Category Archives: Review

by Craig Vanderslice | November 20, 2022 · 9:00 am

Mi Querida Black and Muestra de Saka The Bewitched Cigars

At the PCA show I smoked both of these with Steve, but one really can’t get a good sense of a cigar in that environment. Neither was the first cigar of the day, and both were smoked while chatting. Of course, both cigar left me intrigued, and wanting to smoke them again under better circumstances. When Steve sent me the Liga Privada Pequeńos for the recent giveaway, he included a couple of each for me to sample. So, a few nights ago I sat down with another Mi Querida Black SakaKhan. This cigar is 7¼” x 54, which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same size as the classic Excalibur No.1. I could go look it up to verify, but I’m fairly confident. Like the Firecracker spawned the Mi Querida Triqui Traca, this cigar is based off the Dunbarton JR Cigars 50th Anniversary cigar. The SakaKhan moniker is one Steve got in the Navy, ironic in that his middle name is Genghis Khan’s birth name. The cigar has a beautiful Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican fillers. I smoked a couple, and had similar experiences. I’m not sure if it’s the blend, or the size, but I found this milder than I probably should, or at least it takes a while to build. It was most certainly a Mi Querida, with the great Cocoa/Espresso flavors I love, with some spice. It just seemed a little dialed back, I think I’m more in the camp of the Blue and Red. I actually bought a few more the other night (I went to the Wooden Indian to hang out with Pedro Gomez from Drew Estate, where I smoked an Undercrown Dogma). I’ll smoke them, don’t worry.

I kinda wish I had gotten some more of this cigar instead of (or in addition to) the SakaKhan. The Muestra de Saka The Bewitched was originally an exclusive for the Owl Shop in Massachusetts. It’s 6 5/8″ x 48, which is a wonderful size. It is box pressed with a pigtail. Like the five Muestra de Sakas before it, it’s presented in a coffin with a yellow ribbon on the foot. It has a Habano wrapper, San Andrés binder (which is the same leaf that’s used as a wrapper on the Sin Compromiso), and Nicaraguan and USA fillers. US grown fillers, is it PA or Connecticut broadleaf? They grow some tobacco in Massachusetts, perhaps it’s something grown there? So, here’s the thing: I’ve smoked most of the cigars in Dunbarton‘s regular production range, I haven’t smoked any of the shop exclusive stuff, including the Red Meat Lovers Club stuff (Oh yeah, I have some of the Famous 80th cigars, but that’s it). You might think that knowing Steve for 25+ years I would hunt down every cigar he makes, but I don’t chase cigars. This cigar was simply amazing tasting. It started with a gentle spice which was more apparent on the retrohale. About an inch in I got some cinnamon, which I’ve tasted hints of a few times in cigars, but this one was quite obvious. This cinnamon, or canela, if you prefer, came and went throughout the smoke, which was a good two hours. Actually, it was a great two hours!) The burn strayed a couple times and I touched it up, but otherwise the experience was perfect. The only thing that would have made it better was if it was 75 degrees instead of 50 (porch temp). At least I’m not in Buffalo. So, I’m going to grab a few more of these next time I visit the Wooden Indian, they aren’t a cheap date, but well worth it!

That’s all for today, if I don’t get another post out before, Happy Thanksgiving to my USA based readers, smoked some great cigars after your feast, let me know if you want to stop by for one! Also, in two weeks time I’ll be going to the Cigar Heritage Festival in Tampa, so if you’re there, look for me! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black, cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Mi Querida, Muestra De Saka, SakaKhan, The Bewitched

by Craig Vanderslice | November 6, 2022 · 9:13 am

Two More Tatuaje Tuxtlas and a Book Review: How to Enjoy a Cigar

I couldn’t resist the urge to smoke the two other sizes in the Tatuaje Tuxtla series, so I pick a couple of each up and smoked them yesterday. I mentioned in last Sunday’s post about how I should have just gotten all three, so I fixed that. I started yesterday off with the 7th, which is a 5 5/8″ x 46 classic corona gorda. This cigar is based on the Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador 7th. It has a Mexican wrapper, naturally, with the rest, I’m guessing, being Nicaraguan. This was another very enjoyable cigar. I actually do like a Corona Gorda sized cigar, it’s a little shorter smoke than a Toro, and burns cooler than a corona. It had some spice, espresso and earthy flavors, not nearly as unique as the Avion. I enjoyed it very much.

