Category Archives: Stores

by CigarCraig | December 27, 2015 · 9:51 am

Contest Wrap-up, a Meet-up at JM Cigars, an Event at Mojo and a RoMaCraft Neanderthal

OK, a regular, non-contest post. How do I do this again? It’s been a crazy couple weeks, hasn’t it? Besides the 234 cigars, three ashtrays, two cutters, a lighter, and various other items, including one of a kind art and jewelry, there were some major holidays in there too. Time spent with family is the best part of the holiday for me, but doing this 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways is a load of fun too. My unending thanks to the following companies and individuals who made all this possible, in no particular order: Eric Whitfield, Broc Jackson, Jack at Duran Premium Cigars, David and his crew at 2 Guys Smokeshop, Victoria at General Cigar Co., Fred at Nomad Cigar Co., Victor at Tortuga Cigars, Jason at Best Cigar Prices, Abe and his gang at Smoke Inn, Mel and Ron at MBombay Cigars, Bianca at Gurkha and the folks at Joya de Nicaragua and Drew Estate! As I say every year, I could do this on my own, but it would cost me a fortune! Thanks to all of them and all of you for coming back every day and entering! Next year I have some different plans, but it should still be fun, that is, unless the FDA ruins everything! We’ll remain positive, keep calling your elected officials and letting them know that premium cigars should be exempt from regulation, and keep up your CRA memberships!

One of the things I did last week in, an effort to save on shipping and meet some new friends, was to hand deliver winnings from Days five and six. It turned out that Mike and Andrew were reasonably close by so we met up at JM Cigar in Exton, PA for a smoke. Of course, I spent easily twice what I would have spent on shipping on cigars, but that’s way more productive. While shopping I came across a lone El Rico Habano Maduro Gran Habanaro (double corona) in a box and it look so lonely I had to add it to my cart, so to speak. I haven’t smoked an El Rico in ages, I can remember back in the ’90s when this was one of the strongest cigars on the market, a real powerhouse. It was Ernesto Perez Carillo’s brand that took a back seat to La Gloria Cubana, and I smoked a bunch of them. It’s a minor brand now with General Cigar Co., only available in three sizes and maduro, where the original version was a natural wrapper. I thought the 7½ x 54 size would be a good size for sitting in the lounge, getting to know new friends, kinda cigar. It was good, but not as good as I remember my last one being, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as I didn’t want a cigar that would distract me from conversation. As it always seems to be, meeting up to deliver a prize beats USPS every time, I felt like I have a few more friends now, and look forward to meeting up with Mike and Andrew again soon. Thank you to them for adding to the spirit of the season!

Thursday I ran down to Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA as they were having a Perdomo event and raffling off a tremendous Perdomo 20th Anniversary humidor. I like the Perdomo 20th a lot, especially in maduro, so I bought a hand full (as if I needed more cigars!) and got one chance in the drawing. The winner was a guy who bought a bunch of boxes of the 20th Anniversarys, so it’s hard to begrudge him the win. It was a beautiful box, but I don’t know where I would have put it, so it worked out in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed a 20th Maduro Churchill while hanging out and talking to our local Perdomo rep, Joe Winder (who is probably the very first cigar company rep I ever met many years ago at a cigar event in Pittsburgh), CRA Ambassador and all-around good guy, Alan Price, who was working at the shop, owners Wade and Trae and various other customers. I didn’t win the humidor, but I did put some great cigars in my humidor and had a relaxing afternoon.

