Category Archives: Review

by | April 23, 2010 · 9:16 pm

This Week’s Cigars: Puros Indios Viejo and Cain F, and a Contest! – Friday April 23, 2010

I started out the week with another cigar from my buddy Jason at

Rock’s Smoke Shop, a Puros Indios Viejo Rothchild.  I really enjoyed this cigar.  It burned well, produced a nice amount of smoke and had a pleasant flavor.  Purely coincidence that I should receive an e-mail from Cigars International advertising these for as little as $19.99 for a bundle of 20 in the corona size, and $29.99 for the toro and Churchill size.  Quite a nice deal for a decent cigar if one were in the market.

I ended the week with a Cain F 550.  I admit to being a bit fearful of this cigar.  It’s billed as a stronger version of the Cain, which I’ve enjoyed the flavors of, but these seem to make me a little queezy.  The Cain F was no different.  I nursed this cigar, smoking it slowly.  It burned razor straight, the draw was perfect, and it had a great flavor.  I thought I was OK, but a half hour after finishing I got the familiar queeziness.  It’s a little annoying to enjoy a cigar so much only to have it make you feel crappy afterward.  Sorry Sam, you make some great cigars, but I will be approaching these with extreme caution in the future.  I have a pretty good tolerance for strong cigars, but these just kick me in the tail!

In the news

This has been reported to death, but in case you didn’t hear, General Cigar announced a promotion in conjunction with CharBroil, The Punch “King of the Deck” .  From the press release:

Consumers of legal smoking age are encouraged to visit their local cigar shop to purchase a Punch-branded steel smoker box while supplies last. Inside the smoker box, cigar enthusiasts will find one each of the following cigars: Punch Magnum, Punch Gran Puro Rancho, Punch Rare Corojo Magnum, plus the new Punch Upper Cut Robusto which is included free. In addition, the smoker box contains a coupon that can be redeemed online at www.charbroil.com for $100 off the purchase of a new Char-Broil grill valued at $399 and above. For the suggested retail price of just $19.99, this special offer also boasts the added benefit of the smoker box itself which, along with wood chips, can be used to add a rich, smoky flavor to the cigar lover’s favorite grilled foods.

Check out the website http://www.punchgrilling.com/ for some nice recipes and cigar pairings.  Kind of a neat approach to matching cigars and grilling.

While I was having a cigar this evening I was listening to the Stogiefresh podcast, which I enjoy every week.  Doc debuted a new segment featuring Adam Estrrem of  the Newbie Cigar Blog, which I also peruse.  The segment is called “Tools of the Trade” and reviews accessories.  He reviewed a Xikar lighter and did a nice job, however I feel the need to point out a thought I had.  He mentioned “wind proof” lighters and being able to blow them out. Here’s my thought:  wind is basically oxygen moving at a higher than normal velocity.  When you blow on a flame, you are basically expelling carbon dioxide which robs the flame of oxygen.  It’s my contention that one’s breath will extinguish the most robust torch flame.  I point this out to educate, not as a criticism, and  hope it’s received as such.  I’m not a scientist, so any scientific evidence to the contrary is gratefully accepted.

As I wait to hear from the winner of the last contest, I’ll throw another quick contest out:  a 5

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pack of Hoyo de Tradicion Toros will go to a randomly selected reader who comments on this post.  Thanks to  General Cigars for providing th

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e cigars! Contest ends Sunday April 25 at Midnight.

Until the next cigar,

CigarCraig

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by | April 18, 2010 · 7:48 pm

Weekend Cigars: Perdomo and Cameroon Especial – Sunday April 18, 2010

This week I dug into a bunch of cigars my friend Jason, the owner of Rock’s Smoke Shop in East Stroudsburg, PA, sent me a while ago. 

Thursday I lit up a Perdomo 2 Limited Edition 2008 Maduro Torpedo.  I’ve never smoked a lot of Perdomo products, I like the Lot 23, and I remember liking a square pressed maduro perfecto that was around quite a while ago.  This cigar was very nice.  I enjoyed the nice, even burn and tasty earthy flavor.  Nice cigar, thumbs up!

