Category Archives: Review

by CigarCraig | November 29, 2017 · 9:29 pm

Todos Las Dias Double Wide Belicoso and an Umbagog Cigar

A couple of weeks ago I smoked a Todos Las Dias from Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust in the Robusto size that Steve gave me at the IPCPR show after testing the internal humidity (video here), ironically the cigar smoked wetter than I’d like. I saw the promise, and was anxious to revisit the cigar. While I was at 2 Guys in New Hampshire last weekend I picked up a couple of the Double Wide Belicoso, the 4.75″x 60 figurado which is identical in size to the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Gran Consul and the Rosalones 460, using the same molds and made in the same factory. The Todos Las Dias (Steve’s Spanglish for “All the Days”) is a Nicaraguan puro, with a sungrown Nicaraguan wrapper, and fillers from Esteli and Jalapa. I’m sure I’m oversimplifying as I don’t have the farms and primings that Steve usually supplies. So, I did something I don’t usually do this week and smoked the two Double Wide Belicosos I brought back from New Hampshire.

Let me preface what I’m about to say with this: Saka has been telling me for years that his cigars aren’t for everyone and he’d rather make cigars that some people love than something everyone likes, or something like that. I found that I wasn’t getting this cigar, which is why I’m smoked two. It’s got some strength, that’s for sure, but I found it more on the savory side, lacking the sweetness I like in a cigar. I mis

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sed the dark chocolate and chili pepper that I should’ve gotten, per the info from Dunbarton. The burn was great, and I smoked it to a nub, and didn’t feel any effects of the strength. I still have a couple more in the humidor that I look forward to smoking in a few months. Perhaps I’ve finally found one of Steve’s cigars I don’t love. I’ve loved his other offerings, perhaps my expectations were too high? Just because I didn’t love it doesn’t mean others won’t

Tonight I went for a cigar I do love, the Umbagog Corona Gorda, the 6″x48, which is the ugly sibling of the Mi Querida Fino Larga. The Umbagog uses the same Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper as the Mi Querida that Steve deems too unattractive to use on that line. I don’t know what he’s looking at, there was not a damn thing wrong with it. Certainly it’s a hearty leaf, and the fillers may not be exactly the same as the Mi Querida, which I smoked and enjoyed last week. The Umbagog smoked great, it was exactly what I like in a cigar, rich, sweet and well-behaved. Since these are fa

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irly limited due to production being predicated on wrapper being the rejects of the more expensive line, and costing the same, if Steve lowered his standards they would be even more scarce. He won’t lower his standards though. The Umbagog, like the Mi Querida, is one of my favorite cigars.

Here’s a couple of links to check out when you get a chance:

https://cigarsforbeginners.famous-smoke.com/

https://www.holts.com/clubhouse/

There’s only a few days left to get in on the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa exchange. We need an even number so I can jump in! Email me your name and address!

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

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Todos Las Dias, Umbagog

by CigarCraig | November 19, 2017 · 9:47 am

A Neanderthal Lancero and CigarCraig’s Secret Santa

Last summer at the IPCPR show I was standing in Matt Booth’s booth and finally met Jorge Ahued, the owner of Stogies World Class Cigars in Houston. I became familiar with this shop first through a business arrangement involving advertising, and second because of my freelance writing for the Houston based Prime Living Magazine, where I featured their Fratello H-Town Lancero in one of the issues. One of Stogie’s schticks is their H-town line of store exclusive lanceros. Jorge probably has one of the only stores in the country that has success selling lanceros (locally SMoKE Manayunk has a large selection). As I’ve been watching my friend Jeff from Cigar Weekly roll through November smoking lanceros all over social media, I figure’d I’d dig in to my lancero supply and smoke one in solidarity. I have a relatively large selection of lanceros, I like to think, but the one I had my eye on was one that Jorge from Stogies handed me at the show, a bit of a unicorn, I suppose. This was the RoMaCraft Neanderthal H-Town lancero. This is a traditional 7″ x 38 round lancero with the flat cap that’s consistent with the Neanderthal line. This gave me a chance to use the smaller 10mm punch on the Adorini punch I love so much. I really love the Neanderthal HN, the original format that they released a couple of years ago as well as the SGP. The combo of Mexican wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and the combo of Nicaraguan, Dominican and Pennsylvanian fillers made a really special blend. I’m not sure which leaf was left out, if any, but I want to say the blend shines in the larger ring gauges for me. Not that this H-Town wasn’t a spectacular cigar on its own, I just kept wanting to compare it to the experiences I had with the other Neanderthal sizes, and it was different. It’s unfair to compare it to the other sizes, I feel that lanceros across the board have a unique commonality in the quality of the flavor. I suppose it has to do with the heat. Anyway, the Neanderthal H-Town lancero was one of the best cigars I’ve smoked this year, it was smooth, loaded with flavor and burned perfectly. The unique spice that’s common in the line that probably comes from the PA ligero, and the fantastic interplay between the San Andrés and Connecticut Broadleaf makes this an amazing smoke that I’ll probably never have a chance to smoke again.

