Monthly Archives: November 2016

by | November 30, 2016 · 9:25 pm

Cigars From El Artista: Exactus, Big Papi, Pro Ambar and Pulita

This just happened to work out great, because as I was smoking some cigars from El Artista this week, I got a new ad from them (top right on the side) with a Cigarmas contest for you all to enter. Since I’ll be taking a break from CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways this year, here’s a chance to win some great stuff anyway.  The contest will run from tomorrow, 12/1/2016 to 12/12/16. Click the graphic and upload a picture of yourself in your holiday finery!

 

Tabacalera El Artista has been around since 1956 in the Dominican Republic, and has been flying under my radar until recently. When they approached me about advertising on my site I was intrigued, and I picked up a handful of their cigars from Best Cigar Prices (yeah, another advertiser) on my own dime. Among them was the Puro Ambar and the Exactus, and I also managed to acquire a couple of their Pulita and Big Papi, newly released  by Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz. The release of the Big Papi was delayed by Exactus Classic Robusto - @elartistacigara brief play-off run, as they weren’t going to release it until Mr. Ortiz officially retired from the sport. I started off with the Exactus Clasico in the 5″ x 54 Robusto size. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper leaf over Dominican Criollo 98 fillers and a special wine-fermented binder leaf. Look for a better take on this cigar in the future as the conditions I smoked it in were not conducive to getting the best experience. It was windy and cold the day I took this cigar with me for my walk home from the store, and while it was a nice enough cigar, it was on the mild side and lost given the weather, which was better suited for a strong, broadleaf cigar. These are also available in a “Super Coloso” size in the Connecticut and Maduro, running around $45 each for an 11″ x 90 cigar. I seriously doubt you will see a review of that size here.

 

Big Papi by David Ortiz_ToroThe Pig Papi by David Ortiz is a 6″ x 54 toro with a Ecuador Habano wrapper, Criollo 98 binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. I grew up watching National League baseball, so the whole designated hitter thing was always a little foreign to me, and I understand that Big Papi was a DH (designated hitter, I’m sure he’s a really nice guy, he smokes cigars!). Pitchers were never really great hitters anyway, so not having them bat seems like a good enough idea. This cigar was really quite good, creamy with some spice and nuts, with a good burn. While I was impressed, I can see where this will benefit from some humidor time and can’t wait for baseball season to try another one (not a big fan, but baseball=warmer months, which I am a fan of).

 

Puro Ambar_GranRobustoThe Puro Ambar Gran Robusto was next up. This cigar was a 5¼” x 54 size, and has all kinds of hybrid tobaccos from El Artista’s farms in the Dominican Republic. The Wrapper is “T13”, a three tobacco hybrid, the fillers are Dominican Criollo 98 and another exclusive hybrid, and the wine fermented Criollo 98 like the Exactus. As a non-drinker, and never a wine fan when I was, this is lost on me, although that may have been the unique and interesting flavor I found in the cigar. Like the other cigars from this manufacturer, the construction was top-notch. This is an earthy cigar, pleasant, but lacking the sweetness I like in a cigar. This might be my least favorite of the three, but certainly not without merit.

 

Pulita_60Aniversario_RobustoTonight I went with the Pulita 60 Anversario robusto, a classic 5″ x 50. This cigar honors the founder of El Artista, Ramón “Pulita” Rodriguez, with his original six tobacco blend. The wrapper is a Negrito from the DR, and the last time I heard of Negrito tobacco was from Robert Caldwell’s  The King is Dead.  It’s a chocolaty wrapper, very nice looking. The binder is the Criollo 98, and fillers are an interesting mix of Dominican, Nicaraguan, Colombian and Pennsylvanian tobaccos. This was easily my favorite of the bunch, even though it was raining like crazy, thankfully my enclosed back porch was nice and dry. This was a slow burning cigar, with a lot going on in the flavor department. It tasted of well-aged tobaccos, with some coffee and cocoa, some damp earth and sweetness. It was interesting and held my attention. It’s funny, I hadn’t heard of this cigar until my amigo Mike mentioned it to me a couple of weeks ago, apparently it was featured on The Cigar Authority and included in their care package (a cigar of the month club of sorts which supplies cigars to smoke along with the show). I guess I zoned out during that part of the show that week, I usually pay attention better. Tasty cigar.

