Category Archives: Take a Cigar For a Walk

by | February 26, 2012 · 11:25 am

An A.Turrent, a Griffin’s and Some Beverage Suggestions

Thursday night I took a late walk with a A. Turrent Puro Corojo  Robusto.  It was another reasonably balmy February evening, and this 4½” x 54 cigar seemed just about the right size for the time allotted.  I received this cigar in a sampler from the Altadis booth at the IPCPR show and have been slowly working my way back into those cigars.  This cigar had a very nice look, the wrapper was very smooth and without a flaw.  The burn was perfect and the draw was easy with just the right amount of resistance.  I really enjoyed the flavor of this Corojo cigar, it was rich and satisfying. For years Mexican tobacco has gotten a bad rap, although I never really minded it, heck, I started out smoking TeAmo maduros way back when.  Certainly the San Andreas tobacco is a pretty hot tobacco these days, and this cigar has a San Andreas Corojo wrapper and some fillers mixed in with Nicaraguan Corojo.  I absolutely LOVE the San Andreas maduro wrappers, I wonder how this cigar would be with that wrapper?  Thanks to Enrique Seijas for the tour at the show and for the samples.

 

Friday night we went to a little coffee house nearby to see my son play with his latest band.  Even though the place has “Coffee and Tobacco” on the window, there’s no smoking allowed thanks to our states indoor clean air laws.  Considering the size of the place, it’s probably not a bad idea.  The area where the band played was an upstairs room with was pretty small.  There were probably 50 people in a 20×30 or so room, with limited seating. The band was very good, despite my obvious bias, and I had some time before the show to enjoy a Griffins 500 on the sidewalk in front of the place.  I am constantly impressed with the quality of this mild cigar.  Burn and draw are outstanding and it’s loaded with flavor. I suppose you have to like a Connecticut shade wrapped cigar to like these, but I think it’s a nice smoke.  I was an old guy smoking a cigar among a bunch of teenagers smoking cigarettes, but that’s OK, I was one of them once…

 

One often asked question I see is regarding beverages to go with cigars, and the question that catches my eye most often is the non-alcoholic beverage question.  As one who gave up drinking long before I took up cigars, I’ve made a few conclusions of my own in that area.  Of course, coffee is a great cigar companion, but there are times when only a cold beverage will do.  I’ve often turned to root beers in this case.  I particularly enjoy Stewart’s or IBC, but recently the brewery in town here started bottling their root beer and its phenomenal.  Unfortunately, it may only be available in the Victory Brewpub retail store, but if you see it anyplace, give it a try.  My absolute favorite cold beverage cigar accompaniment is Reed’s Ginger Brew.  It’s a little like Ginger Ale on steroids.  I love the “Extra”, but it actually can over power a lighter cigar because it’s so spicy.  The Raspberry is  quite good, and the Spiced Apple Brew is very refreshing on a hot day as well.  I’ve been a fan of these since being introduced to them at a herf in 1999 , and pick up a couple four packs whenever I get a chance.  Here’s a Food Network video about the product and the company:

httpv://youtu.be/6sebjdI4aj4

 

So, if you’re looking for a nice, non-alcoholic drink to go with your cigar, check out some root beers or ginger beers, and if you can find Borgnine’s Coffee Soda, you can’t really go wrong with that, but it’s darned near impossible to find.  If anyone does know of a place to get ut, please let me know!  It’s really my holy grail of cigar beverages.

That’s it for now, I may try to find a nice cigar and take a Sunday walk.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Share

5 Comments

Filed under Editorial, IPCPR, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | February 22, 2012 · 6:21 pm

A Few Cigars: A Romeo y Julieta, a Brun del Re and a Humo Jaguar

I got into a little pattern last week while working on my last article, and decided I needed some diversity.  I’ve been working my way around the cigar making countries this week, so here’s a look at some of the cigars I’ve smoked and the circumstances surrounding them.

