Here’s some Tuesday news from the folks at Fabrica Oveja Negra! Funny enough, I’m listening to James Brown on the How Bout That CigarHow Bout That Cigar show as I type!
Black Label Trading Company is pleased to announce the shipment of Bishops Blend 5 Year Anniversary Lancero to select retailers.
Bishops Blend is hand crafted in Esteli, Nicaragua at Fabrica Oveja Negra.This is the fifth-year anniversary of Bishops Blend. Black Label Trading Co. is releasing a special edition Lancero to select retailers in hopes it will encourage sales for its retailers in this difficult time.
The release of the other vitolas are being postponed. “I worked with a lot of vitolas when developing the Bishops Blend and I’m very excited to release the Lancero for the five year anniversary. Like the previous vitolas, the lancero boasts big bold flavors of anise, pepper, raisins and a sweet earthiness on the finish. It is very complex and extremely refined. As with the past vintages, the broadleaf fillers shine at the forefront and are perfectly balanced by the Nicaraguan filler tobaccos,” said James Brown, creator of Black Label Trading Co.and partner at Fabrica Oveja Negra.
BISHOPS BLEND Lancero will be available at select retailers.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Maduro
Binder: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Connecticut & PA Broadleaf
Lancero – 7 x 42 (12 count) MSRP $12.00 – 150 box production
Black Label Trading Company is redefining the standards for cigar making. With a “less is more” philosophy, Black Label Trading Co. creates hand crafted premium cigars of the utmost quality in small batch, limited quantities. For more information please visit OvejaNegraCigars.comOvejaNegraCigars.com. Consumers may search by zip code for retailers nearest them.
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Funny thing, I’ve been on a two cigar a day thing this week, which is more than normal. It’s not like my schedule has really changed too much, but it’s psychological, I suppose. I’ve been taking an afternoon and evening walk when possible, just to get out of the house for a little bit. I also haven’t been smoking many new cigars, which doesn’t give me a lot to talk about here. Follow my Instagram (or Facebook) feed to see what I’ve been smoking and feel free to interact with me on those platforms. A few of the cigars I smoked this week I feel like talking about, first of which is The Clown. This is the latest cigar from Danli Honduras Tabacos, the little Honduran company that I’ve been enamoured with over the last year. This is the company which make the Don Juan Calavera, Flor Maya and Marchetti cigars which have become go-to cigars for me. The Clown is a Doble Capa cigar, with Mexican Maduro and Jamastran Connecticut wrappers in a Barber Pole configuration. It has a Nicaraguan Habano binder and the fillers are secos from Jalapa and Condega in Nicaragua and Visos from Jamastran and Copan in Honduras. You’ll notice there’s no ligero in the blend, so it’s a very smooth, medium bodied cigar, but it has a lot of sweet, nutty flavors, and is very well balanced. This is a cigar that is perfectly suited for any time of the day, great for any experience level, and just an all around wonderful cigar. It looks nice too, and the presentation is nice, as long as scary clowns don’t freak you out. I saw an online vender started carrying these saying they are the exclusive, however I know that isn’t the case, as I know of a few brick and mortar shops who have them. That being said, in the current state of things, it’s hard to say who’s open and shipping.
Yesterday I smoked a few new-to-me cigars, the first of which was a cigar that was given to me by the guys from Martinez Cigars in New York City at the TPE show. This cigar, the Forty Five Series in the Natural Robusto, celebrates their 45 years in business. From their website:
In celebration of 45 years in business, we are introducing our newest blend of cigars
“THE FORTY FIVE SERIES!”
This incredible cigar was Created by both of our Master Tobacconist Crystian Polanco and Marino Rosario.
You will encounter a nice progression of flavor beginning as a true medium body and building up to a rich robust full body cigar.
We combined four different fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, along with a rich Nicaraguan binder and finished off with a natural Habano or San Andres maduro wrapper.
