Category Archives: Review

by CigarCraig | February 18, 2015 · 10:33 pm

My Father Connecticut, Oliva Orchant, a Little PDR, and a Toraño

Sunday afternoon I took the two mile trip to the cigar shop since it was bitterly cold and windy. I finally smoked the My Father Connecticut Toro. This is a 6½” x 54 Ecuador wrapped beauty is made from tobacco grown on the Garcia’s farms in Nicaragua (except the wrapper) and cut and lit nicely. I was quite impressed with everything about this cigar. It burned perfectly, had a great draw and gave me a nice hour and a half or so of relaxation. I have been spending more time at this shop, but still haven’t wandered into the Montecristo Lounge, I just sat out in the front in a leather chair watching some golf, perusing some magazines and hanging out. I know the former owner, who still works there, but he wasn’t there. This Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is a winner, great smoking experience.

Monday was another cold night, so I went with a smaller cigar, the “Skinny” corona in Mitchell Orchant’s Oliva Orchant Seleccion. I smoked the 4″ x 60 Chubby a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it. This 5″ x 43 corona was excellent, although different from the Chubby. The flavor was more direct, less smooth and mellow than the larger ring. Obviously the wrapper to filler ratio makes a very big difference, and I’m very interested in trying the robusto in this line to see if it falls in the middle. I love all cigars, sometimes I like the sharper, more focussed flavors of a smaller ring gauge, other times I enjoy larger rings, they are generally a little cooler. Mostly I like a longer smoke though, as every cigar is mini vacation. It’s a shame these aren’t available on this side of the pond, I’m finding them to be a bit more refined than the already pretty refined Oliva Serie V.

Tuesday I opted for a really short smoke, the A. Flores Gran Reserva Half Corona, a 2006 Dominican Corojo wrapped little flavor bomb from PDR Cigars. It has Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano filler, Dominican binder, and packs a lot of flavor into a 3½” x 46 cigar. This is a great half hour smoke, and gives a big cigar experience in a small package. These are available in neat tins that are very handy, and are really delicious little cigars. Perfect for a frigid and busy evening.

We’ve been furnace shopping, as ours is failing, and finally came to a decision. The new furnace and water heater goes in Friday. To celebrate I grabbed a favorite, the Toraño Exodus 1959 50 Year, with the copper colored bands. This tasty 5″ x 50 robusto has a dark Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. I really love the flavor of this cigar, it has a unique toasty cocoa flavor that is very appealing. this one has been in the humidor for a while, and I hope that the change in ownership doesn’t change the flavor of this smoke. This is probably my favorite in the Exodus series.

That’s it for now, it’s been a wild week with the furnace and all. Fortunately we are getting it replaced before it fails completely, it’s really the wrong time of year fro that nonsense, and we’ve been unhappy with the hot water since we moved in. I really don’t want the water heater failing, that tends to get messy and we just had new carpet (and walls) in the room adjacent to the room with all the mechanicals. We are REALLY looking forward to spring! That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as A. Flores, CGars Ltd, cigar, cigars, My Father, PDR, Toraño

by CigarCraig | February 15, 2015 · 10:20 am

La Aurora Untamed, La Palina and Recluse: All Maduro, All Dominican, All Tasty!

The La Aurora Untamed is a new release from the oldest cigar maker in the Dominican Republic, and is a departure from the norm in a few ways. As it’s name suggests, the Untamed is a strong cigar. It’s got a dark, rustic Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper surrounding Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The packaging is also a departure from the traditional and classy presentation of the rest of the La Aurora line, with a noticeably agitated lion’s head roaring in front of what appear to be bloody scratch marks in black, red and foil. It’s a striking band that some consider tacky, but I rather enjoy it. The cigar is made for my palate. I’ve had a very long histor

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y with La Aurora, going back nearly 20 years to my very first box purchase, and my experience has

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run the gamut from not caring for certain cigars at all, to absolutely adoring certain blends. This Untamed, at least in the robusto size (I’ll certainly try more sizes), is a contender for my overall favorite, at least in the normally affordable range. I can’t count the Preferidos or the Puro Vintage lines, as they are special, either because they taste great, or because of events surrounding them that evoke pleasing memories (I’ve smoked Puro Vintage 2003s whenever granddaughters were born, I only can only have two more granddaughters…). The Untamed is strong, bold, and loaded with rich, sweet, earthy cocoa and espresso flavors that I love. I seriously dig this smoke, box worthy in my early opinion. Thank you to Jason at Miami Cigar and Co., and Gabriel Piñeres for providing these samples.