 

Sunday was my youngest son’s 18th birthday, and for months he’s been telling me that we were going to smoke a cigar together to mark the occasion.  Since his older brother’s first cigar at 18 was a Romeo y Julieta Coronitas, I figured that would be the fairest choice.  I had purchased a box of these almost 5 years ago to smoke and share at my daughter’s wedding, and they went over very well.  It’s not a large cigar, and it’s interesting enough to satisfy the newbie and experienced smoker alike.  I hadn’t smoked one in a very long time so I joined my son on the back deck for his first cigar.  We had originally planned to go to the Cozy Hookah and Cigar Lounge in nearby West Chester to have a relaxing smoke indoors, but when we got there it wasn’t open.  Fortunately it wasn’t bitterly cold so we took the heater out and fired up.  It went well.  Christian enjoyed the cigar, and didn’t turn plaid like his brother had years before. 🙂

 

The next night, eager to try out all of the little things that come with turning 18, my son wanted to buy a lottery ticket.  He had stopped in to the local cigar shop, JMs Cigars, and purchased a little Arturo Fuente, it looked like a maduro Exquisito to me.  I grabbed a Brun del Re Colonial Robusto from the IPCPR show and the three of us (oldest son, Corey, included) took the walk to the convenience store.  I was hesitant, yet currious about the Brun del Re, my first experience with the Don Corazza line was less than fulfilling. I needed to mix things up a little, so I figured what the heck.  The cigar has a nice dark Costa Rican maduro wrapper and a mix of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan fillers.  I think the Indonesian binder takes a little away from an otherwise nice cigar, but that’s just me and my bias against Indonesian tobacco. All in all it was an enjoyable smoke.  Enough different flavors to be interesting and very well made.  I still have a couple of thier other lines to smoke, I’m looking forward to sampling them.

 

Today we had one of those rare February days where temps approach the 60s, so I’m typing this while enjoying a Humo Jaguar Gigante that was a gift from my friend Barry Stein, formerly of ACigarSmoker.com, presently of Miami Cigar and Co.  This line came out of the cigar festival of the same name which was held last February in Honduras.  The word on the street is that all of the Honduran cigar makers submitted blends in a sort of Miss Honduran Cigar contest, and this was the winner.  It seems to me there is some disagreement over who actually won, but this is the cigar with the Humo Jaguar name, and it’s the one I’m smoking now, so I don’t care.  This is a 6″ x 60 monster with a nice, dark Honduran Oscuro wrapper.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but what I’m getting is a really nice cigar!  Rich flavor, perfect draw and burn, and some subtle little flavors that make me raise the occasional eyebrow and say “hmmmm….nice!”  I’m only half way though, but I feel confident in recommending this cigar, and deeply appreciate the opportunity to try it.  I’ll be picking some more of these up in the future.

 

News

It’s a bit of  good news/bad news for those of us in the Philadelphia area.  As reported in last Thursday’s Philadelphia Inquirer:

Center City cigar lounge Mahogany on Walnut (1524 Walnut) will be closing its doors Feb. 29.

Owner Tom Piazza, who opened the bar in 1997 says he’s been operating without a lease since August and that Holt’s Cigar Company, the store downstairs, doesn’t want to renew it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who came in while governor of California, is among the many famous faces who have enjoyed a smoke at the old-fashioned lounge.

Piazza says he hopes to soon open a new location “Within a four block radius.”

“I have some of the most unbelievably loyal patrons,” Piazza said. “I feel horrible for those people. They’re apologizing to me, but I feel bad for them, that I let them down,” said Piazza, noting that the bar survived two smoking bans and two recessions.

Holt’s declined comment on not renewing the lease or its plans for the space.

UPDATED Feb. 18:

Holt’s President Robert Levin got back to me Saturday to say that after Mahogany closes, the space will “Be totally renovated and rebuilt,” and re-open in 5 to 6 months as The Ashton Cigar Bar named after the popular cigar brand Holt’s owns. Levin says the bar will have an updated HVAC system and walk-in humidor

So the bad news is that Mahogany over top of Holt’s is closing, a place many of us have stopped in to enjoy a smoke or two with friends over the years.  The good news, I suppose, is that downtown Philly will soon have two cigar bars!  It will be very interesting to see what Holt’s does with the existing space on Walnut Street, and where Tom Piazza will open his new place.

