Category Archives: Review

by | September 11, 2010 · 6:29 pm

This Weeks Cigars: 777 and Dona Flor – Saturday Sept 11, 2010

I started the week off with a cigar I had picked up at my local shop because I was looking for something new and interestin

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g, I had seen this booth at the IPCPR show and it was very busy, and the cigar wasn’t priced outrageously.  I grabbed a pair of Jesus Fuego 777 maduro coronas.  I enjoyed this cigar on my deck on a beautiful Labor Day afternoon.  For it’s size, 5 ½” x 46, it smoked for nearly an hour and a half, and it was a nice, full flavored cigar.  I liked the way it burned and drew, and it had nice, dark flavors.  This is a nice cigar that I look forward to smoking again.  While $4.50 a stick is right on the edge of my comfort zone for a corona, I think this one worth is as it burned a long time and delivered a nice smoking experience.

Later in the day I took my fir

st Geocaching trek with a Maria Mancini Magic Mountain.  I was successful in finding my fist cache, and left the cigar band in the container.  It would have been easier if I had followed my GPS to the cache instead of listening to my sons, who thought they knew where they were going and led me on a bit of a wild goose chase.  The cigar was good as usual, but since we were out longer than I had anticipated, I had some walking to do without a cigar in my hand.

I figured I’d dig into some samples from the show and opened up a 3 pack from Dona Flor, which from Menendez Amerino out of Brazil.  I had met the US Representative for this line at the show and he was kind enough to send me home with a selection of their cigars.  The first cigar I chose was the Dona Flor Robusto, a really ugly and rustic cigar.  While I have enjoyed many a cigar with Brazilian Mata Fina and Arapiraca in the blend, I have to say that this cigar didn’t do it for me.  It wasn’t distasteful really, but it wasn’t really any different from any of a hundred different oddball singles I’ve smoked over the years.  I had a very similar experience with the Selecao, which had an equally ugly wrapper.  I smoked the Selecao on another geocaching expedition, which was as disappointing as the cigar as we knew we were in the right area, but the cache eluded us.   Like th

e regular robusto, this was just an OK cigar, nothing really bad, but not really exciting either. The final cigar in this sampler is a Puro Mata Fina.  Like the others, it’s a 5″ x 52 which feels more like a 50 ring gauge, but that may go back to my perception being thrown off by the ever increasing large ring cigars.  This cigar was the best of the three in my opinion.  It wasn’t quite as ugly, although it had some prominent veins under a matte brown wrapper.  The triple cap was nicely applied.  While still not exactly my cupp

a tea, it was a nice hour long smoke that had a reasonably good flavor.

I really wanted to like these Brazilian puros, and the Puro Mata Fina came the closest to being a satisfying cigar.  I did enjoy meeting Wesley from CigarFromBrazil.com and always appreciate the opportunity to try some new cigars.  My tastes and preferences aren’t always in sync with everyone else, so if you come across the Dona Flor line and they are priced reasonably, give them a shot.

That’s about it for now!  Congrats to J.A.S., he won some cool Drew Estate stuff last week, he should be receiving his prize sometime in the next few days.  Keep an eye out for the next contest.  Also, thanks to any who’ve helped out my wife in her AIDS Walk LA drive (see the thermometer on the right).   I’ll be walking along with her on October 18, cigar in hand.

Have a great weekend!

CigarCraig

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by | September 5, 2010 · 4:58 pm

Drew Estate Contest Winner Announced! – Sunday, September 5, 2010

I struggled with finding a creative and entertaining way to select a winner in this month’s contest.  The cats haven’t been cooperating, the dartboard thing was downright embarrassing, and my attempt at making a wheel of fortune fell through. I assigned a number to each entrant based upon the order the comments were received, 1 through 24.  I was all ready to use a pair of 12 sided dice and live with the possible outcome of having 2 winners (it’s VERY difficult for 1 to come up with 2 dice, so I would have given out two prizes if I had rolled snake-eyes), but I figured that the odds were weighted poorly for the poor guy who was number 24.  I decided to wuss out and let the “True Number Generator” at Random.org do the dirty work for me.   So here’s a video of the official selection:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ-h8-2irZ0

We were having a heck of a time getting the camera to focus, but you can see that there was at least some feline involvement as my frequent smoking buddy Frank stopped by.  I’ll need an address from the winner e-mailed to craig@cigarcraig.com at his earliest convenience so I can get the Drew Estate hat, Liga Privada cutter and T52 Belicoso in the mail.  The music in the video is “You Get Me So Excited” by Jim Babjak’s “Music from Jim Babjak’s Buzzed Meg, Vol. 1”.  I want to thank Jim for allowing me to use his music.  Many thanks again to Drew Estate for the great cigars and goodies they sent me so that I can give away cool stuff without having to go deeper into debt :-).

