Category Archives: Contest

by CigarCraig | October 7, 2018 · 1:36 pm

Foundation Cigars at Gilbertsville Cigar Factory, a Marzio Cigar, and the Contest Winner!

Friday I took a long overdue drive up to the Gilbertsville Cigar Factory, a shop in Gilberstville, PA which used to be called Sir Stogies, and occupies a building which was the W.K. Gresh & Son’s Cigar Factory, and Gilbertsville Cigar Factory No. 95 in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The shop is owned by Chris and Amber, and Chris is wears another hat as the area’s rep for Miami Cigar and Company. I’ve known Chris since I met him in 2011 when he gave me a special cigar on the day my first granddaughter was born. The store is beautiful, with spacious lounge areas, two walk-in humidors, and an attentive staff. The historic building offers a very nice ambiance. Gilbertsville Cigar Company is one of the few shops around, due to their close ties to Miami Cigar and Co., that carries Marzio Cigars, which is an interesting sort of joint venture between Toscano and La Aurora. I have wanted to try this cigar since I heard about it, out of curiosity. Considering the tobacco they use from the Toscano cigars is basically Kentucky or Tennessee fire cured tobacco, it compares to the KFC, and it’s a bit unfortunate that there’s nothing else to compare it to. It started out to be overwhelmingly smokey and didn’t appeal to me, but it mellowed over time and wasn’t that bad after a while. I think, like the KFC, some humidor time would mellow these out, but I’m not sure I’d go too far out of my way to find out. I’m reminded that I bought some various Toscanos in Rome when I was there that I still have to open up and try.

Anyway, The last time I visited this shop was in 2010, and just like that occasion, I ran into Walt White, whom you know as one of the founders of Stogie Review, and I spent a good deal of the evening catching up with him. I always enjoy hanging out with Walt. The reason I decided to make the trek to Gilbertsville was because they were having an event with Foundation Cigar Company and Nick Melillo. I knew Nick was going to be at a closer shop the next day, but I had other plans, and I always go to events at that shop anyway. It was a very busy event, lots of traffic and it looked like they sold a lot of cigars. I fully enjoyed a Tabernacle Robusto, and picked up a few cigars that I didn’t need. Of course, the Tabernacle is a favorite of mine, it’s Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and fillers from Jamastran in Honduras and Jalapa and Esteli Valleys in Nicaragua. I was hoping the new Tabernacle Havana Seed CT #142 was going to be there, but I didn’t see it and I forgot to ask Nick when it would be around. The Tabernacle is such a great cigar, dark, rich espresso and cocoa, right up my alley. They don’t call Nick the Chief of Broadleaf for nuthin. It was a great event in a great shop, highly recommended if you find yourself in that neck of the woods.

One of the Foundation cigars I picked up was the Charter Oak Maduro in the Toro size. I think I paid a whopping $5.50 + 6% sales tax for this cigar here in Pennsylvania, a state with no cigar tax for a 6″ x 52 cigar wrapped in the same Connecticut Broadleaf used on the Tabernacle, with Nicaraguan (Habano, Sumatra, the website says both) binder and fillers from Esteli and Jalapa. Even though it may have burned a little faster than the Tabernacle, and the ash wasn’t quite as sturdy, but for the price this was a really great smoke. Similar coffee and cocoa flavors, not as deep and rich, less refined, milder, but a very nice cigar. this is certainly a cigar that I would put in my regular rotation if I had such a thing. Top notch, and previous experience with the Connecticut Shade version, which is also actual Connecticut leaf, not Ecuador (how this is done at this price is anyone’s guess), was also very good.

Contest Winner!