I smoked the Natural wrapper version in the 5″ x 54 vitola, it’s also available in a torpedo, on the porch while watching a Harry Potter movie on the iPad. 😀 There’s an interesting quality I find across the board about the Martinez cigars, and maybe it’s hokey, but there’s a Havana style flavor profile that I get. It’s strange, but Whenever I smoke a Martinez cigar I’m reminded of a Cuban cigar for some reason. It’s probably just me, and I look at it as a good thing, I really enjoy the cigars. Of course, they have more complexity generally, and in the case of this Forty Five Series, it was just a really good smoke. The burn was perfect, it was full flavored with some spice and leather and coffee notes. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is not an inexpensive cigar, it’s $15 before shipping on their site. I’d me interested to smoke this in the San Andrés wrapper, maybe when the dust settles, life returns to normal, I’llvisitt them in NYC again. Hopefully it’s before too many years pass beyond that 45th anniversary. In the mean time, here’s the interview from the TPE again:
The last cigar I had was last night. I took a break from the Harry Potter marathon for a while and smoked another cigar from the Platinum Nova line. This was another cigar from their Limited Edition (read: not cheap) line. Yesterday was rainy and about 50°F all day, so it wasn’t a beautiful day, so I wasn’t looking for three hour smokes. I chose the 5½” x 52 square pressed Legacy. This is a beautiful cigar with a Habano 2000 wrapper, Esteli binder and Dominican 98 filler (Criollo?) This cigar runs a whopping $31. I’ve had the good fortune to have smoked (not necessarily bought) some pricey cigars, many times they leave me wondering why they are price the way they are. Nova Cigars has several cigar that are in the $30 range, they have a factory in the US, they don’t make a great many cigars, they hold very high standards, and they produce a high end, luxury product, I get why they are priced where they are. In the case of this cigar, it tastes and performs at a very high level. Burn and draw are perfect, as should be expected. It had bright flavors, some complexity, although I can’t go as far as identifying the flavors that are listed on their website, but it was interesting and entertaining smoke that just made me happy, no small feat recently. Ari and Leo were very generous with cigars and their time at the TPE show! I appreciate them sharing these with me. And you know I occasionally incorporate a theme in my smoking routine, I was going to smoke a Joya de Nicaragua Quatro Cinco to follow the Martinez, but chose this, with the connection being that Ari and Leo both used to work for Nat Sherman in NYC.
Who has partaken in any virtual herfs? I want to get in on one, but haven’t found one that fits my time schedule. I have Zoom, would anyone be interested in setting up a herf? How should we schedule it? Reach out to me and let me know if you’d be interested. My best time is afternoons or early evenings Eastern Time. Anyway, that’s enough for today, until the next time,
I brought home samples of the new Villiger Do Brasil cigars from the TPE show, then a week later a pair showed up in my mailbox, so I’ve had a couple of each in the humidor now for several weeks resting. I had the opportunity to try the cigars at the show, Villiger hosted an excellent party at the TPE with some great food and entertainment that meandered between brilliant and not so much, all the while being entertaining one way or the other. Since I was there communing with friends, I smoked a more familiar cigar, the Cuellar Black Forest, which I really like. I spent a very nice evening catching up with my friends Will Cooper, Aaron Loomis and Jiunn Liu as well as seeing a bunch of other cigar industry folks. Good times.
Both of the Villiger Do Brasil blends, from what I can divine, are Brazilian puros. The Maduro is the one I smoked first, which surprises no one, I’m sure. This has an Arapiraca wrapper, it’s nice and dark, with light oil, and had a rustic appearance. Villiger uses a lot of Brazilian tobacco in a lot of their cigars, so it’s not surprising that they would make Brazilian puro premium cigars. This cigar was well made, and was one that came from the TPE gift bag. It had a split in the cap, but that wasn’t a big deal since I clipped it off. I’ve been using the ScrewPop MagPulse cutter almost exclusively, by the way, and it continues to me an absolutely amazing cutter. The cigar had a dark, savory flavor, not a sweet maduro. I really enjoyed it, it was quite a bit different than most other maduro cigars I smoke.