 

OK, so we know that I’m not going to spend 14 days having rapid fire contests this year, which isn’t any fun for anyone, and I’m sorry about that. Don’t be surprised if there aren’t some contests popping up here and there though. I had mentioned doing a secret Santa kind of thing, and if there’s still interest among the readership, I’ll put it together. It’s a little tricky, I have to trust everyone to behave themselves appropriately, and I haven’t really ever administered such a thing, but I have some idea how to do it. Let me know in the comments.  That’s all I got for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | November 27, 2016 · 10:33 am

Smoking Cigars from Tabacalara Incorporada in the Philippines

Many years ago I wrote off cigars from the Philippines, as well as cigars with Indonesian wrappers. When I heard that the folks at Daughters & Ryan, famed for distributing pipe tobacco, RYO, shisha and e-liquids, were the exclusive US distributor for Philippine company Tabacalera Incorporada, I was skeptical. I looked over the portfolio and saw mostly blends of Indonesian and Philippine tobaccos. Still, keeping an open mind, and trusting that things have changed since the ’90s when I decided I didn’t like these tobaccos, I figured I’d try some of the offerings of this 130+ year old company. I was quite curious about the 1881 Perique Maduro, the Tabacalera Gran Reserva and the Don Juan Urquijo, so I smoked a few of them over the last couple days.

 

1881PeriqueMaduro_ToroYou know well enough by now what I went for first, I strive to be consistent. The 1881 Perique Maduro in the toro size was the blend that piqued my interest in giving this companies cigars a try. The cigar has a Dominican maduro wrapper, binder form the Philippines (from a 1997 crop), and the filler is 18% Perique from a farm in Louisiana owned by Daughters & Ryan and Philippine leaf. Perique is typically a pipe tobacco, it’s usually blended because it’s very strong, and has a distinctive flavor. This type of tobacco was being cultivated in Louisiana by the local Native American tribes when Europeans wandered into the area in the 1700s. The cigar was outstanding, I really enjoyed the heck out of it. That interesting Perique spice was a welcomed difference and made for a very interesting hour and a half or so. I’m not sure  how to describe it except that there is a bit of a fruityness along with the rich sweetness of the maduro wrapper. Loved it in to toro, looking forward to trying it in other sizes ( it comes in the toro, torpedo and torpedito, robusto and short robusto).  After enjoying this so much, my skepticism is fading.

 

DonJuanUrquiro_PyramidLater in the evening I took a walk in the company of the dog and a Don Juan Urquijo Pyramid. Short tangent: I’m finding that my go-to sizes recently are the toro and torpedo or pyramid sizes, somewhere in the 6″-6½” x 50-54  range. I don’t know if these sizes best fit my attention span, or if I like to have that amount of time to relax with a cigar or what. I’m sure it’s time related, sometimes a robusto (of which I have a great many), just isn’t long enough…anyway, back to the cigar. The Don Juan Urquijo is a four country blend, it has what I consider to be an ugly colored Java wrapper, the Isabela binder from the Philippines, and fillers from the Philippines, Dominican Republic and Brazil. Going back to the wrapper color. When I see this wrapper color it’s a turn-off, it’s a babycrap kind of olive/brown that just doesn’t appeal to me. A few years ago Villiger made their 125th Anniversary with a similar colored wrapper and had the good sense to put it in a tube. However, this was one tasty cigar. It’s on the mild side, but loaded with complex flavors that were both creamy and spicy with a nice sweetness. Never judge a book by its cover. It was perfectly balanced, well made, and a delight to smoke. This would be a great cigar to have with coffee in the morning, but it was perfect after a nice dinner of leftovers from the previous day’s feast. I kinda regret being so hard on the wrapper color, it was so good. It would have been a shame to have passed this by on a tobacconist’s shelf. My preconceived notions continue to be dashed.

