Category Archives: Review

by Craig Vanderslice | April 9, 2023 · 8:13 am

Sampling the Casa Cuevas Core Line Cigars

Somewhere along the way last week I saw a Casa Cuevas post about something, and Dustin Prudhomme of Discount Cigar Warehouse (not a sponsor) mentioned having a sampler, so I ordered one, along with some other goodies. I’ve found that this is a great place to get cigars quick and at a good value. The sampler had one each of the core line, and a La Mandarria in toro size. I, sadly, don’t find the Casa Cuevas line locally, so I have limited experience, although I have smoked many cigars made by them over the years. As per my preference, I started with the Casa Cuevas Maduro. This 6″ x 50 toro has a San Andrés wrapper, with a Nicaraguan Binder and Colombian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. Should hit me just right, right? It started with some sharp, acidic flavors, and had a drying effect on my mouth. This is a woody, leathery maduro, not a sweet one. Odd that the Maduro would be my least favorite of the three, but it was. I have a Reserva Maduro in the humidor that I may smoke in the near future to see how they compare.

I soldiered on, I could have been discouraged, but I know Luis and Alex Cuevas, and the are probably the nicest people in the cigar industry. Whenever I see them they treat me like a long lost friend, even the first time I met them. So I was certain that these nice people wouldn’t let me down. I really liked the Habano. This toro has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. This was very well balanced and tasty. Still on the leathery side, but with some nice, subtle spices. This is a cigar that I could see having a box of in the humidor. Very nice.

Finally, the Connecticut. I’d wager this is their most popular, but Connecticuts are always my last choice, with a few exceptions. Oddly, Dominican cigars are not at the top of my list either, so there are only a few Dominican shade wrapped cigars that I like. This is now one of them. It’s not a mild cigar, it has plenty of flavor. I suspect it’s very close to the same blend as the Habano, with the wrappers being the difference, it’s an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It tasted a little “softer” than the Habano, but still has some spice and that leathery note, but a little sweetness and nutiness from the wrapper. It was fun smoking the three cigar in the Cuevas core line in rapid succession (over three days), It’s very interesting to compare. I’ll save the La Manderria for another time, I’ve enjoyed that cigar before. I wish someone nearby had these in stock. If you haven’t smoked Cuavas cigars (and you may have and don’t realize it), give them a show, especially the Sangre Nueva, that’s an amazing cigar.

That’s all for today. It’s Easter Sunday, so enjoy the day for those who celebrate, and happy Passover as well. I’ve got a busy day planned, it may be the evening before I get a cigar in. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Casa Cuevas, cigar, cigars, Conncticut, DIscount Cigar Warehouse, Habano, maduro

by Craig Vanderslice | April 2, 2023 · 9:38 am

Toscano, Gurkha, Dos Niños and Cavalier Cigars

I started off this week with something a little different. I had a Toscano Master Aged Serie 3 in the humidor from last year’s PCA show, and I decided it was time to give it a try. I’ve been enjoying Toscano cigars for over 20 years, my wife brought me some from a trip to Italy in 2000 (Anticos), and I’ve been a fan. I bought some more when I went to Italy myself a few years back, Unfortunately, I have so many other cigars to smoke, these get pushed to the back of the rotation. They are dry cured, so they are great to keep in the car in case of emergency, and it’s totally acceptable to cut them in half. The Master Aged 3 I smoked is a high end Toscano, made with aged Kentucky tobacco, which is fire cured and tastes like it. I probably should have cut it in half, because it had a hole in the middle of the cigar, under the band, which I had to cover with a finger to get a decent amount of smoke. I only realize as I type that I could have cut it in half, it never occured to me when I was smoking it. that would have saved me some frustration! It was a bold, tasty cigar with the smoky, bar-be-cue type of flavors which is nice from time to time. I still think the Modigliani is the best Toscano I’ve smoked.

I bought a Gurkha Ghost Gold a few weeks ago after hearing someone rave about it. I like the original Ghost well enough, so I wanted to give this a try. They have replaced the Brazilian wrapper with a Habano, grown in Ecuador. I have to give a little critique of the Gurkha website here, on the Ghost pages there are some errors, the Gold list all three sizes the same, when it should be the Shadow at 5″ x 54, and the Exorcist at 6″ x 60, with the Asura, 6″X 54 being the only one correct. There is also an inconsistency in the blend info, one place it says a Criollo 98 binder and Mexican in another. I tend to believe it has a Mexican binder. This was a very nice smoke, I smoked it while watching Blazing Saddles, which may be a little ironic. The cigar burned well and had a nice, creamy sweetness. I dug it, although it wouldn’t make any lists for me. I’d smoke either the Ghost or the Gold again.