Wrapping up another contest! this is another one which I noticed there weren’t as many entries as there used to be. I might put up a poll to see if I can figure out whats up with the contests. Do people no longer want free cigars? What’s the deal? I’ll keep giving stuff away, fewer entries just means better odds for my faithful readers who enter year after year, and I thank you all who enter! And special thanks to people like Kevin of Cigar Prop who not only provide cool stuff for me to give away, but have the creativity and ingenuity to create cool tools like this and make them a reality. Honestly, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t use a lighter bleed tool or a one of Kevin’s Cigar Props! He has some cool ideas coming up that I’m excited to share when I’m allowed! Anyway, I’m also always happy to share cigars that I’m into, even if it means depleting my own supply :-)! No big deal, the fun of smoking cigars is sharing them with others, and this time, I’m sharing them with Karl Brooks! The random number generator told me comment number 6, and Karl’s comment was the 6th one. Karl, please send me your contact info so I can pack up these goodies and send them out to you! Thanks again everyone! I need to start scrounging some things together as the holidays approach!

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

CigarCraig

4 Comments

Filed under Contest, Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as Charter Oak, cigar, Cigar Prop, cigars, Contest, Foundation, Gilbertsville Cigar Factory, Marzio, Tabernacle

by CigarCraig | September 30, 2018 · 11:09 am

Hostage and La Misión from Providencia Cigars, Buenaventura, and a Contest!

This week I dug into the new cigars from Providencia Cigar Company. I warmed up last week with an El Santo, the box pressed toro with a Nicaraguan Sumatra maduro wrapper. I really enjoy that cigar, and was excited to sample the Hostage, their newest release. This release came with a story of Providencia Co-founder Jim Faber’s abduction at gunpoint on a Honduran youth soccer field (the story is here in the news item I posted earlier this month). Considering it’s speculated that Jim’s abductors were Mexican gang members, it’s ironic, or perhaps fitting, that this cigar has a San Andrés wrapper. The wrapper is roughly the same shade of brown as the El Santo, which isn’t as dark as many San Andrés maduros, but the real difference to me lies in the flavor. This cigar had a unique flavor that I didn’t expect. It was a warm, fresh-baked bready flavor, not the dark coffee, cocoa flavors I thought I’d get. I think there were some almost floral notes as well, very interesting and entertaining. I am very interested in smoking another one and probably will in the very near future. I have to find out who has these in the area, I know the guys who own Providencia have some south Jersey roots, we have to get them to visit Philly one of these days!

Another new cigar from Providencia hasn’t had the official press release come out yet, but I smoked it anyway because it looked really intriguing and I couldn’t wait, was a 7½” x 38 Lancero called La Misión. This cigar has a Honduran Habano wrapper, an Indonesian binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler and, as I said, is a traditional Laguito No. 1 in the Cuban Vitola de Galera. As with all of Providencia’s cigars, I believe this to be made in Honduras, and this is a difficult shape to produce, so I was quite pleased when it burned perfectly and was a pleasure to smoke until it burned my fingers. Flavor-wise, it was good, although perhaps I was spoiled by the unique flavor of the Hostage. I enjoyed the flavors it produced, they were good flavors of properly processed tobacco, with the cocoa and coffee flavors I like, with a leathery feel, and it was completely enjoyable. I loved the size, considering I’m not a fan of short small ring gauge cigars, I do like me a lancero, and I like them a lot. I look forward to sharing the story of the La Misión when it comes out, and appreciate to folks at Providencia sending me their new goodies to try.

Several weeks ago I stopped into one of the nearby CigarCigars stores to chat with Kevin, the manager there, and he had a box of Curivari Buenaventura BV 560 on the counter and said they sold like crazy, and at $5 and change, I guess I could see why. Since I had never smoked any of the Curivari line before, let alone the Buenaventura, and had heard of them, of course, I figured it was a no-brainer to give one a shot. Kevin did say it was a great cigar, and I agree with his assessment, it was a great smoke, I enjoyed it very much. Don’t let the 560 in the name fool anyone, it’s actually not 5″ x 60, it’s 5½” x 56 (I did some research considering Curivari doesn’t seem to list this line on their site with is befuddling, so I looked at several retailers and went with the consensus, with one large one seeming to have incorrect info). I’m hoping this is a regular item in the stores, because this is a winner at a great price, it’s another cigar with a really nice flavor, it’s sweet and earthy, not heavy and burdensome on the palate, a very good smoke.

Contest!

