Category Archives: Review

by | 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?  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 5, 2023 · 9:00 am

Cayman Cigar Company Sovereign, Monarch and Diplomat Cigars

I recently received a sampler from Cayman Cigar Co., located in the Cayman Islands.  The Cayman Islands is a British territory south of Cuba and west of Jamaica.  It looks like the sort of place I’d love to visit about this time of year!  The Cayman Cigar Co. donates 100% of their net profits to charity, and they seem to be working on actually growing tobacco on the islands, there isn’t any Cayman tobacco in their blends. It seems like the cigars are rolled there, and they are rolled very well, all five samples I smoked burned perfectly.  Of course, I smoked these in a logical order, but, at least in the Sovereign series, they seem to be named a little out of order.  All five were a 5¼” x 50 robusto vitola. I started with the Sovereign No. 1.  This has a Brazilian Bahia Sumatra wrapper, over a Broadleaf binder, with Criollo and Brazilian tobacco in the filler. The Criollo is a constant in four out of the five blends, according to their literature. This is a medium bodied cigar, with a very interesting sweetness. The flavor was mouth coating, almost cloying. I was quite impressed with this cigar.

 

I moved on to the Sovereign No. 2, of course, the mildest of the set.  Why the No. 2 is the mildest and not No. 1?  You’re guess is as good as mine. It might be the only thing that bothered me about these cigars. This seems like it’s the same makeup as the No. 1, without the ligero, as there was a very similar cloying sweetness, along with a bakers spice of some sort that was both familiar, but I couldn’t identify.  I’ve said it many times, I’m a picky eater, so my reference group of flavors is fairly small.  Again, this was a nice smoke, accessible to the novice or experienced smoker alike.  

 

The Sovereign No. 3 has a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, over what I assume is the same bunch as the No. 1.  This is supposed to be the boldest of the three Sovereigns, and must be front loaded with the ligero, because it started out with a sharp bite.  It quickly settled and had that cloying sweetness that the other two had, along with that baking spice, and some espresso. Despite being numbered out of order, which is more of a me problem, these are all very unique and interesting cigars.  There’s definitely a common thread amongst the three.  

 

The next cigar I smoked was the Monarch.  This cigar also has a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, over an undisclosed blend of fillers. It must have been the Brazilian fillers in the other three which gave them the sweetness, because this one was more on the savory side. It actually started out on the harsh side, I was concerned, but it smoothed out. There was a hint of the spice that the others had. So far, my least favorite of the three, but not a bad cigar by any stretch.

 

Finally, the Diplomat.  I failed to take good notes on this one, except that it started out bold.  This one they call “the ambassador of cigars. Representing the balance of strength and sophistication…”. It has the Arapiraca wrapper used on the Sovereign No. 3 and Monarch.  The binder is a San Andrés, and what they refer to as “our most robust long leaf filler”. This cigar was the most full bodied of the range, and quite delicious.  It had some espresso, as well as that signature spice that runs through the portfolio.  All five had a perfect burn and draw, as I said at the beginning of this piece, very well made.  I just took a look at their website, and see that this sampler sells for $96, so they darned well should smoke perfectly.  These are priced high, but that’s not awfully uncommon with cigars made in atypical locations.  Costs of importing all the tobacco, labor, etc. are all much higher.  I would assume they are buying small amounts of tobacco that’s already processed and ready to go, which is more expensive. Considering that they were very unique, and of good quality, I’d smoke them again. the presentation was very nice as well.  Maybe I’ll get to visit one of these days, it seems like a nice island. Many thanks to Scott Hough, one of the founders of the company, for allowing me to try these.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 26, 2023 · 10:39 am

Anonymous, New World and Adventura Cigars

This winter is flying by, it’s already the end of February.  By this time last year I had been to Vegas for the TPE, and a beach vacation to Puerto Rico.  It just doesn’t seem like there’s been time for any of that this year. Thankfully, the weather has cooperated here in PA, but there’s still a few more weeks of winter to go, so anything can happen. Anyway, I dug into the dwindling supply of Secret Santa cigars from Mitch (many thanks again!), and picked out this Anonymous, a perfecto which is one of the Smoke Inn Micro Blends, made by AJ Fernandez. The shape reminds me of the old Drew Estate Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto, or the Undercrown Shade Suprema.  It’s 6″ x 54, with a Cameroon wrapper, and binder and fillers from AJ’s farms in Nicaragua.  This was a delicious cigar.  It smoked a little darker in flavor than I expect from a Cameroon, but had that sweet, nuttiness that it should have.  I see that the box pressed version is still available at SI, this was the round, but I’m not clear if the format is the same or the box press is just a parejo, anyone know?

