Category Archives: Stores

by | August 27, 2014 · 10:00 pm

The 2014 Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival

Last weekend we flew out to Denver, Colorado to go to the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.  Friday evening we drove up to a cigar store called Havana Manor where they were having a My Father Cigars and Tatuaje event. It still amazes me that I can walk into a cigar store 2000 miles from home and know a bunch of people. It was a who’s who of the cigar industry there and we had the pleasure of catching up with friends, and if I tried to list names I’d miss someone.  I picked up some L’Atelier cigars and smoked a LAT54 which was delicious. It was a nice time and we met some great folks in addition to those we knew already, and we’d see everyone at the event the next day. The store was expansive, they had two walk-in humidors in the retail area up front, and several large lounge areas in the back. It was a really impressive store.  After a day of travel, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

 

 

I’ve been hearing great things about this festival for a few years, and we made the decision earlier this year to make the trek to Colorado from Pennsylvania to attend the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.  We were invited by Joe Liggett, of Smoker Friendly, who sponsored the event. Joe did an amazing job of organizing this event. There were about 2000 attendees, falling into three categories, General Admission, VIP and Executive VIP.General admission attendees took hope over 40 cigars, and the more costly levels received many more super premium cigars. There somewhere along the lines of 40 cigar companies, a bunch of beer and liquor companies and all kinds of other interesting vendors.  We saw one vendor, Twisted Custom Cutz, with ashtrays made from wine and spirit bottles cut length-wise which were really cool. The event ran from 1:00 (noon for the VIP ticket holders) until 7:00 which left plenty of time to visit all the vendors and enjoy the festival. It looked like it was really going to storm at one point, but after a few drops it passed without incident, the band played on, the cigars were smoked and the food, which was really good, was eaten.  We took a bunch of pictures, which are in the slideshow below, and videos which I will post over the coming weeks.  I’ve included a video here with Joe Liggett which we shot as the event was getting set up and I put on Facebook right away.  I highly recommend this event, it’s easily one of the best in the country.

 

Click on one picture to open a slideshow.

httpv://youtu.be/8QA2xcUWVaI

 

As I said, it’s a really fun event, the area is beautiful, the weather was great, and there were a lot of great vendors there.  After the event, Drew Estate hosted a herf and gave out hats and more cigars. I enjoyed a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo and had a nice time talking to Willie Herrera, who’s assumed the roll of head blender at Drew Estate recently.  I had run into his predecessor, Nick Melillo, earlier in the day.  There were so many great cigar makers, and I made some new friends and visited with some old ones.  I don’t think that cigars tasted any different in Colorado, I smoked a Villiger Cuellar Connecticut Kremé to start the day which was really good, a geat Joya Red and a Nimmy D Toro. I was careful not to over do it being unaccustomed to the altitude. I kept hydrated, but the difference in the air from home was noticeable. Thanks again to Joe and Smoker Friendly for inviting us to attend this wonderful event! As I said, stay tuned for videos from some of the vendors at the event.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 20, 2014 · 9:58 pm

Visiting Chicago – Casa de Montecristo and a Camacho Ecuador

When we left off I was in Chicago and I mentioned I was going to visit Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, IL.  I set the GPS in the car, which, for some reason, didn’t take the street number for me. I decided to wing it, and set off anyway. I got about ten miles down I-294 and the GPS had lost it. The lady in the dashboard kept telling me to take the next left, then recalculated, take the next left….I was on a highway with no left turns!  She didn’t know what she was doing! I pulled off the next exit and parked in a McDonalds and turned the crazy lady off and see if the iPhone Google Maps app would help me out.  I apparently had gotten of at the right exit, because in a few turns I pulled into the Casa de Montecristo lot.

