Category Archives: Review

Accessory Review: Colibri V-Cut Cigar Cutter

Back in the mid 90s when I first started down the path of premium cigar smoking, I would stop in my local shop, pick up a Canaria D’ Oro Rothschild, or a Te-Amo Maduro, give it a V-cut with the Boston Cigar Cutter on the counter, and go on my way.  The store is still there, although it moved up the row in the strip center to a larger location many years ago, and they may still have the cutter, although the Boston Cigar Cutter company is, sadly, no longer in business, at least their domain name is availaBoston Cigar Cutterble.  (The picture is linked to a Cigar Aficionado article from 2009). I’ve suffered th

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rough cheap V- cutters which seem to work once or twice until they are just cigar manglers, until several years ago when I sprung for a good one made by another very popular accessoriy company. the one I got was the best around at the time, but I rarely felt like I got a good cut, unless it was a very small ring cigar. More times than not I carried a straight cutter with me and ended up re-cutting, as a second V-cut in an X didn’t do the trick. A couple of

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years ago Colibri came out with their own

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V-cutter, one which made a very deep cut.  Oddly, I never got around to trying one of these, I was always fascinated, the Colibri Colibri Quasar IPCPRCut” style cutters I have work well, so there was never a question of the quality.  I just never got around to it.  Last year at the IPCPR show I checked out some of their new offerings which included a cool tabletop cutter, the Quasar, which is a cube shape offering both the deep V cut, and the Straight cut, as well as a pocket SV-Cut with both options also. Given my prior experience with V-cuts and needing to re-cut, this seemed like a good alternative to carrying two cutters. Thanks to the folks at Colibri, I had the opportunity to try out a black and gold V-Cut.

 

I’ve cut every cigar this week with the V-cut, and every one had a perfect draw. Lately I’ve alternated between a straight cut (usually either the Palio or my Tommy Bahama cutter) or the Adorini punch depending on the cigar. This deep V is a bit of a shock. It cuts a V which is ¼” deep, which looks normal on a 60 ring gauge cigar, but seems very deep in a smaller vitola. However, like I said, draws have been perfect every time. As you can see in the fancy moving picture, the cutter can’t over cut a cigar as it has a built-in depth stop.  The only time I really notice it is getting to the end of a particularly tasty cigar, it seems to negatively affect the structural integrity of the nub when it gets to about ¾”. The black part of the finish is rubberized, helping with the grip I suppose, but it seems reasonably durable.  The downside for me is the

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weight, while it’s nice to have some heft in the hand when using, it’s heavy in the pocket. I couldn’t carry it in the same pocket with a lighter, unless the lighter, or cutter, were in a protective case, as serious scratching would occur. Considering I do the majority of my cigar smoking at home any more, this isn’t a huge issue, when I’m out and about I’ll just carry a less bulky cutter. Sometimes I think I could use a Batman utility belt for all the cigar gear! Anyway, as with the Daytona lighter, time will tell how this cutter holds up, but initial impressions are very good.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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Accessory Review: Colibri Daytona Single Jet Lighter

Colibri has been around since 1928 by Julius Lowenthal, who in the same year, invented the world’s first working semi-automatic lighter. They’ve been making lighters, writing instruments, jewelry, and other smoking accessories ever since. Colibri supplied the  “golden gun” for the Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun”.  They basically pioneered integrating cutters and punches into lighters. When I was approached by the company with an offer to pick a couple of items to try out, I remembered the “Firebird” lighter that I received with a subscription to Cigar Magazine (a product of Lew Rothman of JR Cigars fame, featuring writing by his then employee, Steve Saka, among others) which although really beat up, still works ten-plus years later. Looking at the Colibri website, the first thing I saw was a green Daytona lighter, and I thought to myself, “damn, that would match my car!”  Unfortunately, the lighter that arrived was the gunmetal finish, which would have been my second choice anyway.  So I’ve been using the Colibri Daytona exclusively, and it’s been very easy on fuel. One of the big things I like about this lighter is the fuel window. They’ve employed some sort of magic which shows the fuel in blue, leaving the empty space clear. Very cleaver, and really easy to see when you are low. The window is huge too, not just the tiny windows some lighters have that are hard gauge the fuel level. A 2500° flame is a 2500° flame from any lighter, so it’s the features that make a lighter stand out.  Another handy feature is the large adjustment wheel on the bottom. No tools needed for this one, and if you get a Butane Lighter Air Bleed Tool from Kevin at Cigar Prop, you definitely don’t need any tools. The business end of the lighter has a little door to keep pocket lint out when it’s not in use too. I’m quite satisfied with the flame on this, of course time will tell how it holds up, but out of the box it’s a nifty lighter, and I expect it to stand the test of time.

