Category Archives: Review

by | September 23, 2018 · 11:12 am

Two Events at BnB Cigars: Southern Draw and Cornelius and Anthony Cigars

I had a relatively busy week this week, making the drive into Philly two days in a row to visit Vince at BnB International Cigars in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, Robert Holt of Southern Draw Cigars was making an appearance there, and I hadn’t seen him since the 2017 IPCPR show. I had a bone to pick with Robert, as I had stopped receiving his media e-mails over the last year and was trying to figure out which thing it was I did that might have offended him, I thought we had left off on pretty good terms. As it turns out, he had replaced a lost phone or something and had missed getting my address back in his database, and had been wondering why he hadn’t heard from me! We got it sorted out like gentlemen, it’s all good now, keep an ear out for the next episode of the CigarCraig Podcast this week featuring Robert.

 

Flor de CesarAnyway, I had a great time at BnB hanging out with Vince and Frank, and had a chance, finally to smoke their Flor de Cesar, which is their own cigar made at James Brown’s Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli. Vince told me they were going for something different from other cigars in the Black Works portfolio, and I’d have to agree, the Flor de Cesar was a very nice cigar with a sweet spice, almost floral side to it which was very nice. These have a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper that Vince tells me is the same as a wrapper that RomaCraft uses on the Wanderlust (right?), but a lower priming, which they bought all of for this cigar. It has a Honduran binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic and Brazil. I thought it was well-balanced and medium bodied and a pleasure to smoke. I have a Toro on deck to sample, which I look forward to, but the Robusto was of exceptional quality, and is reasonably priced. BnB Inernational has an online store where these can be purchased, which is not to be confused with the BnB Tobacco which has been a long time advertiser on CigarCraig.com.

 

SD_Jacobs Ladder_LanceroSince it was a Southern Draw Cigars Event I lit up a Jacobs Ladder Lancero out of the white Ignite jar. They had both the white and black jars on the counter, and one had a white band and one had a dark band, but they were the same cigars. Give the upcoming podcast episode a listen for information on the Ignite project, it’s a charity cigar, and Southern Draw is all about giving back, which is admirable, and I’ve seen a lot of cigar companies with good intentions end up failing, and Robert is doing the exact opposite. my only criticism is that if you don’t know what this is, the bands really don’t identify it, no where on either band does it say “Southern Draw” at all. I suppose I should have asked Robert about this at the time, I didn’t really even notice until I got home and put cigars away. If you know, you know, but if you don’t, you’re in for a rough research project. I can see a conversation in a cigar store something like “I had this great cigar, it has a band that said “Top Rung”, do you have that, I want to buy a box. it had a white and copper band with some Latin on it too.”  Like when I worked in a record store and people would come in and say “I heard this song on the radio, it went something like la la la love la la…. do you have that one?” Anyway, I’m a big fan of the Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder, as a matter of fact, last winter it was wicked cold and I was walking Macha and I was wearing mittens and smoking my last Jacobs Ladder Toro. I was almost home and realized I no longer had the cigar in my hand.  I panicked and turned around and retraced my steps to find my cigar on the street, fortunately undamaged, so I could finish it. I love the larger ring gauge in this blend, but the lancero version is spectacular as well. Robert loves that format, so his lanceros always seem to be on point. Smoked slow, the dark, bitter espresso flavors are right there, over smoked and it will be too harsh, but a nice, slow pace and this lancero is good to the last drop.