 

That’s all I have for tonight, now I’m going to get back to this tasty Humo Jaguar!  Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

Share

6 Comments

Filed under News, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | February 8, 2012 · 7:02 pm

The Grimalkin Contest Winner Announcement, Maria Mancini and a Hoyo de Monterrey Cigars

I haven’t really smoked anything unusual this week, opting instead for some old favorites.  One of those was a Maria Mancini Robusto Larga from a couple of five-packs I picked up on a visit to JR Cigars in Whippany, NJ.  Anyone who has been following me for any period of time will know that this is a stand bye for me, if not this particular size, the marque in general.  I’ve had some of these in my humidor at all times since my first purchase of them in 1999.  They remain consistent,  usually burn well, and almost always taste great.  For a cigar that runs under $3, this is fairly remarkable.  The Maria Mancini won Cigar Journal‘s award for Best Value Honduran cigar at their award ceremony in Vegas at the IPCPR show last summer.  Great cigars for a little money.

 

Last night I need something small to just last me the mile or so walk to the convenience store and back.  I grabbed one of my favorite winter walk smokes, a Hoyo de Monterrey Sabroso Maduro.  This 5″x 40 petite corona fit the bill, loads of deep, dark flavor, well made, and just about the right size.  Again, this is not an expensive cigar, a couple bucks each by the box.  It may not be the most refined cigar, but on a cold winters night, hoofing it to the store, it satisfies.  It was a toss up between this and a Chateau Real Small Club maduro, which I really like, but are becoming quite rare.

 

Contest!

On to what you’ve been waiting for, the announcement of the winner of these super cool Grimalkin mugs, a Grimalkin robusto, and whatever else happens to fall into the box when I pack it up!  As usual, I’ve assigned a number to each comment based upon how they appear on the post, and utilized the Random Number Generator at Random.org.  The winner is comment number 9, which corresponds to George Satterfield!  Congrats George! Please send me your contact info so I can ship these goodies to you!   Many thanks to Gary Griffith for supplying these cool mugs, and making great cigars! Stay tuned, you never know when the next contest might pop up!

 

I’ll leave you with this political cartoon from a Philadelphia Inquirer in 1908.

Click to Enlarge

 

That’s all I have, so until the next time,

CigarCraig

Share

5 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | February 5, 2012 · 8:49 am

A Cigar of My Own Blending, a 777 and a Grimalkin Contest!

In March of last year my son and I went to Nicaragua for Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari.  One of the many cool things we did on the trip was to blend a cigar at the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The exercise highlighted Nicaraguan tobacco, there were Seco, Viso and Ligero leaves from Condega, Jalapa and Estili to choose from, as well as Habano Criollo, Dark Corojo and Ecuador Connecticut wrappers and Habano Volado, Sumatra and Ecuador Connecticut binders.  It was quite the experience touching, smelling, looking at all these leaves, and watching how each leaf burned.  I selected the Dark Corojo wrapper and Sumatra binder, along with Condega Seco, Esteli Viso and a blend of Condega and Esteli Ligero.  The factory rolled five robustos for each of the attendees which were delivered to us on our last night.  I smoked one of these after about 3 months and was amazed, and the one I smoked Friday evening was no less amazing.  It burned perfectly, even burn, nice flat coal.   It was vaguely  reminiscent of the Antaño Dark Corojo, no surprise there given the wrapper I selected.  I have 3 left, and it will be fun to pull them out after another six months or so.  On this occasion my son, who had traveled with me, joined me with an Acid Kuba Kuba Maduro.

 

Yesterday, after napping through a near comeback by the Flyers (helpful hint, don’t get down 6-0 and expect to win…) I needed a pick-me-up so I grabbed a J. Fuego 777 Maduro Belicoso for an afternoon walk.  I have really been enjoying the cigars in the J. Fuego line.  So far I’ve loved them all, but the Maduro 777 has been my favorite.  Dark, rich, and savory, this cigar is always a treat for my taste buds.  Normally I’m not a fan of Criollo wrappers, but this one is done just right.  These aren’t priced too bad either.  I could smoke these all the time.  I will probably shy away from this shape in the future though, as it wanted to shoot out of my mouth easier than most figurados for some reason, maybe it’s oilier than most torpedos and belicosos I smoke!

 

It’s contest time again!