Last year I got off to a late start with the CigarCraig.com readers Secret Santa program. I was reminded this week to get a move on and get it organized a little earlier, which I appreciate. So let’s do it again this year! Please e-mail me at craig@cigarcraig.com with your name and address if you’re interested in joining in. The rules are simple. I’ll take the assembled names and addresses and make a list and match people up fairly randomly. Participants should then send a minimum of four (4) premium cigars to their assigned recipient. My personal approach to this is to give with no expectation of receiving, the receiving part is a wonderful and exciting bonus, but that’s just me. I’ll be looking to have the final list by November 30, 2017 so I can e-mail each person their recipient by the first weekend in December. I obviously won’t publish the list here, but feel free to use the comments on any future blog post to acknowledge receipt of your gift, I will happily provide contact info for thank-yous privately. I still have some contests in the works too, but let’s have fun sending one another some favorite cigars!

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

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Events, Review

by CigarCraig | November 15, 2017 · 8:10 pm

Deadwood Tobacco’s Fat Bottom Betty by Drew Estate

As I’m getting my palate back after this cold, I wanted to smoke something with tons of flavor and was fairly new and interesting. I recently heard Fabian Ziegler, also known as Dirty Fabian, on a podcast or two talking about the line of cigars Drew Estate made for Deadwood Tobacco in South Dakota, and recently took national to their Drew Diplomat accounts. He described it as a variation on the Natural line, which I enjoy now and then because it uses interesting tobaccos like Perique and Syrian tobaccos more often used in pipe tobacco. I want to say that the difference is the maduro wrapper on the Fat Bottom Betty, which I smoked tonight, the line also has the Crazy Alice and the Sweet Jane, three crazy bitches, as Drew Estate describes them. I even like the sweet cap on these. The Fat Bottom Betty is a 5″ x 54 with an unfinished foot. It starts out very sweet, with the interesting spices from the exotic tobaccos making for a very entertaining smoke. There was a point near the end where I got a hint of a spiced candy that I can’t quite place, but I recognized, whether it was those spiced gumdrops, or some hard candy your grandmother might have had in her candy dish at the holidays, I’m not sure. It smoked perfectly, as one would expect from a Drew Estate offering.

I admit that I don’t gravitate toward the non-traditional cigar lines, nor fat bottoms, but this cigar is one I’d smoke again in a heartbeat. This holds true for the Natural (soon to be called the Larutan to avoid trouble, but seriously, cigars are natural, why not be allowed to call them that?) as well, as I’ve really enjoyed the NDB in the past, and owe the rest of the line a try. While I’m thinking about Dirty Fabian, give his podcast a listen, it’s DE4Live, available on iTunes until Apple decides that cigar podcasts go against their terms like Cigar Aficionado’s Where to Smoke App (story at the link if you haven’t heard)…or whatever other podcast app you might use. It’s a fun show.

That’s enough out of me for tonight, until the next time,

CigarCraig

4 Comments

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Deadwood, drew estate, Fat Bottom Betty

by CigarCraig | November 12, 2017 · 10:26 am

Cornelius and Anthony Cigars Event at Wooden Indian

Still trying to shake this cold, nothing tastes right which is the worst! However, when one of one’s favorite cigar brands is doing and event at one’s favorite cigar shop, one has to bite the bullet and man up. I’ve gushed about The Wooden Indian often. I have about a dozen cigar stores within a 15 mile radius of my house, and I visit them all periodically, but the one that’s the furthest, Wooden Indian,

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is the one where I feel like I’m welcomed as part of the family. I know the people at all the other shops, I like them and all, and they all have their forte, but I find myself at Wooden Indian most often. I suppose it helps that my daughter and her family live about a mile from the place and I can stop in and say hello, but it’s the staff and events that make me stop in the shop. It should be made clear that I’m not the consumer who stops in the shop for a daily smoke, I’m happier smoking from my own humidors on my walks or on the porch, so I generally only go to shops for events or to meet up with someone. I value my friendship with Dave and his staff at Wooden Indian, there are many great shops in the greater Philadelphia area, but this one stands out.