CasadeMontecristo1

To everyone who told me Casa de Montecristo was a must visit on my Chicago visit, thank you! The store is beautiful, and the staff is very attentive. Fred showed me around and introduced me to one of the regulars, Conor. Oddly, a gentleman named Justin who I had met the day before at TESA was there making a purchase on his way out of town, he had come in from St. Louis for the previous day’s event and to celebrate his birthday.  Strange walking into a strange shop 750 miles from home and seeing a familiar face, but I shouldn’t really be surprised by now, it happens more times than not, it seems.  The store has cabinet humidors lining the walls for singles, an glass excaparate with  bins of unbanded cigars, a walk-in humidor for boxes, and a “vintage room” off the walk-in humidor.  After a tour of the facilities, I picked out a couple cigars I hadn’t smoked before and had been looking for, the Camacho Ecuador in the Figurado size and the Matilde Renacer in the Robusto size.  I could have shopped for hours, but I neither need more cigars, nor do I have the budget for Illinois prices.

 

I was ushered downstairs in the only cigar-friendly elevator in the country to the VIP lounge.  Apparently they allow out of towners in the lounge, not that there aren’t nice, comfy chairs upstairs in the store area.  The VIP Lounge is quite luxurious. In addition to the comfy leather chairs, there are booths and a bar, where members can store their own libations and have access to complimentary coffee, sodas and water.  I pulled up a stool next to Conor and we had a wonderful time swapping stories. He had had a cigar brand and we knew a lot of the same people and had visited a lot of the same places.  Once again, you can walk into a strange cigar shop just about anywhere and meet a friend you didn’t know.  As an aside, Conor is hosting a charity event next month,  check out www.chicigarmeetup.com for all the information if you are in the Chicago area or plan to be there.  I lit up the Camacho Ecuador which was a very nice cigar. It burned perfectly and had a great draw and the flavor was very enjoyable.  Conor kindly gifted me a cigar out of the escaparate, a Pete Johnson blend that he said was the original blend of the Black Jar release.  This was a nice smoke as well, however I had to finish it in the car on the way back to the hotel.  The VIP lounge also includes a theater and a meeting room, along with a bunch of TVs and lockers for not only cigars but booze.  I can’t recommend the Casa de Montecristo enough if you find yourself in the Chicago area. I’m sure glad I decided to seek it out and spend my afternoon there.  Great company, great smokes and great facility.

 

Diesel_Unlimited_d5Tonight I took a walk with a Diesel Unlimited d.5 that I think came from last year’s IPCPR. This cigar is made by A.J. Fernandez for Meier and Dutch and has been on the market for several years. Oddly, I don’t think I’ve sampled this line extension before, but it kind of jumped into my hand as I was looking for tonight’s cigar.  The Unlimited has an oily Honduran ligero wrapper and the filler is Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli and Condega and Mexican San Andrés.  This cigar was rich and heavy in flavor and quite satisfying. I would reach for this often, it’s a solid cigar.

 

I need to get ready to travel again, I’m really looking forward to attending the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival in Colorado, and will attempt to report from the event, or shortly after. Until then,

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 17, 2014 · 1:51 pm

Visiting Chicago – Smokey Bear Cigars and TESA Cigars

2014-08-17 11.10.10Here I am in the windy city and I’ve been enjoying the camaraderie and hanging out with some great cigar friends.  I know I said I was going to try posting from the field, but the places and events were not conducive to getting any good video, and frankly I was having too much fun smoking and socializing. You’ll have to put up with my normal style Sunday post, I guess!  I have been fortunate to find some local cigar events here in Chicago that I managed to impose myself upon.  Today I may venture out to the Casa de Montecristo, which everyone tells me I have to visit. We’ll see, driving around here is a serious time and patience investment, but the people here seem very nice. We are here for the Fest for Beatles Fans, and my wife is working at the show with her clients who are all Beatles related authors. It’s a rather interesting cross-section of people, but the passion they have for the Beatles is similar to the passion we have for cigars, and both passions bring people together.