The Claro is wrapped in a Connecticut wrapper grown in Brazil, I assume under shade. It looks much like any other Connecticut shade wrapper, it’s light tan, finely veined and really quite beautiful. I’m really not sure which sample I chose, the one I received in the mail, or the one from the TPE, I checked it with the Humidimeter and it was right where I like to see the reading at the foot, 62%. I probed the head of the cigar and it was 67%, which is pretty consistent with my findings. I find that most cigars smoke well if they read under 65% at the foot, and there’s usually a 5% different from the foot to the head. My humidors are typically around 67% RH give or take a point. Anyway, the Claro was a flavorful shade cigar, nothing remarkable, unfortunately, but a solid, tasty, shade cigar. Both samples I smoked were the 5″ x 50 Robusto, and both were very good cigars.
I had to run out twice over the last few days some supplies and it’s surreal. Sunday it was to Home Depot to buy a replacement thermostat, as I mentioned in Sunday’s post. Oddly, Home Depot was pretty busy. People buying stuff for their yards and whatnot. It was almost like a normal Sunday. Here I am trying not to touch the touchscreen self checkout, and employees are a foot away from people having conversations like nothing is going on. It was a little disturbing. I feel like my visit was justified as a necessity, I mean, technically I do have the time to hold the wires together whiles the house heats up periodically…but the thermostat is a convenience we’ve become accustomed to. Yesterday I had to pick up prescriptions and some groceries. The pharmacy at Walmart sprayed down everything with 70% isopropyl alcohol right after it was touched and Walmart wasn’t that crowded. They have “social distance” marks on the floor. The local supermarket still has bare shelves, there was a few things I couldn’t get, but I managed and got most of what I needed. It was exhausting and I felt oddly relieved to get home! I’ve been out of work since last October, so I’m used to being home, but it’s an odd situation now. We have a number of cases in our county, and we are under state mandated lockdown. I can’t wait until things get back to normal and I can find a damn job!
Here’s some news from Drew Estate. I suppose it’s hard to say when you’ll be able to see these on your tobacconist’s shelves at this point, but give your local TAA shop a call and, hopefully, they are offering curbside service or shipping. I’m quite looking forward to trying a Broadleaf Herrerea Esteli!
The Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive is a 6 x 52 toro featuring a rich Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, bold Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and lush Nicaraguan fillers. Blended by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera exclusively for the TAA, this cigar is a testament to the complexity and quality behind the Herrera Esteli line. For 2020, the boxes have been re-designed to complement the other Herrera Esteli lines and also feature the bold red banding that signifies Willy Herrera’s exclusive projects.
From La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Esteli, Nicaragua, Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera notes, “My goal with this blend was to take the lush Connecticut Broadleaf capa tobacco and apply my Miami style to the blend. This cigar shines right from the cold draw and gets better with every puff. I’m thrilled that now the boxes match the rest of the Herrera lineup, they will pop on the shelves.”
The Herrera Esteli TAA Exclusive is packaged in 12 count boxes with an MSRP of $147.17/box and will be shipping immediately. A total of 800 boxes have been produced for this year.
ABOUT DREW ESTATE
Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.
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As we settle into our new version of reality, I decided to dig into the new Diesel Delirium samples which General Cigar Co. generously provided. But before I did, I figured I’d pre-game a bit with some of the newer Diesel cigars that have come along over the past year or so. There’s the better part of a box of original Diesel Unholy Cocktails that my son bought in 2011 in the humidor that I thought about dipping into, there’s a rental fee that’s overdue! Maybe today. So I started with the Limited Edition Diesel Hair of the Dog. The Diesel Hair of the Dog is a 6” x 52 toro made of all Nicaraguan Habano fillers with an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Ecuador Sumatra Binder. Like all Diesel cigars, this is made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua. I really like the sweetness in this cigar, and the cedary flavors. It’s on my top three Diesel cigars, for sure.