 

Tabacalera_GranReserva_RobustoYesterday I selected the final cigar of the three I had. There are seven lines now from this factory, with eleven new lines expected soon. (that’s my understanding, maybe there are four new lines coming to expand the selection to eleven?). Anyway, the last one was a robusto in the Gran Reserve line. This is the only size in this line,  and it boasts a 16-year-old Brazilian wrapper, and twenty-two year old Isabela binder and filler from the Philippines. It’s amazing that they have tobacco this old, twenty years ago everyone was buying whatever tobacco they could and rolling cigars because there was a huge cigar boom. Tobacco was scarce, good cigars were scarce, it’s a wonder I stuck with the cigar hobby! Anyway, the Tabacalera Gran Reserva Robusto definitely tastes like well aged tobacco, with a core of sweet cedar flavors. It’s pretty obvious that a lot of care goes into the production of this cigar, as well as the others I smoked. There were occasions that I sat one down for ten minutes and it didn’t need a relight, and none of the three I smoked required any corrections. These are very nice cigars with a little something for everyone.  As far as where to get them goes, They do have some available for sale on their website, and I suspect they will be available in brick and mortar retailers. As I said in the intro, Daughters & Ryan based in North Carolina are the US distributors. The aren’t a cheap date, but well worth the price.

 

Thanks to Mike Rubish, the National Sales Director at Daughters & Ryan for facilitating the sampling of Tabacalera Cigars from the Philippines! On another note, after Thanksgiving dinner was cleaned up and all the guests were gone, I walked off dinner with a Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico L40 that was five years old (original release). It was a fantastic smoke! With that I think I’ve smoked all of the regular production Unicos and this might have been my favorite right behind the Feral Flying Pig. That’s all I have for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | November 24, 2016 · 9:16 am

Cigar News featuring Diamond Crown, Big Papi, Psyko Seven and Montecristo

Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers! Today will be filled with food and family here in a few hours, so I’m going to be real lazy and put out a post with a bunch of news items that have recently come across my desk (and I slacked off last night and didn’t get a post out). I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Diamond Crown

Diamond Crown Black Diamond Box Open Emerald

First up is the long-awaited release from J.C. Newman, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond. This has been in the works for years, I’ve heard stories of how they settled on a blend, then tweaked it again, and finally have it ready for release tomorrow, Black Friday.  What a coincidence to be releasing the Black Diamond on Black Friday! Something tells me there was some thought put into that.  Anyway, I’m anxious to get my hands on this, I’ve got two Diamond Crown Lounges within about a ten-mile radius so I should be able to find one. I fondly remember smoking my first Diamond Crown in Las Vegas in 1998, good stuff, I can’t wait to try this one.

 

Big Papi

Next we have news from El Artista about the launch of the Big Papi, a cigar that I have on hand and will be smoking in the very near future, along with some other goodies from the company.

 

DAVID ORTIZ MAKES HIS FIRST “BIG PAPI” CIGAR EVENT APPEARANCE

(New York City) – El Artista Cigars hosted the first event featuring David “Big Papi” Ortiz at Central Bar & Lounge in New York City on November 3, 2016. Over 200 were in attendance including pitcher Cici Sabathia, premium cigar shop owners from all over the country, as well as fans, friends, and family of David Ortiz and El Artista. “This is a celebration to recognize the hard work everyone has put into the launch of this new line,” says Radhames Rodriguez, President of El Artista Cigars, “and we are very happy to see everyone enjoying the cigar.”