It seems like just yesterday I was in daily contest mode!  December’s 12 days of Spectacular Giveaways was a huge success (for the winners and the USPS for sure!).  Thanks again to all of the sponsors for taking part.  A few weeks ago I went to visit Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars at the Peoples Plaza Cigar-ette City location and he gave me these two Grimalkin mugs for a future give-away.  The future is today, my friends,  so leave a comment on this post to enter and I’ll post the winner on Wednesday.  The mugs are magic!  they look like the one on the left until you put hot liquid in, then the eyes appear!  I’m also going to include a Grimalkin Robusto from my humidor, and you never know what else might fall into the box as I’m packing it up!  I will have to try to get some more of these before they change to La Musa.   Many thanks to Gary for providing me with these collectors items to give away!

 

That’s it for today!  Enter the contest, tell your friends and enjoy the day!  I understand there’s some sort of sporting event on today…oh yeah, the Flyers and Rangers game this afternoon!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

Share

39 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | January 22, 2012 · 11:46 am

A Couple of San Lotanos and a Visit to Olde World Tobacco

When was the last time you had two darn near perfect cigars in a row?  This was the case with the last two cigars I had: a San Lotano Habano Lancero and a San Lotano Maduro Robusto.  Thursday I took a drive after work to Lancaster, PA to a shop called Olde World Tobacco.  I can remember visiting this place when it was just a counter in a leather shop, maybe a dozen years ago.  It’s developed into quite a nice shop.

 

My primary motivation for going was to meet John Demharter, a manufacturers rep for many of my favorite cigars.  He was there with the San Lotano line and I was in the mood for an indoor cigar so I took the forty-five minute drive.  I grabbed a couple cigars and lit up a Habano Lancero.  Up to this point I’d only had the Oval, which, of course, is an exceptional cigar.  The Lancero was smooth, rich and delicious.  I sipped it, as one should with a cigar of this shape, and finished with about a half and inch left. I had a really nice time talking with John, who is a very nice guy, despite the fact that he’s from Pittsburgh and is probably a Penguins fan.

 

Olde World Tobacco is a fairly well appointed shop.  There is a coffee bar as you walk in, a small seating area with 3 tables, then the counter.  Humidor cabinets line the other two walls.  The cabinets seemed to be fairly sparsely stocked, but there is a nice selection there and the prices seemed fairly reasonable.  The area where the shop is located is basically a tourist area, there are outlet malls, a children’s theme park that been there since I was young (which is a long time!) and lots of Amish attractions, so one might expect prices to be a little higher than normal.  There seems to be a regular crowd of guys there smoking, who seemed to be having a good time, and the staff was very attentive.  This store features a Diamond Crown Lounge, and when you get past the shop in front, you move into a series of rooms with leather chairs and TVs that look very comfortable.  There are also some private lockers and I’m told they have an area outside for warm weather events.  It was a very nice experience and I’d go back or stop in if in the area.

 

My Friday night walk featured the San Lotano Maduro Robusto that I picked up at the event.  I’m a sucker for a box pressed maduro, and this one looked too delicious to not smoke.  It’s funny how one can have dozens of choices, but that one new arrival begs to be smoked.  And I’m glad I did, however I’m disappointed that I only bought the one!  It was the perfect choice, like smoking a nice dark chocolate bar.  Rich, cocoa-coffee, sweet and creamy  flavors that I was very sorry to put down when it started burning my fingers.  Have I mentioned that I love a properly made San Andreas Mexican maduro wrapper?   I loved the way it burned, a nice, flat coal.  It is such an accomplishment to blend a cigar that all the tobaccos used burn at the exact same rate.  It’s a rare and beautiful thing.   I can’t wait to smoke more of these, and look forward to a maduro Oval one day!

 

That’s about it for now.  We had a little snow here in SE PA this weekend, it should be gone by Monday.  This winter is turning out a lot better than last year, snow wise, which is a nice change of pace.  Once again, if you haven’t sent letters to your elected officials what are you waiting for?  Our rights and privileges are eroding as we speak, and the FDA will completely screw up an age old industry.  People like Snoop Dogg releasing news that he is bringing a cigar to the market that will be sold in two packs retailing for $1 do more to damage the industry than just about anything.  Here’s the link again: Cigar Rights of America and IPCPR.

 

Also, you might notice some layout changes.  I got a new logo, thanks to Amy at Brandland –brandland.etsy.com, and am in the process of tweaking a new theme.  Let me know what you think!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Share

11 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,