Category Archives: Events

by Craig Vanderslice | May 17, 2023 · 5:40 pm

The Atlantic City Cigar Social Recap

Saturday we had the great pleasure of attending the Atlantic City Cigar Social at the Borgata in, of course, Atlantic City, NJ. This was the inaugural event, which ran from 1PM to 6PM. The setting was the outdoor pool area at the Borgata, which also has bars and they had tented areas with seating because it drizzled off and on all day. Attendance was just under 600 people, I’m not sure what the mix between the smoking and non-smoking tickets was, but I assume the majority were smoking. There were a good number of cigar vendors there, the attendees received tickets to collect cigars from the manufacturers, and there were three retailers there where one could purchase cigars.

Matty Rock and Dave Lafferty of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust

Gary, Sean and Michael of Cohiba

Lee and Josh of Stolen Throne Cigars

Luis Cortez with New Jersey grown tobacco

Cortez Cigars Roller

Michael Herklots

There were other vendors besides cigars, some accessories and apparel, artwork, and several liquor vendors providing samples. The appetizers being passed around were very good, although a little hard to come by! There was shrimp, chicken, and chocolate cigars filled with mousse that were delicious. They also featured each cigar manufacturer on a “hot seat” where they talked about their brand, and burlesque dancers who captivated the crowd. This was a really nice event, and an important event since New Jersey doesn’t have any multi-vendor events or large cigar social events. I saw a lot of familiar faces, and there were a lot of people being exposed to cigar brands that they may not have had a chance to try before. I hope that the event can continue, plan to attend next year if you’re in the general vicinity! Many thanks to Jon Henderson and his staff, Cigar Snob Magazine, as well as all the vendors, for putting on a great event.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as AC Cigar Social, Atlantic City, cigar, Cigar Snob, cigars

by Craig Vanderslice | May 9, 2023 · 5:27 pm

News: The Atlantic City Cigar Social

Funny enough, this just came to my attention this morning. AC is not too far away, I’ll probably head over there Saturday. I’m sure I’ll see some people I know! It’s a rain or shine event, so if you plan to be there, keep an eye out for me, I’ll be the guy smoking a cigar!

Are you looking for a great way to enjoy premium cigars, craft beers, distilled spirits, local cuisine, and entertainment at the Jersey Shore? If so, you don’t want to miss the AC Cigar Social on Saturday, May 13th, from 1pm to 6pm at the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa. This event is hosted by Cigar Snob Magazine and features a gathering of tobacc

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o enthusiasts in the search of the perfect cigar. You will have the opportunity to discover new cigar brands, meet industry insiders, and mingle with fellow aficionados. You will also enjoy

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live music, comedy, burlesque, and more. Tickets are limited, so get yours today and join us for a memorable experience at the AC Cigar Social.

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by Craig Vanderslice | April 23, 2023 · 9:10 am

Some Rojas Cigars, Tacos and More

Thursday I had a choice to make, go to the Rojas event at Cigar Mojo (10 minutes away), or go to the Tim Ozgener event at the Wooden Indian (closer to a half hour with traffic). I chose the easier route, and was not rewarded. I chose poorly. It turns out that Noel Rojas was stuck in Nicaragua, and wasn’t there as advertised. It was disappointing, but at least I got to meet Albert, the VP of sales, and hang out with Mark Weisen

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berger, the local broker who reps the line. Had I known that Noel wasn’t going to be there I would have gone to the Wooden Indian. Anyway, I picked up some Street Tacos and smoked them. I’ve written about the Carnitas before, smoked one last night and it’s a good Connecticut cigar. At the event I smoked the Barbacoa, the 6″ x 50 Toro, which has a Maduro Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s earthy with some cocoa and a little pepper, not a bad smoke.