 

Friday after helping my wife get her booth set up, I headed to Smokey Bear Cigars in Evergreen Park. The GPS said it would take about an hour, but with traffic it was closer to two.  I was certainly ready for a cigar when I got there.  They were having a Toraño event, and Jack Toraño, who grew up in the Chicago area before going to Miami, was there with his wife Cecelia.  Of course, I bought some Toraño cigars and lit up a Master Maduro Toro Gordo.  The shop has a generous walk in humidor with a really good selection. I saw some cigars that I haven’t seen in shops before.  They were loaded for bear (ha) and had a good amount of traffic too. they also have a nice lounge where I sat down with Jack and his wife and caught up a little.  The cigar was a beautiful rich, dark and tasty. I followed it with an Exodus 1959 Gold robusto, which has been a favorite for about ten years. The Toroaños have been making great cigars for a long time, and continue to do so.  I love being in a strange city and visiting a shop I’ve never been to before and hanging out with friends.  I’m pretty sure if Jack hadn’t been there I would have had a good time, as Pam, the owner, is running a good lounge and shop.  Too bad it’s so hard to get to from Pennsylvania!

 

 

Saturday I left the car parked and embarked on the Chicago Transit Authorities Blue line to go to TESA Cigars. I’ve heard of this shop, I’ve ridden past their factory in Esteli, and I’ve also heard of a third (or first, as he tells it) Chris Kelly in the cigar business.  The other two are Chris Kelly and Chris Kelly, in case you are wondering.  Anyway, after navigating the “L” I arrived at the shop, which is in an odd, area. It’s about a block away from Oprah’s studios, but there isn’t really much around from what I could tell.  It’s a nice shop though. Their own brand dominates the humidor, along with a nice selection of other cigars, including an impressive selection of Drew Estate products.  Tom Navarro, whom I’ve know for a few years, helped arrange a herf there and about 20 people were there, many from the Tatuaje Saints and Sinners message board, and the BOTL message board.  I purchased, and smoked a TESA Cabinet 315 Robusto, which was a nice, well balanced cigar that had a load of rich flavor without a lot of spice. The 315 has a Habano wrapper and fillers from Jalapa and Esteli, and is finished off with a curled pigtail cap. Taxes are a bit crazy in the Chicago area, so this PA, no cigar tax, guy was pretty sticker shocked.  Chris does a nice job blending the cigars to be smooth and delicious, which was further evidenced by a corona he gave me that he had recently brought back from Nicaragua and wasn’t saying much about the blend. I’ll be interested in smoking more from this line, as the sample he gave me was very tasty and well made.  It was great meeting everyone, and, as always, a stranger walks into a group and finds new friends instantly, it’s a special thing.  I was also privileged to meet a Facebook friend, C.W. Harris, who Jose Blanco was kind enough connect me with, and is how I found out this event was going on.  I had TESA on my list anyway, but it was extra special to meet up with Tom, C.W., Chris and the rest of the gang there (and I’m terrible with names, there was Justin and Scott, and Ed, David and a raft of others….they need name tags at these things!)

 

 

Well, I think I’m going to see if I can find Casa de Montecristo and go have a cigar or two there this afternoon, then we drive back to  PA tomorrow, work three days, then fly to Colorado for the Rocky Mountain Cigar Fest.  Let me know if you’re going to that event, which I’m looking forward to.  I’ll try doing the “Live blog” thing from there, but I can’t make any guarantees. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | August 3, 2014 · 8:51 am

A Drew Estate Cigar Mojo Event, an Eterno and a Villiger Trill

Thursday night we took a ride back to Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA, it seems they were having another Drew Estate event.  In attendance representing Drew Estate were our local rep, Chris Stone, along with his boss, Dave Lafferty. They had all the usual Drew CC_DL_MojoEstate and Joya de Nicaragua cigars for sale, including plenty of Liga Privadas.  I picked up some Nica Rusticas, Undercrowns and Joya Antaño Dark Corojo and smoked an Undercrown Robusto.  Although I like the Corona Viva the best in the Undercorwn line, I can’t find fault with any of the other vitolas. The robusto was awesome, bold and full of flavor.  Event at Cigar Mojo are always awesome, and I love getting to catch up with old friends.  Once again, if you find yourself in the Philadelphia, PA area, stop in to Cigar Mojo and tell them CigarCraig sent you, they are sure to charge you extra!  August 12th they are having a La Flor Dominicana event and Litto Gomez will be there.