David OrtizDavid Ortiz was the star of the party. He signed cigar boxes and hats and took photos with partygoers. Jonas Santana, Marketing Manager for El Artista Cigars states, “David will be at several events in the US in 2017, this is just the first of many to come.” El Artista expects Mr. Ortiz will make appearances in California, New York, New Hampshire, Florida, Dominican Republic, and elsewhere before IPCPR 2017. According to El Artista management, “David is all in for Big Papi events and he is committed to the brand 100%; expect big things from Big Papi in 2017.”

El Artista will hold a series of in-store tastings as well as meet & greet events featuring David Ortiz in 2017. The schedule will be posted on the El Artista website: http://elartistacigars.com/

 

Psyko Seven

Psyko Seven is a cigar I really like, in both the original natural wrapper and the maduro, which, of course, I prefer. I look forward to trying this Connecticut as I do enjoy a good Connecticut from time to time.

 

VENTURA CIGAR COMPANY INTRODUCES CONNECTICUT TO THE PSYKO SEVEN COLLECTION
November 2016 – Inviting cigar aficionados to “Reach into the Dark to Find the Light,” Ventura Cigar is pleased to reveal PSyKo Seven Connecticut, the third blend in its much-admired PSyKo Seven Collection.

 

PSyKo Seven Connecticut is expertly crafted in the Dominican Republic with an exclusive blend of premium of seven tobaccos. It sits apart from others in the PSyKo Seven collection with its lighter wrapper, serving up a more mild-bodied experience. This smooth cigar invites enthusiasts to disconnect from chaos and commotion, to take a step back from the reality of the everyday, and enjoy a rich, flavorful experience.

 

Housed in a sleek, black box, and enveloped with a white prescription form that encourages people to “medicate their mind,” there are three vitolas available: Robusto 4.75 x 50, the Toro 6.25 x 48, and the Gordo 6.00 x 60.

 

“The PSyKo Seven Collection has enjoyed a lot of attention,” says Jason Carignan, Chief Marketing Officer at Ventura Cigar Company. “It’s known for offering up high quality sticks at a great price, earning 90+ ratings from top cigar publications. It’s a favorite of both the retailer and the consumer, so we added PSyKo Seven Connecticut to round out the line, and give our enthusiasts more to explore, and more to connect with.”

 

A solid choice to pair with friends and family, PSyKo Seven Connecticut will enrich and relax holiday festivities with a post-meal smoke and a dram of whiskey. All three vitolas will be shipping to retailers in late November. Please visit venturacigar.com for additional information.

 

Montecristo

Finally we have another in a long list of collaborations with A.J. Fernandez, this time Monticristo is introducing a JR Cigars exclusive.

 

Montecristo Crafted by A. J. Fernandez

 

Burlington, NC – Santa Clara, Inc. is beginning broader distribution of the newly introduced Montecristo Crafted by A. J. Fernandez line of cigars. Montecristo Crafted by A.J. Fernandez is collaboration between the Altadis U.S.A. Montecristo brand and Tabacalera Fernandez and is being crafted exclusively for Santa Clara, Inc.

 

Made in Nicaragua from the finest Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, San Andres binder, and Nicaraguan and Honduran filler, this box-pressed, oscuro-wrapped cigar is an eye-catching masterpiece.

 

An icon, Montecristo has been the benchmark for luxury and quality since 1935. With this long tradition of excellence, the Montecristo name can only be entrusted to craftsmen capable of building on this proud legacy. A. J. Fernandez has been chosen by Altadis U.S.A. to add his name to the history of the Montecristo brand for this new, exclusive cigar.

 

A. J. Fernandez began his career creating cigars for some of the biggest names in the industry before launching his own brands. His brands developed a cult following among cigar aficionados. And his factory, which began with just 6 rollers, now produces over 9 million sticks a year.

 

The Montecristo Crafted by A. J. Fernandez is available in five sizes – Churchill 7 x 50, Figurado 4 x 52, Gordo 6 x 58, Robusto 5 x 52 and Toro 6 x 50, with MSRPs ranging from $9.95 to $12.50 and in box counts of 10 cigars – and delivers a range of bold flavors from sweet to savory with notes and nuances of dark cocoa, espresso, leather and licorice.

