Category Archives: IPCPR

by | July 14, 2013 · 9:50 pm

IPCPR 2013 Day 1: A Moment With Victor Vitale of Legacy Brands

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Myself, Armand Asante and my wife Jenn

Day one at the Annual IPCPR Tradeshow is in the books for us, and we had a great day on the show floor. Of course, it went by too fast and we are fortunate to have a couple more days to soak it all up. We had some great meetings and interviews which will all be shared over time. One of the great ones came today as I had an opportunity to sit with Victor Vitale of Legacy Brands and talk about his new ventures. (you can read about them here) Victor recently sold his old company, and is off to a rip roaring start with Legacy Brands, featuring Tortuga and his new offering, Ora Viva Armand Asante. Mr. Asante was in the booth and I had the pleasure of talking with him for a few minutes. I’ll see if I can get a chance to do a video with him over the next couple days.  I’m looking forward to trying these two new cigars from Victor.

 

Here is a video interview I did with Victor telling us about his new offerings:

 

As you can imagine, I’m worn out from the day’s events, and have some parties to go to tonight yet. I’ll be trying to get something else posted tomorrow and Tuesday. I hope you enjoy my style of coverage of the show, there’s loads of stuff to come. Be patient though, uploading video is time consuming over the hotel WIFI! If the video isn’t there right away, give it 20 minutes or so.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | February 20, 2013 · 7:10 pm

A Couple of Thurman Thomas Cigars, A Macanudo and CRA News

Since it’s a new legislative session in Washington D.C., there is a new bill in the house to exempt premium cigars from FDA regulation. It’s more important than ever to write to your representative and ask him or her to co-sponsor the bill.

 “The premium cigar industry supports about 85,000 jobs – from manufacturers to small retailers – throughout the United States,” said Congressman Bill Posey.  “Washington bureaucrats should turn their attention to promoting private sector job growth and protecting our rights, not chipping away at our freedoms through bureaucratic overreach.”

Cigar Rights of America makes it very easy to e-mail your representatives. Go to their site or the IPCPR site to send an e-mail.  Just fill in the blanks.  Do it. Now. I’ll wait. 🙂 

 

ThurmanThomas_MaduroToroA few weeks ago I received some samples from StogieBoys.com of their Thurman Thomas Hall of Fame line of cigars. I’m not a football fan, so at first I had Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in my head, and former senator Strom Thurmond, and even Thurman Munson’s name made an appearance  I come to learn that Thurman Thomas was a Hall Of Fame Football player who likes cigars and for whom this cigar is named. I suppose it would have been more appropriate to feature these a couple weeks ago when the game with all the hyped up commercials was on, but I had just received them and I wanted to let them rest. Here’s one of the problems I face here in the blogosphere: a handful of bloggers receive the same samples so everyone is featuring the same cigars on their sites. I like to give new arrivals a couple weeks rest in the humidor so often I am a couple weeks late smoking the cigars that everyone else reviewed already. I’m ThurmanThomas_NaturalTorosure you’ll have seen a handful of reviews of these, and the Arandoza and Cuenca cigars are recent examples that spring to mind (both excellent smokes, by the way). Anyway, I received Toro sized samples of the natural and maduro versions of this cigar.  The cigars are very nice looking, the wrappers are both nice and clean, and they are rolled in the telltale style of  General Cigar Co., they have the rounded head that all of the GCC products have. Of course, I chose the maduro first and it lived up to my expectation. It was a nice, smooth, tasty basic maduro.  Consistent in construction and flavor from start to finish.  The natural version had a familiar flavor, I know I’ve smoked something very similar before.  It was a reasonably mild smoke, but the flavor was very nice, leathery kind of flavor. It was pretty smooth, like it’s maduro sibling.  These were both very nice cigars for the $3.95 price point.  I wouldn’t say they were particularly surprising, but good, no-nonsense cigars that were satisfying and easy to smoke.  Thanks to the folks at StogieBoys.com for their support and for sharing these smokes.  

