican given David Ortiz’ roots. I got a woody profile with some subtle spice, not my favorite profile, and not what I expect from a San Andrés wrapper, but objectively quite a good cigar. I need to revisit the Harvest and Midnight and try the Falu in their Artista Series. Buffalo Ten is a really great bargain in any wrapper.