Category Archives: Review

by Craig Vanderslice | September 3, 2023 · 10:51 am

Rocky Patel Sixty, La Gloria Cubana Serie S, Wooden Indian’s Pig Roast and Crux Cigars

It was a busy week, I celebrated a birthday and my daughter took us all out to a Brazilian Steakhouse for dinner. That was a lot of fun, it was a tremendous parade of meat, and I dined on plenty of steer and swine. I think Evan Darnell of Red Meat Lover’s Club would have been proud. I had a lot of great cigar choices available to celebrate, but my son got me a couple of Rocky Patel Sixty Toros, which was an absolutely appropriate choice to celebrate this particular birthday. This cigar came out two years ago to celebrate Rocky’s 60th, it has a San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and is made in Rocky’s Nicaraguan factory. I’m fortunate that Rocky made a cigar for his birthday that exactly aligns with my palate, where a lot of Rocky Patel cigars really don’t. This is a luscious, dark, rich, cigar with heavy espresso and earthiness in the second half. This was a great gift, my son has been to Nicaragua and an IPCPR show with me, so he’s no stranger to the leaf, he did well, although this one was a no-brainer. Recommended regardless of your age (within reason, you know what I mean!).

I smoked a few of the new Maduro cigars over the last couple of weeks, with some trepidation. I was so tremendously underwhelmed with the “natural” version of the Serie S, it just made me wonder how it actually got past the decision makers, I’ll give it another try in the future, maybe it needs age, but I remain dubious. Regular readers will know I’m a big La Gloria fan, it hurts my heart when I don’t like a release. I was hoping the Maduro version would offer some redemption. This was the Robusto Gordo size, 5½” x 56, which is a perfectly acceptable size. It has a San Andrés Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, made in the El Credito sub-factory within STG’s Santiago factory. This reminds me a little of the Serie N in strength and earthiness. It’s better than it’s natural counterpart, however I don’t know that, for me, it competes favorably with the like of the Serie R Esteli Maduro. Additional samples will be put to rest for later evaluation in the LGC humidor.

Yesterday I stopped by the Wooden Indian Tobacconist in Havertown, PA where they were having their annual Drew Estate Charity Pig Roast. I may have missed dropping by one or two of these over the last decade or so, but I try to stop in, it’s always an amazing event. Dave Mayer and his staff put on a great spread, Pedro Gomez has replaced Marvin Samel as the face of Drew Estate, Matty Rock, and of course several levels of sales staff were on hand. I don’t remember it being on Labor Day weekend in the past, but I could be wrong, but the usual gang of DE loyal weren’t there, although some people came from Maryland and New York to attend. There was a good crowd for the few hours I was there (long enough to enjoy a Blackened M81 Toro, about 2 hours or so), and I enjoyed fellowship with some old and new friends. I assume a significant sum was raised for Operation: Cigars for Warriors. Wooden Indian is amongst the best shops around and they are one of two Liga Privada lounges, and, therefore, one of the only stores that has an exclusive Laga Privada, the Pancetta.

I happened to come by some Crux Epicure Habano cigars this week, in Toro and Robusto, and couldn’t wait to light one up. It’s been years since I had Crux cigar, maybe the only ones I’ve smoked are the Ninfamaniacs going back maybe a decade. They just don’t seem to be present on the shelves around here, or I don’t notice them. The line has somehow avoided my notice one way or the other. This one has a Nicaraguan Habano seco wrapper, over Nicaraguan binder and fillers made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua. This is a really nice, well balanced smoke, there’s a sweet spice that makes it a little brighter than the darker cigars I like, making it a pleasant change of pace. I’m actually smoking the Robusto as I type and it’s very nice with coffee, and my wife just set a plate of home fries in front of me…be right back…shit, they are hot, I’ll get back to them. Now I have a problem, because I want to try the Maduro in this blend, going to have to hunt around.