Since I bought a handful of cigars, I got a couple extras, one of which was the Rojas Unfinished Business, also in a 6″ x 50 toro. This one has a dark Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Mexico. It had some dried dark fruit notes and a

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little citrus tang. It seemed to be well constructed, if not slightly underfilled, giving it a shorter smoking time than I would have liked. It was a beautiful cigar, and I like the signature closed foot, which makes lighting easy. I just realized I smoked this last August, sorry about that. It’s getting hard to find new cigars to feature here. This is one of the reasons I only smoke new-to-me cigars at the end of the week. I like to smoke what I know I like the rest of the week.

Finally, yesterday morning I had some time to kill, so it seemed like the perfect time to smoke the little Breakfast Taco, again, with a Sumatra wrapper. This is a 4″ x 44 perfecto, just a wee thing. Ecuador Sumatra with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. This little cigar was good for about an hour, but, to me, it was pretty potent. If I hadn’t eaten, cut the front lawn, done some other chores first, it may have been too much. It’s a strong little guy with excellent construction and a fun shape. No closed foot on this one, but the “nipple” perfecto end. I feel compelled to search out he maduro in this shape. The cigar had good favors, not unlike the Barbacoa. You know me, I have a fairly simple palate. While the shade version doesn’t interest me, I do want to try the Maduro.

I still like the Stolen Throne line made by Rojas better than the Street Tacos line, and am probably more disappointed that Lee Marsh was in the area last week and didn’t reach out than I was that Noel wasn’t at the event. Noel does make some good cigars, and, if nothing else, I saved some time and money going to this event than if I had gone to the other one! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Barbacoa, Breakfast Taco, cigar, cigars, Rojas, Street Taco, Unfinished Business

by Craig Vanderslice | January 15, 2023 · 10:31 am

Cubao, Wunderlust and Protocol Cigars and Gigantar!

I was poking around one of the humidors and realized I’d smoked a few Cubao Cameroon Churchills from Ortega Cigars and never mentioned them here. Eddie is still making some great cigars, he’s using the TACASA S.A. factory. This cigar has a Cameroon wrapper, like the name suggests, Indonesian binder and

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Nicaraguan fillers. It smoked well and had a pleasing flavor. There was the nutty Cammerooniness that is inherent in the wrapper. Well worth

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$20 for a five pack, as all of the cigar I’ve smoked from Ortega seem to be. Shop Ortega Cigars and sign up for his email list, great bargains and cigars! I am especially fond of the Serie D Maduros!

I smoked another cigar from my Secret Santa this year, a Wunder|lust Fiorella, from RomaCraft. This is a brand that’s only sold in Germany, from what I can tell. The cigar is a corona gorda, 5 5/8″ x 46, has a Mata Fina wrapper from Brazil, Indonesian binder and, one would suspect, although it’s not disclosed, Nicaraguan fillers. The Europeans seem to like Brazilian tobacco, brands like Villiger actually make cigars there for the European market. For those who don’t know, this size is named for Skip Martin’s youngest daughter. I love the size, always been one of my favorites after the toro. Clearly, this cigar has Manbacco and Tastoterone, like it’s sibling blends, with a bold punch to start out. It continues to be a full bodied cigar for me, surprised the Europeans like this so much. I love the coffee notes and heavy tobacco. This is probably hard to get, but definitely worthwhile!

Yesterday I had a chance to talk to someone I featured in my “Celebrity Cigar Chats” back in 2010, Jim Babjak, guitar player and founding member of The Smithereens. We went to the unveiling of the Illinois Rock And Roll Museum‘s newest piece, which will be on their Rt 66 building. It’s a 24’ guitar sculpture, Gigantar, which was made by Shannon, world famous for her airbrush paintings. This is an impressive sculpture which will be making its way to it’s new home from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, which is where the unveiling took place. Jim and Dennis Diken, the drummer for the Smithereens, were there for the unveiling, and Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick (another cigar guy), will be in Joliet, IL for the dedication. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Jim an Dennis, and while it was too cold and windy ou

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tside for us to smoke, I gifted Jim a couple cigars. I’ve been a fan of the Smithereens since the ’80s and it was really cool to talk to Jim about cigars!

