Category Archives: Editorial

by | August 12, 2012 · 5:50 pm

An Almost Regular Sunday Cigar Post

Since coming back from the IPCPR show earlier in the week I’ve been working on getting some of the videos we shot during the show.  I actually haven’t been smoking a lot of cigars lately, and really didn’t smoke many while at the show!  I started getting a cold while there, and everything has tasted funny for the last week, so why bother!  I had made a decision that while I was on the show floor, I was going to abstain from smoking cigars for two reasons: first that it’s one more thing to have in my already full hands, and second, I hate walking into one persons booth with another person’s cigar, it just seems rude.

 

On the opening night I smoked an Emilio AF1 athe “Gala” dinner, followed by an Alec Bradley Prensado Robusto at their after party.  I had brought both of these cigars along with me, and they were both exceptional.  The one cigar I did smoke on Friday was a pre-release ORTSAC San Andrés robusto, which was amazing.  I’ll get more when I can because I really want to experience it without the distractions of the show. Friday night we went to the Joya de Nicaragua party which was in an enormous tent in the parking lot of one of the Corona Cigar stores.  These Corona stores are amazing places, by the way.  They are set up in a super market style, with everything out on display in rows.  I purchased a pair of the new CLE Corojo Preferidos for future enjoyment while there, and went on to enjoy a wonderful Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Lancero at the party.  I know, I should have smoked the new Cuenca y Blanco which we were there to celebrate the release of, but when the lancero calls…

 

Saturday was our last day on the show floor.  At this point I just propped myself up with various over the counter cold remedies and soldiered on.  As you can see, and will see in the coming weeks, we shot a fair amount of videos over the course of the day.  After the show closed, we visited the Toraño hospitality tent for a smoke where we ran into our friends Mitch and George.  At the hospitality tent we had our choice of the new size they were debuting at the show, the LFC, which is a 4½x60.  Charlie talks about these in the video I did with him which I posted last week. I selected an Exodus 50 years, but they also had the Vault, the Loyal and the Master.

Mitch and George with an old car that had the steering on the wrong side

From there we went to see the downtown Corona store with Mitch and George.  We sat and ordered a pizza from across the street and from someplace a Gurkha Cellar Reserve Perfecto appeared which I smoked and enjoyed. I have Mitchell to thank for that, as well as the food and drinks, he really needs to take a couple bucks for this stuff one of these days!  George gifted me a very special cigar which I will report on when I can taste again, thank you very much! I would love to have smoked it then, but it would have been criminal in the state I was in.  The volume went up on the music at Corona, so we found where I parked the car and headed back to the other Corona location for the Miami Cigar/La Aurora party in the tent.  They had a live band there, it was very loud and smokey and a lot of the party had spilled out into the driveway, which had been closed off.  Everyone seemed to be there again, many of the manufacturers, retailers and bloggers.  It was very kind of Corona Cigar Co. to host all of these fine events.  I understand the Sunday night Drew Estate event was fantastic. We packed it in around midnight, it had been a long day and we had my 18 year old son and his friend to worry about.

 

We spent Sunday at the Magic Kingdom, riding the rides and having a nice day. Monday we made the long drive home, stopping for dinner at a Waffle House in NC, just because I didn’t think it would be right to drive down and back without eating there once!  We had a great trip.  Took too few pictures, smoked too few cigars, but had a great time seeing old friends.  I have to thank my publicist/ videographer/wife for putting up with me dragging her around the show floor and helping me out along the way.

Here’s a few random pictures:

Uncle Sam getting the most of the second hand smoke!

 

Kiss My Ash Radio going live from the show floor

Fake Cubans in a little grocery in Kissimmee near our hotel. I told the girl they were fake, she didn’t care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had asked for input into what you wanted to know from the manufactures, and I’m afraid I avoided the questions about the FDA.  I did this because I really want to remain positive about it, and I thought asking what plans they have should the FDA regulate cigars would result in being told that it would shut down all but the largest players.  In retrospect, maybe having a library of videos of people saying they’d be put out of business would make a point to the government, but I didn’t really want to bring down the excitement of the show and new products.

 

Stay tuned for plenty more videos over the coming weeks.  I’ll try to pair them with smoking the samples, if my taste buds ever return to normal!  I’ve  smoked a cigar or two since getting back, but have felt that it was a waste to have done so.  I didn’t even have a cigar in the pool today!