 

I had an ADVentura The Royal Return King’s Gold Robusto in the humidor for a little over a year, and Friday seemed like the right time to smoke it for some reason.  Oddly, I remember when and where this came into my possession. I was at the TPE show after hours at the bar in the Sahara, and a friend, who at the time was a broker who handled Adventura, and is now the VP of a cigar company. To be honest, I didn’t know he was a broker at the time, I figured he was just a fellow cigar media guy.  Anyway, I’ve smoked the Adventura King’s Gold before, in the toro format. On paper, I should love this cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and Dominican, nicaraguan and Pennsylvania fillers.  For some reason, I have yet to find a cigar from the Ventura factory that floats my boat.  There was nothing wrong with this cigar, it tasted good, burned well, and I liked it well enough, just didn’t really stand out to me.  There are certain factories that I don’t seem to gravitate to, this is one (oddly, Aganorsa is another). Weird, right? 

 

Speaking of AJ Fernandez, I had sent some cigars to my friend Phil over at Comedy, Cigars, Music, with the instruction that no reciprocation was necessary. Much like I would have done, he didn’t listen, and sent me a bunch of cigars I hadn’t smoked before.  One of them was the AJ Fernandez New World Dorado toro. This was my favorite cigar of the week, and I had some other great cigars this week.  I’ve enjoyed a lot of the New World line, but obviously this one is special, as it comes in a ten count box. This was a 6″ x 54 Toro (I see this also comes in a Figurado very similar to the Anonymous! Interested!). It’s a Nicagaruan puro, with the Habano wrapper grown on AJ’s Dorado farm, and Nicaraguan fillers and binder (obviously). This cigar had some spice to start and then had some really nice, tangy fruit and nuts sort of flavors. This was a really tasty smoke!

 

That’s all for today. I need to take a ride today and pick up a couple of the new Fratello cigars I didn’t get last weekend, a fairly local shop has them. Perhaps after I get some stuff around the house done. I’ve had a series of migraines the last couple of days that have sapped my energy, I suspect they are weather related, but might be Chinese Food related, now that I think of it. Anyway, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 19, 2023 · 9:50 am

Protocol, La Gloria Cubana and Oz Family Cigars

I attempted to do something interesting for today’s post, but that didn’t work out, more on that later.  My first cigar today is the Tenure by Protocol Cigars.  This was made for the Cigar Dojo‘s tenth anniversary last year.  Please note that in September of this year CigarCraig.com will celebrate it’s 14th year.  There are a couple of independent blog sites that have been around longer, but not many.  Anyway, Dojo has built a community, and has sold a bunch of exclusive cigar brands, and Protocol has been one of their partners on several of them.  This sample was generously gifted to me by me Secret Santa, Mitch, who was overly generous and sent all cigar I wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to try.  Remember this when Secret Santa comes around next year, it’s a good time!  The Tenure is a 6″ x 52 box pressed toro, it has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Corojo binder, and Nicaraguan fillers from Estelí and Condega. This was a neat tasting cigar.  It had some earth and coffee notes like you’d imagine, along with some tanic sort of flavor.  It was quite a good cigar, I liked it, besides yesterday’s Fratello Pennsylvanian, it was the highlight of the week.

 

I’ve been sampling some new La Gloria Cubana cigars and have made mention of my disappointment with the Serie S, but the La Gloria Cubana Society Cigar was pretty good. This, like the Punch “The People’s Champ” was made with input from the La Gloria Cubana Society, of which I’m a member (no. 631 on my card). I don’t recall being asked for my input, but that’s OK, I admit that I don’t participate in the club.  Apparently 2000 members gave input on the cigar, which is a 6¼” x 54 box pressed toro.  These are made in the El Credito factory (within the General Cigars factory) in Santiago, DR.  Oddly, it’s Honduran puro, with the Olancho San Augustine wrapper, a Jamastran binder and fillers from Jamastran and La Entrada. General must get really good yields on this OSA leaf, because it comes up everywhere. The fist time I saw it was on their first CAO release, the OSA Sol, which was a good cigar (especially in the little torpedo they had), but was a commercial flop, although it was no CAO Concert!  I seem to recall seeing the OSA leaf on Partagas, Cohiba and other La Gloria cigars. I find it generally neutral in flavor, but that’s just me.  This La Gloria Cubana Society Cigar had some hard candy sweetness, some coffee and nuts, and was quite enjoyable to smoke. It was far superior to the Serie S, which might be the least San Andrés tasting San Andrés wrapped cigar I’ve ever smoked. 

