Category Archives: Editorial

by Craig Vanderslice | May 3, 2020 · 10:59 am

El Titan de Bronze Grand Reserva Cigar and Some Interesting Links

To end the week, as if weeks had beginnings and ends anymore, I smoked a few interesting cigars from deep in the humidor. A Rauchvergnügen #42, which is a “German engineered” cigar made in the Dominican Republic which had spent the last four years in my humidor. This was one of an initial production of 2000, and it held up well. I originally wrote about it here. I also dredged up a five year old La Aurora Untamed which had maintained much of its strength. I enjoyed this blend, although I can see where it wasn’t in line with what La Aurora is known for. I smoked this on my first granddaughters 9th birthday, I have a sentimental tradition of smoking a La Aurora cigar around milestones in my daughter’s life. This post explains a lot of that. I also sprinkled in some favorites in a La Sirena King Poseidon and a MUWAT Swamp Thang, the latter of which I. enjoy greatly as a change of pace cigar. Yesterday was beautiful, and after pressure washing the deck and doing some other stuff, I decided to check out something new.

When we were in Miami back in September, we met up with Kevin and Jess of CigarProp fame at El Titan de Bronze and Sandy gave us a great tour and spent a lot of time with us. I had bought their corona sampler, which consists of an El Titan De Bronze Gold Corona, MyWay Dark Habano Corona, Grand Reserve Maduro Corona, Redemption Maduro Corona and the Redemption Sun Grown Corona. I selected the Grand Reserve Maduro Corona, which measured 5-5/8″ x 48. When I say “measured” I literally mean I measured it because they don’t list the measurements on the website, might be something they could look into doing. I’m not generally a corona guy, but a Corona Gorda is great, and a chubby corona gorda is better! I dig the size of this “corona”. These cigars are rolled in the very small factory in the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami, and I highly recommend visiting if you find yourself in the area. They also make Herrera Esteli Miami, some La Palina and Warped, and they made my favorite Cornelius and Anthony Cornelius. I’m guessing I picked out the strongest cigar of the lot, as

Photo: Jessica

this sucker packed a punch! It. Was. Awesome! It has a Brazilian wrapper, Ecuador binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran filers, much of which must be Ligero. It has a lot of dark, rich espresso flavor, and loads of pepper. Something triggered my first migraine in months last night, and I hope it wasn’t that cigar, because it was really a great smoke. I’ve smoked the My Way in the sampler before and loved it, so I’m looking forward to trying the rest of the cigars in the line. I’m sure they will be stellar, I’ve always enjoyed the cigars from this factory, going back to Sean Williams’ Primer Mundos and their Hemingways from the ’90s!

There has been talk in the mainstream media about how tobacco use relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, from its use in the development in a vaccine, to whether users have a lower rate of serious infection. Steve Saka provided this list of links to some articles on the subject in a Facebook post among some friends that I thought I’d share.

https://thedispatch.com/p/what-we-knowand-still-need-to-learnabout

https://theweek.com/speedreads/911429/scientists-are-perplexed-by-low-rate-coronavirus-hospitalizations-among-smokers-nicotine-may-hold-answer

https://nypost.com/2020/04/22/french-researchers-to-test-nicotine-on-coronavirus-patients/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-new-evidence-shows-nicotine-might-prevent-smokers-from-catching-coronavirus-2020-04-24

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/05/02/smokers-seem-less-likely-than-non-smokers-to-fall-ill-with-covid-19

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/scientists-must-discover-why-so-few-coronavirus-patients-are-smokers

I’m not saying that tobacco use makes us immune and we should do anything different to protect ourselves and others from possible infection. Let’s continue to follow whatever guidelines needed for social interaction and get through this nonsense without protests or armed insurrection, or whatever that may prolong the situation and make things worse! I want to get a job again some day for crying out loud! Enjoy some cigars knowing that if it’s not helping us get through this physiologically, it’s helping psychologically! And with that, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | April 29, 2020 · 9:08 pm