 

CnA_Gent_ToroThursday brought a Cornelius and Anthony event back at BnB. I decided to brave rush hour traffic and spent a good half an hour longer than usual on the Schuylkill Expressway and head back to see my friends Todd Vance and Miguel Montanez, along with Vince and Brian. Bnb is a great little shop packed to the rafters with great cigars, I recommend visiting if you find yourself in the Philadelphia area. Anyway, I grabbed myself a Cornelius and Anthony The Gent Toro and repaired to the rocking chairs on the sidewalk in front of the store with Todd to enjoy the cigar. The Gent is quickly moving up my list of favorite Cornelius and Anthony cigars, I’ve now smoked the Robusto, Gordo and Toro, and, as per usual, the Toro stands out as my favorite, although it’s a very fine line in this blend, they have all been quite good. The price is really good on these too, it may be the lowest priced cigar in the Cornelius and Anthony line, and it’s the only box pressed cigar. This is a cigar that may become a household name around here. I know my amigo CigarProp Kevin dug this one, as well as the Cornelius, and who can blame him on that, what’s not to like?  Hunt down CigarProp on Youtube and check out Kevins videos, by the way. Speaking of Cornelius, I smoked a Lonsdale earlier in the week which was spectacular! It’s right up there with the Toro as my favorite of the brand. I dream of one day seeing a classic Churchill in the Cornelius blend, I think the 7″ x 47 would be drool-worthy. Spoiler alert: I’m going to go through the humidor and pick out some cigars for a contest coming up this week, definitely stay tuned.

 

SouthernDraw_300Manos_CoronaGordaRobert gifted me a 300 (trescientos, gotta remember that!) Manos Corona Gorda at the event which I eagerly smoked Friday afternoon. This cigar has Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a binder from Cameroon, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers and is the “natural” version, with the 300 Hands being the Maduro version having a Nicaraguan wrapper and Indonesian binder. These two cigars are meant to spotlight the number of people involved in making a premium cigar, and is another project that gives back to those people through charitable donations by Southern Draw. Again, check out the upcoming podcast episode where we talk about this in detail. This is a very reasonably priced cigar, considering the quality of construction, flavor and the fact that some of your dollars are going to help people. There is a lot of nice, clean tobacco flavor in this cigar, the Cameroon binder adds that neat nutty little sweetness that I like, and the cigar just tastes good. this is a winner and I can’t wait to try the 300 Hands.

 

I smoked a bunch of other cigars this week, a Cornelius and Anthony Venganza, a Wiseman Maduro, a Protocol Lancero, a Providencia El Santo and a Punch Diablo, which were all excellent, and have either been covered here before, or I have future plans to write about. All of them were yummy, not a bad cigar in the bunch, I’m enjoying a good stretch of cigars, at least, I could use some luck in some other areas! Again, watch for an upcoming podcast and contest!  So, that’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | September 16, 2018 · 10:06 am

Wooden Indian Drew Estate Charity Pig Roast and Some Nomad Cigar Acquisition Questions

WI_DE_PR_1Yesterday I attended the 8th annual Wooden Indian Drew Estate Charity event, and I think it was the most successful so far, at least it was the one I personally enjoyed the most. The setting is the Wooden Indian Tobacconist in Havertown, PA, in the shop, in a tent on the front lawn of the shop, and on the driveway along the side of the building (which, conveniently, maybe, is next door to the local fire department…how often do we see cigar WI_DE_PR_2stores near firehouses? hmm…). Dave and his staff always do a great job with this event. I’m not quite sure how $20 pre-event registration which includes a $20 store credit

toward Drew Estate purchase the day of the event and the pig roast works out, but I bought in and re-supplied some favorites th