 

Macanudo1968_RobustoLast night I reached in the humidor and came out with a Macanudo 1968 Robusto. I figured I’d keep with the General Cigar Co. theme.  This was different from the Thurman Thomas cigars by quite a bit.  First, it’s actually stronger and spicier, which sounds strange for a Macanudo. I recall back to my first premium cigar experience back in the mid 1990s.  A buddy and I picked up a couple of Macanudo Duke of Devons to smoke on our lunch break to see what the fuss was with the premium cigars.  We had been enjoying our Gacia y Vegas and Backwoods at lunch time every Friday and were ready to take the next step.  Of course, we didn’t have cutters, so we pierced the caps with knives or whatever we had, and lit these babies up.  It’s actually a wonder I went any further with premium cigars after that, as I remember it being kind of a non-event.  I really didn’t get the flavor I thought I would.  I was a cigarette smoker at the time, so obviously that had something to do with my need for more flavor.  I can honestly enjoy a regular old Macanudo nowdays, but it took a long time to get to this point. I’ll stand by my assertion that there’s not a damned thing wrong with a Macanudo Maduro, it’s a tasty smoke.  I digress. The 1968 has some strength and is a nice smoke that I’ve enjoyed on many occasions and under varied circumstances.  It’s one of those cigars I pick up when I can’t decide what to smoke and I’m quite happy.

 

I just wanted to throw this out to anyone who is looking for embroidered or printed stuff, I’ve had amazing luck with Queensboro.com lately. I’ve gotten four polos embroidered for around $36 delivered.  Try buying plain polos for that! The link is  my referral link, I’ll get $25 credit if someone uses it.  That’s my shameless plug of the day.  You should use E-Bates too, it puts a couple extra bucks in your pocket every quarter.

 

That’s it for this installment, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | November 21, 2012 · 8:55 pm

Thanksgiving Week Cigars – Cain, ORTSAC, Reinado and an Opus X

It’s the eve of Thanksgiving, and leading up to the holiday I smoked some tasty cigars!  I know, what makes this week any different, you ask?  It’s one of the many things I have to be thankful for.  In addition to having a nice home and a wonderful family, we have some great cigars to smoke!  Things could be a lot worse, and they are for a lot of people.  Anyway, I smoked a few cigars this week, so here’s a little recap:

 

I started off the week, or ended the weekend, with a really nice Cain F 550.  This is a beautiful 5¾ x 50 cigar with loads of flavor and strength.  I have enjoyed the Cain line since it’s launch, generally prefer them with some age.  This one I believe came from the IPCPR show, so it didn’t have too much age, but enough to round out the rough edges. The tubed lancero in this line is awesome, and this cross between a robusto and a toro was just as tasty.  Smoke one after a nice steak dinner, you won’t be disappointed!  I’ve got Cains scattered around the humidors and I’m thankful that I do!

 

Monday evening I just knew I had to try the ORTSAC 1962 Habano.  I received a pair of these along with the ORTSAC 1962 San Andreas that I raved about in a previous post.  This was a different, but outstanding cigar.  It was well rounded and smoked very well.  If you’re keeping score, I didn’t really much care for the regular ORTSAC 1962, but the San Andreas and Habano have made me a believer.  Since I’m a fan of the Tortuga line from Victor Vitale’s stable, I’m quickly becoming a fan of this gentleman’s blends.  One can’t be expected to like everything, but the last several blends have been winners for me.  Victor is a heck of a nice guy too, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with him for a smoke in the not too distant future.

 

Tuesday I selected a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve for my evening smoke.  I was given this robusto by brand owner Antonio Lam at the IPCPR show last August.  I spoke with Antonio for  minute at the show, you can watch the video below.  This is a lovely Nicaraguan cigar that burned perfectly and provided me with in excess of an hour of smokey enjoyment.  It was savory with a little sweetness that made my palate happy.  I’ll hunt down a few of these to keep in the humidor as it was a really nice smoke.