Saturday I grabbed a Cameroon Especial Torpedo.  I have had one of these before and it was an OK cigar.  I had picked one up at a local shop that I don’t often patronize.  At the time I was looking for something inexpensive and the Cameroon Especial was about the only cigar in the shop that was under $5.00, so I thought it was worth a try.  I love Cameroon wrapped cigars for the most part.  It wasn’t until I started preparing to write this that I found out that this is actually a Rocky Patel product.  These come in bundles of 20 and a little poking around revealed that these are a long filler cigar.  I would have guessed they were mixed filler by the way the ash fell.  These are nice, reasonably priced cigars.

Thanks to Jason for providing me with a nice variety of cigars to smoke and talk about here!  If you find yourself in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania hunt down his shop.  He has a very nice selection and lounge area. I will continue working my way through those cigars and reporting my findings here.

In

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the News

As I’m sure everyone has heard by now, yesterday saw the passing of the legendary Cuban tobacco grower Alejandro Robaina.  I can’t add any more than has already been reported, so here are a few links to articles about his death:

Cigar Weekly – Don Alejandro Robaina Dies

CNN – ‘Godfather’ of  Cuban Tobacco Dead at 91

BBC – Cuban Cigar Legend Dies at 91

In other news, the city of Philadelphia is trying to enact a city tax on cigars.   Another bad idea from city council, which the author admits will not really make a dent in the budget deficit.  Another tax that will hurt local businesses much more than it will help the city.

On the other hand Voice of America has a nice article on Ybor City in Florida including a nice video.

Don’t forget to have a look at the video I posted earlier today selecting the winner of a Drew Estate cap and Liga Privada cutter.  I will be having another give-away real soon so keep an eye out!

Until the next ciga

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r,

CigarCraig

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by | April 14, 2010 · 6:02 pm

Mid-week Cigar musings, Hoyo de Tradicion – Wednesday April 14, 2010

Last week I received an e-mail out of the blue from Victoria McKee Jaworski, the Director of Public Relations for General Cigar, asking me if she could put me on her mailing list.  Of course I said “heck yeah”, and sent her the requested information.  Monday a package shows up containing a very nice box of Hoyo de Tradicion Toros.  I smoked one last night and it was a fine cigar, burned straight, didn’t give me any trouble, and had some very nice flavors. Here’s some information from the press release:

Hoyo de Tradición™ pays homage to Hoyo de Monterrey’s time-honored taste in a new expression made of proprietary tobaccos from the world’s most revered growing regions.

According to Modesta Fondeur, executive vice president of tobacco and operations, “Born of volcanic soil into a pedigree of tobacco exclusive to General Cigar, Hoyo de Tradición’s blend consists of hand-selected Honduran San Agustin, and Dominican Piloto Cubano leaves, which are married to Nicaraguan tobacco from the remote island of Ometepe.  Bound with a robust Habano leaf from Connecticut, Hoyo de Tradición is adorned with a Honduran Jamastran Viso Rosado wrapper.”

Rick Chandler, the brand’s director of marketing remarks, “In Hoyo de Tradición, we have developed a cigar that respects Hoyo de Monterrey’s inherent natural sweetness and aroma, while creating a unique new tradition unto its own.  A medium-bodied offering that emphasizes and embellishes Hoyo’s traditional taste profile, Hoyo de Tradición is poised to take its place among the most established cigar brands. We feel that the line will be readily adopted into the smoking repertoires of today’s aficionado.”

I don’t typically smoke a cigar right off the truck, but these looked so good I had to try one.  These will, no doubt, improve with age.  Keep an eye out for these in future contests, I want to spread the wealth!

In the News:

Last time I pointed out the article in Parade Magazine, this time I’m pointing you toward an article on Forbes site that actually takes the stance that other tobacco products, while not safe, are safer alternatives to cigarettes and should be promoted as such.  It’s refreshing to see a major media outlet defending non-cigarette tobacco products.  Here’s the link:  http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0426/opinions-steve-forbes-fact-comment-what-are-zealots-inhaling.html?partner=email.