Taking a nearly 180° turn from the unapologetic, in-your-face nature of the La Aurora, Friday I decided to wrap up the week with a La Palina Black Label robusto that had been in the humidor for a while. In it’s uncellophaned state, I felt it was time to spare it any further risk of wear and tear and smoke it up. This has a Brazilian maduro wrapper, another wrapper I really like, and is more refined and delicate in flavor, sophisticated, perhaps. This cigar is made in the Dominican Republic also (PDR factory? Working from memory, not always a good thing for me to do), and has Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf in both the double binder and the filler. I really enjoyed this perfect smoking cigar for it’s complexity, it kept me guessing as opposed to having a bold flavor throughout, and was entertaining to smoke.

Wrapping up a string of Dominican maduros, yesterday I took a long afternoon walk with the Recluse Draconian Sidewinder #3 from Iconic Leaf. This one has an Ecuador maduro wrapper, I’m guessing Habano. The cigar is a formidable 7″ x 57, and is their proprietary Sidewinder shape which is a round/box press hybrid with a head reminiscent of a blunted woodworking tool one might use to make mortise joints, or square off a hole, or perhaps recess a hinge. What’s great about this cigar is it’s self cutting, a gentle squeeze pops the cap, which you peel away and it looks like you have it a cut with a brand new guillotine cutter. This cigar fell somewhere between the La Aurora and La Palina cigars in terms of strength and complexity. It was solidly in the medium bodied range, with nice dark coffee flavors and great construction. I’ve been a fan of these guys from the beginning, they are innovative and make exceptional cigars. This one was a good 2 hour smoke, and the head of the cigar was much more comfortable in the mouth than a 57 ring cigar “in the round”. this particular example had been in my humidor since the 2013 IPCPR show. Interesting to note, I took a walk that was about two and a quarter miles, and when I got home I had about four inches left that I was able to enjoy in the porch. Seven inch cigars are a commitment.

I came across this article at Barron’s website today: Nanny Doesn’t Like Cigars which is well worth the read. There are a couple points that I think are off the mark though. I don’t think the Nannies want to do away with smoking because of the health issues, I’d say it costs more to keep people alive longer than it does to have them die early from smoking related disease. Consider people living for one third of their lives on social security, medicare, etc., has to be more expensive than “treating” tobacco related diseases. Also, I think they are more concerned with seeing people doing something enjoyable, if it were just nicotine that is bad, I have no problem banning tomatoes and eggplant, both of which contain nicotine. I don’t like them, they must be banned. Sounds ridiculous, right? But it’s the same thing. The government should worry about more important things than trying to put people out of business and regulate what we do with our free time. Down with the pleasure police! Everything in moderation, raise your children to know the difference between right and wrong, and join Cigar Rights of America!

Off of my soapbox and on with my Sunday. I may have to visit a shop for a smoke today as it’s cold, the wind has had it’s way with the plastic on the back porch…and it’s cold…Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Rights of America, cigars, La Aurora, La Palina, Recluse, Untamed

by CigarCraig | February 11, 2015 · 9:14 pm

Macanudo, Leccia, Tortuga and Montecristo Cigars

Sunday was supposed to be much warmer, in the 50s, but I don’t think it got out of the 40s. I still managed to get two cigar walks in. I started with a Macanudo. I know what you’re thinking, but this was the Estate Reserve no. III robusto from the 2013 IPCPR show. The Estate Reserve uses Dominican tobacco for the binder and filler, which is aged eight to ten years, and a proprietary wrapper leaf grown by a private grower in the Connecticut river valley. The cigar is silky smooth and loaded with clean, nutty flavor. I was struck by how slow this cigar burned. I smoked it well over 90 minutes, and it was even and never required any extra attention. I would almost go as far as saying it’s worth the hefty price tag, but I have trouble justifying any cigar that exceeds the $10 price point. I’m a cheap SOB.

I followed it after dinner with a Leccia White Robusto from last year. The big difference between this and the same sized Macanudo was the burn time. I barely got an hour from this rubusto. Granted, they were stored in different humidors but the difference was startling. It still was a tasty smoke. The African wrapper gives a nice flavor, and the Pennsylvania seco in the filler gives an interesting pop, even if it’s only the faintest hint. It’s a very tasty cigar and I hope it doesn’t change with the change of ownership. I prefer this over the Black, as I am not the fan of the fire cured tobacco that others are, but I like the Luchador even more, and that would have been my choice, but I only have two left. I’ve only smoked this in the robusto, I’ll have to try another size one of these days to see how it stacks up. Sam makes great cigars, I look forward to see what he does with the tobaccos available to him now at General.