Platinum Nova Congress Cigar

Before I get into the cigar, I’ve found myself noticing maybe people getting a little antsy on the Facebook groups and either providing bad information or berating people for doing things “wrong” with their cigars. In the spirit of positivity and to be helpful and educational, I’ve offered my advice where I see fit. A few examples: one poster removes the wrappers (cello) in his humidor because having plastic next to his cigars doesn’t seems natural. This was offered in what I took as a condescending way. This was my gentle response: “it’s not plastic, it’s cellophane, which is made from wood fiber and is water permeable. I figure if cigar makers are ok putting cellophane on the cigars then who am I to second guess them? If it’s an aesthetic thing and you like the look of naked cigars in your humidors, that’s another story, but there’s absolutely no functional reason not to store cigars in cellophane long term.” In another group a gentleman posted a photo of a cigar with a severe runner. He was lambasted for not touching it up, told that he was smoking in the wind, ripped up and down for what he did wrong, and he defended himself, said he tried to touch it up. I offered the following “Sometimes the Ligero isn’t placed right in the bunch and the cigar doesn’t burn right, it happens and it isn’t the poor guys fault for not touching up his burn, being in the wind or not rotating his cigars in the humidor or having bad karma or whatever. More positivity folks!” Hopefully these replies were helpful and taken in the spirit in which they were offered. When I see bad information or piling on for the wrong reasons I have trouble keeping my mouth shut.

This afternoon I selected a cigar from the new cigars that came back with me from the TPE show. The supply of these is running low, but I still have a few. The folks at Nova Cigars were quite generous and treated me to a wide range of their offerings. The Platinum Nova Congress is a 7” x 43 cigar, not entirely sure what to call it, it’s to big a ring for a Lancero, and too long to be a Lonsdale, but it has a nice “bun” style cap. It has a H2000 CT Ecuador wrapper and Dominican binder and fillers, made in the DR. This cigar is in their lower priced line, but it’s still $18, well above my typical price threshold. This is a beautiful cigar, and the burn and draw are what I expect from a cigar of this caliber. I smoked this cigar slowly, so as not to overheat it, as is my custom with thinner ring gauge cigars. I was struck with a distinct caramel flavor especially on the retrohale. This was a very elegant cigar, smooth, creamy, and very tasty. I enjoyed it quite a bit on a nice spring day.

It seems like I’ve smoked a bunch of cigars since Sunday, notable, to me at least, have been a RoMaCraft Cromagnon Fomorian, a Macanudo Red, a LFD Reserva Especial, and another Danli Honduras Tabaco The Clown. Tonight’s cigar was an oldie from deep in the humidor, a Rauchvergnügen No 42, a bit of an obscure “German Engineered” cigar, which had aged quite nicely. I wrote about this cigar almost four years ago (here). That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | March 18, 2020 · 5:24 pm

The Current Retail Environment and My Green Cigar Day Selection

We have entered odd times. We are seeing businesses closed for the public safety, and a lot of our cigar stores are affected. I’ve been in touch with a few earlier this week, and already things have changed. On Monday the four or five shops I spoke with were business as usual, and by yesterday, they had closed the lounges, and were only open for grab-and-go purchases. Many had gone to a call ahead with curb-side pick-up, those that offer online ordering continue to do so. These are small businesses, they can’t afford to close, it would be devastating. Obviously, this extends much further than our little corner of the world, this is happening in all areas if life. I’ve been out of work since November, and the job market now looks bleaker than it did before. I’m, at least, in the same position I’ve been in for the past several months. I’m hoping for an extension in unemployment benefits, but I’m not counting on it. With any luck in a few weeks things will return to normal. I would say if you have the means and you need cigars, or food, or supplies, buy them from a local small business. If you don’t have a local shop, there are several great retailers who advertise on my page who you can patronize.

I’ve found myself smoking a little more than usual. I generally smoke one a day, but I’ve been having two here and there, digging into some of the older cigars in my humidors. Last week I found an Emilio La Musa Malete that had deeply yellowed cello that was very nice, and a Leccia Luchador El Gringo Frogsplash. I liked the Frogsplash much better with a few years of age than when they were younger, I was less of a fen of the El Gringo line than the original Luchador, but age helped a lot.

