Category Archives: Stores

by Craig Vanderslice | June 4, 2023 · 9:40 am

Smoking Some Tobacco Plaza Ltd. 50th Anniversary Cigars

I was talking to Danny Ditkowich of Tobacco Plaza in Great Neck, NY recently and the subject of the store’s 50th Anniversary and the special cigars that accompanied it came up. So I decided to smoke some and highlight them here. I’ll get it out of the way, the links I put in this post will go to the store’s website, where you could purchase each of these cigars. Danny mentioned that the Tatuaje (along with the Tuxtla series) are 10% off while supplies last, and there’s free shipping fo the month of June. All that out of the way, let’s talk about these three tasty cigars! The first one I smoked was the Tatuaje TP DD 50th Exclusive. If I recall, Danny worked with Pete on a DD for the 40th anniversary, and it was 6″x 58 torpedo, this one is a 6″ x 60 torpedo, with a beautiful Broadleaf wrapper, over Nicaraguan fillers and binder, rolled at the My Father factory. The original was based on the Fausto blend, and I’m not sure if this one is too, but it’s a pretty strong cigar! It’s loaded with the coffee and spice that I enjoy, and it was a really great cigar. I may smoke another one today! If you’re a fan of the Tatuaje Broadleaf, or Tatuaje cigars in general, this would be a great one to try. Not a cheap date, but what is anymore?

I took a relatively early walk yesterday after doing a bee inspection with my wife, planting a tree and doing some trimming, all before 10am for some reason. So I grabbed the Tobacco Plaza 50th Anniversary Quesada Keg. I don’t think I ever had the original Keg, as I am not immediately drawn to things drink related, so I can’t compare. This is another 6″ x 60, and if it’s just a size variation, it has a Dominican Corojo seed wrapper, with Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s presented in a 15 count box as opposed to a barrel. This is another cigar that I enjoyed quite a bit. It had an interesting bready flavor, kind of a dark bread and it was on the medium bodied side. I know Danny has had a great relationship with Quesada as they make the Oceano brand in the La Sirena portfolio, another cigar I really enjoy.

The third and final cigar in Tobacco Plaza’s 50th anniversary series is the TPLFD Magnum Chisel Maduro. This cigar is listed as 6″ x 58 box pressed, but it’s really 6½”. The chisel shape is cool, and one of the only, if not THE only, shape that’s legally protected by a patent. This is has a maduro wrapper, with the Tobacco Plaza logo applied to the cigar in a lighter leaf. LFD has made a bit of a name for themselves with these artistic embellishments, I have one from the Ybor festival with a Rooster, and one from a dinner that Tobacco Plaza hosted in 2021 with an Iced Tea glass. They are quite neat and must take a lot of effort to produce. Someone has to make a “cookie cutter” apparatus to punch the design out of a leaf. It’s impressive. The cigar is impressive as well, it’s a great tasting smoke. I’ve been enjoying afternoons on my porch watching TV, the last few Saturday’s it’s been an Amazon show called “Clarkson’s Farm”, with Jeremy Clarkson, formerly of the British Top Gear and Amazon’s The Grand Tour (also hysterical). This Magnum Chisel got me through the last two episodes, set aside 2 hours for this one. It was rich with cocoa and spice. Another winner. I have to get up to Great Neck some time to visit Tobacco Plaza.

That’s all I got for this week, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 50th Anniversary, Chisel, cigar, cigars, DD, Keg, La Flor Dominicana, LFD, Quesada, tatuaje, Tobacco Plaza