at I like to have around. Pedro Gomez, the WI_DE_PR_3Factory Spokesperson for Drew Estate, and my longtime friend, was there, and I like to catch up with him when he’s around. You may remember that I talked to him on the Barnsmoker episode of the CigarCraig Podcast, if not, go back and give it a listen!  The Pig was delicious, the fellowship with the attendees was excellent, and the cigars, of course, were great. I started with a MUWAT Swamp Thang Toro, because I like that cigar, hadn’t had one in a while and had a hankerin’ for one! It’s almost become a tradition for me to smoke a Nica Rustica El Brujito with Pedro when I see him because we have a mutual connection to that cigar, so I had one of those as well.  The main event at this, er, event, was the auction of unique and interesting Drew Estate goodies, including several pieces of original WI_DE_PR_4artwork by Jessi Flores of Subculture Studios. There were several serious bidders in the crowd, and a couple bidding by proxy on the phone (who had deep pockets and won the majority of the big-ticket items). In an interesting turn of events, an item came up that had been auctioned off at this same event in 2012, and is documented on my site here, and would be hanging on my own wall if not for the persistence of the person who had to have the piece, and ended up selling it later. It took a circuitous route, but through the generosity of the gentlemen who ended up with it, it generated several hundred more dollars for charity. I’m told that over $11,000 was raised for Operation: Cigars for WI_DE_PR_5Warriors at this event, which is quite impressive.  The event was well attended, although many of the people I have seen at the event in the past were absent, however there seem to have been a ton of events happening around the northeast yesterday, Buffalo, New York, New Hampshire, all had some big events going on. I would recommend keeping an eye open for 2019’s Wooden Indian Annual Charity Pig Roast, considering what I saw yesterday, I can’t imagine it won’t be even more spectacular. Once again, kudos’ to Dave Mayer and his staff, Ray, Alex and Pedro from Drew Estate, and all the supporting cast members who made this all possible, and to those who attended and supported the excellent cause!

 

Editorial

This week it was announced that Ezra Zion Cigars acquired Nomad Cigar Company from Fred Rewey (for an undisclosed amount of bacon, but that not important to my editorial on this). This was reported on Cigar Coop, Halfwheel and Cigar Federation (which is owned by the owners of Ezra Zion Cigars, by the way), and I would probably have published a news item if Gmail hadn’t sorted the e-mail into a lesser viewed folder for me, I would have been late to the party anyway. This transaction left me with some questions, so I figured I’d throw them out here and see if  it generates any discussion. To understand what I find interesting about this we have to go back a few years. I first met Chris and Kyle at the 2012 IPCPR show when they had a booth debuting both Cigar Federation and Ezra Zion Cigars together, at the time neither was selling cigars direct to consumer, Cigar Federation was a start-up cigar community and blog site, Ezra Zion was a new cigar line. I developed a good relationship with these guys, one I hope, continues to this day. Eventually, Ezra Zion came to be one of the brands distributed by the House of Emilio, distribution company which had its roots with Gary Griffith and Delaware Cigars, and LJ Zucca Co., which had as many as nine boutique brands under its umbrella at one point. for a few years, maybe 2014, 2015, the House of Emilio was huge, they had a national sales force, Nate McEntire (now with Miami Cigar & Co) was once leading it, and Kyle and Chris of Ezra Zion were heading it at one point too (which may seem like a bit of a conflict of interest, when the sales force s reporting to one of several brand owners?). Over a relatively short period of time, Gary Griffith retires (deservedly so, some say he was close to 900 years old!), several brands either take their distribution elsewhere, or, in the case of Ezra Zion, direct to consumer. I may have the timeline a little off, but somewhere in here House of Emilio changes the name to Boutiques United (which Dave Garafalo, I assume, challenged), then Boutiques Unified. The last couple of years Boutiques Unified has represented the Emilio brand, Black Label Trading Co/Black Works Studio, and Nomad. Running Parallel to the above timeline, Chris and Kyle sold Cigar Federation, which eventually became the online storefront for Delaware Cigars, which I mentioned above was owned by LJ Zucca, and associated closely with what’s now Boutiques Unified. Last year Chris and Kyle bought back Cigar Federation, so now they own the online storefront for, what we’ll call for simplicity’s sake, the company they used to be the sales managers for, but left. Now, they have bought one of the last brands in the Boutiques Unified stable and intend to distribute it themselves. My question/confusion in this is does this leave BU (I’m tired if typing Boutiques Unified) as basically the sales organization for Black Label/Black Works?  Granted, Oveja Negra is a hot factory, and seems to be worthy of its own representation, is it big enough? Is the Emilio brand have enough legs any more?  I honestly don’t know if the AF1 and AF2 are in production any more or not, the new Grimalkin is exceptional, but is made at Oveja Negra. Where does Ezra Zion and Nomad fit in, not to mention all the Cigar Federation cigars, are they still a thing?  I’ll admit I lost track of a lot of the small batch crazy stuff EZ did after they left wider distribution (I live in an area that had pretty good BU representation). I have to assume that things are good between the EZ guys and the Delaware Cigars guys and there’s no animosity, right? I find it all very interesting, I’m probably the only one, and I apologize for boring you all with this rambling nonsense, I’m just trying to make sense of all this. I certainly get why Fred sold Nomad so he could concentrate on his social media joke telling, obviously cigars were getting in the way of the quality in that department!