 

CC_CigarSafariBlend2013Friday I just didn’t know what I wanted to smoke, so I picked out a cigar that I blended last year at Cigar Safari. For some reason I had them made in a 6 x 54 size with a San Andrés wrapper, Cameroon binder and a mix of Nicaraguan and Brazilian fillers.  I think this is a tasty smoke, although I still think it has too much going on flavor-wise. I should have used a more neutral binder I think. It’s out of balance with the sweetness of the San Andrés and the Cameroon fighting a little.  As always, the construction was perfect as they have these rolled by the Liga Privada pairs.  I have a few of each of the cigar that I’ve blended over the last few years left, it’s interesting to see how they age.

 

BCP_Eterno_RobustoSaturday I took an afternoon walk with a cigar that the folks at Best Cigar Prices sent a few months back. I has smoked a few and I didn’t have very good luck with them so I decided to hold off on mentioning them here. I think they were over humidified, so a couple months in the humidor were beneficial. the Eterno Maduro is made for BCP by Perdomo. It comes in Connecticut shade and Maduro, and I was pretty pleased when they sent the maduro to try. I don’t know where this wrapper comes from, but I don’t think it’s Connecticut Broadleaf, San Andrés, or even Brazilian, my guess would be a Nicaraguan Habano variety.  It started out very strong and spicy, and was quite enjoyable. A little bit of age did wonders, as I found this to be quite enjoyable. These are reasonably priced and quite tasty.

 

Villiger_Trill_TorpGordoSaturday evening I took another short walk with a short cigar, the new Villiger Trill in the Torpedo Gordo size.  This is a 4″ x 62 topedo with a Habano wrapper grown in the Dominican Republic. It’s a Dominican puro, but has a lot of flavor and certainly isn’t mild.  The size is fun, it’s not really a short smoke as it took me well over an hour to finish it off. Thanks to Robyn, our local Villiger rep for providing a sample. Visiting with the folks at Villiger is always a highlight of my IPCPR trips, they are one of the stops I missed most by not going.  Villiger still hasn’t updated their website with information about their new lines, but Cigar-Coop and Halfwheel have the information.

 

That’s it for now. We’re going out house shopping today, hopefully we come home with one!  The FDA comment period is soon going to be over, so make sure you’ve voiced your opinion!  If the FDA has their way, events like the one I went to at Cigar Mojo will be a memory, and Mojo’s beautiful and well stocked humidor will be off limits to all but the staff. The future is bleak for premium cigars if the FDA regulates them, so don’t let that happen. It’ll get real boring when I’m talking about the same cigars every week because there’s nothing new ever. I was amazed to hear reports from IPCPR that the seminar they had on the FDA regulation was sparsely attended, are the retailers so rich that they can afford to go out of business? I doubt it. The retailers need to educate their customers about this and time is running out. Go HERE and follow their lead.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 15, 2014 · 10:06 am

Another CigarMojo Event, an Alec Bradley, a Recluse and a CAO Cigars Contest

Thursday came around and one of our favorite lounges in the area was having an early Father’s Day event, so we (my wife and I) took a drive to King Of Prussia PA for a visit.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Philadelphia area, King of Prussia is the home of the larges shopping mall on the east coast.  It’s big, actually two malls, and it’s evolved from a strip center in the ’60s to what it is today. There is a cigar shop in the mall with a smoking area, which is nice when your wife wants to shop and doesn’t require you  to play the part of Sherpa.  Cigar Mojo is down the street a bit, occupying a free standing building nestled between a cemetery and a Wawa (another fairly regional convenience store chain with a nearly fanatical following).  They were concurrently having an Alec Bradley event with “The Player” Jon Lipson, a Xikar event with local rep Rich, and a Cigar Rights of America membership drive with Alan Price.  Having stocked my humidors with Alec Bradly cigars at the last couple events I’ve been to, I perused the generously stocked humidor and came out with a handful of reasonably new singles. Trae does a very good job of having the newest releases on hand. I picked up a couple of the new Tattoo from Tatuaje, some Leccia Luchador El Castigo, a Cro Magnon, and a Nica Rustica. I always get the CigarCraig discount, where they add 10% 🙂  I smoked one of the Luchadors, which I really think is my favorite cigar to come out in the last year.  I hadn’t smoked this size, which is the  6″x60, and it was great.  I love the interplay of sweet and spicey that goes on. Once again, The guys there at Cigar Mojo put on a great event, if you ever find yourself in the area, check them out.