 

 

I have one criticism. A couple of years ago a competitor came out with a new lighter that was “supercar inspired”, and this Daytona has a similar marketing angle. I don’t suppose many people would pick up on this or care, and I probably shouldn’t even mention it. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and they are both really nice lighters, both are in my regular rotation. I appreciate the features of the Colibri more though, it’s made everything easy, without sacrificing styling, which is cool.

 

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

CigarCraig

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Some San Andrés Wrapped Cigars from Rocky Patel and JRE

I experimented a little this week with posting some news as I received it (or as soon as I was able). I didn’t get any complaints, so I’ll keep doing it when I can. I realize other sites do this and it’s a little redundant. It looks like the traffic numbers were up a bit this week, so I guess it doesn’t hurt. Anyway,  I went on a bit of a San Andrés bender this week, with a sprinkling of PA broadleaf in there to change things up a little. I decided to try the Rocky Patel  RockyPatel_Vintage2006SanAndreas_RobustoVintage 2006 San Andreas that was a sample from the IPCPR show last year. I like that the robusto in this line is 5½” x 50 as opposed to the standard 5″ length. I’m not sure what took me so long to get to this one, it has a beautiful dark, oily wrapper, which is from the 2006 crop year.  The name of this cigar confuses me. It’s San Andreas, not San Andrés, the latter being the region in Mexico where the leaf is grown. I know it’s a common mistake, one I was guilty of myself early on, maybe there’s another reason it’s marketed this way that’s not obvious?  Anyway, this is made at Rocky’s Tabacalera Villa Cuba S.A. factory in Nicaragua, the first of the Vintage line manufactured there. I picked it up because the orange bands and the dark wrapper were close enough to the Flyers orange and black, and the Flyers were playing that night (and suffered a humiliating defeat).  I also had been neglecting it since last July, so it was time.  Good smoke, perfect construction, and a great experience. If you like the earthy espresso flavors of the San Andrés wrapper, you’ll like this one.

 

JRE_AladinoMaduro_ElaganteContinuing the San Andrés trend, I went with the Aladino Maduro Elegante from JRE Cigars.  I bought a couple each of these and the toros from 2 Guys just before becoming unemployed, at the time (and maybe still?) they were the only ones who had them. the Elegante is the most reasonably priced cigar in the range, oddly, and it’s a lancero.  Being a lancero, the flavor is different form the toro, and I don’t think it’s because the Lancero is round and the toro box pressed.  I thought it was a little “dirtier” tasting, if that makes sense. The extra heat sharpens the flavors of the already earthy Mexican wrapper. It’s a 7″ x 38 traditional lancero, and the San Andrés wrapper covers Honduran Corojo filler and binder. The profile is coffee heavy, which I like.  I still have a couple more Aladino Maduros in the humidor, it’ll be interesting to see how they are in a few months.

 

As long as I was smoking San Andrés wrapped cigars, I had to smoke an Undercrown Maduro (I don’t remember these being called maduro until the Shade came out, they still were, obviously, but I thought they were just “Undercrown”). Always a good smoke, the Belicoso is basically the toro with a pointy head. I also had a couple of cigars from Southern Draw with PA Broadleaf wrappers, the Jacob’s Ladder and a Quick Draw, both incredible cigars. Speaking of Southern Draw, Robert Holt was on KMA Talk Radio yesterday, and I can’t wait to listen to the show. Also on the same show, CigarProp Kevin was on and I’m sure he mentioned the Kickstarter he just launched for a new item he’s making. In two days he’s halfway to his goal, and the product is a useful item for all of us. It’s a tool specifically to bleed your butane lighter.  Although some may argue, there’s always a little bit of non-butane that gets into your lighter when you fill it. Call it air, propellant, whatever, it gets into your lighter and degrades the performance over time. I’ve used a small Philips screwdriver over the years and always worried about damaging the fill valve doing it this way. This tool lets you safely bleed the lighter, just don’t do it near and open flame!  It can also empty a lighter if you need to fly with it or mail it, but the primary purpose is to let the air out so there’s more room for gas and your lighter work right for a long time! I’ve been bleeding (or purging) my lighters for years and have a drawer full of working lighters. I use Kevin’s Cigar Props daily, the quality is excellent.  Finally, I’m sad to see the unrest in Nicaragua this week. I’ve visited the country twice, and yearn to go back. Hopefully things return to the tranquil place I remember.