Enjoy the long weekend, if you are so lucky to have one. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Crux, drew estate, Epicure Habano, La Gloria Cubana, Rocky Patel Sixty, Serie S, wooden indian

by Craig Vanderslice | August 27, 2023 · 9:51 am

New El Rey Del Mundo and Diesel Cigars and a DBL Cigars Event

Thursday evening I went to the new Cigar Mojo location in Malvern, PA. which is about a mile closer to my house than the next nearest cigar store, which is two miles away. Yes, I could walk there if I so chose. Wade and Trae have built a really nice shop and lounge in a small center with restaurants, an Ax throwing venue, several other businesses, located adjacent to a huge corporate park in suburban Philly. The humidor is massive, and will soon be impressively stocked, and the lounge is well appointed and comfortable. I’ve been told that they are currently fully staffed ;-). Anyway, they had an inaugural event there with Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars and I couldn’t manage to find an excuse not to make the one mile trek over there. Francisco has a background with the Fuente and LFD factories, and went out on his own probably ten years ago or more. I think it’s been at least that long since I first met him. Super-nice dude, and very talented cigar roller. I smoked the DBL Extra Viejo Maduro while there. It was pretty good, some coffee and espresso notes that I like, there’s something in DBL cigars across the board that I don’t get. Friday evening I smoked the DBL Nicaraguan, which was initially called the La Union, but the Garcia’s had that trademark tied up with their upcoming anniversary project with Pete Johnson and asked for the name to be changed. I hoped that the Nicaraguan expression would suit my palate better, alas, it still had something that didn’t jive with me. I’ve said this before, as recently as a few weeks ago with Aganorsa, there are some lines that just don’t hit the palate, and that’s why there are so many different cigars. DBL makes good, quality cigars, and if you like a lot of different cigars than I tent to like, you’ll probably enjoy them! They are very well priced, and certainly deserve a try, and if you find yourself at Cigar Mojo at The Grove, give me a holler, if I’m free, I’m like three minutes away.

I’ve been fortunate to have come into a batch of new cigar samples, so I’ve been trying out some of the new releases lately. One I smoked this week was the El Rey del Mundo Shade Grown. El Rey del Mundo is a brand that’s been in my humidor on and off in some way for over the last 25 years, I can remember smoking many Rectangulares, Flor de Llanezas, and Robusto Largas over the years, and it was always a delicious, satisfying cigar. In this case, they’ve put a Honduran grown Connecticut shade wrapper on it, over a Honduran Jamastran binder, with Copan and Jamastran fillers, making a Honduran puro. If every line has to have a shade cigar (does it?), this cigar isn’t a bad fit with the brand. It’s got the creaminess, and is on the milder end of medium, but still has plenty of flavor. I rather enjoyed it, as I’ve been enjoying shade cigars lately, as long as they aren’t too mild and flavorless! Not too bad!

Last night after a heavy Italian meal out with friends, we retired to the sala fumatori at la mia casa for a digestif. Earlier in the day I had finished watching “James May: Our Man in Italy” on Amazon Prime so I was all Italianed up. I suppose a Toscano would have been more appropriate, but I had been eying up the new Diesel Vintage, and wanted to talk about it in today’s post. I’m also smoking one as I type this morning, on a fresh palate, because smoking one with company and conversation and alone without distraction can be two different experiences. Turns out they were pretty close. This is a cigar that is to my liking. It has a San Andrés Negro Madoro wrapper, Esteli binder, and Jalapa fillers ranging from five to eight years old. Like all Diesel cigars, it’s made by A.J. Fernandez for Forged Cigar Co. I’m smoking the 5″ x 56 Robusto Gordo, and it’s available in 4 other sizes, which I will eventually sample as I find them in the wild. I can personally attest that this cigar is as good after a heavy meal as it is with a morning cup of coffee, although I did end up smoking too late and slept like crap last night…a function of my advancing years, I’m afraid, I’m in the final days of my 50’s. I see an afternoon nap, and I’m talking right after noon…anyway, I really like this Diesel Vintage. It’s got a load of sweet spice, earth, coffee, cocoa, all the flavors I really like. I want to smoke the Toro, it could become a go-to. Great smoke.

That’s all for today. I celebrate a couple milestones this week, one being the 14th anniversary of CigarCraig.com, the other being the 10th anniversary of my 50th birthday, so I’ll be smoking some special cigars here and there to mark the occasions. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, CigarMojo, cigars, DBL, diesel, Diesel Vintage, El Rey Del Mundo

by Craig Vanderslice | August 20, 2023 · 9:15 am

La Unica, Partagas and Black Works Studios Cigars

I’ve had a handful of these enormous La Unica No. 100 cigars in the humidor for a few months and have only had a few occasions to smoke them come up. This is an 8½” x 52 double corona made at Tabacalera Fuente for J.C. Newman. Back in the ’90s La Unica was the first premium cigar that was sold in a bundle, it’s since been moved to boxes, more befitting the quality of the cigars. I generally lean toward heavier cigars, but this Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is really quite good. It’s smooth and creamy, and actually burns a little bit faster than one might think, sadly, I clocked in around two and a quarter hours with it, which worked fine for my schedule. It was creamy and nutty, and I enjoyed it. These are also available in a Connecticut Broadleaf, which are also very good, and something I want to revisit, it’s been years!