Time for another CigarCraig giveaway! This is a good one! Last week Kevin at CigarProp.com shipped out his Kickstarter round of the Lighter Bleed Tool 2.0. The Kickstarter was fully funded in something like 2 days, which is crazy, and it’s a super-useful tool. I’ve been using the 1.0 version religiously whenever I fill a lighter and it’s great, I never have to worry about damaging the fill valve of my expensive (or cheap) lighters with a screwdriver or other non-purpose-built tool when I bleed my lighters. Kevin very generously provided a Lighter Bleeder Tool 2.0 in Aluminum for today’s giveaway! Since I can’t not include cigars, I am CigarCraig after all, and since Kevin just did a whole series of reviews on his Youtube channel of Cornelius and Anthony cigars, and since Cornelius and Anthony cigars are among my favorites anyway, I selected a five-pack from my humidor to accompany the Lighter Bleeder Tool 2.0 for this giveaway! Let me tell you, the cigars I selected DO NOT SUCK! They are cigars that are my favorites and are hard to part with! Who knows what else might fall into the box while it’s being packed up. Check out Kevin’s videos, they are a hoot, leave a comment on this post to enter, and I’ll select a comment at random next Sunday, October 7, 2018. Must be of legal age to win, you know the rules. If you don’t win a bleed tool, they are available on Amazon too!

That’s all for today, hard to believe it’s the end of September already. I have to start thinking of wrapping the cigar porch for the cold weather smoking! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

36 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as Buenaventura, cigar, Cigar Prop, cigars, Contest, Cornelius and Anthony, Curivari, Hostage, La Misión, Lighter Bleed Tool, Providencia

by CigarCraig | August 19, 2018 · 11:05 am

Dapper Cigars Cubo Claro and Maduro and the Contest Winner!

But first, Thursday evening my wife and I went to Philadelphia’s Diner en Blanc, which is a picnic, of sorts, where everyone wears white, brings their own table and chairs and meets in places around the city, and it transported to a public space that is kept secret until the last minute. These happen all over the world and it’s quite a sight. In this case, Philadelphia’s had 5500 people, the largest in the US. Last year there was a cigar lounge set up with a local outfit, the Travelling Tobacconist, featuring an Airstream trailer, this year, no such luck, as it was held at Philadelphia’s City Hall, and the park surrounding it is non-smoking. We actually were sitting on a wall at the perimeter of the park enjoying a small cigar with a white band, and got chased one foot to the sidewalk…absurd. So while we were at the meeting point, which was at the subway stop outside of Citizens Bank Park (where, at the same time, Will Cooper will tell you the Phillies were having their heads handed to them by the Mets in the first game of a double header), I enjoyed a Macanudo Inspirado White with my buddy Bruce. I’ve known Bruce for 20 years, we go back to the old alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group days, and he now lives a few miles from me. I select appropriately themed cigars for this occasion, last year it was a Fratello Bianco, a Montecristo White, and my wife smoked a Leccia White. Some think this event is pretentious and a waste of city resources, and I’ve heard the term “white privilege” tossed around ignorantly. First, the organization pays it’s way on the set-up and cleanup, and donates generously to local charities. Regarding the “white privilege”, anyone who took a half a glance at the attendees of one of these events would see the most diverse group of people imaginable eating together side by side, hanging out, partying, having a good time. It’s a cool event. The local news even talked to me on camera, but I guess I was too cool for them to use on the news.

I’m still finding a couple of samples from last year’s IPCPR, and a couple of my good friends in the industry have shared some samples from this years show which I did not attend, so I need to make room. I had a couple Cubos from Dapper Cigars out of California that were begging to be smoked, so Friday was the day. I had to drop the car off in the morning so I grabbed the Ecuador Connecticut wrapped Cubo Claro toro for the walk home. First off, I appreciate any company that calls their shade wrapped cigar “Claro”, it’s way easier to type than Ecuador Connecticut or Connecticut shade. Sure, it’s ambiguous and requires clarification, so does Connecticut Shade anymore so why not? Dapper likes to provide specifics about their tobaccos, and I’ve compared this to Steve Saka when he launched Sobremesa. Funny enough, some of Dapper’s cigars are made in NACSA, where Mi Querida and Umbagog are made, but the Cubo’s are not made at NACSA, they are made at Tabacaleras Carreras S.A., which also makes, perhaps not surprisingly, Esteban Carreras Cigars.