After dinner, I smoked the Tatuaje Tuxtla T110, the 4 3/8″ x 52 short robusto. This is typically too short a cigar for my preference, although there are times when it fits in. Normally a Saturday evening with unseasonably warm weather wouldn’t be the time, but I was in the midst of a project, you know? I would probably watch the better part of the Flyers game on the porch with a larger cigar. But, I wanted to smoke the T110, so I did. To be honest, it wasn’t that short a smoke, it probably smoked for an hour. I’ve sampled the other T110 cigars in the past, this seemed to smoke like the Broadleaf, a nice, slow burn. I also found this cigar enjoyable, although it still was missing something special that the Avion had, I think the Avion spoiled me! OK, so it’s not like these three cigars are the same blend in different sizes, because I don’t believe they are. I really liked them all, a lot, but I tend to like most of the Tatuaje cigars I’ve smoked. It was a fun tasting project. I’ll go back to these again. It should be noted that I started out my cigar smoking journey in the mid-90s with Te Amo Maduros, so when I see a Mexican/San Andres wrapped cigar, I gotta give it a try.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review, but I recently read a book (booklet?, pamphlet?) by my friend Kaplowitz over at Kaplowitz Media. The idea of this book is to read it during the smoking of a cigar, ideally for a first time cigar smoker. It, quite capably, walks the reader through every aspect of smoking his first cigar. It provides some good advice, and, through some anecdotes, gives a glimpse into some of the things that make the author tick. I actually smoked two cigars while reading this, but I got distracted early and had to pick it up again later. I used a cigar band as a bookmark so I’d know what page I was on when I put it down. It covers all the bullet points of smoking a cigar, without getting bogged down in minutia, perhaps Kap’s next book with cover that. The information, the stories, all good stuff. You can get it direct (it’s not on Amazon, or I’d be hitting you with an affiliate link!), check out https://kaplowitz.blogspot.com/p/kaplowitz-media-books.html for how to order, and don’t forget to ask for an inscription!

The K9s for Warriors raffle is ongoing, and wrapped up at the end of the week. I should have Saka’s contribution here tomorrow, if you missed it, he offered up a one of a kind box of Liga Privada No.9 Pequeńos, never released. This is an amazing prize, and has helped raise over $4000 so far for the charity. Kevin (CigarProp, I’d Tap That, Trash Panda) has offered another prize too, which may not make it in time, but we’re hoping to include it for a last minute push! I have to thank DE, Steve and Kevin for their support! This all just came from wanting to give away some cool swag, but wanting to add a charitable aspect, and it’s grown more than I ever guessed. Thanks! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 7th, Book, cigar, cigars, Kaplowitz, T110, tatuaje, Tuxtla

by Craig Vanderslice | October 30, 2022 · 10:09 am

Tatuaje Tuxtla, Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf and CAO BX3 Cigars

I finally got around to trying the three cigars I’ve been looking forward to smoking this week. I picked up a few of these locally, and will definitely be revisiting these soon. It’s not often I get three winners in a row like this. I started with the one I was most interested in smoking, the Tatuaje Tuxtla Avion 13. They had all three sizes, and I had a choice between picking up a couple of each size, or trying three different cigars and I chose the later. I would have said that I made the wrong choice, but I have no regrets. The Avion 13 size is a perfecto shape, 6 7/8″ x 52. It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I’ve heard good things about this cigar, Pete talks about it in the video I did with him at the PCA show (which is my second most watched video on Youtube now). I’ve smoked, and enjoyed, an Avion before, but now I’m not sure which one it was, I think it might have been the 2012 version. Sometimes I expect the Mexican wrapper to overpower the blend of a cigar. This cigar had incredible flavors, sure it had the espresso and cocoa I expected, but they were refined, slightly different. It’s a beautiful cigar, and I see myself picking up the T110 and 7th sizes to see how they stack up. The Avion size was pretty amazing though.