Yesterday was March 17, and Saint Patrick’s Day is usually a big party day, not that I every took part in much other than the smoking of the green. I typically do smoke a candela cigar of some sort. I couldn’t wait to smoke the latest Alec Bradley seasonal release, this year they added the triple wrapped Filthy Hooligan Shamrock. I smoked one a few weeks ago and thought it was great. So yesterday I went with the RoMaCraft CroMagnon EMH Don Bosco. This cigar was a gift to me by PJ when I met him last September, muchos gracias! This is a 5″ x 56 Ecuadorian Connecticut Candela cigar with stripes of Connecticut broadleaf. From what I read, it’s the opposite of the Black Irish. I have always enjoyed the Fomorian, which is all candela, and this was also great, with a little extra greatness added by the broadleaf accent. It burned well, and was very tasty. The candela, for me, is refreshing, it brightens up the heavy CroMagnon core. It was a real treat to have smoked this cigar, which from what I know was very limited and not something one sees very often. Thank you very much to PJ for sharing this with me! It was delicious following the corned beef I had for lunch!

That’s all for now. Make sure you tune in to the I’d Tap That Cigar Show on the Cigar Prop YouTube Channel tonight at 8 for a big announcement. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | February 2, 2020 · 12:16 pm

Tobacco Plus Expo 2020 Experience and Some Cigar Highlights

I’m back from Las Vegas and the Tobacco Plus Expo, and I had a very positive experience. This was a large expo, probably the size of the IPCPR ( now PCA) show, with tobacco only taking up 30%ish of the floor space. The nice thing about the way they had it set up was that they had it segregated, with red carpet surrounding the Tobacco part, and blue carpet around the Vape/Alternative part, which was larger. I’m working on a video walk through of both, but on the first couple exploratory forays into “the blue”, I found myself running back to the safety of the red carpet both times. I kept hearing Sean Connery’s voice from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade saying “we’re pilgrims in an unholy land”. It wasn’t that unholy, but it was weird seeing all the hemp, CBD and “glassware”. From a cigar purist standpoint, it was strange. Disposable e-cigs seemed to be a trend I didn’t know about, I’m not sure I like the environmental impact of them though, I’ll have to see how to dispose of them. Tossing in the trash doesn’t seem right. The Vape/Alt side was where all the flashy booths, models handing out literature and hype and excitement was. I felt like a fish out of water.

On the cigar side, it was more subdued. Many of the exhibitors were there for the first time, although there were several that had been there before and knew the ropes. Everyone I talked to had a positive experience, they made sales, opened new accounts, and seemed upbeat about the whole thing. Many had very little to do in the way of set-up they brought their samples and displays in themselves, put them in the displays and were ready to go. From my perspective, those of us in the media were provided with a room off the show floor to work or do interviews (where I interviewed Mr. Garofalo), were allowed early access to the show floor, and had no restrictions. I know the PCA was at this show, and I hope they learn some things from them. One retailer I talked to did his buying at the TPE, and isn’t going to the PCA show, whatever he didn’t get here he can get without going to the other show or he doesn’t need, and the expense was much less, and the timing is a lot better. As I thought might happen, several companies released low cost bundles at this show, where others had premium offerings. I was surprised that General Cigar’s booth was a table on a corner with a banner that it wasn’t until the third day that I actually found (and I was actively looking), with none of the brand ambassadors on hand, and Gurkha was easier to find, but was very un-busy. Altadis has a very small booth, but seemed to have good traffic, and Rafael Nodal was there for the first day (at least that’s the day I saw him). Drew Estate’s “booth” accounted for a large portion of the “red zone”, they had a very large area, and of course, Kretek/P&K/Ventura had a large booth, but they own the show. OF course, Tommy Chong was there. They had a series of parties opening night at the Sahara, I only attended the Villiger party, which had great food, and I spent time catching up with Aaron and Jiunn from DevelopingPalates.com and Will Cooper from Cigar-Coop.com, friends I hadn’t seen in a few years.