 

To celebrate the end of a short work week, and the beginning of a four day weekend, I cracked open my “special” humidor.  This humidor was a gift to me for my tenth wedding anniversary.  My wife had a furniture maker friend make it, so it’s truly one of a kind.  It’s been the home to the small selection of Havanas as well as some higher end cigars.  It’s been about ten months since I really smoked anything from this humidor, I pulled a couple of Romeo y Julieta Coronitas en Cedros from it to celebrate my youngest son’s 18th birthday.  Anyway, it’s my obligation to test a cigar from there periodically to make sure they are in good shape so I selected an Fuente Fuente Opus X Super Belicoso that must have spent the last decade or so resting in there.  I can’t remember the last time I smoked an Opus X, it could have been in 2000.  I initially thought the unlit wrapper smelled like cocoa beans, but my wife smelled cedar and I have to go along with her on that.  I guess the conditions in that humidor are acceptable, because the cigar burned great and was loaded with classic cedary flavors.  It was a great smoke, I wish I could remember where it came from.  It had a $13.49 price sticker on the amber cello, and I haven’t priced these recently so I don’t know what that means!  I think there are a couple more Opus X cigars floating around in there, I suppose I’ll have to smoke another one of these days!

That’s it for now, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday if you are in the US.  If you are in the rest of the world, have a great weekend!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | October 17, 2012 · 6:34 pm

A Xikar Executive Lighter and A Little of This and a Little of That


When we left off on Sunday, I had a cold coming on, and it came on in full force that day, but the worst of it passed quickly.  I still didn’t really feel like smoking too many cigars, so I’m left with not a lot to talk about today.  So I figured it would be a good enough time to showcase a piece of equipment I’ve been using lately, a red Xikar Executive lighter.

 

I won this lighter at an event at the Wooden Indian a few months ago and have used it pretty regularly with generally good results.  The single jet flame is more than adequate to light and touch up a cigar, it has plenty of horsepower and even works OK in a light breeze.  It seems to run through fuel pretty quickly, but many jet flame lighters do, but I find myself filling this one more than other lighters.  I’m going to guess that this is an old model, it looks like the Executive II has replaced it and has a fuel window, which is a welcome improvement.  Another little thing I’ve noticed is that it’s finish is already starting to chip, and I’ve been VERY careful with this lighter.  I make sure to put it in it’s own pocket in my pants, and don’t throw it in the drawer with other things.  It’s still gotten a couple chips, but the important thing is that it works well to light a cigar. If I have occasion to need a fancy lighter, I’ll just pull out the gold Dupont….I can’t even finish the sentence…I don’t have a gold Dupont lighter….wouldn’t know what to do with one if I did!  I bet they don’t do any better job of lighting a cigar.  As an aside, a few years back I was in Vegas and stopped into the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop of Pawn Stars fame, and they had a Punch Dupont lighter.  It had a $3000 price tag on it, but they would have let me have it for $2500.  For that kind of money it better have MY name on it!  Anyway, I like the Xikar lighter, it’s been reliable and easier to put in my pocket than my other favorite lighter (see my post about that lighter).  This review was not solicited by Xikar, I won this as an event attendee, I bought some cigars and got a raffle ticket!

 

Speaking of Punch, head on over to http://www.punchcigars.com/tailgating/ and sign up to win a cool six-pack of Punch cigars. They are giving one away every day until December 28, 2012.  I saw these at the IPCPR show and it is a really neat presentation. It comes with an assortment of Punch cigars, a cutter and a bottle opener.  It’s a very cool piece, go try to win one or pick one up if you see it in your local shop!

 

On a sad note, we lost one of our feline family members last night.  Frank was a good companion for the last 16 years and was never too far from my lap whether I was on the porch enjoying a cigar, or on the couch watching TV.  He even made a few cameo appearances in my CAO Last Stick Standing video.  He was pretty straight laced, when the other cats were rolling around in the catnip, he would have nothing to do with it.  But he did seem to like sitting on my lap while I smoked.  He had a good, long life and we will miss him.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | October 14, 2012 · 2:18 pm