Next up was the Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask. To recap, It’s wrapped in Connecticut Broadleaf, it has a Brazilian Arapiraca binder and Nicaraguan fillers. I never did get an answer on my question about the tobacco being cultivated on three continents. Central America isn’t a continent. It’s a lie and I won’t stand for it! OK, maybe it’s not a great big deal, this is one of my favorite cigars. I still think it tastes like dessert. It’s s rich, raspberry chocolate cake. I smoked a robusto this time, which I think I like the best, although I still haven’t tried the Gordo. The next time I’m able to visit a cigar shop I’ll pick one up. Not sure when that will be, but it’s on my to do list. My favorite Diesel cigar so far, and pretty high on my go-to list.
This was all the pre-game show for the newest in the Diesel line-up, the limited edition Diesel Delirium. HEre’s the poop from General cigars:
Diesel is set to roll out “Delirium,” a limited-edition offering of the boldest Diesel blend to date. Only 5,000 boxes have been made and will be released in early March.
Delirium follows the Diesel’s Hair of the Dog (2019) which sold out in under three weeks.
Senior Brand Manager Justin Andrews said, “Diesel Delirium is about disruption. It’s a cigar that demands the smoker’s full attention and while it follows Hair of the Dog, the two blends couldn’t be more different. Delirium’s definitely powerhouse of a smoke, but it’s not just that. It’s also about dimension and balance, and that begins and ends with the blend we developed. This is a cigar that we recommend enjoying when you have time to commit to really experiencing the full spectrum of taste it delivers.”
Blended by AJ Fernandez, handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua and developed by Justin Andrews, Delirium is made with an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and a blend of Nicaraguan ligero and Ometepe. A cigar for the initiated, Delirium is a peppery smoke that delivers an array of spices, with hints of nuts and an unexpected touch of nougat on the palate.
Diesel Delirium is available in one size Toro (6” x 52) which will sell for an SRP of $10.00 per cigar. The cigars are presented in rustic, ten-count wooden boxes with two compartments, each containing five cigars. The 5,000 cigar release will hit stores on March 2 and is expected to be an almost instant sell out.
Launched in 2014, the original Diesel Delirium was introduced by Cigars International and was only available for a short time. The updated blend reflects the popularity of cigars that are both full-bodied and complex.
I love the size of the Delirium, and the combination of the Sumatra wrapper and Broadleaf binder is really good. It’s got some power from the start, it slaps you around a little, but it settle in and is really a good smoke. I liked it so much I did something I don’t usually do and smoked two of them consecutively just to make sure I liked it as much as I thought I liked it. I was right, I really liked it a lot. It has some spice, but it has some sweetness too, and strength. It’s a cigar that lets you know you’re smoking a cigar. The two I smoked had great burn and draw as well. This is going to fall just below the Sherry Cask in my Diesel countdown, it gave it a run for its money, and it could come down to value, as the Sherry Cask has a great price and this is a little higher. Anyway, it’s a great smoke and I enjoyed it.
I figured I owed the original Diesel Whiskey row another shot. There’s still something about this cigar that I don’t care for. I know people love it, but it doesn’t do it for me. There’s a mushroomy, loamy, umami flavor that I don’t like. Burn and draw are great, I still smoked it, but it’s not a cigar I’m going to seek out, like the Sherry Cask. Heck, I’ve bought more of the Sherry Cask when I had some at home already. Nope, not into this one. If you like this one, and can compare it to other cigars, I’d be interested in knowing what other cigars they are so I can see if I like those cigars, or avoid them!
That’s more than enough for today. We woke up to a bad thermostat on the house heater (a month out of warranty!), so I need to shop for a new one. Great, just what I need, not only an expense, but I have to go out in public! At least I don’t have to call “the guy” to come charge me 10x to fix it!
