It’s the Memorial Day weekend, and time to remember all those who gave their lives in service to the country so that we have a shot at enjoying a fine cigar once in a while! Thank You! Now, on to some cigar nonsense!
I caught an article this week via Twitter that Guillermo Leon had completed his purchase of the La Aurora cigar division from the parent company, Grupo Leon. I couldn’t think of a better cigar to celebrate this event than a La Aurora 107 Lancero that I had picked up when I met up with him last month at The Wooden Indian (the day my grand-daughter was born. Hard to believe she’s 4 weeks old already!). I took this cigar for a walk with my wife to the local convenience store, about a mile round trip. It certainly was a very nice cigar. There was a time in the recent past that you could almost expect a lancero to be plugged, but I haven’t had one that wasn’t perfectly made in some time. As a side note, I’ve been finding that a lot of the cigars I’ve been smoking have been well made. Either my selections have improved or there is an over-all trend in higher quality standards in the industry. Not complaining! It used t really annoy me when I’d invest my valuable cigar time and have a difficult stick. Back to the 107, I’ve now smoked this in the corona and lancero and enjoy the blend. I think the lancero is more of a good thing. I should try some of the other sizes. While these aren’t exactly what I look for taste wise in a cigar, they do give me a lot of pleasure, and I strive to keep an open mind.
I selected one of the cigar that I brought back from Cigar Safari in Nicaragua for my Friday night cigar. This was one of the ones that were made for us as a result of our blending session at Joya de Nicaragua. I chose the the Corojo wrapper, and a Sumatra binder as well as Seco from Condega. I focused on Esteli for the Viso and Ligero, with a little Condega Ligero thrown in for good measure. What I ended up with was a fairly strong cigar, both in flavor and body. I loved it, make no mistake, but it rivaled the Joya de Nicaragua Dark Corojo in sheer power, as a matter of fact, I commented to my son that I thought I had blended an Antaño Dark Corojo! He had smoked the first of his batch, and he had used much more ligero in his, and it wasn’t bad, his shade wrapper may have toned it down a bit. I smoked this cigar down to finger burning size, while it was one dimensional, it was a good dimension! I wouldn’t smoke these often, and I have four more resting to see how they develop over time. I continue to be amazed that a cigar that was rolled a mere 8 weeks ago is so perfectly smokable! Thanks to Mario Perez at Joya de Nicaragua and Jonathan Drew for this exercise. I’m reminded that I need to find some Cabinetta Lanceros sometime soon…great cigar! I actually think the Cabinetta Serie is my favorite blend from JdN for overall balance.
Saturday was a beautiful day, so for my evening walk I went with a Liga Privada Dirty Rat pre-release version that Steve Saka had sent me in January of 2010. This cigar has since been released as a Liga Privada Serie Unico as of last years IPCPR show. I’ve had several of these between the pre-release samples and the production line and they have all been exceptional. Deep and dark, these are well made and seriously satisfying. The stalk cut, Connecticut Habano wrapper is a thing of beauty and just tasty as all get out. I lamented to my wife at the time that I should have grabbed one of the longer prototype Rats I brought back from Cigar Safari, as this cigar was finished too soon. I could have easily spent another hour enjoying the deliciousness of the Dirty Rat. Truly a spectacular cigar.
Today is another day, not sure what I’ll pull out of the humidor yet, and tomorrow could present more opportunities still. Tuesday we head to NYC for a private cigar event, which we’ve been looking forward to. Everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday, and remember all those who paid the ultimate price so that we can enjoy what we enjoy!
Until the next time,
CigarCraig