Another cigar I found that was on my wishlist was the Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf from their Experimental Series. I got the Gran Corona size, which is 7″ x 46, a neat size. This has a Connecticut seed Broadleaf wrapper and binder, which are grown in Honduras. I suppose this answers questions about how in a world of Broadleaf shortages, they managed to make a double Broadleaf. I liked the size of this cigar, but I’m really curious how this smokes in a larger ring. They had Robustos and Gordos, looks like there’s more cigars I have to get! If you like Broadleaf, I think you’ll love this cigar. It’s rich with sweet cocoa and coffee, dark fruit, and some spice. I can’t help but think what I perceived as spice may have been the sharpness that a narrower ring might have from burning hotter, I’ll let you know when I try different sizes, which I expect to be smoother. Winner number two this week. Good smoke.

This last one had some controversy surrounding it. I understand having to protect one’s trademark, but it’s really hard for me to confuse the band on the CAO BX3 with the Opus X. Of course, if Fuente let this one go, someone else might take it further until they actually did make a band that could be confused. Both Fuente and Pete Johnson are quite good at protecting their marques. That being said, nobody is picking up a BX3 and saying “is this an Opus X?”. The BX3 has three Brazilian tobaccos in the blend, one of which is the dark, oily Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. It also has an Arapiraca binder and Brazilian, Honduran, Mexican and Nicaraguan fillers. When I lit this up I didn’t think I was going to like it. It had a bitterness that was off putting, but eventually became quite enjoyable. I got the 5″ x 52 Robusto, which I don’t generally buy anymore, but it must have been the only size they had. This is loaded with flavor, and after the initial shock, it turned into a very satisfying cigar. It was like good, black coffee, with some earthiness. It certainly wasn’t my favorite of the three mentioned here, but it was quite enjoyable, and different from, say, the Brazilia or any of the Basin series.

Friday I posted about a contest, so far everyone who’s entered will be a winner unless things pick up. These are pretty cool prizes, and a decent charity, so please have a look and get in on the action. Go back one post, or click HERE to get details! that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Avion, BX3, CAO, cigar, cigars, Double Broadleaf, tatuaje, Tuxtla

by Craig Vanderslice | October 23, 2022 · 9:48 am

La Flor Dominicana Solis, Gurkha Pure Evil and Founders Roosevelt Cigars

I smoked a few PCA show samples this week, some I was looking forward to, some not so much, maybe. The first was the La Flor Dominicana Solis, the first cigar blended by Litto Gomez, Jr., who is in his early 20’s. This 6½ x 50 cigar is a companion, of sorts, to the La Nox line, which his older brother, Tony, created a few years ago. La Nox = night, Solis = sun, or day. Nice idea, same size cigars that are on the opposite ends of the flavor spectrum. The Solis has a Sungrown Habano wrapper, Sumatra Binder, and a blend of Dominican tobaccos from La Flor Dominicana’s farm. This cigar has nice, bright flavors and a sweet spice. Much like the La Nox, I really enjoyed this cigar, it was well balanced and a really beautiful smoke. Thanks to Jon Carney for this cigar, easily the best cigar I smoked all week, and tied with the Cuevas Sangre Nueva for the best from the PCA show, interesting that both cigars were blended by young guys.

I was listening to a podcast recently, and the host made some comments that surprised me. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and it riles me up when some mis-information is spewed. This particular one is kinda low in my rotation, I listen when I run out of other stuff, mostly for this reason, there always seems to be some erroneous information passed on be the host as fact. In this instance, the host was saying how terrible the Guy Fieri Knuckle Buster was, and how it was made by Espinosa, which used to be Torańo. He finally realized that the Knuckle Buster was a Punch (although I think he said it was a CAO), and Guy Fieri’s cigar was the Knuckle Sandwich. If the listener is in the know, the host sounds foolish, if the listener doesn’t know any better, this could, potentially, damage a brand. I find that sort of thing irritating!

Also irritating is the name of the next cigar, the Gurkha Pure Evil. I know hat Gurkha has an “Evil” in the line, and I guess this is an extension of that, but when tobacco is in the crosshairs of the government, perhaps helping them out by calling a cigar “Pure Evil” isn’t the best idea. I was given a handful of samples at the Gurkha booth at the PCA show, and, so far, this is the only one I’ve smoked that’s worth writing about. Name aside, this was a very good cigar. It was a 6″ x 54 Toro and has a Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers. It starts boldly, with a strong pepper flavor, and mellows slightly throughout the smoke. Burn and draw were perfect, and it was a very satisfying cigar. I’m sure there’s people who think it’s a cool name, however I still don’t think we need to give the people who already think tobacco is “pure evil” any ammunition. Good cigar, unfortunate name.