Last night I grabbed another Churchill, the Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit, from a Protocol Churchill sampler I bought from Discount Cigar Warehouse, and I think some of these may be exclusive to that store. Anyway, I’ve been rather looking forward to smoking this cigar, it’s a Nicaraguan puro with a Rosado Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, which smoked much darker than that, if that makes sense. I absolutely loved this cigar. It has a creaminess, but with heavy cocoa flavors. Bittersweet chocolate came to mind. I thought it was great and have to get some more. Good stuff!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cubao, Cyber Crimes Unit, Fiorella, Gigantar, Illinois Rock And Roll Museum, Ortega, Protocol, RoMaCraft, smithereens, Wunderlust

by Craig Vanderslice | December 11, 2022 · 9:49 am

Cigar Heritage Festival and Some West Tampa Black Cigars

Last Sunday I attended the Cigar Heritage Festival in Ybor City. As I may have said in last weeks post,

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it was my first visit to that area, long overdue. I spent a disproportionate amount of time at Corona Cigar’s Tampa location, even had a great meet-up with old friends from the alt.smokers.cigars usenet group! I got to hang around a lot with Kevin and Jessica of CigarProp, many thanks to them for driving me around! But Sunday was the day for the Cigar Heritage Festival, a brisk half a cigar walk from my hotel (2 miles, it was a beautiful day!). I wasn’t sure what to expect, a sentiment shared by several vendors and even the staff! I somehow ended up with a VIP pass, which allowed me access to some seating areas, none of which I took advantage of. It also included about seven tickets for cigars, more on that in a bit. The festival covered the Centennial Park and three of the streets surrounding it. There were a bunch of vendors there, many of the people who were principle and prominent “faces” of the brands were there. I have to think that folks like Steve Saka and Tony Gomez being there meant net to nothing to 90% of the attendees, but I enjoyed catching up with some ol

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d friends, Island Jim Robinson among them. One of the highlights for me was meeting Ron Hunt, the host of the All About Wine podcast. You might think it odd that someone who hasn’t had a drink in over 30 years knows someone from the wine industry, but Ron has been a member of a weekly video chat I am involved with, and is fairly new to premium cigars. I introduced him to several people there, and had him collect on my aforementioned VIP cigar tickets. He gave a really nice description of the event on his latest episode. I also ran into my old friend Keith, who I had seen the day before, and interrupted his sleep schedule once again to hang out :-). From what I’m told, sales were brisk, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust was selling boxes, exceeding expectations. There was a band, food trucks, and all sorts of other lifestyle vendors. I bought a cool t-shirt and a gift for my wife. I especially enjoyed the chickens and roosters wandering around! I recommend the event, and a visit to “Cigar City” in general.

While I was there I ran into my old friend Ricky Rodriguez, formerly of CAO, presently of West Tampa Tobacco Co.. It took me a while to find him, I thought he’d have his own booth, but he was set up with a local cigar store, Tobacco Depot. Ricky was busy taking pictures with people, like the celebrity he is, I had a moment to talk with his daughter, Sara, the Brand Activation & Engagement Manager for the company. I asked her if she had smoked her first cigar yet, having heard that she had never smoked before. Her answer surprised me, I guess, it was a no. She said she has no interest, although she was going to spend an extended time in Esteli learning rolling and blending, so maybe she’d be inspired to try there. I, naturally, recommended trying. I’ve never seen this young lady without a huge smile on here face, she’d certainly be a great cigar ambassador. Ricky gave me a prototype of the Black and White in lancero size, and I smoked the Black version this week, along with a Black Robusto for comparison. I need to go out and pick up a White so I can smoke the other one, I like to have a baseline, and I have only smoke a couple Whites. Something odd about the Black in the lancero format, I was concerned in the first inch, it was a little rough, kind of like the coffee that’s been sitting in the pot half the day, you know, the good stuff! After the first inch though, it went someplace unexpected. There were distinct notes of spices that I identify with Christmas baking, it really turned into something special. The coffee notes smoothed out, but that delicious spice kept going. It was good, better than the Robusto I smoked the next day, which is still a tasty cigar! I’m very much looking forward to the White lancero!