Wrapper: Ecuador / Connecticut desflorado / CASJUCA / A.S.P. (Perez)

Binder: Nicaragua / Jalapa / Habano / Dorado / Oliva Tobacco Co

Fillers: Nicaragua / Condega / gk Relleno / Oliva Tobacco Co
Nicaragua / Esteli / Guadalupe / Oliva Tobacco Co

This was a really nice claro cigar with enough strength and body to be enjoyed any time of the day, not just in the morning, as I did. I’m not a regular morning smoker, it’s just no something I usually do, but now and then I have cigar in the morning and it’s usually a shade wrapped cigar or a coffee infused cigar, I guess I fall for the stereotype. This was a really good tasting cigar, it had the trademark shade wrapper flavor, but there was a bit of spice and rich tobacco flavor and it was a good, satisfying cigar. I was anticipating smoking the maduro later.

After dinner, which is my usual routine, I did smoke the Cubo Maduro Toro as I took my second walk of the day, a short one around the block. First off, this is a visually stunning maduro cigar. It has a beautiful oily wrapper, very even coloration, nicely made. Both this and the Claro were nice looking cigars, and the bands are very attractive as well. High scores for presentation. I haven’t seen the boxes, but according to the website they are packaged in natural cedar sliding lid boxes with Boveda packs, again, the information provided the website is extremely thorough. I found the Maduro to be considerably stronger than the Claro, which isn’t uncommon, and the spicy cocoa from the Mexican wrapper was much to my liking.

Wrapper: Mexico / San Andrés Negro / Turrent Family

Binder: Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Oliva Tobacco Co.

Fillers: Nicaragua / Condega / gk Relleno / Oliva Tobacco Co.
Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Oliva Tobacco Co.

I’m a little surprised with all the detail provided that they leave out the primings, that seems like a geek-point that should be there. As you might imagine, this was a cigar that hit me the right way, it was rich and decadent and I liked it a lot. I don’t see any of Dapper’s offerings around here, but I haven’t looked really hard, but they sure make some good cigars.

Contest!

I was a little over the top with my “contest entrant shaming” in my last post, sorry about that. I think it scared people off, because we only had 19 entries, and it’s been probably 8 years or so since I’ve had that few entries. maybe it’s summer and people are busy, maybe the economy’s good and people don’t want free cigars, I don’t know. I do know that that makes the odds better for those of you who entered! I said I was sweetening the deal, so I grabbed a few more cigars out of the humidor, three of which are from La Aurora, which, by the way, was the common thread I was really looking for, all of the cigars I mentioned in the contest post were made at the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic. So the prize is 10 cigars from La Sirena, La Auroa, etc. and a Stage V Clinger cigar holder. It’s also true that they all have two bands and they all have tobaccos from the DR, so I can’t exactly disqualify any of those answers as incorrect, so all entries count. In a strange twist, the random number generator spit out 15, and I had thrown out Brian I’s first entry, which was actually the first entry, and he ens up being the 15th comment. So Brian I is the winner! Please send me your address privately so I can get these goodies out to you! I guess I need to step up the contest game here! Apparently I’ve slacked off or something, contests used to be my bag, baby. Thanks to Stage V Clinger and my friends at La Sirena and La Aurora for their continued support!

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

CigarCraig

7 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Claro, Contest, Cubo, Dapper, La Aurora, La Sirena, maduro, Stage V Clinger

by CigarCraig | August 12, 2018 · 12:11 pm

Merlions, Fratello, Viva Republica and Evil Genius Cigars and a Contest!