 

Yesterday I tried to go to Tobaccology in Manassas, VA for the launch event for Fratello‘s Vice Versa cigar.  I sampled this cigar last May, or should I say, “these” cigars, because one has to try the cigar both ways to understand it.  Kevin from Cigar Prop somehow convinced Omar to make this cigar, and Omar spent the better part of two years working with the La Aurora factory to bring this to fruition.  Anyway, I left in plenty of time to make the 2½ hour drive, but less than an hour in I hit traffic on I-95 just into Maryland. It turns out a tractor-trailer overturned and blocked all three lanes, and both shoulders, closing the highway (story here). After about 2+ hours I finally got turned around and aborted my mission. I was disappointed, because I wanted to be among the first to buy some of these, and hanging out with Omar is always a good time. I’ll buy some when they become available, I know TrashPandaCigars.com will have them. I “wasted” a good hour of that time smoking a delicious Fratello Pennsylvanian.

 

I had come across the Oz Family Cigars Pi Synesthesia in a local shop a few weeks ago and picked one up.  This one was a 6″ x 52 toro with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper, an Ecuadorian Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, made at the Pichardo factory. I have a few questions. The UPC sticker on the cigar has the Crowned Heads logo on it. I know they have a partnership, but I thought Oz Family cigars was its own thing and not a subsidiary, although Tim Ozgener’s financial involvement in CH has recently been confirmed. The other wildcard here, and one that makes anything I have to say about this particular example moot, is CH’s split from Pichardo. Unless this particular Pi Synesthesia is a one-and-done limited, it will have to find a new factory in which to be made. Whatever, it’s a $15 cigar, but, to me, there wasn’t anything to distinguish it from so many other Ecuador shade wrapped cigars. There are plenty available for less money that are just as good, or better.  It was a good smoke, just not too much different or special to me, not that I have a great palate. Standard bread, some nuts, and creamy.  I have smoke a lot worse!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 12, 2023 · 10:57 am

Villiger de Nicaragua, Alec Bradley Fine and Rare and Bocock Brothers Cigars

I’ve been getting into a pattern of smoking what I want to smoke in the beginning of the week, then smoking new cigars for here at the end.  So Thursday I smoked a Villiger de Nicaragua torpedo which I had received in a package from Villiger  a week or so ago. This is a $15 limited edition ciga made in Villiger’s factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.  It’s a pointy 6″ x 52 box pressed torpedo, with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian filles. This cigar has nice, dark, rich flavors.  It’s. got some spice with dark chocolate, very nice smoke.  It burned without incident, it was among the best cigars I had all week.  Very nice. VIlliger opened their factory in Esteli in September of 2021, they are also making La Meridiana, San’Dorp, La Vencedora, La Libertad, Casa De Nicaragua, and Corrida in that factory now. 

 

I had a trying Friday, so I went to the special humidor where I keep the Secret Santa cigars I received this year.  I chose the next Alec Bradley Fine and Rare in the series I received, the 2018 Second Edition.  This is the JRS10=(86) blend, all of the Fine and Rares are a blend of ten tobaccos, and they keep those tobaccos to themselves.  This one was a 6½” x 56 Gran Toro.  I needed a great smoke and I got just that. This is outside of my normal comfort zone, it’s bright, floral, slightly fruity, but it sure tasted good.  Perfect construction was a big factor in my enjoyment, if I had encountered one of those cigars that produced loads of smoke when blown through, but you don’t get any when you draw, I would have been homicidal.  Why does that happen, by the way, it really pisses me off, I had it happen yesterday.  Anyway, the Fine and Rare was just that, thanks again to Mitch for sharing with me, very generous.

 

Finally, I went into some cigars that I got at last year’s TPE show.  I thought about going this year, but I have some scheduling conflicts which made it impossible.  I did a video with Bryant Bocock then, and have smoked a few of their Bocock Brothers cigars, but came across this 5″ x 50 World Traveller, which I initially thought was Habano, but now that I think back it might have been the Maduro.  I like the rooster on the band, I suppose “cock” in the Bocock name is the reason they use that imagery. I like chickens, we have a few.  This was an interesting cigar, it had a nice, meaty flavor.  Very dense, rich smoke.  I know it was 5″ x 50, but it somehow seemed thinner to me, which was OK, it was the right size cigar for the time available.  I know they were doing some cigars with AJ Fernandez, although this wasn’t one of them. It was different from your standard maduro, I enjoyed it quite a bit, I need to see if I have some more floating around. 

 

That’s all for now.  I know I’m from the Philly area and should be losing my mind over the Super Bowl, but I honestly don’t give a rats ass about football. Good for them if they win, I hope the city survives the carnage whichever way it turns out.  Thanks to all this Philadelphia has become known for having the grease all the light and traffic signal poles so fools won;t climb them, when there are so many other great things about the city to focus on.  Whatever, I guess it’s good for business. Until he next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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