Monthly Archives: August 2020

by | August 16, 2020 · 11:17 am

A Diamond Crown Maximus a Julius Caeser and Some Cigar Trivia

I’ve been celebrating this whole finding a new job thing pretty hard, smoking some good cigars while I still have the time! Starting tomorrow I’ll have to get back to my evening cigar walk routine, not that that is a bad thing! It’ll be nice to have a Monday to Friday, 8-4:30 gig again after over two years (between not having a job, and having a retail schedule with nights and weekends). I’m looking forward to settling into the routine! It’ll also be nice to have a roughly 7 minute commute! I love not having to waste a lot of time driving and wear and tear on vehicles, and since my car gets 38 mpg, and my bike gets about 55, I won’t be spending a lot on gas. So I’ve been smoking so great cigars, like I said. I started off with a Sin Compromiso that I had bought when we visited Best Cigar Pub in June. It was amazing, and a prelude to my appearance on The Retrohale podcast, where I smoked a Sobremesa Short Churchill with the guys. Give the show a listen, it’s a good time and I didn’t embarrass myself too much! 

 

I came across the J.C. Newman Julius Caeser Hail Caeser, the 6″ x 60 that they introduced a few years ago, whole poking around one of the better drawers in the wineador, and decided it would be a great celebration cigar. I’m so sad that this was the last one I had, because it was a wonderful cigar! I seem to forget how much I like this cigar until I smoke it, then I remember and wonder why I don’t keep more of these around. I think the only one I have left on hand is in a 2014 Toast Across America box that my daughter surprised me with for my birthday that year. I suppose the fact that I rarely drop upwards of $17 on a cigar plays into it, but I probably would for this cigar, heck, I did for the Sin Compromiso, and this is it’s equal.It’s rich, sweet and creamy, I’m a fan. I may have to treat myself to a few to have on hand. 

 

Smoking the Julius Caeser, and the barrage of Yagua news and pictures I’ve seen (I was hoping some would arrive before writing this, but they didn’t, more on those later, TY KS in advance), I felt compelled to smoke another top shelf J.C. Newman offering, the Diamond Crown Maximus Toro No. 4. I remember when Maximus was released about 15 years ago. I loved the Diamond Crown, but it was a little too mild for me (I still love it, I have to be in the right mood). I was thrilled when they came out with the MAximus because it was more full bodied, and this one has some oomph to it. It has a Sungrown Ecuador wrapper, which is funny because most of the tobacco growing regions in Ecuador are known for being predominantly cloud-covered. It’s a dark wrapper, oily, almost rustic, but beautiful with a lovely flavor. The cigar has a rich, dense smoke, with dark-roast coffee flavors, it‘s really a nice cigar, I put it in that “classic” category that I’d like to have a box in my humidor, up there with Fuente Don Carlos and Hemingway, Ashton VSG, etc. I know there’s a common thread there, but it’s funny that some of the cigars I consider humidor staples are Fuentes and Padrons. Anyway, I’d put a box of Maximus in my humidor in a heartbeat (and/or Julius Caeser!). You know how I like to pick on website feux pas, I think the last two sizes on their size chart are reversed, but I’m probably one of the few who would notice or care!

 

 

I’m going to wrap up with an interesting (to me, anyway) bit of trivia. I mentioned this to Dave Garofalo years ago, now that he has The Snack Authority podcast, maybe he might want to bring it up. If you’ve ever had an Avanti or Parodi cigar and seen the way they are packaged, in a cardboard tray wrapped in cello and thought it looked familiar, it’s because the Avanti/Parodi company actually bought that packaging machine from Tootsie Roll. The classic 2.25oz Tootsie Roll bar came packaged in the same cardboard tray and cello as the Avanti and Parodi cigars. By the way, you should avoid Tootsie Rolls if you have certain dental work, I learned that the hard way at an IPCPR in New Orleans a few years ago! Took a temporary crown right off! It’s the last Tootsie Roll I ever ate. Your bit of cigar trivia for the day. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 12, 2020 · 3:29 pm