Monday I smoked another Tortuga Coyote Negro No. 500, the cedar wrapped belicoso with the Brazilian Mata Fina Maduro wrapper. I had heard a lot from Victor over the last week or so, he appeared on The Cigar Authority (again!) and I understand he made an appearance on the local Cigar Time show that the guys at Cigar Cigars (a Southeast PA chain of 10 stores, one of which is two miles from home). which plays on a local cable access channel. It’s a pretty bad show, but it’s about cigars, so it gets points for that. Anyway, the Coyote Negro is a really tasty cigar that I’ve talked about a lot so I won’t spend much time on it except to say that if you can find anything from the Tortuga line buy it and smoke it, you won’t be sorry. This coming from one of the few Tortuga Appointed Cigar Blogs. 🙂

Tuesday I selected a Montecristo Monte Conde, a 5 1/2 x 48 corona gorda (for want of a better size name) that came from my trip last year to the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival. I don’t give Altadis quite enough exposure so I figured it was about time. This cigar burned well and the Ecuador Habano wrapper gave a nice flavor to to mostly Dominican cigar. There’s a Nicaraguan Corojo leaf used as half of the double binder. It started pretty mild, and built to a solid medium. I like the size, and it was a nice smoke. it had a cute little pigtail cap too. I will try to get to some other Altadis cigars as I come across them in the humidors. When the cabinet arrives I’m sure I’ll find some as I move cigars in, along with some other forgotten goodies.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, leccia, macanudo, Monte, Montecristo, Tortuga

by CigarCraig | February 8, 2015 · 9:19 am

Smoking Semi-Traditional Cigars from Rocky Patel, Perdomo and La Flor Dominicana

I titled this the way I did because it seems like there are three basic categories when it comes to cigar brands, the old school, the boom brands that stuck, and the newer boutiques. Obviously the brands with Cuban names fall into the first category, Partagas, Montecristo, as well as Macanudo, which

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has been around since way before the mid-90s cigar boom. Then there are brands like Perdomo, Rocky Patel, La Flor Dominicana, that started in the 90s, either had a family tradition in the tobacco industry or not, but managed to succeed in making consistently great cigars over the years. Then there are the hundreds of boutiques that have come along in the last few years, some have morphed into huge enterprises like AJ Fernandez and Pepin Garcia and Drew Estate, others keep it small and cater to a niche market. Just something that I thought about after I looked back at what I smoked this week and realized that, once again, there was a pattern.

To start off, Thursday I was rummaging around looking for something to smoke when I came across a box pressed robusto called Evolution by Rocky Patel. It’s so hard to keep Rocky’s releases straight, but Will Cooper let me know it was a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive. This was a 5″ x 50 with a Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, and was not a bad cigar tha

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t can be bought for around $3 by the box. I wasn’t “wowed”, but it was perfectly acceptable. I personally think my lowest rating on a cigar would be either “disappointing”, or “a waste of my time”, and this was neither. While it wasn’t particularly notable, there was nothing bad I can say about it. Flavor was good, burn and draw were excellent, it was a good cigar. The name of this cigar didn’t have anything to do with the complexity as far as I was concerned, but it’s a good smoke that I found satisfying. Perhaps I’ve become a cigar snob…

Friday nights call for a great cigar, so I picked out my last Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown Robusto. I really developed a fondness for this cigar in the Maduro wrapper, especially in the Corona Grande size, but this 5″ x 56 robusto is a really nice smoke. I noticed that it had been Nick Perdomo’s 50th birthday (the dude is younger than me!), so it seemed fitting to smoke one of his cigars. I remember my 50th birthday like it was a year and a half ago…but I digress. The 20th Anniversary uses the highest primings from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa in Nicaragua, and that sun grown wrapper is aged in a bourbon barrel for an additional 14 months (one would imagine it aged in traditional bales for several years before it’s day in the barrel). This is one smoove and flavorful cigar, and very well made. It really may be a toss up now which wrapper I prefer, I’d have to say there’s a time and a place for both, and this Sun Grown version of the 20th Anniversary is rich and elegant and quite enjoyable.