 

Anyway, that’s all I have for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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A Couple of BSB No. 1 by Bernie Parent Cigars, an Aladino and a Vertias 3 Blend

It’s been a weird week.  Readers who follow me on Facebook will already know that I’m currently exploring new employment opportunities. It’s time to get away from what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years and find something I like doing (that pays the bills, no easy feat, I think!). I appreciate everyone’s support, and I don’t put this out there for a pity party, but one never knows what opportunity might arise from making my availability public. Hopefully allows me to provide more content here for the time being. The casual observer will notice no change in my daily routine. Which brings me to Wednesday’s cigar. Since the Flyers were opening their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Penguins (I hate those guys), I decided an appropriate cigar was in order. As I had already had a very bad day, I thought a pick-me-up would be the broadleaf wrapped BSB No.1 40th Anniversary BSB_ConnSmytheBernie Parent by Rocky Patel Conn Smythe (mental note, I should review one of this series for a future Prime Living article as the name alone will account for much of the 300 word limit!).  This cigar came from a special box released in 2015, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bernie Parent winning the Stanley Cup, The Vezina Trophy (best goaltender) and the Conn Smythe Trophy (league MVP) two years in a row, something that has yet to be repeated. The box contains four cigars each of the three blends and an autographed puck. I bought a box at full price when they were released in 2015, which Bernie autographed and is still intact, and caught a deal on another box later that I’ve smoked/shared. The Conn Smythe has a Broadleaf wrapper and is a delicious toro, perhaps my favorite in the series, loads of dark chocolate and espresso. The cigar was just about the only bright spot of the day as the Flyers suffered a humiliating loss.

 

TJRE_AladinoMaduro_Torohursday I got some yard work done, laid some groundwork for some income replacement, and took a walk with a JRE Aladino Maduro in a box pressed toro size. I recently heard the guys on The Cigar Authority rave about this, so I ordered a couple each of the toro and lancero.  I generally let cigars rest, but I knew these were only in transit for a couple of days and the weather has been moderate so I felt confident firing one up. The Toro is a 6″ x 50 with a nice box press, and has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and Honduran Corojo binder with Honduran fillers.  I’ve been distracted lately, but this was a tasty smoke, and I look forward to smoking more of them, especially the lancero. It was medium bodied, burned great, and nice flavors of cocoa and wood. This is from the Eiroa family, Justo and Julio specifically, and the Aladino line is an homage to the Corojo blends of days past. Personally, I think I enjoy the JRE cigars more than Christian Eiroa’s CLE line, although I haven’t sampled all of both companies offerings, this opinion is based on limited samplings. I have purchased every Eiroa cigar I’ve ever smoked, save for one CLE sample from their first trade show. Christian is one of those old usenet guys I’ve known for 20 years too

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.

 

BSB_VezinaFriday was a chance for the Flyers to redeem themselves, and they did with an exciting 5-2 win, which included at least one Academy Award worthy embellishment, proving my opinion that Penguins don’t fly, they dive.  I decided to try the BSB approach again (for those not in the know, BSB is an acronym for Broad Street Bullies, the Flyer’s nickname in the ’70s) and No. 1 is Bernie Parent‘s retired number. Interesting factoid: Bernie retired due to an eye injury, which led to massive improvements to today’s goalie masks. Anyway, I went with the Vezina, which is a Habano wrapped toro. Both the Vezina  and the Conn Smythe are presented in a round format, while the Lord Stanley is box pressed. Maybe I’ll smoke a Lord Stanley today for game 3.  Anyway, I think the Vezina was a tasty cigar too, although in a different way than the Conn Smythe. I think it’s more on the savory end of the spectrum, with more earth and wood notes. If you can find these stashed away anywhere I recommend trying them, especially if you are a hockey fan.  I can’t say that I think they are a good value at the original price of around $13 each, but at half that they are great.

 

Veritas_3Blends_ToroFinally, yesterday I rummaged through the humidor with what’s left of last year’s IPCPR samples, and came out of it with a Veritas 3 Blends, which is a barber pole wrapped cigar with Sun-Grown Ecuadorian Habano, Habano Maduro and Connecticut wrappers, San Andrés binder and fillers from Jalapa, Ometepe, Condega & Esteli Nicaragua. you’d think this cigar would have a lot going on given that blend of eight tobaccos. Maybe it had too much going on for my pedestrian palate to appreciate? I found it had a drying effect on my palate, and, as with many cigars wrapped in this style, it’s didn’t burn well. It sure was a pretty cigar, and it wasn’t offensive or really bad in any way, just not my cuppa tea, unfortunately.  I like all cigars, there’s some I love, and I almost always smoke a cigar to the (sometimes) bitter end, and I did with this one too, although the crooked burn made me leave more behind than usual.  Earlier in the week I had a Cornelius and Anthony Señor Esugars and a Nica Rustica, two “comfort food” cigars of mine, and all the other cigars I smoked during the week were pretty darned good, with this one being the least yummy of the bunch to me.