As it was a special occasion, I selected some other great cigars that are worth mentioning. For the second year in a row, I took my Christmas Eve walk with a Padron 1964 Anniversary Maduro Exclusivo, obviously a classic Nicaraguan maduro that’s like desert in cigar form. Absolutely delicious. Christmas day, after the kids and grandkids left, I sparked up a Fuente Hemingway Signature Maduro, again, a spectacular cigar that’s not unreasonably priced. It was rich, burned perfectly and hit the spot. Yesterday Macha and I took a four mile walk with a favorite Nica Rustica Belly, maybe I’m on a bit of a Maduro kick? I must be, because last night I lit up a cigar that caught my eye and I bought while at Mojo, a RoMa Craft Neanderthal HN, with a San Andrés wrapper. Of all the great cigars I’ve smoked over the last couple weeks, this might have been my favorite. This cigar has a couple of distinctions, first, it has a flat head, and a slight taper at the foot, which I didn’t really notice until I looked at the photo, and it still looks like a robusto, as the size is listed at 5″ x 52/58. Now that I look at it, it may taper from head to foot. It could have been shaped like a pretzel for all I care, it tasted fantastic. Not only does it have a beautiful dark and oily San Andrés wrapper, but it has a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and fillers from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. About half way in to the cigar I got a really interesting and delicious spice, which really intrigued me. This was a $12 cigar and honestly, I don’t think I realized the price point when I bought them, I might not have taken the plunge. I’m glad I did. I’ve heard from people That this was a super strong cigar, and it didn’t hit me that way at all, it was full-bodied and loaded with flavor, but I didn’t feel the nicotine at all. Stellar cigar from Skip and Mike at RoMa! I used a punch in the flat head of the cigar if anyone was curious.

You probably want to know who won the final bonus day contest, the great painting “Wind” by Eric “The Cigartist” Whitfield. It looked like only those who really wanted and appreciated this item entered (or everyone is sick to death of my contests), so I consulted Random.org and got the number 37, which corresponds to KRUK, who I know will give this a good home, despite the relative creepiness of his comment :-). Bryan, please send me your address so I can forward it on to Eric. Thank you all, and don’t despair, there could well be a Happy New Year contest!

That’s plenty from me, until the next time,

Cigar Craig

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Filed under Contest, Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as 12 days, 2 Guys Smokeshop, Best Cigar Prices, cigar, Cigar Mojo, cigars, CIGARtist, Contest, drew estate, General Cigar Co., Gurkha, JM Cigars, joya de nicaragua, MBombay, Neanderthal, Nomad, RoMa Craft, Smoke Inn, Tortuga

by CigarCraig | October 25, 2015 · 10:52 am

Odds and Ends, a L’Atetier, A La Flor Dominicana and Room 101

First, a couple of items I’ve come across in the past week that I think are of interest. Since Halloween and Día de los Muertos are coming up, my friends at Custom Tobacco are offering two “Skull Candy” band designs to their portfolio of custom bands. Custom Tobacco specializes in custom banding, and the cigars they use are very good. I’ve had the pleasure of smoking their Briarmont Classic cigar a few years ago (here) and it was of excellent quality and flavor. Check these folks out if you ever need some custom banded cigars.

My wife likes to point out unique cigar related items to me when she sees them, and this item falls under the “for the man who has everything” category, and is truly an over the top cigar accessory. The Emperador Cigar Chest has over 2,600 individual part to deliver a luxury cigar accessory. On top is a tourbillion timepiece (I don’t know what that is) made from over 300 pieces by a Swiss watchmaker, and surrounded by 24 individual glass tubes, each of which comes pre-packed with a Grand Cru cigar wrapped in four gold leaves (not sure what the cigar is either). This compartment is secured by a passcode, while the included cigar cutter, table lighter, and ashtray sit securely in a front drawer (apparently unprotected by any advanced security features). It pays equal attention to the care of your cigars, incorporating a world’s first self-regulating humidity system that needs neither water nor human intervention to keep a constant humidity level of 70% and an internal temperature between 61º and 65º F. I don’t quite understand the science behind something that controls humidity without water, but OK. I don’t expect to be reviewing this item.

So I had some great cigars this week and a disappointment or two, and I’m not going to name names on the disappointment, lets just say I’m not the only one I’ve heard of being let down. I moved on to something else that night, and may (or may not) revisit that cigar another time. I don’t see any value in posting negatives as, with all cigars, your mileage may vary. One of the highlight cigars of the week was one I picked up on a recent visit to Holt’s store in Philly. I ended up buying various Pete Johnson cigars and one was the L’Atelier La Mission 1989, which is a 5 5/8″x 54 with a nice little pigtail cap. I had a feeling about this cigar when I picked it up, it just looked like it would be in my wheelhouse. It has a dark, oily San Andrés wrapper, binder from Nicaragua and Nicaraguan fillers. which includes Sancti Spíritus leaf, which is a hybrid of Pelo de Oro and Criollo. This cigar started out with the spice one expects, and really develops into a rich, complex cigar that is a pleasure to smoke. I loved the espresso-ness of this cigar, I’d smoke this one again for sure.