Another PCA show leftover was a Dos Niños robusto, which I believe to be the Corojo variety. The guy behind this cigar is someone I’ve known for many years, from the Usenet days, named Chris Kelly. There are an abundance of Chris Kellys in the cigar business, one owns Tesa Cigars in Chicago, one is one of the owners of Ezra Zion/Cigar Federation, and one is the owner of Leaf Lovers Tobacconist in the incorrectly named town of North East, PA. (it’s near Erie, with is in the North West part of the state). It’s the third one who owns the Dos Niños brand. From what I remember, he started this brand rolling the cigars himself in his shop. If I also remember correctly, which is a crapshoot, by the way, the are now produced by Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars, and distributed by Sutliff. This cigar started off bold, which is why I think it was the Corojo as opposed to the Habano. It had a rich, heavy chocolate flavor that was quite good. It was less of a sweet chocolate, but very lush and satisfying. I quite enjoyed the cigar, although I’ve been passing it over for the last 8 months, worried that if I smoked it and didn’t enjoy it I’d hurt a friend’s feelings. No issue, it was very good. I’ve spent my weekend power-watching House of the Dragon before my free trial expires, and this got me through an episode and a half, pretty good for a 5″ x 50 robusto.

Finally, I smoked a Cavalier Geneve White toro last night. I was watching TV, and a wicked thunderstorm passed through, knocking out the power for 45 minutes or so. Oddly, when the main TV came back on, and we were trying to watch hockey, it didn’t have any sound. I was quite unhappy since the TV was only a few months old. I did some Googling, and came across an unlikely solution which involved turning the TV off, unplugging it, then holding down the power button in the remote for 30 seconds. Seemed far fetched, but I was desperate. It actually worked. Reduced my stress level considerably. This all went down after I finished the cigar. I first encountered this brand at the 2016 show where I met Sebastien Decoppet, who started this brand shortly before that. He’s a young, hip guy with the beard and tattoos, last time I talked to him was in the Starbucks line after the ’22 TPE where he was kind enough to buy me a coffee. Phil of Comedy-Cigars-Music fame sent me this Cavalier Geneve White toro, which I hadn’t had the chance to try yet. This 6″x 52 cigar has a Habano wrapper, a Connecticut binder (guessing broadleaf, shade isn’t used for a binder often, if ever), and Habano fillers, probably made in Cavalier’s own factory in Honduras. Again, I was distracted by a reasonably violent thunderstorm, but this tasted very good, on the mild to medium side, with some bready notes and some spice. I can never taste the 24k gold leaf when I burn though it, but it’s a cool touch. I’ve enjoyed the Cavalier cigars I’ve smoked, although it’s been limited to a handful of the “Black” varieties. This White was really good, and another thanks to Phil for sending this!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Cavalier, Cavalier Geneve White, cigar, cigars, Dos Niños, Ghost, Ghost Gold, Gurkha, Master Aged Serie 3, Toscano

by Craig Vanderslice | March 26, 2023 · 9:50 am

A Few Family X Loyalty Cigars

Over the past year or so I’ve gotten to know, and become friends with, Phil from comedycigarsmusic.com. He produces some engaging content, using video, podcast, and written formats. I look forward to his “Phil Switch” and “1st and 15th” podcasts (the latter with Kaplowitz), for their entertainment value, although they are light on cigar content. It’s my understanding that the next 1st and 15th show may finally tackle the long awaited “Cigar 101” topic. I’m not holding my breath. All that to say that I sent Phil some cigars a while ago, and he, despite my cautioning not to, sent me a pack of cigars, may of which I hadn’t yet smoked. Chief among these were three cigars with enormous, brightly colored bands from a company called Family X Loyalty. I had never heard of this brand before, and I’ve heard of a lot! Information about this brand is elusive. They have a nice website, although there is no “About” page. I can’t seem to glean any information, even their address listed is incomplete. I suppose I could dig into the “whois” and all, but who has the time, as long as the cigars are good. The cigars were good (a little digging leads me to believe these may be made at Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I can see this as that factory produces some excellent cigars) . I started with the Skoll. This has a yellow band covering the majority of the cigar. This is a Gran Toro (6″ x 54) wrapped in a Brazilian Cubra wrapper with a Criollo 98 binder and Nicaraguan fillers. “Criollo” is consistently misspelled on the website, by the way, unless there’s a “Crillo” tobacco I don’t know about. This cigar started with a bitter espresso flavor, but smoothed out to a medium to full bodied black coffee. I really quite liked this cigar.

Next I ventured into the Geri. This has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with the Criollo 98 binder and a filler blend of Criollo 98, Corojo, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania. Again we have a mix of tobacco naming conventions, where is the Criollo and Corojo from? What varietals are coming from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania? I have an in with Blackbird, perhaps I’ll inquire, but probably not. I’m nit-picky about info on websites. This cigar, again, was very good. I noted that it started out with a brightness, which I suppose is a light spice. It had some wood and pepper notes. This is another cigar I would smoke again, very good.