by Craig Vanderslice | November 7, 2021 · 6:46 am

Stillwell Star Release Event at Low Country Pipe and Cigars

Friday was the official release event for the long awaited and anticipated release of Steve Saka’s Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Stillwell Star cigars, a foursome of cigars blended with pipe tobacco. The release was held at Low Country Pipe and Cigar, in Little River, South Carolina, which is owned by the same company that owns Cornell & Diehl, the pipe tobacco company that worked with Steve on the blends of the Stillwell Star cigars. Now we know how a shop in South Carolina and their website, SmokingPipes.com, ended up with the exclusive launch. Of course, an event of this magnitude deserved cigar media coverage, and Bob The Cigar Guy, and his son The Chief, popular Youtubers, were on hand. I popped in from Pennsylvania to provide support on the written word side of things since nobody else seemed to be stepping up 😁 . A little backstory: my wife mentioned this event, and wanting to get away for the weekend, and I need to take vacation days, so I made quick work of arranging the day off. As it turns out, the weather in South Carolina this weekend wasn’t much better than in PA, but it was still a weekend away! So I called Tim at Lake Country and bought two tickets for the event (event packs including four DTT cigars). We got up early Friday morning and drove nine hours to a cigar event, a new personal record. When we walked in I think Steve had a WTF look on his face, and I think Zev Kaminetsky, who is brokering DTT in the south now, was similarly surprised. A few words about the shop. Now, I’m not a pipe guy, too much fiddling around for me, I just want to smoke it and put it down, but this place had a huge selection of pipes and pipe tobacco. I took a stroll through the humidor as well and it was adequately appointed with a nice balance of legacy brands and boutiques. I even saw one brand I was unfamiliar with, and I would have explored that further on a day that wasn’t so busy. But this was a Dunbarton event, and it was about the Stillwell Star.

We were welcomed warmly by the staff, who was friendly and attentive, clearly all the folks working here love what they do and do it well. They had a company on site making pizzas that were really good, $10 for a pie that my wife and I split, I’d say it was a 14″ pie, and they were making tons of them, they had an oven right there in the parking lot. I hardly ever eat at cigar events, but after a 9 hour drive I was ready for dinner, so I ate, and it was good. after 35 years, my wife knows my pizza preferences, so my half had sausage, pepperoni, hamburger and bacon. I like a little meat on my pizza. It was mid-bite when Bob the Cigar Guy came up and introduced himself to me. He’s a hoot. Nice guy, has me confused with someone else. I don’t deserve the praise he heaped upon me, but a likable fellow! I enjoyed talking to him and his son over the course of the event. I picked up one each of the Stillwell blends, because they are pricey and, me not being a pipe smoker I really don’t have a frame of reference for the specific pipe tobacco blends, I just want to sample each one, which I shall do on a fresh palate in the comfort of my home lounge (enclosed porch). I did enjoy a Sin Compromiso and a Mi Querida over the course of the evening, while hanging out in the shop, wandering from conversation to conversation, and listening to Saka educate us all on a number of topics, mostly tobacco related. He also autographed various items. This was a great launch event, in a great shop with a great staff. It’s always fun to hang with Saka. I’m just disappointed Dave Lafferty wasn’t there.

Saturday turned out to be a gloomy, windy day, with weather much like we left behind in PA, so we stopped in to Nick’s Cigar World, which was, conveniently, a short walk from our hotel. This turned out to be a nice cigar bar adjacent to a well stocked shop. The cigars were kept in a labyrinth of counter humidors, arranged alphabetically by brand, more or less. Not really needing anything, I picked up a Fuente Rare Pink Signature and a CAO Cameroon Toro and we hung out in the lounge and enjoyed the afternoon. The staff there was attentive, and it was much like being in any lounge, with patrons watching football and busting balls. The staff was friendly and attentive. It was certainly a very nice experience. The cigar was OK, it wasn’t like the L’Anniversaire I remember from the old CAO days (I still have a tubed Churchill from about ’03 I think), but it was satisfying. Overall we had a nice, lazy day in North Myrtle Beach, despite the weather. Driving home today.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Low Country Pipe and Cigar, Nick's Cigar World, North Myrtle Beach, SmokingPipes.com, South Carolina, Stillwell Star

by Craig Vanderslice | October 24, 2021 · 11:12 am

A Visit To Best Cigar Pub with The Cigar Hacks and Diesel Sunday Gravy News

Nearly Four years ago when I went to New Hampshire for the Cigar Authority’s 400th show I met Dave, who was launching a new podcast called The Cigar Hacks. They do a panel style podcast, (often large) with a cast of characters which has morphed over time. They concentrate on promoting events and shops local to them in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts areas, along with events at other places they have visited in their travels. They also do a blind review of a cigar just about every week. I find them entertaining, as long as they don’t get too political. Dave has also managed to get his hands on a stretch limo, which they call the Oscuro III, as there have been others before this one, which the load up into to visit the various shops and lounges in their area. Like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire is loaded with cigar shops, because there’s no cigar tax. This is one of the reasons that the Hacks made a trip to the northern part of my state of PA to visit a few stores. There are also a few friends of the show, and fellow Hacks, I guess, in PA who hosted the New Englanders. These guys like to party too. I decided to drive up to Best Cigar Pub in Drums, PA to surprise them. I beat them there by about twenty minutes, which allowed me time to hit the humidor where I picked up some of the new CAO 60 Torque for some reason. What compelled me to get, and light up, an 8″ x 60 cigar, I can’t tell you, I suppose I wanted something that was going to fill the right amount of time for me, nd it was new and I really couldn’t find anything else I wanted to smoke in the humidor at the time. I really wasn’t paying too much attention to it, but it wasn’t bad, I smoked the second half on the ride home and it was actually quite tasty. More on that cigar another time, but it’s easily a three hour cigar. I ended up being a guest on the podcast episode that they recorded there, which should be released tomorrow, so if Podcasts are your thing, check out The Cigar Hacks where ever fine podcasts are sold. If you’re in the northeastern part of PA, you need to visit Best Cigar Pub. It’s quite the place. They have a full bar and restaurant, along with a well appointed humidor and an outstanding staff. I’d stop in more often if it weren’t an hour and forty minute drive! It was great to finally meet the Hacks from NH/Mass, Joe and his family, and Alex from PA.