I got a message from Jose Galvez, who’s our area rep for Cornelius and Anthony Cigars, as well as other La Zona partner brands, to stop in to the Wooden Indian as they were having an event. Of course, when I received this message I was already on my way. In addition to my frequent gushing about the shop, I’ve also heaped praise on the Cornelius and Anthony brand, as they are probably my favorite overall brand of the last two years. The Miami made Cornelius line I put right there with Davidoff, Sobremesa, and whatever other high-end, medium and complex and delicious cigars you can think of. Their other lines, the Daddy Mac, Venganza, Meridian, and the new Aerial and Señor Esugars are all excellent cigars made at La Zona. In addition to really liking the cigars, I find the aesthetic part of the experience very pleasing, the bands are classy and appealing to me, and the box art is very cool. I bought a handful of cigars and lit up a Señor Esugars Corona Gorda which I could actually taste. I won’t say it tasted like it should because of my cold, but it didn’t taste terrible and I nursed about two hours out of it. It’s always nice to see Todd Vance, Cornelius and Anthony’s Director of Sales, and we were entertained by his playlist, which featured both kinds of mus

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ic, county and western, although I found the country rendition of Purple Rain slightly disturbing. I can’t wait for this funk to lift from my head so I can just spend a week smoking through the Cornelius an Anthony line, which is highly recommended by me, for whatever that’s worth.

You can read my thoughts on the IPCPR booth and releases, along with an interview with Stephan Bailey HERE.

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

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as Aerial, cigar, cigars, Cornelius, Cornelius and Anthony, Daddy Mac, La Zona, Meridian, Señor Esugars, Venganza, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | November 8, 2017 · 8:30 pm

A Camacho Criollo and a Reader Question Answered

Sunday I mentioned that I had a cold coming on, and I was right, it put me out of commission Sunday, then Monday I left work early, something I never do. Obviously I took a break from cigars, my tongue felt like it had been walked on with muddy boots and my sinuses and bronchial passages were not cooperating at all. It was fairly fast moving, fortunately, so tonight I thought I’d try taking a walk with a cigar. Of course, since we messed with the clocks over the weekend, it’s dark by 5pm which thrills me very lit

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tle. I was in a quandary as to which cigar to smoke. It has to be something reasonably familiar, to properly gauge the recovery of my taste buds, and it has to be something I have multiples of. I recently received a four pack of Camacho Criollo Churchills, a traditionally good smoke that’s on the medium bodied side. The ~~fools~~ good folks at Cigars.com inexplicably offered this four-pack for $1 deliver

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ed, so I figured what the heck, I’ve spent a dollar much more foolishly. I honestly don’t know why they do this, it costs them much more than a buck to box and ship the cigars. So I figured blowing a quarter on tonight’s smoke wasn’t too much of a loss. Sad to say, my tasters are still impaired, but the cigar worked right, and didn’t taste awful. I’ll smoke another one (or three) when I’m back to what passes for normal and see if the cigars are worth what I paid for them. What really surprise me was that when I ordered the cigars they were backordered, I wouldn’t have been surprised or upset if they had canceled the order.

I often get questions in the comments that I forget to answer, so I figured I’d answer one here since I don’t have a lot else to talk about. Last week Dan asked about AJ Fernandez:

“I must be behind in my “Cigar Current Events” class, too. It seems that A.J. Fernandez’s name is appearing on more and more different brands. What did I miss? I don’t remember seeing anyone else doing this “nomad” routine. I do see some but just not quite like A.J. Any information about that? Is he a hired gun?”

Here’s my take on the question: AJ Fernandez is one of the hot factories out there, they’ve really come on strong in the last couple years. I want to say Abdel really made his mark producing cigars for Cigar International maybe 10 years ago, has a ton of great blends under his own name and makes a lot of cigars for a lot of people. He’s giving Placencia (ironically, I believe Abdel’s father had a long career with Placencia) a run for their money. They made the Deisel and Man O War for CI, and, not surprising since CI is owned by the same parent company, made Hoyos and Foundrys for General. Before that there was the Emilio AF1 ad AF2 lines that were all the rage five years ago. There have been cigars made there for Nick Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co. and Robert Holt’s Southern Draw as well as some in the Nomad line. It got interesting (to me, at least) when Altadis started having line extensions in the Montecristo, H.Upmann, Gispert and RoMEo lines made there. I was surprised because of the companies strong ties to Scandanavian Tobacco Group, Altadis being their largest competitor. They’ve also opened another factory in Nicaragua and are making some of Espinoza’s cigars. So I think Abdel and the AJ Fernandez factory is firing on all cylinders, and, to my palate, making great cigars. I’m sure I’ve missed some brands. Funny thing is that there are some brands that I don’t really care for, except those cigars made at Tabacalera Fernandez! Hope that is an answer. I’ll try to be more timely, and less verbose, in answering questions.

That’s enough out of me, hopefully cigars taste better tomorrow!

CigarCraig