It’s gotten cold here in PA, but fortunately no snow like in some areas of the country. I’m sure in February temps in the 30s will feel balmy, but in November it’s too cold, too soon. Looks like I’ll be dipping into the supply of smaller cigars for a while! In other news, I came across an ashtray via a Twitter follow called “AshStay” This is a covered ashtray that actually looks pretty nifty. The one problem I have with the video they have on their site is that the woman in the video complains that her husband and his friends love cigars and 
she has to clean up after them. Gentlemen, there’s no reason we can’t clean up after ourselves! I get having a nice, covered ashtray like this to keep the wind from blowing ash all over, but I think we are all capable of emptying our ashtrays and not burdening our significant others with cleaning up our messes. Of course, if your wife joins you for a smoke, she can pitch in with the clean up, but I would bet that making your spouse clean up after you will not endear you to her! Just a public service announcement (and a little unsolicited plug for a pretty cool product!).
Monday, before it got awfully cold, I selected a cigar that’s an exclusive to JR Cigars, the Black Abyss Hydra, a 6″ x 52 Torpedo. This line has a San Andrés maduro wrapper, and is made by Jochi Blanco at Tabacalera Palma. Of course, this is a hot factory with some great cigars in their portfolio. I enjoy this reasonably priced line, it’s got a fairly typical Mexican Maduro profile that I love, and burns very well. It’s medium bodied and had a nice sweetness and coffee flavors. This is a tough cigar to pass up in the under $4 price range.
Tuesday the cold set in, so I picked a short cigar. I met Francisco Almonte, the owner of Dominican Big Leaguer Cigars, at The Smokin’ Goose a couple months ago. I was first introduced to this line by my local tobacconist, Jeff, at JM Cigars who was really taken with the brand. I chose the 4″x60 DBL Maduro La Maquina, another San Andrés wrapped cigar. This is one of those cigars that I’ll be interested in trying again under better conditions as I’m not willing to judge a cigar smoked on a cold and windy night. The burn was uneven, but it had a very nice flavor. On the milder side with the earthy, espresso flavor one might expect. This hard to find line is a bit of a surprise, they are making some nice cigars.
Tonight I chose one of my last 601 La Bomba Atoms. I’ve had a craving for one of these all week, and this corona gorda size was perfect for a cold evening. This cigar is from the original My Father production, as I’ve had these in my humidor for quite some time. The current production is made in Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory, so I’m sure the newer ones are on a par with the old, although I haven’t had a new one yet. This is a powerhouse, plenty of flavor to gut through the wintry temps, but smooth and balanced too. The burn was perfect, as was the draw. I know I have one or two of these left, and I look forward to trying the new production one of these days. I can’t think of a cigar from La Zona that I didn’t like. The La Bomba impressed me from the first time I smoked one with Eddie Ortega when this was a part of the EO Brands stable and they continue to be a favorite.
I continue to be grateful and impressed by the goodies that are coming in for next month’s 12 Days of Spectacular Cigar Giveaways! At the risk of jinxing myself, this might be the most stress free series of contests yet. I could just about run the contest now with the great contest presents I’ve already received, and there’s more to come. I may have to turn sponsors away (but I doubt I’d do something so silly)! Stay tuned, this will be the best year yet for the 12DoSCG! If you need a contest to enter in the mean time, check out that awesome Norteño ashtray stand and humidor from Drew Estate.
That’s all I have for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
Hey Cigar Craig do you ever go to Sir Stogies in Gilbertsville. Nice lounge big selection.
I’ve been there once, a few years ago. It was a great space, and I understand they’ve improved it since. I’ll have to get back there one day.
Corona gordo is fast becoming my favorite vitola. Seems to present the best wrap to filler ratio and taste the best.
That Abyss sounds like a dang good cigar. Do you really notice a big difference in smoking time between a 6×52 and the 4×60
Not really…I suppose it’s largely psychological…
If winter is the time for smoking smaller cigars, then bring on the cold weather !!! I don’t think it’s necessarily the shorter length that draws me, rather the smaller bore. I know that the ratio of wrapper to filler is something that has an impact on the flavor and that everyone has a different take on what is best, but I really do prefer coronas over anything over 50-52 gauge. Like everything else in life, variety is the spice, right?
Re: the uneven burn in the cigar you smoked under windy conditions, I had an interesting experience when smoking cigars in the wind. I made a road trip from Florida to Kentucky about a year ago and was driving a large Penske rental truck. During the daylight hours, I drove with the windows open and when it got dark, it cooled off so that I had to (almost) close the windows. I noticed that when the windows were open, the cigars I was smoking did not burn evenly. It didn’t matter what brand or size I was smoking. But when the windows were closed and the wind through the cab was not quite so strong, those same cigars seemed to burn more evenly.
During that trip, I learned what impact wind has on cigars and when it’s important to get an even burn, I learned to stay out of the wind. That’s why I tend to smoke the less expensive cigars when I’m outside, I guess.
I like all cigars, regardless of size. For me, I want to spend an hour or two smoking a cigar, and smaller cigars are gone too quickly. Of course, when it’s 10 degrees out I don’t want to be outside for too long. This is probably why I love lanceros, they are a nice balance of small ring gauge and longer smoking time.
Seems like a cool idea for an ash tray for people who smoke outside a lot. Be perfect for windy days.
Looking forward to your December giveaways, Craig!