 

“We are extremely proud to deliver to the market this collaborative project between two exciting entities. The blend they put together really makes a statement for both companies and I can’t wait to hear the customers reaction”, said Rob Norris, President of Santa Clara.

 

Montecristo Crafted by A.J. Fernandez will be available to the public on December 1, 2016 at www.jrcigars.com.

 

That’s all for today.  I hope to enjoy something special today after the dust (and dinner) settles. Not sure what that might be yet, but I’ve got all day to think about it and thankful to have plenty to choose from!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | November 20, 2016 · 10:51 am

A Cain F Lancero, an Aging Room Event and a La Boheme Cigar

Cain F LanceroThursday evening I had  a craving for a favorite, so I picked out a Cain F Tubed Lancero form a box I picked up a few years ago, and have been rationing out sparingly. Ten count boxes are great, but they don’t last long, ya know? I have been a little concerned about these cigars. A few weeks ago I smoked a tubed Cain Habano that had been buried in the humidor for several years. I was deeply disappointed in the flavor of the Habano, it was heavily cedar flavored, obviously from sitting for so ling in the cedar lined tubo. Cedar is one of those flavors that I recognize in a cigar, but isn’t particularly a favorite of mine, you know by now that I’m a pushover for bittersweet chocolate and coffee. Anyway, I wanted to check on the Cain F Lanceros to see if I needed to un-tube them for further storage, as it would be a shame if these spectacular cigars changed flavor. I determined that I can leave these along for the foreseeable future. the Cain F Lancero is probably my hands down favorite lancero. The specifics on this cigar: 32% Esteli Ligero, 25% Condega Ligero and 25% Jalapa Ligero in a 7″ x 38 non-pigtailed format. Simple math tells us that there’s another 18% of something in there, I have to assume it’s a neutral seco leaf to keep all that ligero burning.  It’s got a refined combination of sweetness, spice and some earthiness that really works for me. Sadly, these went out of production in 2014, but I think there are still some out there, at least in the non-tubo variety. They were very fairly priced in the $6 range.

 

Friday I went to the CigarCigars store two miles from my house for an Aging Room event with Mr. Rafael Nodal in attendance. This store is know for having events on Thursdays from noon to three, and I’m quite pleased that they’ve started having some evening events that I can actually make it to, which they have been doing recently. I went in hoping that they would have the new Oliveros All Aging Room Bin No. 1 G-MajorStars which I really liked, but, sadly, they only had Aging Room and La Boheme offered. I picked up some Havaos, some La Bohemes and a couple of the Bin No. 1 G-Major, which I smoked while there.  The Aging Room Bin No. 1 G-Major is a giant cigar, 6¼” x 63, I know, 63?  I wanted to ask Rafael why 63 ring gauge, but he was busy talking politics with the regulars. The cigar features an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Dominican Habano fillers from 1999 and 2001. It has a huge band, but fortunately it has a smaller band underneath so I could remember what it was I was smoking. It was a nice, rich smoke with great refined flavor.  It had  lot going on with some spice a creaminess. It did require some touch ups as the burn wasn’t as perfect as I’d like in a cigar at this price-point, but we are talking about a natural product here, it didn’t retract too much from the experience. Rafael is one of the nicest guys in the industry, and very patriotic. I was happy to spend a few minutes with him in my neighborhood. Thanks to Steve and the CigarCigars folks for having events at times I can attend! It’s a little bit of a catch 22, you know. I need to go to work to have money to spend at the events, if I bag work to go to daytime events, I don’t have money to spend at them! Overly dramatic, of course, but you get the jist.