 

Mojo_Google Streetview

 

AB_Lineage_ToroFriday I took my usual evening walk with a cigar that was generously gifted to me by Jon Lipson, the new Alec Bradley Family Blend “The Lineage” in the toro size.  This cigar has a nice caramel colored wrapper with a pigtail cap which is from Honduras. The rest of the cigar is a mix of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. I should have given this cigar some more humidor time, I think, because it smoked a little bit moist. It has been raining here all week, so it’s damp everywhere.  Still, the cigar had very nice flavor, was solidly medium bodied to me, although if it were drier it may smoke a little more on the full bodied side. I’m looking forward to trying this one again because the flavor was very appealing and the finish was clean.  It opened up in the last third and gave an indication of its potential for me.

 

CubaAliadosCRASaturday I had two cigar opportunities, one sitting in my favorite beach chair out back soaking up some sunshine. I smoked another Cigar Rights of America cigar that I’ve had for a few years. This one was a Cuba Aliados Miami, and I hadn’t smoked a Cuba Aliados in years. Back in the day, Rolando Reyes made the Puros Indios and the Cuba Aliados. The Puros Indios were tasty, but almost always had a draw like a dowel rod.  This one was a nice smoke, medium bodied, fairly normal good tobacco flavor and burned well without dropping ash anywhere it shouldn’t have. I had the Perfecto Cigar Holder clipped to the chair arm, which reminds me, I need to do a whole post on some accessories I’ve been using lately. I enjoyed the cigar and had a very relaxing time sitting in the sun reading a book. Don’t forget to let the FDA know how you feel about regulation of premium cigars, and if you aren’t already a member of the CRA, join!

 

Recluse_Amadeus_ToroLast night I took a walk with a new cigar from the folks at Iconic Leaf, the Recluse Amadeus. This is a box pressed Ecuador Connecticut wrapped beauty in a toro size, 6¼” x 50.  Iconic Leaf uses the entubado method throughout their lines, and this one smokes no different, nice, open draw and even burn. This is another Connecticut Shade cigar with a little more spice and body. I’ve always liked the flavor that the Connecticut wrappers have as a change of pace, so this trend of slightly stronger shade cigars is welcomed.  This sample came without bands, but I’m to understand they will be using a similar design in white as opposed to the black bands they use on the OTG and Draconian lines.  Tremendous cigars all around. Interestingly (to only me, probably), Trae’s, of Cigar Mojo fame, uncle came to him with a scap of paper with the name Recluse Draconian written on it as a cigar he was looking for. I was able to educate Trae and his uncle on the line. Perhaps he’ll look into stocking something from Iconic Leaf.

 

Contest

 

CAO_Signs Contest2It’s, once again, time to give away some CAO goodies!  This time we have two of the cool tin CAO Flathead signs and a four pack of the new Flathead Spark Plug, which is a delicious little box pressed 4½” x 50 smoke.  I’m doubling up the signs because, quite frankly, it cost me a bundle to ship these things.  I’ll have one more contest coming up with these, I’ll look for  more cost effective shipping method for sure. Anyway, my problem, not yours! Leave a comment to win, and I’ll pick a winner on Wednesday. Thanks again to Gary and Ricky from CAO for providing these goodies.

 

That’s it for now, Happy Father’s Day to everyone who either is, or has a father. I’m going to enjoy my special traditional cigar, a Esperanza par los Niños from 1998. I was recent;y gifted more of these by my dear friend Mike Perry, so I can continue the tradition through 2020!  Thanks!

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