I was surprised with a package of samples from STG this week and felt compelled to smoke one of the Partagas Valle Verde Toros right out of the box. Of course, this can be a risky proposition, but that’s what the Cigarmedics Humidimeter is for! This Partagas is a bit of an odd duck, it has a green band, a San Andrés wrapper, some San Andrés in the filler along with Nicaraguan, and a Cameroon binder. It’s also made in the HATSA factory, which is in Honduras, which seems to be another oddity for a Partagas, which is normally made in the DR. I’ve long been a fan of the Partagas line, they have been second only to Fuente in their mastery of Cameroon, and their Broadleaf Partagas Black ain’t bad either. This Valle Verde was really quite good in my estimation. It hit all my preferred flavor receptors. I got the earthy black coffee from the Mexican, the sweet nuts from the Cameroon and some sweet spice from the Esteli Ligero. I’ll be shocked and amazed of this isn’t my favorite out of the batch of samples, I hope I’m not disappointed! More on those in future posts. I would urge sampling the Partagas Valle Verde if you enjoy the same kinds of cigars I enjoy!

Remember last week (I think, maybe the week before) when I said that I really like Black Label Trading Company‘s cigars, but I find that they all kind of hit me the same? I clearly haven’t smoked enough of them, because I smoked the new Black Works Studio Poison Dart Corona Gorda yesterday and it was clearly on another level. Now, I get that the Studio does some different stuff than the regular line. The Poison Dart just came out at the July trade show, and Famous Smoke Shop had them when I was there recently so I grabbed one. This is a 5½” x 46 corona gorda with a pointy cap, a Brazilian Matafina wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This cigar had a rich, mouth-coating kinda thing going on, almost licoricy, or maybe meaty, or some weird combo of the two. It was delicious and was good for ninety minutes or so of afternoon enjoyment. Lots of cocoa, coffee and spice, not unlike a lot of the BLTC cigars, but more intense. I liked it a lot.

That’s about it for today. I am smoking a Buffalo Ten Connecticut while writing, a perfectly acceptable cigar with coffee, actually quite good. I keep saying I don’t lean toward shade cigars, but I really quite enjoy them when I smoke them. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black Label Trading Company, Black Works Studio, cigar, cigars, J.C.Newman, La Unica, No. 100, Partagas, Poison Dart, Valle Verde

by Craig Vanderslice | August 13, 2023 · 9:59 am

Validating Some Aganorsa Leaf La Validacion Cigars

I’ll admit it, I’ve struggled to find Aganorsa branded cigars that hit my palate right. Not sure what it has been about the ones that I’ve sampled that I haven’t cared for, I’ve tried. I think Terence Reilly is a fine gentleman and I’ve known him a long time and feel like I can say we are friends, so I want to find something in the portfolio I like. I also like a lot of cigars that have been made in conjunction with Aganorsa. In my continuing quest I picked up a couple cigars in the La Validacion series last week when I stopped in New Tobacco Village in Whitehall, PA. As sometimes happens, I am remorseful that I didn’t pick up more. I started, as is my modus operandi, with the Maduro ( I threw some Latin in there for Terence). I selected the Gran Toro size, which is 6″ x 58, a nice compromise between a toro and a gordo. This has a San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan Aganorsa tobaccos in the binder and fillers. I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar! It was really good. It checked all the boxes for me, cocoa, coffee, some earth and spice, and I found it to be solidly medium bodied. This is the Aganorsa Leaf cigar for me!