Interestingly, all of the cigars I smoked behaved well and tasted good. There’s a big difference between Vegas in January and Vegas in July. I checked cigars with the Humidimeter and they all checked out, with the exception of display cigars, one an exhibitor had me check was bone dry, 30%). I few surprises were the Alec Bradley bundle release, Caribbean Classic, a long filler cigar in the $3 range. Really a very tasty, well made cigar that certainly didn’t strike me as a cheap cigar! I was introduced to Nova Cigars, and I will be sampling their line over the coming weeks. They are on the opposite end of the spectrum, running from about $12 up into the $30s. I smoked their box pressed torpedo, the Sultan, which was pretty darned good too. Robert Holt presented the Cedrus in a Lancero for the show, and announced that all of his lanceros are moving from 7″ to 7½”. The Cedrus Lancero was exceptional, I’m just a little sad I didn’t schnorr one to smoke at home, but I’m sure one will find it’s way here eventually! It was a great experience, I met some new folks, I saw some old friends I hadn’t seen in a few years, and had a good time. Of course, what would a trip be without bringing home a souvenir head cold! I’m working on videos of walkthroughs of both sides of the show so you can get an idea of what it looked like.

Now I need to do some humidor rearranging, catch up around the house and work on some video editing! I need to do a contest too! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | January 16, 2020 · 9:23 am

A La Sirena, a Villiger and a Few More Thoughts

I’ve had a lot of thoughts rattling around my head lately. I finally have an interview lined up for a job, with another couple possibilities in the pipeline. Historically, January has been a good hiring month for me, twice in the past I’ve started jobs which have lasted 13 years in January. As long as the companies don’t start with “S” I’m OK (every company I’ve worked for since 1989 has started with “S”, I need a change! Why do you think I haven’t pursued employment with Swisher, Swedish Match, Scandinavian Tobacco, Southern Draw…). It’s been stressful these last few months. Anyway, I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of divisive talk about the PCA and who’s going and not going and all, and I made my position clear in my last post, but I think there’s a big picture that’s being missed. The cigar industry seems to be mirroring what’s going on in the country politically with the divisiveness. There’s a whole us versus them mentality where everyone really needs to be united now more than ever. I hate seeing it, it really sucks, and I don’t know the answer, but it’s clear that whoever is pulling the strings here is achieving the desired effect. Divide and conquer. The cigar industry already is too small to stand up for itself as it is, fractured it has no shot at all. I’m on the fence. I love cigars from the largest manufacturers down to the smallest without regard for their politics (there are a few brands I avoid on general principle). I have been to both kinds of factories and seen that cigars are made the exact same way. I know it’ll never happen in the cigar industry, or in the country, but is it too much to ask to just get along and do the right thing?

On a positive note, one of the smaller cigar companies which has been a long time favorite of mine is going to me at the TPE show, and I’m looking forward to seeing the folks from La Sirena. I smoked a King Poseidon this week, and my supply is dwindling. This is the 6″ x 60 in the line, made at La Zona (did I recently say I seem to have been smoke a few La Zona made cigars lately?), and is really quite good. Lacking a toro in the line, I am partial to the Churchill (Trident) and this gordo, although the belicoso (Devine) is a great cigar as well. I bet I haven’t had a Robusto since they were making them in the My Father factory! The blend is a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan Criollo binder and fillers from Jalapa and Condega, including something they refer to as Erik Espinosa’s “magic leaf”. The La Sirena brand, much like CigarCraig.com, celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary in 2019! Did I mention that the La Sirena is among my favorite brands? I love the line, and the King Poseidon smoked beautifully, and had a rich, creamy flavor with some punch! It’s a bold smoke, although the larger ring gauge perhaps less so than the thinner. I’m going to dig out one of my remaining My Father era Tridents one of these days, and I still have some Dubloons, which are large salomon shaped cigars. I can’t wait to see the La Sirena crew at the TPE.

One more repeat, this one was another newer cigar from Villiger, their Cuellar Black Forrest. I smoked this back in November and wrote about it, ironically I also included the King Poseidon in that post. Perhaps my selections are more cyclical than I know. To recap, the Black Forrest is not made in the Black Forrest at all, it’s made at Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic, the factory where Jochi Blanco makes a whole bunch of cigars like La Galera, Aging Room, as well as a bunch of other cigars like Señorial, Freyja, Matilde, and probably a ton that none of us realize are made there. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, and, as I said before, it doesn’t have the “dirty” taste that that wrapper usually has, but is much more refined and really quite special. There’s a unique spice, and sweetness that’s delicious and wonderful. It has a nice box press and works very well to, so it’s a joy to smoke. It’s a well done cigar.