The next night I replaced my disappointing cigar with a La Flor Dominicana 1994 Tango, a neat little Rothschild size, 4½” x 48. There are times when I have a cigar that lets me down and I just move on, and there are times when I just need another cigar to un-piss me off. This was such an occasion. The 1994 line is the company’s 20th anniversary cigar, commemorating two decades of doing things the right way and making great cigars. This little LFD is a nice little cigar, rich, smooth and tasty. This one also has a San Andrés wrapper, although not fermented to the maduro shade that many are. Like many LFD cigars, it’s a Dominican cigar with a punch, it’s not a mild cigar by any stretch, but full of flavor. I smoked their new La Nox earlier in the week too and was quite impressed, more on that another time.

Saturday we had tickets to see Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in Atlantic City, but on the way there we stopped at the Wooden Indian for a Room 101 event with Matt Booth (and his area rep “Tom Smith”). I was really looking forward to picking up a few more Johnny Tobacconauts, and got a few in the Ranflactic and Fileriod sizes. I lit up a Ranflactic and we hung out in the Wooden Indian’s Liga Privada Lounge as we had arrived quite early for the two o’clock event. Matt says that he has originally wanted to call this Johnny Tobaccoseed, but ended up going with the astronaut theme instead, and who can argue that the astronaut on the box doesn’t look just like Matt? Ironically, it turns out that Matt’s father is second cousins to the Wilsons of Beach Boys fame, and he was actually being serious when he told us that. The cigar was great, seeing Matt again was great, and Dave at The Wooden Indian always has great events. If you were wondering, Matt didn’t make an appearance in my IPCPR Secret Question video, but I asked him what his answer would have been, and he said that Dave Lafferty (of Drew Estate) embodies the essence of Matt Booth, so he would play him in the Room 101 movie. I was expecting something more along the lines of Johnny Depp, but OK. The event was great, then we went to AC, where I enjoyed a Room 101 San Andrés before the great concert, which my wife reviewed on her website here. While Brian Wilson may not be the best singer, and the years have not been kind to him, he is a legend, someone that artists like the Beatles idolized, and has surrounded himself with a great bunch of musicians. It was a treat hearing all the Beach Boys classics (Al Jardine was also there, so there were two of the original Beach Boys there). It capped off a great day, although the slot machines were not kind to us.

Anyway, that wraps up the week. I did smoke a tasty Leaf by Oscar Maduro also this week too, and there was a Asylum 13 Ogre Lancero that was great as well, although not as complex as it’s chubbier siblings. I have plenty more interesting cigars to smoke this week, hopefully there will be some great ones! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Accessories, Events, News, Review, Stores

Tagged as Brian Wilson, cigar, cigars, Custom Tobacco, Emperador, Johnny Tobacconaut, L'Atelier, La Flor Dominicana, Matt Booth, Room 101, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | September 20, 2015 · 10:34 am

The Humidour and Davidus, Henry Clay, Tatuaje, Senoral and Lord Baltimore Cigars

We took one last little trip of the summer this past week, down to the Baltimore Maryland area so my wife could sell some books at the North Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, which is a “Con” like many others, complete with quite a collection of odd people, on both sides of the tables (my wife being an obvious exception to this, there were some “normal” people there). There were some celebrities there, Lee Majors and Lindsey Wagner from the 70s TV “bionic” franchise, as well as some slightly less famous people. I saw some unique things, a guy walking around with an autographed toaster, for instance, and a few different Dr. Who’s. These things aren’t generally my cup of tea, but I suppose some people would argue that going to cigar events isn’t particularly normal either. I do like getting away with my wife for a few days though. I managed to visit a couple cigar shops while I was in the area though, and smoked some great cigars.