The final cigar in the trilogy was the Freki. I wish I could find some back story about this brand and the naming. To my eye, they have sort of a Nordic feel to the names. I’m not sure. Looking at the bands, I’m more inclined to believe that they come from the same factory that makes Blackbird, who also uses large, colorful bands. These do tend to stand out, so there’s some wisdom to using this type of bands. Mental note, I need to get some more Blackbird Crows. The last cigar was called Freki. I got curious just now and Googled “Freki”, and is seems like Geri and Freki were Odin’s wolves in Norse mythology. It looks like Skoll is also a wolf, as is Hati, another one of their blends. I’ve uncovered the theme, I think, maybe the wolves on the bands could have been some sort of hint? I also enjoyed the Freki. I got started much later than I would have liked. We got cheap tickets to see “John Wick Chapter Four”, and spent the day watching th 2nd and 3rd movies, with some hockey interspersed, so I really wanted to sit and relax in a non-violent way. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, with the Criollo binder and the same fillers as the Geri. I’m guessing it’s the same blend with a different wrapper, which is fine. This was maybe the strongest of the bunch, with some nice earthy sweetness. It has some dark chocolate and some pepper. Interestingly, I think I liked all three of these cigars about the same, usually there’s one that stands out. All were excellent, and thank you again to Phil for sharing these with me. I send cigars to people and don’t expect retribution, but it’s pretty great when I get to try some new stuff!

I had worried that this would be a short post today, I guess I managed to stretch it out! Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Blackbird, cigar, cigars, Family X Loyalty, Freki, Geri, Skoll

by Craig Vanderslice | March 19, 2023 · 10:12 am

Fratello, All Saints, Casino Real and Yaya Cigars

I’m running low on new stuff to smoke, in a few years I’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel! Seems like there’s always something new, it’s just a matter of getting my hands on stuff. A few weeks after my aborted attempt to be among the first to smoke the new Fratello Vice Versa with Omar when he released it in Virginia, I picked a couple up at a local shop. I would have gotten more, but these are no cheap date. I get it, they are expensive to make, they are bunched in a very specific way, and capped on both ends. Not begrudging Omar the price, just saying I’m a cheap prick and don’t buy more than a couple $15 cigars at a whack. I smoked prototypes last May, they were good. I smoked a Vice Versa this week and started with the strong end. This is an interesting cigar that smokes mild from one end and strong from the other. Seems like I should have gotten a third one, because the one I smoked, unfortunately, had a void in the first half and tunneled. After struggling with it for a while, it eventually corrected itself. I kinda missed the strong part, but it was a tasty cigar. This isn’t a small cigar at 7″ x 52, and it has a six country blend: Ecuador, Indonesia, Pennsylvania (USA) , the Dominican Republic, Peru and Nicaragua. Peruvian tobacco is a in almost all of Omar’s blends. I wonder if I would feel better about cutting this cigar in half, although if I think a $15 7″ cigar is expensive, two $7.50 3½” cigars actually seems pricier. I have one left, I’ll need to get a couple more eventually, I enjoyed the flavor.

Friday was Saint Patrick’s Day, so I smoked the new Firecracker cigar from United Cigars, the All Saints St. Patrick. This is a 3½” x 50 based on the St. Francis blend, which I really like. They accented the oscuro wrapper with a Candela, making a barber pole. It seemed to me to be stronger than the St. Francis, which is kinda the point. I didn’t taste much of the candela, to be honest. A lot of the candela barber pole cigars have that grassy candela flavor present, this wasn’t apparent except it might have contributed to some of the bite. It was good, I liked it. I typically only buy from 3 to 5 Firecrackers, maybe I should have gotten 5. It’s been a few years since I’ve gotten any, the last few didn’t capture my interest. If you find these, buy some, I bet they go fast. I wonder if All Saints will do a St. Bernard one day? It would have to be a large format.

Yesterday I did a little test of a platform that will let me do interviews remotely. Hopefully that is something that interests my readers. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do but finally got around to it. So I tested it yesterday with a couple of friends and smoked a Casino Real Double Toro (6″ x 60) which I think I got at the 2022 TPE show. This is a brand which is, from what I can tell, is distributed by Zander Greg/Nat Cicco. This is a Ecuador Habano wrapped cigar with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It was a tasty cigar with some woody and coffee type flavors. The burn and draw were perfect. I have no idea what these cost but it was a solid smoke.