There have been some news items that have come across my desk over the last week that I have passed on posting because they were shop exclusives or “just shipped” or stuff like that. I figure others are passing that info along, my readers don’t need to see it here. However, one I didn’t get a chance to pass along, and it was sent kind of late, as the cigar had already started to show up in stores I’m led to believe, is this one:

DIESEL LAUNCHES SECOND “SUNDAY GRAVY” EXPRESSION

Diesel is rolling out the first follow-up to Sunday Gravy with “Pecorino,” a three-country blend that’s just begun shipping to retailers nationwide. Pecorino takes its name from a deliciously rich and flavorful Italian cheese often substituted for a more expensive variety. Here again, the culinary world and the cigar category collide, as Sunday Gravy Pecorino offers a satisfying smoking experience at a surprisingly affordable price.

Blended by AJ Fernandez and Justin Andrews and handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua, Diesel Sunday Gravy Pecorino features a Mexican San Andres wrapper over a Cameroon binder and bold Nicaraguan Esteli Habano filler. This is a medium-plus smoke brimming with character. The Mexican wrapper delivers a peppery note and when combined with the subtle sweetness from the Cameroon binder and the boldness of the filler, the experience is unique and dimensional.

Justin Andrews said, “AJ and I had a lot of fun blending Diesel Sunday Gravy Pecorino. And as often happens over Sunday sauce, we brought our opinions to the table. ‘Pecorino’ represents what he and I both believe is the best of our palates: AJ’s nod to a bold smoke is there on the Nicaraguan ligero filler and my style is represented through the complexity and balance of the Mexican San Andres wrapper. This is the perfect cigar to enjoy, share or gift this holiday season and the size makes Pecorino the perfect smoke for any occasion. ”

Pecorino is being released in a robusto gordo size only, which both AJ and Justin agree is the best expression of the blend.

Pecorino (5” x 56); SRP per cigar $4.99

Diesel Sunday Gravy Pecorino will be available nationally from October-December 2021, or until the cigars are sold out. The next Sunday Gravy blend will be released in January, 2022.

Diesel cigars are produced by Scandinavian Tobacco Group and distributed by Forged Cigar Company.

About Diesel Sunday Gravy

Diesel Sunday Gravy launched in August 2021 as a full-time line of seasonally-released, Nicaraguan-forward smokes, blended and handcrafted through Diesel’s winning partnership of AJ Fernandez and Justin Andrews. Blends will be released quarterly, sold until their limited supply is deleted and offered at an unbelievable SRP of less than $5.00 per cigar.

About Diesel

Handcrafted by artisans in Esteli, Nicaragua, Diesel cigars are “bold by design.” The brand challenges the current conventions of the handmade cigar category through the bold, unapologetic style of its Cigar Master, AJ Fernandez. Diesel cigars are unified by their deeply complex flavor which is achieved through AJ’s steadfast adherence to time honored cigar making techniques and his insistence on using the highest quality tobacco. The Diesel portfolio includes Hair of the Dog which was released in 2019; Whiskey Row which launched two expressions, one in 2019 and one in 2018, and Diesel Grind which debuted in 2017. For more information, visit www.dieselcigars.com.

