Monthly Archives: December 2014

We are settling in to the new house, and with the rain over the last few evenings I’ve really been diggin the large screened in porch! Since I’ve been trying to get projects done I’ve smoked some small cigars and have been using my new AshStay ashtray from Ashstay.com.  I mentioned this last week and thought it was really cool, although there’s no way I’ll be running it through the dishwasher (it’s dishwasher safe!).  I like that I can close it up when I’m done and empty it after the cigars are out and it doesn’t stink or anything! It’s a little lighter than I thought it would be, but I don’t anticipate it getting blown around the enclosed porch. It’s a simple and elegant solution!

Sunday after painting the office/den I took a walk with a Tortuga Reserva 215 Regalo, which is at this point unreleased.  I probably shouldn’t talk about it too much, but someone will have a chance to get their hands on these in the coming weeks, so I figured I’d build some hype.  The cigar is a chubby toro, 6″ x 54, and comes wrapped in a cedar sleeve with a green ribbon on the foot.  The wrapper is a beautiful Ecuador Connecticut shade and I assume that the rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan.  I really enjoyed the smooth and creamy texture of this cigar that isn’t a mild shade wrapped cigar. It’s loaded with medium bodied flavor.  It’s hard for me to find a Tortuga that I don’t love, and this is another fine example.  A perfectly made, perfectly satisfying smoke that was a nice treat at the end of a long and busy weekend.

Monday it was raining, so before staring on my baseboard project in the den, I selected a little 3½ x 42 half corona from the Evil Genius Cigars White Chapel line.  I got a couple of the Evil Genius robustos from brand owner Alex Hirsch (a fellow Pennsylvanian) at Goose’s Smokin’ Goose fest and hadn’t quite found the time to do them justice, so When I saw Alex last week at the Wooden Indian he gave me this little half corona.  These cigars are made at the La Aurora factory, and you would think the White would be the milder cigar. Wrong!  This is a potent little powerhouse with enough pepper in the retrohale (I don’t like that term, but I don’t know what else to call passing the smoke through the nose) to almost make me sneeze!  I’m very much looking forward to digging out the robustos and smoking them. This is a very nice cigar and Alex is slowly getting these out in the market, so keep an eye out.  Definately a tasty little 45 minute smoke!

Tuesday was more of the same, rain and a project, so I took another little cigar I’ve been holding on to out on the porch.  Phil Zanghi originally started the Indian Tabac line in the ’90s, went into partnership with Rocky Patel, who eventually bought Phil out. Phil has kept himself busy in the machine made cigar market, but a couple years ago he launched the ultra premium Debonaire line of cigars.  The Debonaire First Degree is a tasty little 4″ x 44 perfecto with Central American and Dominican tobaccos that burns perfect and has a nice, savory flavor.  This was another 45 minute smoke that was satisfying.  This sample came from the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.  I have smoked a few of the Debonaire line, and found them to be excellent cigars.  You can hear about these pretty regularly on the Stogie Geeks and Cigar Authority podcasts.

Tonight I got a bit of a walk in with a Nomad S-307 Robusto that I bought last week at The Wooden Indian when I was there for the House of Emilio event.  These are made in Nicaragua at the AJ Fernandez factory and are Nomad’s first regular production Nicaraguan cigar. The wrapper is a nice, dark brown Ecuador Sumatra with a Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  The box press is very comfortable and it took a V cut very nicely.  This has the kind of burn I love, flat and even, and the draw was perfect. It was bold, but not overpowering, and had a nice peppery sweetness.  To get you warmed up for CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways, Fred Rewey is having his own contest, The Nine Days of Nomad going on right now.  Click HERE to enter.

As long as you are warming up for CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways, here’s a non-cigar contest you can enter.  Rebeat Magazine is giving away six books that are perfect for any Beatles fan!  I happen to know most of the authors and these are excellent books. Click on over and enter their contest!

Also, click on the Famous Smoke Shop banner on the left and use the promo code “CRAIG15” to get 15% off a $50 or greater purchase! That’s it for now, I need to go try to get some insulation hung before bed!  Until the next time,

CigarCraig