The Humidour in Cockeysville, MD was within walking distance for me, and I had a great parking place at the hotel I didn’t want to give up. A mile and three quarters on a beautiful day isn’t too bad. The store is in an older house sitting on a hill, and has a retail area with all the usual stuff, humidors, pipes and pipe tobacco, as well as a large walk in humidor which is generously stocked. There are also a couple rooms which comprise the public lounge, and several rooms both upstairs and downstairs that make up the private club space. There are several fireplaces, and I can’t say if they ever get used or not as I didn’t ask, and it has a very homey feel. there are a couple outdoor patio areas too. I picked up a couple of the new Henry Clay Tattoo cigars as well as the new Tatuaje TAA 2015 cigars and settled into a leather chair and proceeded to watch golf. I have fond memories of the Henry Clay cigars that Pete Johnson had in mind when he blended this cigar. They were tied in bundles within the box, and it was apparent that they were bundled wet, because they came in all kinds of crazy shapes. These weren’t box pressed like the Henry Clay Tattoo, some were trapezoidal, triangular, not necessarily straight, they were a rugged man’s cigar, very rustic and laden with testosterone. I heard reports that they burned underwater. The Tattoo does a good job of capturing the spirit of the HC of old, although it’s far prettier, more symmetrical, and better behaved. Of course, it’s triple the cost of the old HC Brevas I remember too. It had that great sweet broadleaf flavor, loads of dark roast coffee flavor and, unlike it’s predecessors, burned really well.

I lit up the Tatuaje TAA 2015 next, and I love the Tatuaje cigars, but I don’t have a great deal of experience with them. I bought a couple because I never see any TAA stores in my area, and I figured what the heck, I probably wouldn’t have a chance to smoke these again. I enjoyed the heck out of the cigar, it is another Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper, with a closed foot so oine really gets a blast of the wrapper flavor on the light. I find myself skipping the toasting part of the lighting ritual with the closed foot cigars so I don’t miss that wrapper blast. Anyway, much like the previous cigar, the TAA is loaded with dark cocoa and espresso flavor and the 5 5/8″ x 54 box press size is quite comfortable and satisfying. I really should smoke more Tatuaje cigars, but there’s so many limited editions and special stuff that I won’t chase after them, and they are usually priced outside my comfort zone. The “Tats” I’ve smoked have always been to my liking, and I’m glad I picked up two so I can revisit this in a few months. My visit to The Humidour was a good one, and I’m glad it was so close, it’s quite a nice place.

My Saturday stop was at a Davidus shop in Ellicott City, MD. This was chosen as a half way point to meet up with a long time reader and friend, Mark and his friend David. There’s few things more enjoyable than meeting face to face with someone you’ve interacted with digitally over the last five years or so, and doing it in a nice lounge over some fine cigars is the best way to spend an afternoon. I got there early and perused the large humidor, which separates the front of the shop from the lounge area with Sam, the gentleman working there. I picked up a couple of new releases, the Enclave from AJ Fernandez which I have smoked and enjoyed, and the Señorial from Las Cumbres tobacco, which I have a sample in my humidor, but I saw it there and wanted to smoke it, so I got a few more. I also picked up a couple of the Lord Baltimore and Sea Knight, which are brands owned by the Castro brothers who own the 11 store Davidus chain. I promptly lit up the Señoreal Maduro and promptly enjoyed the heck out of it with a cup of black coffee. I found it to be a great, refined and sophisticated maduro cigar with loads of flavor, and who would expect anything else from Jose Blanco.

I followed the Señoreal with a Lord Baltimore The Ark, a 6 ¾” x 38 short lancero which probably would have been better going first. It’s a Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar made by Altadis, I was told. Lord Baltimore is a very old brand that the Castro Brothers recently resurrected. It took a few minutes for my palate to adjust to the milder cigar, but I really enjoyed the smooth rich flavor and perfect burn that this cigar had. The presentation was quite nice too, with a paper sleeve from the band to the foot, and a second band under the first, so when you slid the outer paper off, it was still banded (so I don’ forget what I am smoking!). I picked up one of these in the corona size too, I’m sure it will be a tasty an experience as the lancero was. It was another great afternoon, meeting old friends for the first time, and relaxing in a comfortable lounge with a nice selection and an attentive staff. Thanks to Mark and David for spending the afternoon with me! We covered a hundred topics from cigars to family to careers. It wrapped up a pretty nice couple of days.