 

LaBoheme_MusicaYesterday afternoon was beautiful for late November in PA. How often can you be outside in a t-shirt this time of year? That changed dramatically in the evening, but the afternoon was perfect for sitting on the porch with a cigar and the Flyers hockey game. I chose one of the La Boheme Musico cigars I just picked up, it’s another big cigar, 6¼” x 60, and smoked well beyond the disappointing hockey game. This cigar has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Dominican fillers much like the Bin No. 1, obviously with less age on the fillers. I thought it was a fine smoke, like the Bin No. 1 without the refinement that the aged fillers bring. I’d smoke this again in a heartbeat, preferably while watching a winning effort by the home team! For the most part, I’ve had good luck with the Boutique Blends stable of cigars, and most of what comes out of Jochi Blanco’s Tabacalera La Palma. Sure I’ve had a clunker here and there, and for some reason many of the Aging Room cigars I’ve had have been way stronger than I was prepared for. Good smokes though, I’m happy to have some in the humidor.

 

Here’s a little plug for my friends at Custom Tobacco, who I met with at the IPCPR show three years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I wrote about their Briarmont cigar in November of 2013, and liked it a lot, even if it hadn’t had a CigarCraig.com logo on the band!  They do some really nice work if you are interested in custom banded quality cigars. Adam and Rachel are top-notch and will certainly take care of you. This is an unsolicited plug. There are other companies I’ve run across that do similar things, Bobalu and CigarCountry come to mind, all of them offer a little different twist. I can personally vouch for the quality of Custom Tobacco, and the people behind it.

 

At CustomTobacco.com, you can create and purchase the unique, memorable and fun gift we all struggle to find: fully customized premium cigars, including a private label cigar band that can include any messaging, logos, color scheme, etc. We also offer a free concierge service in which customers can call or email us and we can both design the cigar band and help select the cigars free of charge. 2016 has been a great year for Custom Tobacco, with media outlets including Sports Illustrated, The Daily Beast, American Way (American Airlines’ Magazine) and the Los Angeles Business Journal highlighting our unique offering. With your continued support, we hope to make this our best holiday season yet.

customtobacco

 

That’s about it for now. I have a bunch of new cigars that I’ll be getting to in the next couple weeks, and I’m working on a new idea for this years contests. The FDA has made things difficult as far as getting boxes of cigars to give away, but I’ve got some other ideas up my sleeve. It’s just a matter of getting it all worked out. Of course, if you guys don’t want the chance to win goodies…

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | November 16, 2016 · 8:39 pm

Jose Carlos Habano Cigar

Last month when Kevin Shahan, maker of the Cigar Prop, sent me a cigar prop to try out, also included a cigar. Like me, he finds it difficult to send a package without including extra goodies. Kevin is a great guy, I hope that I get to meet him one of these days, he has a true love of cigars and all that goes along with them.  The cigar he included is a brand created by the proprietors of his local cigar José Carlos Habanoshop, Tobacco Locker in Port Charlotte, Florida. The brand is called Jose Carlos, named after a particularly resilient orphan the owner of the store met in Nicaragua. The Jose Carlos line apparently comes in several wrapper varieties, Habano, Sumatra, Corojo, Connecticut and San Andres,  around a Nicaraguan filler blend. The brand website lists Habano, Coro

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ould be that the San Andres and Sumatra are store exclusives and the others are distributed to other retailers, I’m not sure. Maybe the brand owners will offer some clarity in the comments.  Anyway, Kevin quite generously sent me a Habano in the 6″ x 60 size, which I smoked last night.

 

Jose Carlos_Habano_60The Jose Carlos Habano 60 measured a bit under 60 ring gauge, which is OK with me. The wrapper was a nice, chocolate-brown, and it felt quite well rolled. The burn and draw were exceptional and it smoked for e good ninety minutes with no problems. The flavor to me was largely cedar, very woody with a hint of sweetness in the first half, which settled into a rich, tobacco goodness in the second half. I couldn’t think of another cigar to compare this to.  It was a nice, medium bodied cigar. Many thanks to Kevin for sharing this cigar with me, give his Cigar Prop a look, it’s a handy tool.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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