Anyway, until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | July 11, 2012 · 6:57 pm

A Pool Cigar, Chateau Real, Hammer & Sickle and another Hoyo de Monterrey Contest Winner!

Sunday I spent a few hours lounging in the pool with my wife, enjoying a couple of frosty IBC root beers and a Maria Mancini Robusto Larga. After working until 3am and getting a few hours sleep, hanging out in the warm pool was very relaxing. I encountered an interesting phenomenon with the cigar though. In my sleep deprived state, I absent-mindedly dropped my travel humidor in my cooler bag along with my supply of frosty root beers. By the time I lit up a cigar it was pretty cold. I noticed that the cigar, of which I’ve smoked hundreds of over the years and almost never had a problem with, didn’t draw as well as I would have liked until about half way through the smoke. Is it possible that the sudden temperature change effected the relative humidity that quickly? I suppose that the lower temperature would allow the leaves to hold more moisture and give me that over humidified, “steamy” tight draw. I’ll have to do some reading on RH and see if that even makes sense, but I know that temperature determines whether a water molecule is in a gas or liquid state, and at lower temperatures it’s more likely to be in a liquid state. Would this have a profound effect on our beloved roll of leaves in a hour or two’s time? It turned out to be a very enjoyable smoke, once it got going, but just about any cigar would have been good under those circumstances.

 

Monday I took a nice little walk with an old friend, the Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto Maduro. I absolutely love these cigars. I purchased a box nearly two years ago and have been smoking them very sparingly, as the maduro seems to be discontinued. It’s a real shame too, because I adore the Mexican maduro wrapper on these, I think it makes the cigar. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the mild and creamy Ecuador Connecticut wrapped version, but the maduro hits the spot for me. I have a handful of these left, as well as nearly half a box of the Small Club in maduro and will be sad when they are gone. I’ll have to find another favorite, I suppose! With so many great cigars sporting that San Andreas maduro wrapper lately, it shouldn’t be hard, but it’s a shame to see a favorite go away.

 

Tuesday I decided to re-visit the Hammer and Sickle Robusto that I was given last year at the trade show. My dear old friend Mike Perry was working the booth for Eric Hanson and Victor Vitale last year and made sure I got a couple of these to try. Sadly, I hear he won’t make it to the show this year due to recovering from some health issues. I met Mike at a herf in Vegas in 1999, he’s a tremendous guy, and I look forward to seeing him again soon. Anyway, I believe these are made by Hendrik Kelner, and the quality really shows. I love a cigar that burns with a flat coal, all of the tobaccos burning at exactly the same rate. It’s a thing of beauty. It’s a nice smoke, I’d smoke it again for sure, and if you ever come across a box of these you’ll know it, it’s probably the only cigar to come in a crystal box! Always an interesting presentation from The Cigar Agency! I look forward to seeing Victor again at the show, his Tortuga 1950 Maduro is amazingly good!

 

Contest

 

So it’s time to select another winner! I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t yet shipped out Allen’s cigars, I was waiting for some boxes that I received Monday. I’ll get it shipped out tomorrow I promise!  I’ve closed the comments and consulted once again with Random.org‘s random number generator and came up with the number 8, which corresponds to JScott. Congrats!  Please send me your address so I can ship your pair of three-packs of Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros cigars, even though I probably have it around here someplace!

Don’t forget to enter the Box-a-Day contest at HoydeMonterreycigar.com, and keep an eye here on Sunday for another Reposado en Cedros six-pack contest!.

 

That’s it for today, until Sunday,

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 26, 2012 · 9:24 am

Memorial Day Weekend Cigar Patriotism!

Since it’s the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend here in the US,  I thought I’d throw together a little list of serious threats to our rights, those same rights that Americans laid down their lives to protect.  So in between great cigars and holiday weekend fun, take a moment to remember all those who’ve paid the ultimate price, and honor them by doing your best to prevent our liberties from being trampled!