That’s it for today, off to get some things done after being away and having to go to work tomorrow. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as Davidus, Henry Clay, Humidour, Lord Baltimore, Senoreal, Tattoo, tatuaje

by CigarCraig | August 2, 2015 · 9:41 am

Nica Rustica Belly Release Party in Louisville, KY

When we heard about the Nica Rustica Belly Release Party put on by Cox’s Smokers Outlet in Lousiville, Kentucky, my wife realized it fell the night before she was planning a silent retreat at the nearby Abbey of Gethsemani. She suggested I take a couple days off work and drive there with her, then fly back the next day. We set out Thursday around 4:30 in the morning and made the ten-plus hour drive. Once we checked in to our hotel, took a power nap, and refreshed from the drive, we headed over to J. Shepherd Cigars for a little pregame. They were having a bit of an event, with specials on Drew Estate, Viaje and Leccia cigars, so I bought a few Viaje’s since I really haven’t jumped into the Viaje pool yet, just dipped a toe in here and there. I got a couple Oro Reserva and a couple Summerfests and we hung out on the front porch. I lit up one of the Summerfests and couldn’t complain about it. It was a nice, medium bodies cigar, which was good, because we hadn’t really eaten a whole lot all day, choosing to snack in the car as opposed to wasting time stopping for food. It’s fortunate that it was a beautiful day, as there is no indoor smoking allowed in Louisville! The J Shepherd show was nice enough, although it looked like either they recent;y moved in, of just got a shipment, as there were boxes on the one side of the store. The walk in humidor was large and had a nice selection of boutique cigars, and some items were priced higher than I’m used to (I’m spoiled in PA, no cigar tax), but some items were inexplicable close to what I see here. We met a couple people on the front porch while I enjoyed that Viaje Summerfest, a couple guys we saw later at the event, and Mike, a very friendly and hospitable local who we really had a nice conversation with. He even set us up with a rootbeer and cream soda, as we abstain from the generously offered Bourbon. I’m told that J. Shepherd is the best shop in the area, and, at the risk of offending the owner, who wasn’t there at the time, it really could be a lot less cluttered and better organized, as I was a little glad that we had to go outside to smoke, and the gentlemen we met were very friendly.

From there we went to Louisville Water Tower Park, an 1860 era water works along the Ohio River. What a beautiful venue, and the weather couldn’t have been better. Jonathan Drew was there well before the 7:00 PM start time, and the line was already growing. The unfortunate part of this event was that the first two hours or more was just people standing in line to talk to JD. We got through the line early, and of course we got a chance to visit with Gary (JD’s dad), Pedro Gomez, and Zev and Ben from the DE sales force. With the $35 ticket price we each got a Nica Rustica Belly, and Undercrown Toro and a Kentucky Fire Cured Hamhock, as well as an Undercrown Manifesto, along with a dinner of Nicaraguan fare, short ribs, pork, rice, beans, etc. The food was delicious, and we got to chat with some of the locals, including Tom Person from Commonwealth Cedar Spills. They also had a wide variety of Drew Estate cigars available for sale, including bundles of the new Belly, which I took advantage of the opportunity and purchased. Every purchase received a raffle ticket, and the evening concluded, like at many events, with a raffle. Many of the prizes were shirts, hats and cutters, with some ashtrays (my name was drawn for one of those big, pewter MUWAT ashtrays, which will class up the patio smoking lounge. The big prizes were a box of Pappy VanWinkle cigars and one of two existing boxes of the Nasty Fritas, the Papas Fritas mixed fill blend in their little cone shaped Nasty size. JD added one last prize at the end, which was a shirt, a cutter and the winners choice of any box in the DE line (I wonder if the winner of that knew about the 100 count Liga Privada No.9 Parejo boxes?) Cox’s Smokers Outlet did a great job of putting this event together. Despite costing me a bunch of cash (CAD: Cigar Acquisition Disorder. I need to find a treatment program…), it was an excellent event, I’m quite glad we made the trip.