Yesterday I smoked a Founders Cigar Co. Roosevelt robusto. This is a very new company, dating way back to 2020! They are veteran owned, and the theme of the line is prominent individuals in US history. They are based in Minnesota, and I was racking my brain trying to remember who introduced me to them at the show, and the Minnesota thing connects some dots for me. I need to start writing everything down! So this Roosevelt is the maduro in the portfolio (the Franklin is the Connecticut, the Douglas is the Habano and the Signature, with George Washington’s profile on the band, is a barber pole). It has an Ecuador Maduro wrapper, Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. I dislike blend descriptions like this, the only have the country of origin of the leaf, not the varietal. I’m sure the ambiguity is a FDA, CYA thing. I was expecting a routine maduro experience, some dark coffee and cocoa. I was surprised by the uniqueness of the flavor, it had a savory, mouth coating flavor. You know how licorice can be a bit cloying to the palate? This was a little bit that way, but without the anise flavor. I liked this cigar a lot. They seem to sell direct, and I’m not sure if they got in brick and mortar shops as a result of being at the show (why else be there?), but the cigars are good.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Founders, Gurkha, La Flor Dominicana, LFD, Pure Evil, Roosevelt, Solis

by Craig Vanderslice | October 16, 2022 · 8:13 am

Gran Habano 20th Aniversario and Persian King Cigars

I had the opportunity to smoke a couple new offerings from Gran Habano Cigars this week. Gran Habano is a pretty good sized cigar company, sadly I don’t see their cigars in my local brick and mortar stores. I’d probably smoke more of them if they were, I really like the Corojo No.5 and Persian King cigars. Anyway, I’ve always had good interactions with George and Natasha Rico. I was excited to try the Gran Habano 20th Aniversario, and was quite delighted with it when I did. I smoked the 5″ x 52 “El Sueño” size. This has a Nicaraguan Corojo shade grown wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Columbia, and Peru. The Columbian tobacco is notable because George Rico’s family comes from Columbia. I find that Peruvian tobacco adds an interesting spice. This was a really unique tasting cigar, in a good way. There’s a sweet tobacco flavor, I hate to say this, but if you’ve ever stuck your nose in a pouch of Redman chewing tobacco, it’s kinda like that. I don’t like that description because it comes off rather pedestrian, and this cigar isn’t that at all. It was delicious, interesting spice flavors and well aged tobaccos. I liked it very much.

I said that I like the Persian King, especially the maduro, so I was very interested in trying the Type-Mod 60. This 6″ x 60 cigar is interesting in that it’s made in such a way that it can be smoked either way. It has a torpedo cap on one end, and a standard cap on the other, and is blended to provide a different experience dependent on which end you light. It has a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, and the ends are capped with Ecuador Connecticut. The rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan. I smoked the first one as a torpedo, and I broke from my usage of the CigarMedics The Baller cutter for these cigars, as a straight cut seemed like it would work better. My go-to straight cut is the Magpulse™ by Screwpop, I love that thing. I lopped off the head and foot of these cigars, I’ve tried burning through the cap, but that doesn’t ever work. The first one, smoked with the torpedo end as the head of the cigar, was very tasty. I didn’t get a real transition from bold to smooth as advertised, but it was a decent cigar with toasty, leathery kind of flavors, solidly medium bodied. On the second one I lit the torpedo end. Oddly, this cigar was very mild, so much so that it was hard to get a handle on the flavors. I figured it would open up when it got to the full diameter of the cigar, but it remained super mild. I know I did this as an experiment, but I was quickly regretting my decision. This isn’t the first time I’ve smoked a cigar that’s designed to be smoked from either end, with a different experience, the Fratello ViceVersa (due in stores early in 2023) is another one, which didn’t have the polar opposite flavors that this one did. I can’t wrap my head around the phenomenon, I expected the second one to build in strength, it never did. Very interesting, and I’m glad I tried it, but I would smoke this like a torpedo, if I chose to smoke it again. I may just stick with the standard Persian Kings.