Also, for the Pennsylvania readers, I just received an e-mail from Dave Mayer,  the proprietor of Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, PA,  announcing that their new store will include one of two Liga Privada lounges. The other Lounge will be across the state at Leaning House Fine Cigars in the Pittsburgh area.  I look forward to visiting the new store when it opens and seeing the new lounge.  I’m sure it will be as good as it’s namesake.

Speaking of Drew Estate, the current contest closes Saturday, and I’ll be announcing the winner on Sunday.  If you haven’t entered already, leave a reply to the contest posts (here) to enter to win a cool DE cap and a Liga Privada cutter.

Until the next cigar,

CigarCraig

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by | April 11, 2010 · 8:21 pm

Weekend Cigar Post: Romeo y Julieta, Padron – Sunday April 11, 2010

Beautiful weather this weekend, I managed to get in a couple cigars.  Last night, after spending all day putting down hardwood flooring on a staircase landing, I fired up a Romeo y Julieta Reserve Maduro Robusto.  This was a well made  cigar that was fairly mild, with flavor reminiscent of  bitter chocolate.  The afternoon’s worth of sawdust didn’t exactly compliment the cigar. Nice cigar for a beginner.  I don’t understand the wording on the website about the wrapper, they call it a “Blackened Connecticut Broadleaf”, what does “blackened” mean?  Could it be that the largest cigar company in the world takes shortcuts with their maduro wrapper?

Today, after going to a local restaurant with my son to watch the Flyers game, which was a “do or die” game, I felt the need to celebrate with a very old Padron Anniversario Principe.  This cigar must have been in my humidor for close to 10 years.  It burned perfectly and tasted great.  It had a really nice long finish that just clung to the tongue. I smoked it down to about a half an inch.  The Flyers game was quite exciting, it ended in the shoot-out, and if they hadn’t won it would have been the end of the season.  Now they move on the the play-offs.  It was fun to see the game with my son in a restaurant with a crowd of enthusiastic fans.

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by | April 4, 2010 · 8:20 pm

Sunday Cigar: CAO Black Bengal and a Contest! – Sunday April 4, 2010

It’s been a strange couple of days.  Friday morning the transmission on my 2002 Connecticut Shade PT Cruiser went out while my wife was driving it, so Saturday we went out and bought a brand new Toyota Yaris.  The PT has been a good car, but after it was involved in it’s second accident and probably got wet, once the weather warmed up it developed a mildew odor that we couldn’t get rid of, I even tried multiple cigars and the smell wouldn’t go away!  It stank!  The Yaris gets much better gas mileage than the PT, and using less gas is something that’s important to me.  I only use the car when the weather is bad as I prefer to ride my Yamaha Majesty to go to work or if I have to go someplace by myself.  The PT is being donated to the Purple Heart Car Donation Program, which benefits wounded and disabled veterans.

After we got home from a great Flyers game today, I lit up a CAO Black Benga

l (6″ x 50) and took a short walk and finished up on my front porch listening to the latest  Stogiefresh podcast.  The cigar was pretty nice, however there were a couple of wrapper defects at the head that, while not effecting the performance of the cigar, the splitting wrapper detracted slightly from the experience.  It was a smooth cigar, with what I would call a woody flavor.  Certainly a decent cigar that burned well and tasted nice, despite the wrapper flaws.

Contest time!

I’ll return to having the cats choose the next winner, but this time we’ll place the cards with the names face down because I think some of the cats can actually read.  I want to make every effort to have the selection of the winner as fair and impartial as possible.  The winner will be selected from those who leave a comment on this blog post.  This months prize is a really cool Drew Estate Hat and a Liga Privada cutter, courtesy of my friends at Drew Estat

e.  So leave some comments and win some stuff!

**Late note:  it occurred to me that I forgot to set an end date for for this month’s contest.  The cut off is midnight on Saturday, April 17.  I’ll put the cats to work the following day and post the winner in my Sunday post.**

That’s all for now, until the next cigar,

CigarCraig

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