Saturday I went with a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro which I’ve had taunting me on the top tray of one of the humidors (one of my two Adorini humidors, which have turned out to be really excellent, rock solid humidors. I can only hope the new cabinet is as trouble free when it arrives!). The chisel is a fun size to smoke. It’s a torpedo with a flattened head, somewhat akin to a pipe stem. I chose to snip a bit off with the scissors, as I’ve been unimpressed with any of the other creative ways people have found to cut this, including Litto Gomez’s recommended method of squeeze and pop the cap off. I like a more open draw, so I took about an eighth of an inch off. This cigar had one of the straightest, most perfect burns I’ve seem on a cigar in some time. The draw was good, the flavor was rich, meaty, spicy but not overpowering. I remember smoking the smaller version of this nearly 20 years ago, a Chiselito, and it was great, it’s nice to see that they are still great after all these years. LFD is really doing it right, I’ve enjoyed several cigars from the line after becoming re-acquainted with it last year. I smoked this cigar until I couldn’t hold it any longer.

That’s it for today. It’s supposed to be in the 50’s here today, and if it weren’t for the little bit of snow remaining on the ground, I’d drag the chipper out and get some yard waste cleaned up. No snow tires on the chipper though, plenty of other things that need doing.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, La Flor Dominicana, Perdomo, rocky patel

by CigarCraig | February 4, 2015 · 10:05 pm

An Ortega Mini Cigar, a Nestor Miranda and a Short Story

It’s been Maduro week so far! Monday turned out to be very cold and windy, and after taking Macha on a car ride (she loves the car) to PetSmart for a little outing in lieu of out evening walk, I hit the back patio with an Ortega Mini Cigar in maduro. Oddly, I was about to grab a little A. Flores Gran Reserva half corona when I came across the Ortega Mini Maduro from the 2013 IPCPR show. These are both made in the PDR factory in the Dominican Republic, which didn’t occur to me until I lit up the Ortega. I enjoy everything that I’ve smoked from Eddie Ortega, especially the Serie D maduros, and these little 4″ x 38 cigars are perfect for a half hour or so in my protected, but unheated patio. It smokes like a much larger cigar, with all the richness and flavor. It’s kinda like the last half of a lancero without the time commitment.

Tuesday was a little better, although still pretty cold, so I went with a Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro in the 4½ x 50 Robusto size. I’ve had the good fortune of smoking a few of these and it’s a really tasty cigar. It’s made in Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father factory, so it’s got a bit of the signature spice that one would expect, but is loaded with smooth, cocoa flavors and burns and draws exceptionally well. The new bands on these are very cool, the maduro having the red accents with black and silver foil, which makes it tricky for an amateur like me to photograph, but is quite striking otherwise. This is a tasty smoke, as is it’s Habano wrapped sibling. I am looking forward to sampling the Ecuador Connecticut one of these days when the weather is better. I find that lighter cigars get lost in the cold weather, and the risk of the fragile wrapper splitting is greater. Jason Wood at Miami Cigar an Co. did a really nice job on this line.

Tonight I got off to a late start after replacing the guts in one of the toilets. I’m hesitant to replace these commodes with modern ones, I never realized how much I missed the flushing power of the old three gallon flush johns. Somehow it seems more efficient to use three gallons once, as opposed to 1.6 gallons twice or more. Another case of shortsighted over regulation I suppose. Along those lines, I re-upped my CRA membership today, something everyone should do. Anyway, I just came in from enjoying the heck out of an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro that I had bought 2 years ago. A business associate just sent me a bag of Fuente cigars, and there was a Short Story Maduro in there, so I figured it was as good a time as any to burn the one I had been holding on to. Because of the way the head of these is finished, I recommend a straight cut as opposed to the punch. There was a fold that the punch didn’t get and I wasn’t getting a good draw, even after burning through the perfecto tip. A quick snip and it was free flowing broadleaf goodness all the way down to a tiny nub. The Short Story has been a special treat for me for nearly twenty years, but the maduro is a relatively new version for me. I loved it, but there’s nothing quite like the Cameroon wrapped SS. Either way this is a cigar that should be experienced, if it seems pricey for such a little cigar, and I can get thing in the $6 range here in PA, I think it’s a classic, and a great value as it gives an excellent smoking experience.

That’s all I have for now. I have a cigar I need to smoke this week for an upcoming Prime Living Magazine article I’m in the midst of writing, you can check out my prior articles in the Gentleman’s Room area of their website. This month features Arielle of La Sirena‘s Oceano, a very tasty smoke.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig