Category Archives: Review

by Craig Vanderslice | November 3, 2024 · 9:29 am

A Special Blackbird Cigar and Some New Macanudos

I had the opportunity to purchase some cigars a few weeks in advance of their release thanks to Tyler Caldwell at Smokingpipes.com. I met Tyler a few years ago at the Stillwell Star release event at Low Country Pipe & Cigars in South Carolina. I hung out with him again at the last PCA show I attended, super nice dude. He had a hand in blending the new Blackbird Cigars Flamingo, which is a Smokingpipes.com exclusive. You may recall that Smokingpipes.com (Low Country is their retail outlet) is owned by Laudisi Enterprises, and recently acquired Caldwell Cigars (Tyler Caldwell/Caldwell Cigars? No relation, but it’s a bit funny!). They have a great shop if you find yourself in the Myrtle Beach area. Anyway, the cigar is called the Flamingo, has a pink band and a really nice hat if you’re a hat guy. I might have to become a hat guy, they are piling up over here. It’s a 7″ x 38 lancero format, has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Broadleaf, Nicaraguan and Dominican in the filler. That’s a lot going on in a Lancero! It’s made in Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I like Jonas, I like his cigars, this should be a treat. If I had a complaint, it would be that it’s too short! This is a delicious cigar, it’s bold, has some warm, savory spices, and some light floral notes in the background. I smoked a couple of these and really enjoyed them. Smoking time was around an hour and fifteen nimues, and I was careful not to oversmoke it, but it was so darned tasty I might have smoked faster than usual (puffs per hour, not overdrawing). Jump on these when they become available later this month, all parties involved did a great job. Thanks to Tyler for allowing me to purchase cigars early!

I recently received some new Macanudo cigars from the folks at General Cigar Co., and I was excited to try them. The first one that jumped out at me was the Macanudo Emissary España Limited Edition Torpedo. I really thought the Emissary España in the robusto was a great cigar, not at all what one expects from a Macanudo. This cigar has a U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Claro wrapper, aged 5 years, a Nicaraguan Condega binder, aged 6 years, with Dominican Piloto (aged 5 years), Colombian (aged 5 years), Nicaraguan ASP (aged 6 years), and Havana seed tobacco grown in Riolobos, Spain (aged 10 years). The wrapper is described as Claro, but I thought it was pretty dark, not maduro dark, but not light). The torpedo is 6″ x 52. The Broadleaf is apparent, it’s loaded with cocoa, and I get a citrus tang. It’s a heavy cigar, recommended unless you’re expecting a Macanudo Legacy or Inspirado experience. If you don’t go stronger than than an Inspirado White, this one might be troublesome. Great cigar, I really like it, and want to try it in a Churchill.

The Macanudo Estate Reserve Flint Knoll series has eluded me until the No. 3, which means they didn’t send me No.s 1 and 2. I wouldn’t have gone looking for these, being a non-drinker I don’t hunt down cigar with any liquor associations. I will try them when they are presented to me, but I certainly have no frame of reference for anything alcohol related. These aren’t flavored, of course, but have tobacco that is aged in French Oak barrels that was used for Flint Knoll’s 2021 Royal Appointment Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s offered in a beefy 7″ x 52 double corona they call a “Churchill”. The blend is Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, US Broadleaf binder and Brazilian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Dominican fillers. I only smoked one sample so far, I had a strange time with it. Flavors were delightful, it had some sweet wood and baking spices. Perhaps this needed to be a little bit dryer, is alternated between producing rich mouthfuls of smoke, to requiring double/triple puffs to get anything. very strange. At some point I’ll dry one down a little and give it a try, from what I could tell it was a delicious, sophisticated, medium bodied cigar. Folks with better palates than I rave about it.

That’s all for today. I have some cool plans for this coming weekend, involving hockey, cigars, a cigar factory and a farm. Guesses can go in the comments, maybe I’ll have a giveaway for a correct answer! Next Sunday’s post may be a little late. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Blackbird, Blackbird Cigar Co., cigar, cigars, Emissary, España, Estate Reserve, Flamingo, Flint Knoll, Low Country Pipe and Cigar, macanudo, SmokingPipes.com

by Craig Vanderslice | October 27, 2024 · 9:50 am

A Few Arturo Fuente Cigars and a Visit with José Blanco

Let me start with this:

This is an excerpt (about 4 minutes) from my final podcast episode in 2019 with Steve Saka where I plant the notion of a Candela Lancero in his head. First he says it won’t happen, then he backpedals a bit to leave the possibility open. As we now know, he’s made one, and actually likes it. I didn’t spring for the Lancero sampler, so I may never know what it’s like. The whole podcast should still be available wherever podcasts can be found (I know it’s on Spotify and Apple Podcasts), it was an interesting and unique conversation.

This week I went on a bit of an Arturo Fuente binge. José Blanco was in town being chauffeured around by Michael Rushing, the region’s sales rep for Fuente and J.C.Newman. I met up with them at the Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA. I took a half day off work because, when José is in town I gotta go hang out with him. I’ve had the very good fortune of knowing José for quite a while, I think the first time we met face to face was at the 2011 IPCPR show where he did a tasting session (he was with La Aurora at the time). It was in a room with about 500 people. One on one time with him is rare, so I made the most of it. Today is José’s birthday, wish him a happy one of you see him! They were visiting Cigar Mojo – The Grove afterwards, so I met them there, it’s on my way home after all. It’s always great talking to José, and it was great to meet Michael. I never have any regrets when I visit the Wooden Indian, Dave and his team are always gracious hosts.

I picked up some cigars while visiting the shops, some Arturo Fuente cigars that I hadn’t tried, or hadn’t smoked in many years. Before I get to them, let me tell you about the Casa Fuente Churchill that I smoked. This was a generous gift from my friend Stace, who I sent a few things to, not expecting him to return fire. The guy friggin apologized for taking so long! No apology needed for something that wasn’t expected! Anyway, what didn’t surprise me was the quality of the gift. One of the cigars was this Casa Fuente Churchill. This line used to only be available at the Casa Fuente in Caesars Forum Shops in Vegas, but they made it more available a few years ago. This is a 7¼” x 48 Churchill with a Cameroon wrapper over Dominican binder and fillers. I love the size, and it was a beautiful cigar. It was definitely a sweet, nutty cigar with some exotic spices that kept me entertained. Perfect burn and draw. I think the only other Casa Fuente I had was gifted to me at Casa Fuente in Vegas maybe a decade ago (TY Fich). This is a brilliant cigar.

When I picked out cigars I went with a theme. I could have done the 858s in all three wrappers, maybe I should have, but I decided to sample cigars across the Sungrown range. It’s come to my attention that the 858 Sungrown is now a regular release, not just a seasonal thing. This is a good thing, because the 858 Sungrown is a spectacular cigar, especially for $8ish. The 858 is 6″ x 47, a short Churchill, or a thin toro, I don’t know, nor do I care. This has some cedar and spice, along with a licorice sort of sensation. This is a cigar I want a box of, my only criticism is that I wish they put the green fuente band on this like the rest of the 858s, since it doesn’t seem to be a special release any more, it seems to me it should be consistent with the Grand Reserva line.

I also picked up a Cuban Belicoso Sungrown, which is in the Chateau Fuente line. This is a 5¾” x 51 belicoso, also with the Ecuador Sungrown wrapper over Dominican binder and fillers. Also priced in the $8ish range, this has some similarities to the 858 SG, but concentrated. I thought it started with some bitter wood, then got more licoricey, as in it was more pungent and cloying on the palate than the 858. Fortunately I’m not opposed to that, so I enjoyed it, and it lasted nearly 90 minutes, which exceeded my expectations for what I consider a short cigar.

Finally, I smoked a Queen B Sungrown, also in the Chateau series. This is a 5½” x 52 torpedo, similar in size to the Cuban Belicoso, but shorter and pointier. This has basically the same blend description as the 858 and the Belicoso, Ecuador Sungrown wrapper, Dominican filler and binder. All three of these come wrapped in a cedar sleeve, which is pretty obvious by the pictures. I’m not generally a fan of the sleeves, if they sit in the humidor too long in the sleeves the cigars end up just tasting like wood, which is fine if you like that. I don’t. I think if I had a box of any of these I’d remove the sleeves for long term storage. The Queen B is sort of in between the 858 and the Beli, it’s got the cedar and licorice, but not as pungent as the Beli but more pronounced that the 858. As with all of these, burn and draw were perfect. I’ve long been a fan of the Fuente Don Carlos, Hemingway, and Ańejo lines, but these Sungrowns are really good. I’ve been kind of lax in branching out across the brand, but I need to, there’s some great cigars, and they have been for many years.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 8-5-8, 858, Arturo Fuente, Casa Fuente, Chateau Fuente, cigar, cigars, Cuban Belicoso, podcast, Queen B, Saka, Sungrown

by Craig Vanderslice | October 20, 2024 · 9:23 am

Kristoff, Joya de Nicaragua, and Illusione Cigars

This week I smoked a bunch of cigars that I picked up at various shops in my area. I’m fortunate, I guess, to live in an area with an abundance of cigars shops, and one of them (a chain, actually, with about five shops within a ten mile radius of my home) is a TAA member. Every now and then I stop in one of he shops to find something new and interesting, sometimes I find both, sometimes neither! I’ve been picking up some of the TAA exclusives lately, as regular readers will have noticed. I picked up a Kristoff TAA Exclusive from last year, a neat perfecto shaped cigar. It’s 6 ¼” x 60, tapered at both ends, like cigars in old cartoons. It has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. This was a really fun cigar to smoke. I was surprised to read that this was a Connecticut Shade wrapper varietal. While I had sweet woody notes, it didn’t make me think of shade. I really enjoyed this, it was smooth, rich and quite enjoyable. I wish more cigars came in this shape!