I have been remiss in having contests! Between job hunting, the whole pre-IPCPR news deluge, a lack of companies being forthcoming with goodies to giveaway contributed to this, but mostly it’s my forgetfulness. I’m going to make up for it now. The prize is going to be a selection of cigars from my humidor relating to the cigars featured in this post, and then some, no less than five, most likely more. A few I don’t have more of, but that will me more than made up for, rest assured. I also will include a Stage V Clinger Cigar Clip! It’s not going to be the usual random, pick a comment out of a hat game this time, I’m going to require a little work. There still might be some randomness, because I don’t think it’s going to be that hard. More on that at the end of the post.

Let’s get started! Last week I went on a bit of a La Sirena bender, and I guess I omitted the Merlion brand from that bender, because a package showed up from Danny D this week with a few of the Merlion Robustos and Merlion Maduro Toros with a note thanking me for the post! Merlion Maduro Toro is a favorite of mine, and I have half a box on the shelf, but I’m always happy to add a few to the box, and I’m sure I had some naturals around, so the omission last week was more because I ran out of time than anything else, but I always appreciate the generosity of my friends and valued sponsors! La Sirena is a great little company and produces beautiful cigars which I highly recommend, and will feature prominently in this week’s contest prize, by the way! So I smoked the Merlion Maduro Toro from existing stock, as the ones that arrived this week came off a very hot UPS truck and needed some resting time. The Merlion is made in the DR, with a Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper, Brazilian Sumatra binder, and Brazilian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The only difference between this and the “natural” Merlion is wrapper, we’ll get to that later. As I said, this is a cigar I really enjoy. It’s not a traditional Toro, as the size is 5½” x 54, but it has pretty much the same burn time for me, so it’s OK.

Next up was a Fratello Oro Robusto. This is Omar de Frias’ Third release, and his first cigar out of his home country of Dominican Republic. Of course, Oro means “Gold” in Italian, which fits in with his theme of a cigar with an Italian brand name. Of course, Oro is also Spanish for Gold, so everyone can figure it out. I’m two releases behind on the Fratello portfolio, sad to say, I still haven’t smoked the Navetta, and the new Navetta Inverso. I gotta get my hands on those two. I have to check the humidor for some Biancos, as this week is the Diner en Blanc in Philadelphia, which my wife and I are attending, and I like to have a selection of “white” themed cigars along. I have my white guayabera all ready to go. Anyway, the Fratello Oro has a n Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Cameroon binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I think the Cameroon binder is what makes this cigar stand our from other “shade” cigars, it gives it a little special something, that “Camerooniness” that sets it apart, along with the little extra oomph from the Nicaraguan in the filler blend. It’s a really flavorful cigar, smooth and creamy with some sweetness and spice. A very nice cigar.

Next up I had to really do some humidor diving for, but it was worth it. This was a cigar from a company that used to be called Evil Genius Cigars, but due to some trademark dispute or another, has ended up with the name “Censored Genius Cigars“. These guys are basically neighbors of mine, up the road in Allentown, PA, and came on the scene in 2013 with a couple of cigars called White Chapel and Black Chapel, I think the White was the stronger cigar and the Black was the milder, but maybe I’m thinking of some other tricky brand that tried that game. The cigar I chose was the Time Machine, and I want to say it came out at the 2015 IPCPR show. One aside, when ever I meet with the guys at this company, whatever they call themselves, I feel short, and I’m 6″ 0″. I think the shorted among them is about 6″ 4”. The Time Machine Robusto is 5″ x 50, wrapped in Nicaraguan Habano, with a Nicaraguan Corojo binder and Dominican and Cameroon fillers. Interesting, one doesn’t generally see Cameroon used in the filler but it can’t all be wrapper or even binder quality, can it? This was an interesting tasting cigar, and, with three years of age, it performed very well. I don’t recall having smoked this before, maybe I did, I’d have to look back, but it was a good smoke and I’d smoke it again. I’ve lost touch with Alex and his guys, perhaps I’ll run into them someplace in the area one of these days.