Yesterday I swung by The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA, where they were celebrating their 10th Anniversary. Nick Perdomo Jr., his son Nick III, and Joe Winder from Perdomo Cigars were on hand, as well as Rich from Xikar, Kosta from SMoKE Manayunk, Alex Mayer from House of Emilio, and Alan Price from Cigar Rights of America. It was quite the turnout for one of the best shops in the Philadelphia area. Dave and his staff do a great job. I smoked one of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro since I hadn’t tried that before. This cigar is another barrel aged cigar, which is one of the trendy catch phrases in the cigar industry today. It was a very good smoke, rich, sweet and chocolaty/coffee flavors that I enjoy, and perfectly made. Since there was a Buy 4, get 1 promotion, I had to pick up some of the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduros in the Corona Grande size that I like so much (and enjoyed on my evening walk later). Once again, CAD rears it’s ugly head. Congrats to Dave and the Wooden Indian family on their first decade, and I hope I can be at the 20th anniversary celebration.

That’s it for today, it’s been a long week of travel and herfing. Time to get some work done around the house and get ready to start smoking samples from the IPCPR show and posting about them. On that note, I did smoke a few show samples this week that deserve mention. The CAO Flathead Steel Horse: The Flathead blend in the round, in a 5½” 58, is a wonderful addition to a tasty line. Thesample I smoked was ready to go, burned great, tasted great. Like the rest of the line, a large bore punch is the way to go as the cap is flat and doesn’t play well with other cutter styles. Freyja from La Cumbres Tobacco: This toro from Emma Viktorsson is sneaky, it starts mild and before I knew it I was feeling the effects. Great flavor and performance. A must-try. Finally, the Undercrown Shade: This is a terrific Connecticut shade wrapped cigar. There are a bunch of full flavored shade wrapped cigars out there and this is another one. Great cigar, but I didn’t really find it to be much different than some other great cigars in that category. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great cigar, it’s just hard to find much unique about it. I’d buy it over many in that genre.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review, Stores, Trip Report

Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Cox's, drew estate, Freyja, Louisville, Nica Rustica, Perdomo, undercrown, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | July 12, 2015 · 8:33 am

A Visit to SMoKE Manayunk and Various Lanceros and another Fratello Cigar

Last Sunday my wife and I went into Philly for Afternoon Tea at a downtown hotel. While not a particularly manly pursuit, it was very nice, with good little sandwiches, scones and pastries to nibble on and a nice tea selection. Afterwards we stopped at SMoKE Manayunk, one of the newer lounges in the area which I’ve been hearing a lot about. It’s the place everyone goes after the other cigar stores close since they are open late. The building is located right next to the fire station, which is always a good idea, and has a rustic, industrial decor. The ceiling is open to the rafters with the galvanized spiral pipe ventilation system. There’s seating in the front of the store, a large bar (it’s BYO, but they have soft drinks) and the walk in humidor in the middle, and more lounge area in the back. It’s a spacious place, and we found it very comfortable. Kosta is the owner, and is a very gracious host, who is a lancero fan, and has a nice selection. Of course, I had to pick up a couple of his store exclusive cigars, the Zeus, named after the mascot of the place, a large, simian/yeti sort of painting in the front of the space. Of course, I got the lancero, and was impressed with the way it smoked, and I would go so far as to say that if you find yourself in the Philadelphia area, put SMoKE on your list of destinations and try this cigar. It was my favorite kind of cigar, dark flavors, rich espresso and cocao, and it burned smooth and perfectly. The cigar is 7″ x 38 with a nice pigtail cap, and I seem to remember Kosta saying it was made at Placencia, but he mentioned a Perdomo tour in the same conversation. I’m afraid I didn’t take very good notes on the blend either, I’ll try to update when I get the details, unless they show up in the comments. It was the outcome of a blending seminar on a factory tour. Great smoke!