Weekend Cigars: An Undercrown, an Arandoza and a CroMagnon

As I was rummaging through the humidor Thursday evening I came across a Drew Estate Undercrown Robusto that I didn’t realize I had. Finding cigars is a special treat, and this event must be celebrated by smoking the new-found treasure, and an Undercrown is  a treasure. If you don’t know the story behind cigar yet, it was basically blended by the Liga Privada rollers to replace the No. 9 cigars they were not allowed to smoke due to the scarcity of the wrapper leaf. The replaced the components with similar, but less used leaf and replaced the wrapper with a rich and oily San Andreas capa.  Quick tangent: it cracks me up a hen I read descriptions on websites that specifically identify a (insert varietal here) capote binder. Of course, this is redundant, as “capote” is the Spanish term for binder. It would be like saying this cigar had a San Andreas Capa wrapper.  Back to the Undercrown. The robusto is a 5″ x 54 cigar that’s stunning in appearance  it burns perfectly and is loaded with the deep, rich flavors I love. Those dark chocolate and black coffee flavors.  While this still isn’t an inexpensive cigar, it’s more affordable than it’s Liga Privada siblings and a worthy substitute.

 

I don’t normally try new things on Fridays but the Arandoza samples I received a few weeks ago from Robert Arango intrigued me, so I had to smoke one.   I hadn’t heard of this company, so Robert gave me a little information:

We are a new company, family owned and operated, established in April 2011. I’ve been an avid cigar smoker all of my adult life. Everyone at my house smokes cigars, from my two sons, to my beautiful daughter all the way up to my wife. We enjoy sitting outside after a long day, just chatting and smoking…seems to be a great bonding factor in my family. I always dreamt of starting my own line and I decided to do it last year. My children have become very involved and knowledgeable in the business. I am very proud and extremely happy that I decided to begin my own line. It has brought my family even closer than it already was and we believe that tradition begins with family so this has become a tradition that my family wants to share.

Our blue label is our newest creation consisting of a Nicaraguan binder and filler with a Habano Nicaraguan wrapper. This cigar is hand crafted in Esteli Nicaragua at “La Zona” factory, owned by Erik Espinosa, the owner of “601” and “La Bomba”. The cigar is a medium to full bodied smoke and is available in four sizes – Robusto 52 x 5, Toro 52 x 6, Torpedo 52 x 6 and a 60 x 6.

Price point for the Blue Label is between $6.00 – $7.00 for each of the four sizes.

 

This cigar performed admirably, the construction was top notch. I don’t know that I’ve smoked anything from Eric Espinosa’s factory yet, unless the Smoke Inn exclusive E-Doble was made there, which is an excellent smoke.  I found this to be a well balanced cigar with the flavors I would expect to find in a Habano wrapped cigar. If you can pick up a couple of these to sample I think you will be pleased. It’s a nice, satisfying smoke.  I appreciate the opportunity to try this new cigar from Arandoza Cigars!

 

Saturday evening I felt a cold coming on so I made a selection that I thought would power through the symptoms. The CroMagnon EMH from RoMaCraft Tabac is a beauty. The broadleaf wrapper is dark and oily.  I picked this up at Total Tobacco a few weeks ago at their grand opening (I still believe this is the only place in my area that carry this line), just so you know I didn’t weasel this cigar from Skip Martin :-).  First, I love broadleaf wrappers, almost as much as I love the San Andreas wrapers.  This one was such a treat to smoke, it burned perfectly, and I really wish I had smoked this in daylight so I could appreciate the aesthetics of the cigar while it burned.  One of my great joys is watching a cigar burn, one of the many reasons I hate Autumn in the northeast, the days get too short too fast!  Anyway, great, solid smoke, satisfying in every way, and I’ll buy more of them the next time I get out to Newtown Square, PA.

On the subject of the CroMagnon and RoMaCraft Tabac, here is a video from the IPCPR show where Skip Martin draws parallels between the boutique cigar and craft beer beer businesses.

http://youtu.be/YIeJAtrsLno

 

That’s about it for now, I just returned from a nice lunch out with my wife, where I had steak and shrimp and am thinking about taking a fist full of cold meds and picking out a nice cigar…or not, I might just take a nap!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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