CAO Bones and Pilón Cigars

I received some samples of the new CAO Bones cigars from General Cigars last week, along with some Pilóns too. I smoked the Pilóns when they came out in 2015 and wasn’t awfully enamoured with them, which isn’t really unusual for the CAO line, it’s one of those brands where I either really like a marque or I don’t. It’s like the Amazon series, I really like the Fuma and Anaconda, but not so much the Basin and Orallana. I have been smoking a lot of CAOs recently, probably because I bought a bunch from CigarThief, then Bones came along. A happy coincidence. By the way, I had a job interview this morning, I think it went well, I start Monday! LEt’s start with the Pilón. The reason this one has renewed interest is that the French Magazine L’Amateur de Cigare just named it cigar of the year. Here’s the press release that I didn’t post when it came out:

 

CAO Pilón Named Cigar of the Year by L’Amateur de Cigare

 

CAO Pilón was named “Cigar of the Year” by celebrated international cigar magazine L’Amateur de Cigare.

The magazine’s prestigious tasting panel rated a total of 450 cigars, with Pilón ultimately winning out against the finest cigars available in France, one of the world’s leading markets for handmade cigars. 

Regis Broersma, president of General Cigar said, “We are extremely proud that CAO Pilón received this honor from such a distinguished and respected international publication. When we created Pilón, we developed the brand according to a 19th-century Cuban fermentation technique, so it is ironic that Pilón beat out the best of the best cigars from Cuba, as well as other top cigar-producing countries.”

L’Amateur de Cigare described Pilón as “elegant” and hails its “great complexity and agreeable persistence,” while praising Pilón’s “satisfying finish” and “excellent value.”

CAO Pilón was introduced in the U.S. in 2015 and launched in France in 2018 at an exclusive event in Paris at the DuPont headquarters. 

Handcrafted in Nicaragua at STG

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Esteli, Pilón was created by Rick Rodriguez and the CAO blending team who utilized the labor-intensive pilón process of natural fermentation to maximize the flavor and color of the Cuban seed Ecuadoran wrapper, delivering a taste and appearance unattainable through other methods. The blend consists of spicy Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves from the distinctive growing regions of Esteli and Ometepe. CAO Pilón bears a deep, rich color and an incredible depth of flavor, featuring notes of wood, spice and a touch of sweetness.

CAO Pilón is available in the U.S. and in select markets worldwide in these formats:

Churchill 7x 48 – SRP per cigar $8.49

Robusto Extra 5 x 52 – SRP per cigar $7.49

Corona 5.5 x 44 – SRP per cigar $7.09

Toro 6 x 58 – SRP per cigar $8.49

Torpedo – 7 x 54 – SRP per cigar $8.89 

 

I smoked one that they just sent, and pulled one that I found buried in the humidor from 5 years ago. I didn’t get around to smoking the older one, I decided to celebrate landing a job after nine months of frustration with a Sin Compromiso instead, sorry Ricky! I have my reasons. Anyway, the Pilón still doesn’t really do it fr me. It’s the wood, maybe mushroomy lack of sweetness that doesn’t endear it to me, but must be something the French appreciate! I suppose I can

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see how a palate that’s used to Havana cigars would appreciate it. I think it’s appropriate now to move from the old to the new!

 

Bones! As you’ll recall from the press release I posted a couple weeks ago (here), CAO Bones pays homage to dominos and dice games. If you buy a box, it comes with a pair of dice. When I took a pic for Instagram, I asked my son if he had an interesting die I could include in the pic, as much as I love the Cigar Props, it gets a little boring seeing the same poses in the IG feed! Corey came through with his bag of dice, which I thought made for a neat shot. Anyway, this is one of the CAO cigars that hits me right. The Connecticut broadleaf wrapper combines nicely with the Connecticut shade binder  and Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican filers to make a very enjoyable smoke that’s, in my opinion, on the stronger side. General almost always sends robustos to sample, in this line they call it the Chicken Foot, which is a dominos game I’