 

California:  Here’s a great letter from Matt Lanford, owner of Santa Barbara Cigar and Tobacco – NO on Prop 29 – Open Letter to Lance Armstrong and Mayor Bloomberg

Illinois: Trying to slip a tax increase through on a holiday weekend –  Illinois House votes to increase cigarette tax

Some good news in Illinois: Davidoff Announces Opening of Cigar Lounge in Westmont, Illinois

Florida: I’m personally against making up new laws instead of enforcing existing ones.  Adults should be able to chose to smoke flavored products, children aren’t allowed to buy them! Selling flavored tobacco products could be prohibited in Miami-Dade

Virginia: Another case of making up a new law instead of enforcing an existing one, this time it’s littering.  We don’t do ourselves any favors when we leave our butts behind.  Dispose of them properly as you would any trash!  Civic league pushes for smoking ban on Chic’s Beach

And don’t forget: WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO: Not Allow The FDA To Regulate Premium Cigars

 

Write, call, fax, e-mail your elected officials and let thim know what you think!  It only takes a minute, and Cigar Rights of America and IPCPR websites both have terrific tools for contacting the right people.

That’s it for now, just a little Public Service Announcement on a Saturday morning.  Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!  I’ll be back to my regular content tomorrow, as the cigar blogosphere is surely slow due to everyone else being on Safari.
CigarCraig

 

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by | May 6, 2012 · 10:38 am

Brun Del Rè Cigars, a La Palina Cigar and a Little Rant

I was feeling adventurous again this week and reached for a Brun Del Rè Premium Robusto from last year’s IPCPR.  I had smoked a sample from their Don Corazza line a while ago and wasn’t very impressed.  I fell victim to one of  the classic blunders – The most famous of which is “never get involved in a land war in Asia”  but only slightly less well-known is this: “Never judge a cigar line based upon a single sample”. Based upon that one sample, I had been hesitant to invest my valuable cigar time in what might have been just another ho-hum, run of the mill trade show sample.   However, my faith has been restored with this cigar.  It was a beautiful Ecuador Connecticut shade wrapped 5″ x 50 robusto stuffed with Nicaraguan filer and made in Costa Rica .  It was well made, had a nice sweet flavor and was on the medium end of mild.  I’m very much looking forward to sampling the rest of this line and even re-visiting the Don Corazza.  This cigar is worth a try in my opinion.

 

Took a long walk on Friday evening and needed a little heftier cigar, so I selected a recently received La Palina Toro.  If I get a mile and a half from home and realize I’ve got a dud cigar I’m very unhappy, so cigar selection in this case is critical.  Of course, I have the foresight to carry a back-up, either to smoke if I get a less than satisfying cigar experience, or to share along the way if the need arises.  With the La Palina, I know I won’t need the back-up. These cigars are always perfectly constructed, they are made in the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, the same factory that produces such excellent and consistent lines as Alec Bradley and Illusione (the later of which I’ve never had, but heard good things!).  The La Palina Toro is a rich and tasty smoke, although still pricey at $10 each.  It’s a premium smoke that has never failed to deliver in all of the sizes I’ve tried, but I think I like this size and the robusto the best. Thank you to La Palina for providing the samples, and for their support of this site.

 

A Little Rant

This is probably the wrong time to type this. I tend to be the most curmudgeonly on Sunday mornings after I’ve worked at my part time job until 3 am, but I feel the need to vent.  A couple things annoy me when reading/listening to my contemporaries in what I’ll hesitantly call the cigar media.  My first beef involves basic writing skills.  My dear friend Barry Stein made a bit of a joke about his typos, and it annoyed me but I get it.  He had a wildly successful site, did a great job, and it was a bit of an inside joke.  I read other sites (and I’m going to be a wuss and not name names) and I’m appalled.  I’m no writer, but I take what I do here pretty seriously and try to present readable content.  Punctuation, run on sentences, misspelling, I feel like I’m reading something a 5th grader wrote (with apologies to most 5th graders).  Seriously, word processor programs will at least tell you most of this stuff is wrong!  I don’t know how people can put their names on some of the stuff I see.  It’s a blog. It’s not twitter or texting. Please write coherently.  Another thing that rankles me is when I’m listening to a podcast, and I listen to a bunch, and the presenters get basic information wrong.  I’m far from an expert, but after more than a decade and a half of being a crazy cigar fool, I think I can pretty much tell a cigars size on sight, or at least come close.  I also think it’s irresponsible to get the price-point wrong about a cigar, especially to represent it as a much cheaper cigar than it actually is.  Really, as much time as it must take to produce such high quality podcasts, and as readily available as the information is in most cases, I think it sloppy to leave out these little details.  People must think I’m nuts when I’m in the car or out for a walk and start talking back to the podcast trying to correct them!  Anyway, it all comes down to details in both cases. If you don’t have the details, don’t make them up or guess while presenting yourself as an authority.  As I said, I neither think myself an authority, nor any kind of writer, but I try to get the details right as I feel it’s my responsibility. Thanks for listening, and please leave a comment if there’s something I do repeatedly that annoys you.