I also picked up the Aganorsa Leaf La Validacion Corojo, also in Gran Toro. This one has an Aganorsa grown Corojo wrapper, over more Aganorsa binder and filler, making it a Nicaraguan Puro. Aside: Friday evening an old friend going back to the days of the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group days stopped by for a cigar or two. Bruce lives a few miles away now and we’ve kept in touch over the years. I think I met Bruce in the late ’90s, so I’ve probably known him for 25 years. Yesterday I met up with a friend I’ve known for much longer for a cigar at the new Cigar Mojo location (a mile from my house). I met Jeff when I was 7, so I’ve known him more than twice as long as I’ve known Bruce! We smoked Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms toros in the lounge while we caught up. Anyway, the Corojo is another cigar I want more of, I really liked it. The wrapper change gave it a lighter spice, and, although I wish the cigar had been a tad drier (it was a humid evening, rain, thunder, stuff like that), it was very tasty. I’ll buy more of these, and I now am anxious to try the Habano (and I’d probably try the shade if it were presented to me). I’m happy that I found cigars in Aganorsa’s portfolio that appeal to me, I was feeling bad. There seem to be companies that come along that you want to like their products but can’t find common ground, I suppose it’s better than loving cigars made by a company that you don’t like personally!

That’s all for today Good news for the cigar industry with the FDA regulations being vacated. Plenty of other sites covered this. I originally thought regulation was inevitable, I’m happy to have been wrong. Between all the hard work the family owned cigar companies and associations did fighting this and the FDA screwing up, it turned out good. I don’t think it’s over so keep supporting the efforts and we can’t let our guard down. You can start with the PCA site for details. Aaso Halfwheel has very good insights on the issue as always. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aganorsa Leaf, cigar, cigars, La Validacion

by Craig Vanderslice | August 6, 2023 · 9:12 am

A Couple Black Label Trading Co. Cigars and a Visit to The Leaf in Easton, PA

Yesterday we took a drive up to Easton to the “Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash” at Famous Smoke Shop/Leaf Cigar Bar in Easton, PA. We wore our tie dye and got a 15% discount, so I picked up some new stuff from Black Label Trading Company that I have been looking forward to trying. I was a little surprised that they didn’t have more new stuff available, but it is what it is. I also picked up some more West Tampa Red Toros, because, ya know, ya gotta support your friends and they are great cigars. I started out with the new La Madonna Negra in the 5½ x 50 size. I bought this in two sizes, the 5½ x 50 and the 5″ x 54, honestly thinking I was getting a robusto and a corona gorda, because they are box pressed and I really wasn’t paying that much attention. This is Black Label’s 10th anniversary cigar, and it’s a good one. It comes in three vitolas, all in the robusto family as far as I’m concerned (the third being a 4½” x 48), has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. I like a great many of the BLTC cigars, but I’m going to be very honest, there is a common theme throughout, again, one I like a lot. It’s the dark, cocoa/coffee flavors that are in my wheelhouse that appeal to me, and I can really just pick up any Black Label cigar and enjoy it. This was no different. I really enjoyed it sitting outside the Leaf Cigar Bar at Famous Smoke Shop, watching the band Single Yesterday play their set. The La Madonna Negra was excellent, loads of flavor with a little extra special PA Seedleaf spice perhaps. I dig it and have a few more to smoke, and I doubt I’ll have them around long. It was nice to see Gary Korb there, a day after eye surgery! (best wishes with that Gary!), and Juan Cancel made an appearance as we were leaving. With the exception of my wife having trouble getting service at the bar, it wasn’t a bad time! On the way home we stopped in to New Tobacco Village in Whitelhall, PA. This is a very warm and inviting little shop with a very nice selection! I’d love to get back to have a smoke with John and Lina one of these days.

When I got home I decided to smoke the new Black Label Trading Co. core line Santa Muerte in what they are incorrectly calling a Petite Lancero, but is more of a lonsdale at 6½” x 42. If it had been a 38 ring gauge I would have bought the lancero name, but not at 42. I think I’ve seen cigars this size called Corona Extra too, I guess technically a Lonsdale would be a 43 ring. A Lancero it ain’t. A really good cigar, it is, for many of the same reasons stated in the paragraph above. This one has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Ecuador binder, and a filler blend from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Mexico. I suppose it has a bit brighter flavor than the La Madona, however the signature is still there. BLTC cigars are like Roma craft and Tatuaje cigars to me. I’d smoke them all the time If I had a steady supply, at a really great price. When I have them, I smoke them, and enjoy them. I’d love to get back to Nicaragua one day and visit Oveja Negra (and Nica Sueño while I’m there), I think that would be a good time.