m to understand (I’m ignorant in the way of dominos, unless it’s delivered, or comes in a bag, ie. sugar). That means I’m going to be forced to go buy the other sizes to sample. There is a creamy sweetness that is just beneath the surface, barely there, but noticeable under the heavy espresso- cocoa of the Broadleaf. I smoked a sec

ond one while watching Ricky and Doug (whom I’ve yet to meet) on a Zoom presentation about Bones last night, rarely do I smoke two of the same cigar on consecutive days, but this one is a good one, I can’t seem to get enough (although it apparently isn’t good enough to celebrate finally getting hired after a nine month search, is it?). I look forward to trying the other sizes especially after Doug and Rick built up the larger sizes on their show. I don’t have a problem with large cigars anyway. I don’t think I’ll be smoking as many in the coming weeks. Anyway, good cigars, good news in a weird year filled with uncertainty. Now, I have 4 days to wrap up some projects! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 9, 2020 · 10:23 am

Archetype Sacred Scales, New Onyx Bold and Perdomo Reserve Cigars

I’m still coming across a cigar here and there from last January’s TPE show, this time it was an Archetype Sacred Scales robusto that Ventura Cigar‘s Michael Giannini handed me on one of our visits at the Phillips and King booth. The P&K booth was one of the largest and busiest at the show, not a big surprise since their parent company owns the show. Oddly, they seemed to feature more of other companies cigar brands than their own, at least more prominently. The Sacred Scales is a San Andrés wrapped cigar made by Ernesto Carrillo, who Michael worked with for quite a while with La Gloria Cubana. It has an Ecuador binder and fillers from Nicaragua. I absolutely loved this cigar. It checked all the boxes for me, dark earth, sweetness and spice. This is a cigar I’ll be looking to smoke again, a definite winner. The Archetype line bounces around from factory to factory, one is made at Drew Estate, one by EPC, and others by Davidoff, etc. It’s a little confusing, but when you find one you like, run with it!

 

I was out running some errands and stopped in a shop on the way and picked up a few new cigars I wanted to try. The first one was the new Onyx Bold Nicaragua. I believe that the CigarCigars chain may have had the exclusive initial release on these, which is where I got this cigar. I can’t say I’ve actually smoked an Onyx cigar before, not sure why, but it’s my understanding that this iteration really wouldn’t compare to the Dominican version anyway. The Onyx Bold Nicaraguan has a San Andrés wrapper Nicaraguan binder and fillers and is made by A.J. Fernandez. I, of course, got the toro size, which is 6” x 54. This cigar smoked really well, burn and draw were perfect, it was a real pleasure to smoke. While it didn’t have the pungency of the Sacred Scales, it still had the dark earth, spice and sweetness I like, although it was smoother and more refined in this cigar. I thought it was quite a nice smoke! Like I said, I have no idea how it compared to other Onyx cigars, I always considered them to be very mild, which is why I passed them over.

 

The other two cigars I picked up were the new Perdomo Reserve 10 Year Anniversary in Sungrown and Maduro. I picked these up in the Epicure size, which is the 6” x 54 Toro. I’ve been oddly intrigued by this release. I really like the 20th Anniversary line, I like some of the other line OK, and tolerate others. I actually dislike the Champagne, which is in the line these cigars are now under, and there are few cigars I actively dislike. The Maduro, I believe, directly replaces the Champagne Noir, whether it’s the same blend, I couldn’t say. I do know that the Noir fell in to the “like” category. I started with the Sungrown, with the anticipation that the Maduro would give the 20th Maduro a run for it’s money. I took a walk before settling in to watch the Flyers game on the big screen on the porch. This 10th Anniversary Sungrown was a delicious cigar. The Nicaraguan Wrapper is Bourbon barrel aged, and I think most of Perdomo’s wrappers are at this point, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I thought it was a great, medium-bodied cigar, with rich, smooth flavors. It had sweetness, some nuttiness and some wordiness. It was very good. It got me well into the first period of the hockey game. After a palate cleansing bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, I lit up the Maduro for the second and third periods. I suppose my expectations were a little high, or the ice cream didn’t cleanse my palate enough, but the Maduro didn’t delight me as much as I had hoped. It was a decent smoke, make no mistake, and it made it through two solid periods of outstanding hockey, where the Flyers clinched the number one seed in the eastern conference! In a normal year that would result in a trophy, I think! It means nothing if they don’t continue on the the Stanley Cup Finals, for which I have some special cigars set aside. Anyway, the Maduro had some of the maduroey flavors one expects, cocoa, coffee, etc., although they seemed to be muted to me. Perhaps it was the hour, or the fact that it was the third cigar of the day. I’ll try another on a clean palate, however, it seemed consistent with my feelings on the Champagne Noir. It was a good smoke, it just wasn’t the the 20th Anniversary, and the fault lies with me for setting unrealistic goals expectations. Once again, I’ll smoke it again, but as of this sitting, I preferred the Sungrown over the Maduro. It happens!