**note: I just saw an email from a retailer saying they were discontinuing the Nomad line because the only reason they kept it on was the relationship they had with Fred, the sales weren’t enough to sustain it in their shop.  – edit 9/17 **

That’s way more than enough for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | September 9, 2018 · 11:15 am

Quesada Oktoberfest, Fratello and Joya Silver Cigars

Earlier in the week I was going through one of the desktop humidors refreshing my memory on what was in there, and I came across a cigar that I remember buying a couple of at a local shop on closeout. I distinctly remember the occasion, it was a bitter cold January Quesada_Oktoberfest_Uberevening the first winter we had moved to our current house, making it the winter of 2015. After dinner I ran up to the local shop with my tablet to write a blog post and smoke a cigar in the warmth of the shop, and got there around 6, not realizing they closed at 7. They had these 2011 Quesada Oktoberfest Über, a monolithic 6″ x 65 cigar, in the discount area priced at $5, and, not being able to resist a bargain, I grabbed a handful. Of course, I did

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n’t get too far into the behemoth before having to head home to finish the cigar bundled up on the cigar porch. I came across the last of the few I bought that night in the bottom corner of this humidor sitting there un-cello’d, and lonely, and I hate to see a cigar sitting there like that, all vulnerable and whatnot, so I decided to take it for one last walk. It’s kind of amazing how much room that one cigar freed up on the humidor, but I wish I had more! After three and a half years in my humidor, and much longer than that since being rolled, this cigar developed into the most floral flavored cigar I’ve smoked in a very long time. I’m not normally into that, but this was enjoyable for being outside of the norm. Every puff of the nearly thr

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ee-hour smoke was delightfully refreshing, and I don’t recall the ones I smoked previously smoking that way. I think I still have a 2016 Oktoberfest around, should I smoking now, or wait until 2023?

 

Fratello_Navetta_EndeavorI finally got around to smoking the Fratello Navetta this week, and I smoked both the Endeavor, the 6 ¼” x 54 Toro and the Atlantis Boxer 6 ¼” x 52 Box Pressed Torpedo. Obviously both are similar in size, but they smoked differently. The blend is an Ecuadorian Oscuro Wrapper, Dominican Binder and Nicaragua Filler, with one of the components having a good amount of age, and I can’t remember which, I should have made note of that, it’s an important detail that doesn’t seem to be noted anywhere. This line was released in 2017 and commemorates the NASA Space Shuttle program, Omar was a part of 21 shuttle missions with NASA. In line with the Fratello_Navetta_AtlantisItalian name of his brand, Navatta is Italian for Shuttle. Why did it take me so long to sample the Navetta when I’ve been such a fan of the Fratello brand since it’s beginnings in 2012? I guess I just haven’t seen them on shelves and haven’t gone nuts hunting them down. This week I happened to be in two shops that had them, and received the Endeavor as a generous gift, and bought the Atlantis at a Fratello event. This cigar is medium bodied and what I call sophisticated, with a nice subtle spice and some light espresso. The box pressed torpedo had a more open draw, so it expressed those flavors a little more than that toro, which was less generous with the smoke output. I really enjoy the “Boxer” vitola in all of Omar’s Fratello lines, and I really dug the Atlantis in the Navetta as well. there’s something about the box pressed torpedo that works for Bianco IVme. These are pricey, but really exceptional smokes, and I’m anxious to try the Navetta Inverso when it hits retailers in the coming months. Stay tuned for the upcoming CigarCraig’s Podcast where I talk with Omar de Frias.  I also smoked a Fratello Bianco IV, the 6 ½ x 54 in the line at the event at Old Havana Cigar Co. in West Chester, PA Friday and loved it.