I’m starting to see a pattern, are they naming these after tomatoes? I don’t like tomatoes, but I don’t mind a good sauce (my wife’s Italian, I only hear her refer to gravy when turkey is involved). I’m picky, I don’t like chunks or skin in the sauce. I did smoke a couple of the San Marzanos, and they were pretty good cigars. The wrapper is Ecuadoran Habano, the binder is Nicaraguan Esteli and the filler is Nicaraguan Jalapa. These are inexpensive cigars by today’s standards and are definitely on the high side of quality when it comes to cigars in that price range. The flavor is fairly linear, not an overly complex cigar, but the flavor is good, thankfully no tomato flavors (which reminds me, I grew some Habano 2000 in the greenhouse this summer and a tomato plant was in there too, think they cross pollinated? Wasn’t that a Simpson’s episode?). If you are looking for a good, inexpensive smoke, pick some of these up. I’ll be looking forward to trying the subsequent releases, which are actually limited, when they are sold out that’s it.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Best Cigar Pub, CAO 60 Torque, cigar, Cigar Hacks, cigars, diesel, Hacks, Pecorino, San Marzano, Sunday Gravy, The Cigar Hacks

by Craig Vanderslice | October 3, 2021 · 10:41 am

Visits to Son’s Cigars and Famous Smoke Shop

Busy week this week! First, some housekeeping. If you’ve been a subscriber to my email notifications, and have noticed the lack of emails over the last several months, hopefully that is at an end. Since I “upgraded” the site to SSL, to provide a secure browsing experience for everyone, Something had been broken that made the whole e-mail thing work, and I think it’s finally been fixed. Cross your fingers. I also notice there are about 78 people who initially signed up to received e-mails, but never responded to the confirmation e-mail, so they are not receiving the e-mails, and they probably think ill of me. When you sign up you get an e-mail from Feedburner which you need to respond to to be subscribed, it’s to prevent people from signing you up without your consent, nothing nefarious! There are people who have been subscribed for over ten years, and I appreciate that! I hope it’s not filtered into their spam folders!

Wednesday evening I went over to Son’s Cigar Lounge in Exton, PA and met up with Barry Stein from The Cigar Authority and 2 Guys Cigars, who was passing through. He had his wife, Heidi, along with him, I suppose to prove her existence (I kid, I’ve known Barry over a decade, he’s a good dude, and Heidi is obviously a saint). We were joined over the course of the evening by cigar company rep, an independent broker, and a major cigar company owner. There were a couple customers there too! I bought some cigars I haven’t had yet, as I do when I’m there, and their selection is growing by leaps and bounds. They have a rather large range of house blends made by Noel Rojas, and Brian, the manager there, recommended the Sumatra, which I bought and smoked immediately, being a fan of the wrapper. it was not at all disappointing, as a matter of fact, I liked it much more than the Street Tacos Barbacaoa I smoked after it. I’ll pick up more the next time I’m there, if there are any left! I also snatched up a couple of the Bangarangs, which are made by Espinosa at the AJ Fernandez San Lotano Factory for the folks at Powstanie Cigars (Pospiech Cigars). This is another cigar I should go back and buy more of. I’m to understand that they sold all of these and didn’t even keep enough to have in their own store, Cigar Hustler, in Florida. This is a very strong cigar, lots of pepper spice and nicotine. I enjoyed it, in the way one enjoys hot wings that make you sweat while your eating them. It’s 6″ x48 format, which is probably just about right, as any more would be too much of a good thing. This is a short paragraph, and I have several pictures I want to put in, so I should think of more words to say, but I have none! Oh! I know, Barry was kind enough to gift me an Aladino Box Pressed Toro, which had a United Cigars secondary band on it, so I gather that it’s exclusive. Aladinos always remind me of the old Camacho Corojos, this is no different, and the box press is nice. It was smooth, rich and full of flavor. I like these.

Yesterday I took a drive up to Famous Smoke Shop as they were having an event releasing the latest Dunbarton Famous 80th Anniversary in a Robusto size. I think it’s Famous’ 82nd anniversary by now, but who’s counting. Dave Lafferty was there, and I guess that Saka guy showed up eventually. Of course, Saka was there, I’ve known him so long that I’m a little over-familial with him and people maybe mistake it for something it isn’t. So I did get to talk to Steve, mostly he asked how my family was doing and stuff friends who haven’t seen one another in a while do. I keep wanting to ask him why the hell he didn’t put the Dunbarton D on the back of the Stillwell Star bands like the Sin Compromiso and Sobremesa, so he could avoid them being put on the cigars upside-down, but I forgot again. There were other personalities there, and I met a fellow Craig who is a reader and social media acquaintance who lives a few miles away from me there. I will have to smoke the toro and robusto side by side, but I believe the robusto to be stronger. I bought a bunch, and still have several of the original toros, so I’m in good shape. I doubt they sold out, so Famous should have them available soon on their website. If I may vent, the Leaf, which is the bar portion of the Famous shop in Easton, is no longer a restaurant. They have converted the dining area to a lounge, which is OK, they didn’t really have enough lounge space before, in my opinion. My beef was that they had live entertainment yesterday (a solo guitarist/singer). It always befuddles me why places that are based around a product that is about sitting, relaxing and having conversation, and the seating area is actually designed for this, they have loud music that makes it difficult to have conversation! WHY? It’s neither fair to the patrons nor the performer, really. I don’t get it.