 

Well, that’s all for today. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | August 7, 2020 · 7:06 am

News: Diesel Announces Launch of Esteli Puro

Here’s some news from General Cigar. I am going to have to get out and shop for some new cigars one of these days! Diesel’s offerings have been hit and miss with me lately, I either really like them or I don’t. This one sounds promising. I kinda like the large ring gauges across the range.  

 

DIESEL PRESENTS “ESTELí PURO”

 

A highly-anticipated release from Diesel is set to make its debut next month. Called “Estelí Puro,” the full-time addition to the Diesel lineup was created in collaboration with AJ Fernandez. 

 

This tobacco-forward release is poised to become a core product in the Diesel portfolio.

 

The collection harnesses the strength and complexity of Estelí’s renowned tobacco which comes from the darkest and most dense of Nicaraguan soils. Each of the tobaccos that comprise Diesel Estelí Puro were hand-selected from AJ’s farms to meet specific requirements set forth by the Diesel team. The wrapper was harvested from La Lilia, the binder from San José and the fillers from several plots including AJ’s celebrated San Lotano farm.

 

Senior Brand Manager Justin Andrews said, “Estelí Puro represents the future of Diesel in that the story of the blend is told by the tobacco itself. With Estelí Puro, we made a collection that is completely unique in its bold flavor profile, yet has many of the attributes that have made the other Diesel expressions a cigar of choice among dyed-in-the-wool smokers. This is a cigar that demands the smoker’s full attention with deep and balanced flavor, a strong presentation and an attractive price point.”

 

Blended by AJ Fernandez, handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Estelí, Nicaragua and developed by General Cigar’s Justin Andrews, Diesel Estelí Puro is made with hand-selected leaves that are cultivated, processed and aged by AJ’s team. Heady aroma and spice dominate, lending body and dimension to the cigar, and delivering a smoke for experienced palates.

 

Diesel Estelí Puro will be available in three sizes, sold in 20-count boxes and will begin shipping to retailers on September 1.

 

Robusto 5.25” x 54 — SRP per cigar $8.99

Toro 6” x 54 — SRP per cigar $9.49

Gigante 6” x 60 — SRP per cigar $9.99

 

About Diesel

Handcrafted by artisans in Estelí, Nicaragua, Diesel cigars are “bold by design.” The brand challenges the current conventions of the handmade cigar category through the bold, unapologetic style of its Cigar Master, AJ Fernandez. Diesel cigars are unified by their deeply complex flavor which is achieved through AJ’s steadfast adherence to time honored cigar making techniques and his insistence on using the highest quality tobacco. The Diesel portfolio includes Delirium which debuted earlier this year; Hair of the Dog which was released in 2019; Whiskey Row which launched two expressions, one in 2019 and one in 2018, and Diesel Grind which debuted in 2017. For more information, visit www.dieselcigar.com.