 

Joya_Silver_UltraSince the Fratello Bianco and Navetta (and Classico, everything but the Oro line) is made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, and I get on streaks, I figured I’d smoke the Joya Silver Ultra, which is the Corona Extra in the line. I really liked the Toro I smoked, and I don’t think I mentioned it in a blog post, I think I was waiting to smoke some of the other sizes first, and I still want to get my hands on some more of the Toros, we all know I like Toros. I have a Robusto and Corona left to sample, and so far the Corona Extra was  really good, but not as good as the Toro. I think additional heat from the smaller ring gauge reduced the sweetness a bit to me. The blend is an Ecuador Habano wrapper with a San Andrès binder and Nicaraguan fillers, but I found the flavor to be very unique and appealing to me, with the smaller ring gauge having a predictable sharper sensation. I’ll be interested to see how the corona and robusto compare. So far, in Joya’s “New Age” line, this is my favorite, the Red is OK, and I never really was able to get a handle on the Black, which perplexed me, I should have been all over that line, but it hasn’t grabbed me, perhaps I’ll give it another go. They include the Cabinetta in the Joya series, which I love. I can always rely on an Antaño 1970 or Dark Corojo, or any of the related special cigars in the Joya de Nicaragua stable, it remains a favorite factory of mine.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | September 2, 2018 · 10:13 am

Grimalkin, Macanudo M and Partagas Legend Cigars

Velvet RatI’d like to say it was a busy week, or a good week. I celebrated my 55th birthday this week, and my birthday coming always signals the end of summer which is a downer for me, always has been. I grabbed a Liga Privada, Serie Unico Velvet Rat from the humidor to celebrate, a cigar I seem to have collected several of over the years, I think this was probably the oldest as it didn’t have the Diplomat foot band. Since I have several, it was special, but not too special, ya know? It was a very good cigar, I really enjoyed it, and age had been kind to it as it displayed the smoothness and flavors I expected, which are the rich cocoa not

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es of the Rat without any rough edges. It was a lovely cigar and nice way to finish the day.  I appreciated all the birthday greetings I received from my friends around the world, it’s always heartwarming!

 

Grimalkin_Toro2018I’ve been negligent in getting to writing something about the new Grimalkin cigars which the folks at Emilio Cigars/Boutiques Unified generously sent me a few weeks back. This is a new imagining of the Grimalkin cigar which was originally produced at the My Father factory, and blended under the direction of Gary Griffith, when he was at the helm of Emilio cigars back in 2011ish. At t

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he time it was a secret that My Father was making the cigar, and I think that had something to do with the Grimalkin name as much as anything, because the cigar was nothing to be embarrassed about, although I, personally, didn’t think the cigar had the hallmarks of a My Father blend. I thought it had a very smooth, complex sophistication. The new Grimalkin is made in Esteli at James Brown’s Oveja Negra factory, home of Black Label Trading Co. and Black Works Studio. The only real similarity I find between the old and new Grimalkins is that they are both exceptional cigars. This new Grimalkin has a delicious and unique sweet flavor throughout that I just couldn’t get enough of. This is a Nicaraguan Puro, no specifics other than that are given, and the Toro I smoked was 6″ x 50, and I believe it’s also offered in a 5″ x 50 Robusto. I’m going to have to dig out the old Grimalkin (they later rebranded it to the Mousa, I think…might have one of those too…) and give it a smoke, but I’m 99% sure that the new Grimalkin is a sweeter, more full-bodied experience, and not because the older ones are aged. This is a great cigar from Emilio Cigars, totally yummy.