Besides lanceros, I managed to fit another Fratello Bianco in early in the week, this time the 5″ x 56 Bianco III. I can’t wait to have easy access to this cigar, it’s got a little of everything I like in a cigar, the San Andrés maduro wrapper and fillers from Peru and Pennsylvania. Still an early favorite for one of my favorite new cigars this year. Omar is one of many people I’m really looking forward to seeing at the IPCPR show next week, he’s got a personality that goes along with his physical stature. For what it’s worth, I would smoke the crap out of the Bianco blend in the lancero format…just a little food for thought for Omar!

Back to the lanceros! I had enjoyed the Fratello Lancero that is one of Stogies World Class Cigars H-Town series, and decided to explore some other or the lanceros in the line. I love the Alec Bradley Nica Puro line in general, so I was excited about the lancero. Obviously, it’s a Nicaraguan puro, and the sweet and savory flavors I get have always satisfied my palate. It’s one of those go-to cigars you always keep around and default to when you can’t decide what to smoke. You can always count on them to deliver good flavor and a great over-all experience. The H-Town is no different, although the flavor is a little more sharply focused due to the small ring gauge. Smooth, full of flavor, and certainly a compliment to the already great line. I’ve been wanting to try the Diamond Rough-Cut in this line, but haven’t picked any up, is it much different from the regular line? I’ll have to keep an eye out for one. The H-Town lancero is recommended if you enjoy this line.

Thursday I went with another from the H-Town series, the Quesada España Lancero. This is the first I’ve smoked of the España line, and it was a very tasty smoke. It used to be that lanceros were prone to having a plugged draw, or other construction problems, but I can’t recall when I’ve had a poorly made lancero in the past few years. It takes a pretty specific hand shape to bunch these, long, thin fingers seem to be key. Anyway, this España was pretty terrific, loads of tasty smoke and perfect performance, I smoked this to a very small nub. It may be the only member of the H-town family with three bands. So far the H-Town series of lanceros are all winners for me. I smoked the Room 101 Namakubi Ecuador in the lancero format a few weeks ago and it was equally as enjoyable as it’s larger brethren, but with the little extra punch from the smaller ring. I’ll have to get to Houston one of these days to visit the store, it seems like quite the place!

Friday I sat down with a Rocky Patel Super Ligero in the Lancero size. I had picked this up when I visited SMoKE as I had been eager to try the lancero size in this blend. I’ve been enjoying the toro shape, and really like the lancero. Once again, it’s got a little more punch in the flavor department, sharper, more direct. As with the others I smoked this week, the burn and draw were spot on, and I nubbed the sucker. Great dark roast coffee flavors which are right in my wheelhouse. SO far I’ve smoked this blend in both the Toro and Lancero formats and really enjoyed the experience. I’ll pick up a some more in the Robusto and Sixty sizes when I see them. This isn’t a ridiculously strong cigar, the “Super” in Super Ligero is actually the name of the leaf, not a characterization of the power or even the priming, as I understand it. It’s generally a bit odd to have Ligero in a lancero as it doesn’t burn great and lanceros need to burn right. There’s a lot of Rocky Patel cigars (I could end the sentence right here) that I can take or leave, but this one is a winner for me.

Yesterday we rented a truck one last time and finished moving all the big stuff out of my wife’s parents house and into our garage. I was exhausted last night, so after a shower I sat down with a nice Inca Imperio and caught up on some podcast listening. Great smoke to unwind after a long day of sweating and swearing (I don’t think I swore as much as other times…). Now to start preparing for our trip to New Orleans this week for the IPCPR show, I’ve made some appointments, I have a list of folks I want to see and have been plotting my course on the floor plan. I’m sure once I get on the floor that will go out the window due to the overwhelming nature of the event! So, the next time you hear from me should be from the show, whether it’s short video updates or something else, we’ll see what happens. Have a great week, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as Alec Bradley, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Fratello, lancero, Quesada, rocky patel, SMoKE Manayunk