 

Sometime during the week I smoked a Berger and Argenti Mooch Schnorr that was really good.  I love the size of this cigar, (it’s  5″ x 50 but it seems more like a corona gorda for some reason) and the name always makes me smile as much as the excellent flavor and construction.  This is a reasonably priced, medium bodied cigar that I think can be enjoyed by many different types of smokers.  In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned this cigar as I’ve mentioned it before, but I spent a lot of time on the photo of the cigar and didn’t want it to go to waste :-).

 

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

CigarCraig

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by | April 22, 2012 · 10:36 am

An Emilio Draig K, a Diamondback, and a San Lotano

Thursday had turned into a stressful day, and when my wife suggested a walk into town, I knew I wanted a terrific cigar to take along.  So many choices, so I came across a pre-release sample of the new cigar from Emilio Cigars and Gary Griffith, the Draig K.  This dark, oily toro just looked like it was the cigar I was looking for. I had actually just about settled on a Liga Privada T52 when I was distracted by the Draig.  Made in the Placencia factory, the only details I recall are that it features some Colombian tobacco in the filler.  I love a maduro, and I loved this cigar.  It was exactly the rich, satisfying smoking experience I had hoped for.  There were a couple points where it stopped wanting to burn and needed a relight, and there was a small tunnel about 4 inches in, but the flavor and texture of the smoke kept me relighting it down to a ¾” nub.  Yummy cigar. Yet another cigar I’m going to have to get my hands on when they hit the streets!  Thank you, Gary, for the opportunity to sample this fine cigar.

 

Friday night finally rolled around and I was in an experimental mood, so I reached for the IPCPR show sample of the Diamondback robusto from Altadis.  First, from the department of cynicism, one can’t help but draw a comparison between this cigar and another 5″ x 54 shade wrapped cigar with “diamond” in it’s name.  Pre-conceived notions aside, this was a very nice cigar.  It was solidly constructed, burned even and cut cleanly.  If you like shade wrapped cigars, you may want to try these out, considering you can get them by the box for under $50.  Not a bad cigar at all. My only complaint was that the draw was a little tighter than I’d prefer, making me have to work a little harder than I’d like.

 

Saturday was another beautiful spring day.  Showers were in the forecast for later, so I hit the back deck with a San Lotano Maduro lancero.  I’ve very much enjoyed past San Lotano maduros, so expectations were high, as I love  lancero format as well.  This was a terrific cigar, although comparing it with its fatter brethren is a little unfair.  Certainly, smoking the lancero is a little different experience,  one cannot expect the same flavors as a toro or robusto due to the difference in the filler proportions.  Where I find the larger ring gauges in this line to be rich and creamy like smoking a chocolate bar, the lancero was more like bittersweet chocolate.  In no way do I mean to imply that this is a bad thing, as the lancero was a fantastic smoke.  I spent nearly 2 hours nursing every last bit of tasty smoke from it, awfully sad to put it down when it decided it’s time had come. I had picked this up several months ago when I visited Gary Griffith at his People’s Plaza Cigar-ette City store.

 

News

 

I’m sure most of you have already done this, but if you haven’t, please head over the the White House website and sign the petition that’s there.  Here’s a terrific video from Bill Spann outlining the importance of this fight to keep the FDA out of our humidors.

httpv://youtu.be/7bfqIFGu9WM

It looks like there should be no problem getting to 25,000 signatures, but I think we often over-estimate the number of internet cigar nuts out there.  If cigar smokers are a small subset of the general population, and PREMIUM cigar smokers represent a very small subset of those, then those of us who carry our passion for cigars onto the internet are a VERY small part.  It’s important to spread the word and get others on board with this.  It will not be a happy day if the FDA is allowed to regulate premium cigars!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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