 

Partagas_Legend_ToroLeyendaFriday I went with another new cigar, the new Partagas Legend, and Saturday I had another in a different size. First I had the Toro Leyenda, the 6 ¼” x 54 size, which is closest to my go-to size. This cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Honduran OSA binder (General must have had a really great crop of Olancho San Augastine tobacco a few years ago because it’s showing up in many of their new blends) and Dominican Piloto Cubano filler. This cigar was delicious, and it reminded me of something, and I couldn’t place the cigar it reminded me of, but as I smoked it I couldn’t get the old Partagas Limited Reserve with the green band out of my head. Does anyone remember that one? Am I nuts?  Probably. Anyway, this Legend is a great cigar, and for the $14.49 price tag it should be. Again, there was an interesting subtle sweet flavor that i enjoyed, it doesn’t have the heaviness one would expect from a broadleaf wrapped cigar, it’s very refined. I dug it, so I had to see what the smaller, Corona Extra Leyenda vitola was all about. I have to say, Partagas_Legend_CoronaGrandeLeyendatrue to my own preferences, I didn’t find the 5 ¼” x 44 to have the same deliciousness as the larger size. as expected, it was sharper in flavor, and I preferred the smoother, rounder flavors the Toro provided, that is, not until the last two inches or so, when I started getting similar flavors, which is weird, right? You can still mark me down as a fan of the Partagas Legend, and there are very few Partagas cigars I won’t welcome into my humidor. If I had to settle on a handful of brands to have in a rotation, Partagas is one of the brands I’d have in the humidor.

 

Macanudo_M_CoronaFinally, I had to try the Macanudo M, Macanudo’s first flavor infused cigar.  I went into smoking this cigar with optimism. I’m generally OK with coffee infuse cigars, even though I’m not a big fan of infused cigars in general. This cigar was recommended to me personally by Macanudo’s brand ambassador, Laurel Tilley, at an event a few weeks back at the Wooden Indian, and I purchased a few of the 6″ x 44 corona size which she said was her favorite. If I had read the blend info before I  smoked it I may not have been so open-minded. The wrapper is Indonesian Besuki, with a Philippine binder, with the filler described as “peppered with a blend of Nicaraguan and other fine tobaccos”. Now, I realize that Sumatra is in Indonesia, and I like Sumatra tobacco, but typically I’ve not liked tobacco that’s generically described as “Indonesian”, and there have been some Filipino cigars I’ve enjoyed, but more often than not I’m not a fan, nor am I a fan of such intentional ambiguity, but I trust the folks at General, and they have had success with coffee infused cigars in the past with the Nub line for Oliva. These have a serious coffee aroma pre-light, not bad. Smoking it isn’t terribly overpowering coffee infused flavoring, it’s cocoa/coffee and tobacco, but it’s not cloying or sweet. It’s not what I expected, and it wasn’t a bad cigar, but it lacked the elegance I expected from a Macanudo, I guess. Perhaps it just wasn’t for me, perhaps I’ll give it another try under different circumstances, although not I have pre-conceived notions where I had fewer before I smoked it!