At another shop nearby I was there for a Drew Estate event, so I was looking for something new-to-me in their portfolio, no easy task. I spied the Joya de Nicaragua Classico Media Siglo and picked one up. I got the Toro size, naturally, but they offer those in some interesting sizes: a 6″ x 41 and a 5½” x 42. This cigar is supposed to be an homage to the first cigars JdN produced fifty years ago, which I have no frame of reference for, but I’m sure I have smoked the classico, it’s on the milder side. This cigar was on the light side of medium, with leathery, woody notes, which aren’t normally my thing. It was OK, not my cup of tea, necessary. I’m more a fan of the Antaño lines, if I want a milder JdN I usually go for the Numero Uno or Cinco Decadas (with the Joya Silver close behind).

Friday I did what I said last year that I wouldn’t do again, and got both a Flu shot and a Covid Vaccine at the same time. This time, apart from the sore left arm, I had a dull headache all day and that was about it. I get migraines, and this wasn’t one of those, and Aspirin, Tylenol, etc. don’t do a thing for me. I did, however, power through and selected an Illusione Cigares Prívé PCA Exclusive, a box pressed 5 ½” x 56 robusto. This I smoked while watching a movie on the porch (the first Captain america movie, I’ve seen bits and pieces of a lot of Marvel movies, I’m trying to watch them all start to finish. I might have the only Captain America travel humidor on the planet, by the way). This is one of my favorite things to do on the weekend, relax with a cigar and a movie. I believe this cigar was the 2020 version, based on the shape and the band. I may stop back in the shop where I got this and take a closer look at the box. It has an Ecuador (Habano Claro) wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan (Criollo 98 & Corojo 99) fillers. It was a beautiful cigar, nice cafe con leche colored wrapper with a nice box press. This started with a bright citrus tang, and them mellowed a bit. It was very nice once I got past the sharpness of the start, I wouldn’t hesitate to smoke this again. I’m a bit negligent in sampling Illusione cigars, I need to get try some more.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigares Prive, cigars, Classico, joya de nicaragua, Kristoff, Medio Siglo, PCA, TAA

by Craig Vanderslice | October 13, 2024 · 10:01 am

Sweet Jane, Murcielago and Alec Bradley Filthy Ghooligan Cigars

As October moves along, we get closer to Halloween (and eventually winter, ugh), so I figured I’d string together a few cigars following that theme. I’m omitting the obvious, mostly because I haven’t gotten out and found any yet, but there are other options. It brings up the question: do we really need holiday themed cigars? No, of course not, but it gives the marketing guys something to do. Drew Estate recently added the Sweet Jane Dia de los Muerto cigar to the very popular Deadwood line. It’s a 6″ x 50 box-pressed toro, with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with binder and fillers from Nicaragua (although some sources say “undisclosed”, we are pretty sure there’s some tobaccos more usually associated with pipe tobacco). This has a sweet cap, and is aromatic. There are some baking spices, some cocoa, and it’s a nice change of pace. The sample I picked up locally, and at $12 I only grabbed one to try, ended up with a tunnel about half way in, but it eventually worked itself out. This is frustrating with any cigar, but more so as the price goes up. A $12 cigar should always burn right. I do enjoy the Deadwood line once in a while, and I see the appeal to the occasional smoker.

My local TAA shop had the Espinosa Murcielago de Oro TAA 2023 in stock, so I grabbed one of those on my last visit. I’ve been a fan of the Murcielago line going back to 2011 or so, when it was still Espinosa and Ortega (EO Brands). I miss Eddie Ortega, I need to see what he’s up to. It’s not meant to be Halloween themed, but I figured the bat thing would fit in here. The original has a San Andrés wrapper, This one, and the name gives it away a little, has a shade wrapper. I thought it seemed darker than usual, but that’s OK. It’s presented in a 6″ x 54 oval-pressed toro format, made at A.J. Fernandez’ San Lotano factory. This was a bold cigar, not as mild as one might think. I liked it, but it sorta seemed like a strong cigar with a shade wrapper, maybe some Cafe con Leche flavors? Nice cigar, probably another cigar that’s near $12, I think I’ll stick with the maduro version. I’ll have to stop back in and see what other TAA cigars they have that I haven’t tried.