Cigars

As far as cigar content, I’ve stuck to the old familiars so far this weekend, first being a Friday night Chateau Real Maduro Gran Cru Perfecto which will be sorely missed in my humidor when they are gone.  Real nice cigars as far as I’m concerned.  Saturday was beautiful but windy and, not wanting the wind to spoil a cigar I’d want to pay attention to, I grabbed a National Brand Maduro robusto.  These are such solid performers in flavor and burn that I forgive the sweetened cap.  For $2.25 they get the job done.  Finally, as I type this, I am thoroughly enjoying a  Hoyo de Tradition Toro.  This has made the process of putting the video together which usually makes me swear a lot, quite a bit easier and less profanity laden.

You’ll notice a new thermometer on the right.  My wife Jennifer has joined Team Price is Right as a “virtual walker” in the 26th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles.  She has mapped out a 10k route locally so she can do her part (Maybe I’ll  walk with her, I need to figure out what cigar will last me 10 kilometers).  If you have the inclination, please consider making a donation to a cause that really doesn’t get that much attention anymore.

That’s it for now, just waiting for an address so I can send off the prize.  Thanks to everyone for your comments, even though, as one person pointed out, I get a lot more when there’s free stuff on the line, I still enjoy comments and e-mails so keep them coming.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | September 3, 2010 · 6:20 pm

New Cigar: CAO Brazilia Corcovado – Friday September 3, 2010

The CAO Brazilia Corcovado was an IPCPR sample that was given to me by Paul Spence, whom I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting several times and is a real good guy.  I had my eye on a Brazila robusto in the humidor when I remembered having this one and figured it was one I really hadn’t seen any reviews or heard much buzz about.   This cigar is in a format that seems to be growing in popularity.  Sam Leccia’s NUb line came on the seen a few years ago in this short and fat format and I would guess it’s just about the most coppied vitola in recent memory.   The CAO Brazilia I had had a jet black wrapper and had a very prominent vein running the length of the cigar.  I will say right now that I should have left this one sit for a while longer in the humidor.  It seemed “not ready” to me, which is a shame for a IPCPR sample which is s

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upposed to entice the smoker to buy these cigars.  I work near a company that manufactures molases, so I’ve occasionally smelled the pungeant aromas that is produced there. This had a raw molases flavor to it thatbrought to mind that factory.  It also left me a little queezy afterward, which is not a sensation I am looking for in a cigar.  No doubt a year or so of age would settle this cigar down in my opinion and I do regret smoking this one too soon.  In the same bag from CAO was a LX2 in a 60 ring gauge, but 6″ long which I will let mature for a year or so, as past experiece with the LX2 has told me that I like these more with some age.  I should have smoked the LA Traviata Maduro from the same bag, but it seems like it’s being reviewed to death and as much as I look forward to smoking that particular cigar I think I’ll wait a bit.   Unfortunately this particular sample didn’t really do it for me this time.  I would never trash a cigar based on one example though and I will try this one again if I have

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the chance.

Editorial

This cigar got me to thinking about why it is that everyone is putting out cigars with enormous ring gauges lately?  Is it possible that, since the SCHIP tax is the same for any size cigar, that fatter cigars are perceived as a better value?  Could it be that smoking bans cause people to have less time to enjoy a cigar and a short, fat cigar gives the impression that they smoke quicker?  I am really baffled by this as I had thought that (or hoped may be a better word) that we had moved past the “bigger is better” thing.  I’ve actually gotten to the point where a 50 ring gauge cigar looks pretty slim!  I personally enjoy a smaller ring gauge cigar, although I smoke darned few of them it seems.  Anyone who has any theories they’d like to share on the subject is welcome to leave them in the comments.

Contest Update!

I know I had promised a contest winner announcement, but I’ve been slacking off!  Hopefully by Sunday I will have concocted a clever and entertaining (yet totally fair and impartial) method of selecting the winner.  There have been 21 entries so far, and the contest remains open until at least midnight Saturday, September 4.  You can leave a comment to enter to win a hat, cutter and Liga Privada T52 Belicoso courtesy of Drew Estate here.

That’s about it for now (as I enjoy a Chateau Real maduro while writing this).  Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | August 30, 2010 · 7:13 pm

Weekend Cigars: Oliva, Padron, Partagas and Punch – Monday August 30, 2010

I started the weekend out with an Oliva Serie V Belicoso which was given to me by the Oliva rep who was handing them out on my friend Mitchell‘s New York City dinner cruise we attended back in June.  It was a very nice cigar, a short torpedo more than a belicoso with a very pointy head.  It was pretty full flavored and satisfying.  Nice cigar, I really haven’t been disappointed with anything in this line, especially the Serie V.

Saturday afternoon I enjoyed a Padron 1964 Anniversary Superior in a natural wrapper that was given to me for my birthday last year.  Another very good cigar that burned well and was lush and flavorful, just as it should be.  I can’t recall ever really being let down by a Padron, whether the regular line or the Anniversary.  I can’t say I’ve smoked the higher end Padrons, just a smattering of 1964s and the odd 1926. Later in the evening I sat down with another Partagas Petit Coronas Especiale which has become a favorite of mine lately.