I got home from going out to dinner a bit late and decided it was a great time to smoke a short cigar. I said before that my go to is a 6″ cigar, I don’t mind bigger cigars, although I don’t often go over a 60 ring. So shorter cigars end up spending some time in the humidor often. I had a Yaya Short Robusto, which is a 2022 PCA exclusive, which I got from the United Cigars booth at the 2022 PCA show. I like the fact that this had the date on the band, it makes it harder for me to forget where it came from and when. Not impossible, just harder. I’ve heard good things about this cigar, so I was anxious to try it. It’s 4″ x 54, with an Ecuador Habano wrapper over Dominican fillers. These are made in Jose Dominguez’ Magia Cubana factory in the DR. I’ll be honest, there’s not a lot of cigar from this factory that have thrilled me. This one was the exception. It started out with a little bite, which I liked, and had some nice spice notes. It’s a tasty smoke!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as All Saints, Casino Real, cigar, cigars, Firecracker, Fratello, St. Patrick, Yaya

by Craig Vanderslice | March 12, 2023 · 10:18 am

Casdagli, West Tampa, Powstanie and Punch Cigars

It was a pretty good week. A bit ago I sent some cigars to a friend, who, despite my protests, reciprocated with a package. People need to understand that I send out cigars without expectations! I do appreciate it though, especially when there are a bunch of cigars I hadn’t tried. The Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Pony Express was one of those cigars. I want to say I’ve smoked one Casdagli cigar in the past, it seems to me it was a figurado of some sort, but I can’t remember what it was. Was this company called something before it was Casdagli? Bespoke seems to be stuck in my mind. Anyway, This was a corona gorda of sorts, 6″ x 48, with a box press. I love the size. It’s made from tobaccos from Peru, Dominican Republic and Ecuador along with the tobaccos from the factory’s own plantation in the mountains of Costa Rica. It’s rolled in Costa Rica, which is interesting. This was a very different cigar than I gravitate to, it had a strong floral flavor. It was very good, thanks to Phil ( https://www.comedycigarsmusic.com/) for sending this!

Friday evening I went to Pairings Cigar Bar in Media, PA to hang out with Ricky Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Co. Pairings is a great place with a nice selection. If you like to drink while you smoke at a bar, like the old days, this is the place to go. There aren’t as many such places in this area as you would think, I can think of two others in the Philly area. I’m not a bar guy, so maybe there are more I don’t know about. Most of our shops have lounges and don’t discourage BYOB. Anyway, Ricky was there doing a West Tampa event, of course. I had the opportunity to try the new West Tampa Red, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more, it was really good. I could draw some comparisons to the Attic, they share the San Andrés wrapper. This was a 6″ x 60, which I chose because I had a really good experience with a Black in that size a few weeks ago. I feel like the flavor was a little brighter than the Black or the Attic, both cigar I really like. I’m working on

I stole this pic from Craig Gilpin! TY

something with Ricky in the future, so stay tuned. There were a bunch of local cigar people there, reps, brokers, guys from other shops, and even Micky Pegg from All Saints Cigars (there’s a CAO connection!). I also had the chance to spend some quality time with my friend Craig (the Breadman), I like having fiends named Craig, because I have such a lousy memory for names, it makes it a little easier! It was a good night, although after smoking the Red AND the Black in the 6″ x 60 size, I had a hell of a time falling asleep.

The selection of cigars from Mitch, my Secret Santa, is dwindling. I selected a Powstanie SBC20, another corona gorda (this time it’s really a CG, 5½”x 46, close enough). This is a subtle barber pole, with Habano and Brazilian Mata Fina, made at Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.. I have a great affinity for cigars made at this factory. I was just thinking how it’s been ten years since I’ve been to Esteli, and what a hoot it would be to go and visit factories like Nica Sueño, Garmendia, etc. I think the town has changed a lot since I was there last. This was a pretty stout cigar, not a surprise. It’s got some pepper, cocoa and coffee, probably best smoked on a full stomach. I very much enjoyed this, I wonder how it compared to the ’16 and ’18 versions. If you’ve smoked them all, leave a comment!

I had picked up a couple of the Punch Spring Rolls a few weeks ago, it’s a shorter cigar than I like, but I wanted to try it. I’ve enjoyed most of the Punch cigars in this series, which, inexplicably, revolves around Chinese food. They are budget cigars, and usually have some interesting feature, on this one the wrapper is about a half inch short. It’s only 4½” x 50, like a Punch Rothschild, so that’s a pretty good percentage of the cigar that is wrapperless, when you think about it. I expected a flavor change when the burn line hit the wrapper, which is Ecuadorian Sumatra over an American broadleaf binder, with fillers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and broadleaf from the U.S.. I never picked up on the change, oddly enough, it just remained a fairly uneventful cigar. It was dry and woody, I was expecting a lot more flavor. It wasn’t bad, I’ve seen people say it was excellent, I just thought it was OK. I guess it was a good think it was only 4½” long. I’ll give the other one a try next year. Maybe it’s because I don’t like Spring (or Egg) Rolls?