Finally, Alec Bradley has added a cigar to their holiday offerings. They have had success with the Filthy Hooligan, which started out in 2012 as a Candela cigar (I still have one someplace), and morphed into a Candela/Jalapa barber pole with Honduran and Panamanian fillers, a Sumatra binder. Then they added the Shamrock, with Honduran Candela, Habano and Habano Maduro triple wrap. This year they decided to jump on the Halloween bandwagon with the Filthy Ghooligan. These are all in the Alec Bradley Black Market family and are limited releases. First, I think it’s silly. I get the play on words, but Ghoul is spelled with a U, and while the band is cute, it pushes “Marketing to children” to the line a bit. I know this isn’t the case, but I’m more of a traditionalist. That being said, I don’t mind a Barber Pole style cigar. This one has Ecuadorian Habano and US Broadleaf wrappers, making a nice light vs. dark brown spiral. It has Indonesian Besuki binder and Nicaraguan Jalapa,Estelí, and Condega fillers alongside Dominican Piloto. It smoked well, has a decent flavor, some leather and dark chocolate with some spice. I did smoke a Shamrock later in the day and I can see the family resemblance. The Candela makes the shamrock a little brighter in flavor. I do. find myself wanting to smoke more maduros in the fall, so I suppose this is a good choice. Overall, not a bad smoke

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Black Market, cigar, cigars, De Oro, Deadwood, Dia de los Muertos, Espinosa, Filthy Ghooligan, Murcielago, Sweet Jane, TAA

by Craig Vanderslice | October 6, 2024 · 9:29 am

Jaime Garcia, Kristoff and Stolen Throne Cigars

Once again I picked up some new-to-me cigars at various shops. I can’t quite remember why, but I stopped in to the Cigar Mojo shop nearest to me and came across the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Suceser, which I initially misspelled, my mind saw the english version, which is “successor”. From what I can devine, this comes in two sizes with two different wrapper, which is interesting. I got the 6″ x 56 Toro with a Sumatra seed wrapper and there’s also a 6 1/8″ x 52 Torpedo which has a Habano seed wrapper. I have to hunt down a torpedo, I guess. I was unable to find any more information about the blend than that! I recently smoked the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial and was really into it, this was a very different cigar. I found it to be very spicy, much more so than the Broadleaf counterpart. The spice held on throughout the cigar. I liked it well enough, but I think I’ll stick with the Broadleaf, but I still want to try the Suceser Torpedo.

I’ve been hearing about the Kristoff Guardrail for quite a while and finally picked one up at a Cigar Cigars shop a couple towns over. I went there to meet a guy who wanted me to try out some Dominican cigars that he has an idea that he wants to import and give a go at selling. Young guy, filled with optimism…I’ve got my thoughts on the cigars which I’m going to share with him, but I’m not sure how to tell him it’s probably nore a great idea. Anyone in the industry want to offer this guy some advice? Anyway, the Guardrail is an homage to Kristoff’s owner, Glen Case, having a horrific motorcycle accident returning from a charity ride on a rented Harley. He was banged up pretty good, and we’re lucky he’s still with us (he’s genuinely a very nice man). This was the 6 ½” x 56 Matador size, has a Brazilian Maduro wrapper, bindier from the Dominican Republic and fillers from the Dominican Republic & Zimbabwe. I’ve honestly smoked more Zimbabwe tobacco in the last few weeks than I have in my life (and that could be said if I had only smoked one cigar with that tobacco, and I’ve smoked this and the CAO Thunder Smoke). This has a hint of the mesquite flavor that the CAO had, not as prominent bu there, along with some sweetness from the Brazilian wrapper. This was very nice, I’d smoke it again.

In another recent shop visit, this time the Wooden Indian, I got a couple of the new Stolen Throne Argos, this one is 6″ x 52 with a pigtail cap and a semi-closed foot. This is an interesting project with started as an exclusive to Winston’s Humidor in Midlothian, VA, with proceeds going toward animal rescue organizations. I don’t know if this is still the case, but knowing Lee Marsh as I do, I wouldn’t doubt that it is. Lee hates that I love the Three Kingdoms and Crook of the Crown, but am not a fan of the Call to Arms and Yorktown Fleet, the latter of which is growing on me. I think this Argos falls somewhere in between. It has a sour note that I find in the Yorktown, perhaps that’s the “roasted oranges” that is mentioned on the website (one roasts oranges?). I also got some leather and some dry baking cocoa sort of flavor. I found it enjoyable, and very much appreciate Dave at the Wooden Indian for hooking me up with these. I just wish these had bands, maybe whip something up on a laser printer or something? 🙂