 

That’s all for now, I’m going to go out and make some money now, and fire up a cigar for the Flyers game later.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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CAO Event at Tobacco Field Cigars in Delaware and the CAO Zócalo

Tobacco Field New Castle DEFriday I took a drive south to New Castle, Delaware to visit the new Tobacco Fields Cigars location where they were hosting Ricky Rodriguez and Rami Dakko of CAO Cigars.  I was familiar with their store closer

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to home, in the Concord area, north of Wilmington, and just over the Pennsylvania border.  I remember the area fondly as the site of the Brandywine Raceway, where I used to go watch the harness racing, and near where I used to go buy beer when I was underage. That’s not at all important to the story. I stopped in to the old store because I didn’t read the announcement and didn’t know about the new store. Apparently the new location opened in December of 2015, so I’m woefully out of touch! Twenty-five Tobacco Field Loungeminutes later I arrived at the new store and went in to buy some CAO cigars. Ricky was in the lounge talking about cigars and tobacco. Due to the indoor smoking laws in Delaware, the lounge is membership based, and I assume that my purchase granted me a temporary membership, as I was welcomed by both the

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owners.  The store is well appointed, with loads of cigars, as well as other tobacco products, and the lounge, although small, is augmented by a large, enclosed outside patio. Tobacco Field PatioFortunately, the weather was cooperative.  I smoked a CAO Colombia, in the Magdalena torpedo size, a 6¼” x 54 size.  This cigar has a Jamastran (Honduran) wrapper, Cameroon binder and Brazilian and Colombian fillers. It’s super smooth and has a very pleasant flavor. It’s on the milder side, and is a very nice cigar, one of my favorites in their “World” range of cigars. I bought a few of these, a couple CigarCraig and RickyConsigliere in the toro size and a Brazilia and America. They had all three of the Amazon lines, including the Amazon Basin, but since I have some Fuma Em Corda and Anacondas, and am not really that fond of the Amazon Basin, I opted not to pick any up. There was a good crowd present, and I enjoyed catching up with Ricky and Rami, great folks if you ever have a chance to meet them, and the shop is great if you find yourself in the New Castle Delaware area.

CAO had two announcements this week, which other sites covered, one being the Pan-Am Tour, an online journey down the Pan American Highway highlighting the various growing regions where tobacco used in the CAO line is grown.  There is a game on the CAO website where you can win prizes and follow along. From the press release:

In true CAO fashion, Rick’s virtual journey has an in-store component. His Pan American Tour will be mirrored by an interstate highway tour of sorts, as Rick will be visiting cigar shops across the U.S. for a deeper dive on the tobaccos that make up CAO’s unique blends. Events will take place between April and December, 2018 and at each event, cigar lovers can win CAO branded items like lighters, tee shirts and duffle bags, and have the opportunity to smoke special Pan Am Tour-exclusive cigars blended by Rick and the CAO team.

CAO_ZocaloAs I was driving to the event I received the press release about the newest offering from CAO, the limited edition CAO Zócalo San Andrés.  This cigar kicks off the Pan Am tour and represents the first CAO cigar to use the San Andrés Morron wrapper, with a Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan fillers, offered in only the 6″ x 60 size.  They have an attractive $8.49 MSRP and are due in stores before May 5, (Cinco de Mayo). I happen to know someone, so I had the opportunity to smoke the CAO Zócalo San Andrés last night, and I was thoroughly impressed. I am personally a fan of both Broadleaf and San Andrés, especially when it’s over a Cameroon binder, that combination makes me happy. The cigar was impressive. It had a perfect burn and draw, as all good cigars should, and the ash was a solid white, which took some effort to knock off in 1″ chunks.  It started with a pepper spice and coffee, with an earthiness and some sweetness from the Cameroon. I got that same sweet sensation in the Colombia, which also has the Cameroon binder. Halfway through I was surprised by a new flavor, an interesting almost burnt caramel flavor. Earlier in the day I smoked another Macanudo Inspirado Red, which I thought was my favorite new cigar, and I smoked a CAO Fuma Em Corda this week that I really like, but this gives them a run for their money, and I can’t wait for these to hit the shelves, I’ll be putting a handful in my humidor.  I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to score a sample of this great new cigar, thanks to Rick and Rami!  It’s a big cigar, and maybe 6″ x 60s aren’t your bag, but give them a try.  Yummy, a fiesta in your mouth!

That’s all I have for now, Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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