Well, that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aladino, Bangarang, cigar, cigars, Dunbarton, Famous, Famous 80th, Famous Smoke Shop, Son's, Son's Cigar & Lounge

by Craig Vanderslice | August 22, 2021 · 11:07 am

Asylum 13 Medulla Oblongata at the Humidour on the Hill

Yesterday I found myself in Cockeysville, Maryland so I stopped in the Humidour Cigar Shoppe on the Hill for a cigar or two. This is not my first visit, I was there six years ago and spent an afternoon there. As a matter of fact, last night when I got home, I smoked a Zorba corona that I had gotten there six years ago. They have three exclusive cigars that are made by Rocky Patel, the Zorba, the Zeus and the Bella Carmella. The Zorba was a nice smoke that kicked in nicely in the second half. Speaking of Zorba, the store recently rebranded their members lounge to the Zorba Lounge. I’m to deduce that “Zorba” is the nickname of the owner, Finnie Helmuth’s father, who apparently founded the shop. I managed a tour of the members lounge, which is very nice. First you need to know that the store is a large house, so the Zorba lounge is what might have been the parlor or living room and dining room of the house, with the foyer leading upstairs to a large room with the lockers and a wet bar area. Memberships include discounts and almost half the annual fee back in the form of a giftcard to the store as well as exclusive events. Like the public lounge, it’s very warm and inviting, like sitting in your living room, and some of us deny ourselves that luxury. I had hopes of smoking the Zeus I picked up while I wrote this over coffee this morning, but, alas, a weather induced migraine put the kibosh on that. I wondered about the Zeus, because SMōKE Manyunk had a Zeus cigar. It turns out that Chris Helmuth, one of the owners, and Kosta (who owns SMōKE) are buddies and conspired together in some way to bring this to the Humidour. It looks good, which is why I bought it. I passed on the Bella Carmella because it’s a Connecticut Shade and I have plenty of those in the humidor that I never get around to smoking. So, if you happen to be in the Cockeysville, MD area, stop in Humidour Cigar Shoppe on the Hill, buy some cigars and hang out for a bit. If your local to the area, check out the members lounge!

Before I move on to the cigars, the folks at The Humidour are involved with the Premium Cigar Retailers Association of Maryland, who fight against tax laws and whatever other ridiculous restrictions their governments try to throw at them to put them out of business. They are having an auction ending September 19 with bidding opening August 30th. It looks like they will have a lot of good stuff, so if you enjoy the excitement of auctions, and you like helping out good organizations, give this a look. Information can be found here.

I was looking through the Humidour’s humidor, which is large and well stocked, and decided on the Asylum 13 Medulla and Oblongata Maduro in the 6″ x 60, as I hadn’t smoked any of those to date. I actually would have gotten the toro size, but they were out of one or the other of them, I think the Medulla. After smoking both, this makes perfect sense to me. Because of my borderline CDO (which welve established over and over is OCD in alphabetical order as is proper), I was compelled to smoke the Medulla first, because it’s Medulla Oblongata, not the other way around, right? The Medulla is round and the Oblongata is box pressed, both have the same blend, I believe they have a San Andrés wrapper around authentic Corojo fillers made in Honduras. I smoked them one after the other, and was a little surprised that the Medulla was much richer in flavor than the Oblongata. First, the flavor was unique, there was a flavor that reminded me of Australian licorice. This is deeper and richer than say, Twizzlers (mass market licorice). It was very different from other maduros I have smoked. I’ll definitely get some more of these. The box press seemed to lack the richness and density of smoke, perhaps whatever leaf the removed from the blend to press it was the key. I would have smoked the box press first based on preference, and if they were named opposite, I certainly would have. I wonder how I would have perceived the difference. I wonder if my palate was fatigued. Now I need to get more and smoke them separately. More experimentation is needed. I love cigar research!