 

That’s all I have for today. I almost forgot, in the news, Villiger is shipping La Flor de Ynclan Lancero and La Vendcedora Gordo, Drew Estate is shipping the Liga Privada No. 9 and T52 new sizes and Undercrown Dogma, and Alec Bradley is Shipping the Alec and Bradley Blind Faith. All three came in as press releases, if you want to know the details, several other sites published articles. It’s  Labor Day weekend, which for most means it’s a long weekend. Enjoy some great cigars! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | August 26, 2018 · 7:04 am

EP Carillo Inch Natural, Edicion Limitada and Ringmaster Cigars

EPCarilo_InchNatural_No64Once again, I went on a theme stretch, this time smoking some E.P. Carillo offerings that I hadn’t smoked before.  Ernesto has managed to produce a staggering number of facings in the short time since his re-emergence on the cigar scene, but I guess it has been nearly ten years already, hasn’t it? I’m still struggling to catch up, and I feel like I’ve smoked a bunch. I had a hankering for some big cigars this week, so I went with an Inch Natural to start my EPC bender, in the No 64 size, which is 6 1/8″ x 64, right in the middle of the Inch line up.  This one has a Sumatra wrapper, a favorite of Ernesto’s from what I’ve heard. I’ve only smoked the maduro in the Inch line previously and I really liked that one, but I  really, really enjoyed this natural offering. It was sweet and savory and really enjoyable. In addition to the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, it has a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. For being a very large cigar, this was a tasty treat.

 

EPCarilo_EdiciónLimitada2013Another tasty treat was the E.P. Carillo Edicion Limitada 2013, a cigar I picked up a few months back at an event at the Wooden Indian with Jose Blanco.  This cigar came out in 2013, as the name suggests, was the fifth Edicion Limitada. It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a dual binder of Nicaragua and Brazilian Habano, with fillers from Nicaragua. It was presented in a single vitola, a 6 1/8 x 54 parejo. I was coerced into picking one of these up, as they are rarer than hen’s teeth, and we have six hens, so I know how rare those are.  I might have saved this cigar for a special occasion, but I have a load of special occasion cigars, and, lacking a special occasion, unfortunately, I figured there’s no time like the present. This was a fantastic cigar, another cigar that plays right into my wheelhouse from a flavor perspective. It was deep and rich, with some nice spice, earth and sweetness. It burned long and drew well and was a real treat.

 

These two cigar were the lead up to the newest release from E.P. Carillo, a sample of which reached my door last week, the  Inch Ringmaster.  This cigar should be available in the coming weeks, and will be in two vitolas, a 5 3/8″ x 64 and a 6 ½” x 64, of which I smoked the former.  Here’s what the company says about this cigar:

 

“The Ringmaster is a testament to the Carrillo Cigars concept that size adds dimension to the smoking experience,” Perez-Carrillo said. “Within every inch you will find a different complexity, and you find that it changes as you smoke. Holding the Ringmaster in your fingers will absolutely be time well spent.”

EPCarilo_Inch_RingmasterAs a new member of the INCH line, the Ringmaster is a true INCH-sized cigar, with a 64-ring gauge adorned with a dark Nicaraguan wrapper that covers Nicaraguan binders and fillers, making it the first Nicaraguan Puro in E.P. Carrillo Cigars’ INCH line. With a spicy

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top note of black pepper, the Ringmaster leads to a set of mid notes containing wood, earth and nutty flavors that lead to a long, subtle and sweet finish. The cigar is easy on the draw and a full mouth of smoke that will entice the smoker with rich, creamy and balanced flavors. This complex cigar is sure to leave cigar lovers coming back for more.

“My father has very deep roots in the tobacco industry that go back to my grandfather, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Sr. Thanks to those beginnings, my father has masterminded all of our blends, and the Ringmaster is no exception,” says Lissette Perez-Carrillo, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s daughter and co-owner of E.P. Carrillo Cigars. “He definitely had his soul in it when he blended the Ringmaster, which speaks to his entire trajectory of mastering his true calling in life.”

 

I found the Ringmaster to be on the milder side, complex and refined. It was balanced, not powerful and in your face, but complex and subtle.  It had a sweet, creamy feel, and was a pleasure, but very different from it’s Inch brethren. It’s still a formidable sized cigar, no doubt about that, but it requires some attention.  Another wonderful cigar from Ernesto!  Thanks

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to Bradley Vazquez at InkLink Marketing for sending along the sample!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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