Sunday I celebrated completing yet another journey around the sun, and. after my wife and children took me out to a nice breakfast, I dug deep into the humidor and selected a Havana Punch Tubed Churchill.  This cigar came into my possession sometime in 2000.  It was part of a prize pack that came from a gentleman named John Chunko who started a thread on the alt.smokers.cigars newsgroup and awarded random prizes to contributors.  John was a generous soul who, though various events, was responsible for introducing me to some wonderful cigars that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the occasion to sample.  I’ve forgotten what other cigars were included in this package, except for a Romeo y Julieta Celestiales finos from 1977, which I still have.  I had decided that it would be appropriate to celebrate my 47th trip around the sun with a 47 ring gauge cigar.  This Churchill was really very pretty once it emerged from it’s aluminum tube and lit easily.  I was surprised by the firmness of the draw for such a well aged cigar but the flavors…..oh the flavors!  It was a delicate and subtle cigar, not the full flavored powerhouse one would expect.  I was often amazed by some of the fascinating flavors that danced around my mouth.  Truly a sublime experience.  I smoked this at my local cigar store, JM Cigars in Exton, PA, in their lounge while catching up with an old friend Bruce who recent;y moved into the area.  Often times I felt like I was being rude as I got lost momentarily in the cigar.  I selected this cigar over a Romeo y Julieta Tubed Churchill because I’ve had a few RyJ Churchills (non-tubed) that didn’t really “wow” me.  This one must also be approaching 10 years old, so I have high hopes for it.  It was a nice way to celebrate the day.

That’s about it for now.  Please remember to enter the current contest which will end this week sometime.  You could win a Drew Estate hat, Liga Privada cutter and a Liga Privada T52 Belicoso.  Click here to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | August 25, 2010 · 7:55 pm

The Week’s Cigars So Far: CAO, Dirty Rat, Chateau Real…and a Contest! – Wednesday August 25, 2010

Got the week of to a good start with a really nice CAO VR Moby, a 6″ x 50 maduro toro.  I have enjoyed the three examples I’ve had which my wife bought for me for Valentines Day.  They were part of several 5 pack samplers she got from Cigars International.  I believe these are made for CI.  I think these are a nice, medium maduro that is very well made.  I’m not one for identifying specific flavors, but peppery is definitely a flavor descriptor that I’d use with this cigar.    I don’t know that I would drop a c-note on a box of 20, but I suppose they are worth $5 each compared with a lot of cigars out there.

I decided to wrap up the weekend with a treat and grabbed

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a Liga Privada Dirty Rat from the humidor.  This was one that Steve Saka had given me a few months back.  I have to say that this is just about cigar perfection.  The corona size is very appealing to me, and it’s just a really pretty cigar.  The dark and oily wrapper, the funny pigtail, it’s just so appealing.  Then you light it, and it burns razor straight with a nice flat coal and draws perfectly.  Steve says they cost more to make than the double coronas, and considering this little corona had five different filler tobaccos packed into it’s stalk cut Connecticut wrapper, it’s no surprise at the cost.  The leaves have to be scissor cut to fit them in.  Lot’s of labor involved but what a fantastic smoking experience.  I’ve enjoyed all of the Liga Privadas I’ve had, and I don’t often spend upwards of $10 on a cigar.  Exceptional cigar that will be worth the occasional splurge when they hit the shelves somet

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ime this September.

Monday I went for a Chateau Real Gran Templar in claro.  Another cigar I really like and is consistently good.  I decided on this particular cigar since

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I had just come off the excellent experience of the Dirty Rat, and wanted something quite different, but without any surprises.  This cigar shared the excellent construction with its cousin the Rat, and had a clean and smooth flavor.  The Connecticut shade wrapper was without flaw and quite pretty.  Another cigar that’s

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more expensive than I generally prefer, but worth it. I really think Drew Estate is making good cigars, but I have to say that while their website is nice and flashy, it’s kind of a pain if one wants to link directly to a specific cigar and sometimes takes a little while to load up.  It does have a lot of good information though, which is better than some sites.

On to the contest!

Since I smoked a couple Drew Estate cigars this week, let’s go ahead and give away a DE hat and a Liga Privada cutter.  As a special bonus I will sweeten the deal with a brand new Liga Privada T52 in the Belicoso size.  While I was visiting the IPCPR show and saying goodbye to Saka, he threw several of these at me, so I feel the need to pay it forward!  I have yet to send out a cutter prize without including something to use the cutter on anyway, but this time it’s something that may not be in the stores yet.  So there ya go, that’s the prize.  Since I’ve been having trouble with my feline assistants lately, I’ll work on figuring out a clever selection process.  So leave me a comment which will be your entry.  I always enjoy comments anyway, but for some reason it seems that I get more when I give stuff away…not sure why that is…so bring on the comments and win some awesome stuff courtesy of Drew Estate!

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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