After nine years of being a Cigar Rights of America member, and not smoking many of the cigars they send me when I renew, I came across this Viva Republica Rapture in a Rothchild size that was the right size for the time I had, and piqued my curiosity. I have a bunch of CRA banded cigars, somehow I never have gotten the Ligas, or the Opus or anything like that, but some of them probably have enough age on them that I should smoke them. There’s one Hawaiian something or other I never heard of, but the rest are name brands. Anyway, Viva Republica is a brand that is owned by another Pennsylvanian, Jason Holly, who owns a cigar store up in the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area of PA (way up north). They say that the CRA banded cigars are special blends, so this might not be right, but the cigar might have been 4½”x 50 (it most likely was) Ecuadorian Havana Vuelta Abajo wrapper, with Dominican Republic binder, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic filler. Could have been, I don’t know, but it was a really tasty cigar, I’m not going to dwell on it too much because it’s an oddball. I would recommend trying the Rapture line, if you are a CRA member and you have this one in your humidor, smoke it, you’ll not be disappointed, if you’re not a CRA member, why not? sign up, tell them I sent you!

Finally, I circled back to the Merlion Natural, the original Merlion, and the second release from La Sirena. Like I said earlier, this has an Ecuador Corojo wrapper, with Brazilian Sumatra binder, and Brazilian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The robusto was 5″ x 50 and the band is easily 4″, but, brilliantly, and much to the dismay of the factory staff tasked with the application of the bands, it’s in two parts, so when the lower part is removed, one is still left with a beautiful upper band, and a beautiful band it/they is/are. I like this cigar, but I’m not as fond of it as I am of the maduro version. There’s not a darned thing wrong with the cigar, but it’s a strong argument about the wrapper making a huge difference in the flavor of a cigar, and there a flavor in the Ecuador Corojo on this that isn’t in my particular wheelhouse. Oddly, and people argue that smaller ring gauge cigars showcase the wrapper flavor, the little Merlion Sea Lion perfecto is fantastic! I guess I’m just weird, a point which is rarely disputed. Anyway, I do like the entire La Sirena portfolio, but you can’t love everything.

Contest!

The prize: An orange Stage V Clinger, a cigar holding device that’s got a magnet and a velcro strap and gently holds your cigar when you’re out and about. It’s heavily marketed to golfers, but I’ve used one around the yard, when I’m out on walks (it’s handy if I have to go to someone’s door, I leave my cigar clipped to the mailbox so I don’t have to be standing at the door with a cigar). It’s a nifty device, and it’s free, who are you to complain! Also, I’ll put together a selection of cigars from my humidor that will include a Merlion Maduro Toro, a Merlion Robusto, an Anchor by La Sirena, an Oceano Atlantic and a La Sirena Trident. No doubt, some other cigars appropriate to the theme of this contest, but would give the answer away, will make it into the prize pack. So your job is to leave a comment, but this time you have to look back a the five cigars mentioned in this post and tell me what they all have in common! I’ll choose a winner from the correct responses next Sunday, August 19, 2018. It’s pretty easy, good luck!

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

CigarCraig

20 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as Censored Genius, cigar, cigars, Evil Genius, Fratello, La Sirena, Merlion, Oro, Rapture, Time Machine, Viva Republica

by CigarCraig | March 21, 2018 · 7:45 pm

La Sirena Contest Winner Announcement

Today was the first full day of Spring, so of course it’s snowing like crazy! I got kicked out of work early (a good thing), and have shoveled the driveway twice already (my wife shoveled it once too) and I had a chance to smoke the new Macanudo Inspirado Red in a box pressed robusto which was incredible. More on that Sunday as we are here tonight to select a winner of the La Sirena cigars and a Stage V Clinger. By the way, in case anyone was curious, it’s a Stage “Five” Clinger, not a Stage “Vee” Clinger, which is odd since it’s kinda V shaped…but that’s what they’ve told me in the past. Also interesting, three years ago I had a similar La Sirena contest, I wonder if Lonnie remembers winning this, as he’s entered this time too (I suspect he remembers…). So, without further ado, Random.org selected Todd Arbogast as the big winner! Todd, please send me your address so I can get these goodies to you. I hinted that I might pick a runner-up, and the name Jack Campbell came up. So Jack, I’ll pick out a couple La Sirenas and a Stage V Clinger and get them to you.