 

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by | August 5, 2020 · 2:06 pm

Goose’s Montecristo Greater Philadelphia Golf Outing

Monday I attended Goose’s Montecristo Greater Philadelphia Golf Outing at the Brookside Country Club in Pottstown, PA. I’m not a golfer, but, geeze, I haven’t even been to a cigar shop in five months, let alone a cigar event (except for stoppin into Best Cigar Pub for lunch, I guess that counts). SO I tagged along with a foursome who was content to take my shots for me in the scramble format. I provided moral support, as well as some cigars along the way, and everyone seemed happy with the arrangement. In the end, I wasn’t a liability to the group, so it all worked out. The day started with lunch of Chicken sandwiches. I joined Tom the Altadis rep, who was there to support the Montecristo part of the event, for lunch, along with Ryan of Island Lifestyle Cigars/Frontier Cigars/Tommy Bahama Accessories. The 60 attendees of the Golf event received a Large Humidor bag containing a Montecristo Colibri cutter, a triple jet Montecristo Vertigo lighter (jumbo size! too big for the pocket, smaller than a table lighter, somewhere in between, a really nice lighter!), a Montecristo cap and two cigars. The cigars were pretty special, one being a Montecristo Pilotico Pepe Mendez No. 2, and a Montecristo Cincuenta No. 2, which is a very limited cigar, which was only sold in humidors of 100 cigars which retailed for $10,000 (if you took out the value of the humidor, each cigar would be $100, however, the humidors were made by Elie Bleu, which can easily account for $2500 of that price tag. It’s still a pricey cigar!).

 

 

I opted to start the day off with a Henry Clay Warhawk. I had picked this cigar up at a visit to Goose’s some time ago, and it is an Altadis product, so I figured it was OK. I am pretty picky when it comes to Connecticut shade wrapped cigars, and this is one I like quite a bit. I suppose it’s because it has some depth and body to go along with the creaminess. I hit the links with Ryan of Island Lifestyle Cigars, Matt, a former Reading Royals Hockey player and owner of a CBD company, and Charlie, who owns a local Awards company. As I said, I was along for the ride, fortunately the three of them were cool with me being dead weight. One of the advantages, it would turn out, was that if one of them wasn’t particularly pleased with a shot, they could take my shot and try to improve upon thiers. It was a best ball, scramble format, so I got to contribute in some small way by retrieving balls here and there, and I did provide some commentary and levity where I could. At one point I did provide a round of cigars which went over well, I figured I’d contribute in my own way! I think we ended up somewhere around 5 or 6 under par for the round, Charlie was a big hitter, and everyone seemed to make their individual contributions throughout the 18 holes. I smoked one of Ryan’s Island Lifestyle Connecticut Robustos along the way. I said I was picky about Connecticut cigars, and this one is damned good. It’s made by the Olivas in Nicaragua and was really nice, and it smoked for a much longer time than I figured a robusto would smoke too. I lit it it on the “back 9” (we started on 10, ended on 9 which was right next to the clubhouse!). A good time was had by all. There’s a vide I did on Facebook live on my persona page of the first hole (link here).

 

 

Dinner followed when all 15 foursomes got done, which was a Caesar salad followed by a nice prime rib with potatoes and green beans almondine. Prizes were awarded to the top two finishers, who were something silly like 10 or 12 under par, and if they were keeping score like we were, I suppose that’s entirely possible!  We were there to have a good time, and mission accomplished, I’d say! Even though I didn’t touch a club, I enjoyed the day a great deal. The company was great, it was a beautiful day, and we smoked some great cigars. I finished the day with a Montecristo Espada Guard, as I figured I should smoke at least one Montecristo at a Montecristo sponsored event! I brought what I had along with my, and by that point in the day, my palate wasn’t in a position to appreciate either of the cigars included in the goodie bag. Goose definitely puts on a great event, the Brookside folks were accommodating and did a great job feeding everyone, and their staff was outstanding from where I sat. I’ve been to plenty of cigar events where the servers wore masks, but they usually are because they are trying to filter the smoke and smell, and hide their derision. This obviously wasn’t the case here, the servers were cheerful and happy to be there. I hope to attend the next one. I should know better than to drink red Gatorade though, anything red is a migraine trigger, along with the storm that came yesterday, it did me in! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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