Category Archives: Video

by Craig Vanderslice | July 2, 2023 · 9:30 am

Some New Dunbarton Cigars and Some More Rebellion Cigars

I’m still working my way through the Rebellion line, but I figured I’d better smoke a couple cigars that I got at the Battleship Beef event that are going to be featured (along with a bunch of other stuff) at the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust booth at the PCA show this coming week. If I waited another week others would have had a chance to smoke them and I wouldn’t be special any more, would I? :-). Yesterday afternoon, between chores, errands and a nap, I smoked the Mi Querida Black “PapaSaka”. This is a Corona Gorda shape in the Black line, which had previously only been available in the SakaKahn size, which was 7¼” x 54. It’s not a coincidence that this is the same size as the Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur No. 1, as the SakaKahn started life as one of the JR anniversary cigars, and that cigar has a history there. The Black has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés negro binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. The 5 5/8 x 48 (2 rings larger than a corona gorda, I mis-stated earlier), seems quite a bit stronger to me, as I suspect it should. I smoked a few of the SakaKahns and while they were very good, I felt like they weren’t as focused in flavor as even the Blue band Mi Querida (admittedly my favorite, Ancho Larga especially). The PapaSaka has the espresso, spiciness that one would expect, with a bunch of strength. I definitely needed a nap after this cigar! Two thumbs up, look forward to getting my hands on more!

After dinner I had a Ribeye, a Red Meat Lovers Club Ribeye, that is. If I’m not mistaken, this cigar started life as the Meat Box, a Smoke Inn Micro Blend. This cigar is a 6″ x 52 Box Press with a pigtail cap. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and a San Andrés negro binder, like the Mi Querida Black, with fillers from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. Oddly enough, this is the first Red Meat Lovers Club Cigar I’ve had. You’d think having known Saka for as long as I have, I’d have smoked all of his stuff, but I don’t go chasing his limited stuff down, actually most of the store exclusives he’s made have not made it my way. My general frugality may play into this as well. Clearly this shares DNA with the Mi Querida line, but there’s a, dare I say, meatiness, to it. Must be the Pennsylvania fillers that give it a hearty, savory flavor that offsets, and compliments the sweetness of the wrapper/binder combo. This was a really delicious cigar and I’ll be very interested to see how this does as a national release. I know Evan Darnel, who owns the Red Meat Lover’s Club brand, is beyond excited to have this cigar, as well has his brand, widely distributed.

Back to the Rebellion Cigars. Wednesday I posted my interview with Shaun Wilkinson, who owns the brand. I thought it was a good interview, and, since I’m not going to the PCA show, I figured I’d try to get a few remote interviews in where I can. I’ll include it again at the bottom of this post. I’ve been working my way through the selection of cigars Shaun sent, and smoked the 5 O’Clock Somewhere Toro from the Country Range. This 6″ x 50 toro has a Habano wrapper, Connecticut binder and fillers from Trojes and Copan in Honduras and Esteli in Nicaragua. Like the rest of the range, it’s made in a small factory in Honduras. Amongst all the samples I’ve smoked so far, the construction has been excellent, the 5 O’Clock Somewhere (named for an Alan Jackson song) was no different. It had a nice sugar cane sweetness, which I like, and a subtle spice. it was a very nice cigar. Funny enough, I’m not a country music fan at all, however, I found all three of the cigars in Rebellion’s Country Range to be really good.

As I’ve been typing this, I’ve been smoking the Rebellion Paradise City Robusto (5″ x 52) with my morning coffee. Obviously, Shaun is a Guns and Roses fan, he also has a limited edition cigar called the Sweet Child O’ Mine in the collection. I gave Shaun a bit of trademark advice in the video, now that I think of it, Mr. Brownstone is off the table for him (Esteban Carreras has it tied up). This Paradise City is the Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar in the Rockstar Range, with an Indonesian binder and fillers from Condega and Jalapa in Nicaraguan and Jamastran in Honduras. Most of my favorite shade wrapped cigars are Honduran in origin, and this one is very enjoyable. It’s got a lot of flavor, kind of a milk chocolate with some spice. It’s certainly not just a morning cigar, it could be enjoyed any time of the day. I’ve been quite pleasantly surprised with the Rebellion Cigars, still to come are the Ace of Spades and You Shook Me All Night Long, which I have sampled in the Gordo, but want to give the Toros a shot before presenting them here.

That’s all for today. Tuesday is the 4th of July. I have a few good cigars lined up to celebrate my wedding anniversary (36) and Independence Day. Try not to blow your fingers off with fireworks. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 5 O'Clock Somewhere, cigar, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, Mi Querida, Mi Querida Black, PapaSaka, Paradise City, Rebellion Cigars, Red Meat Lovers, Red Meat Lovers Club, Ribeye, RMLC

by Craig Vanderslice | June 28, 2023 · 3:28 pm

A Couple Rebellion Cigars and an Interview with Shaun Wilkinson

A while back I jokingly lamented that I only had a few months supply of new cigars to smoke, and Shaun Wilkinson of Rebellion Cigars reached out to me and offered to share some of his cigars with me. Shaun and his wife are based in the UK, with a residence in the US as well, and launched a cigar brand. In the video Shaun tells us all about how he ended up bringing a brand from the UK into the US market. In preparation for our chat, this morning I lit up the Redneck Woman, named for the song by Gretchen Wilson, in their Country Range of cigars. This was the Robusto size, with a Connecticut wrapper, Habano binder and fillers from Jamastran in Honduras and Condega and Esteli in Nicaragua. I found this to be a very flavorful cigar, with some really interesting baking spice type flavors. burn and draw were perfect, and it was very nice with my morning cup of coffee.

You’ll see in the interview that I smoked the Ring of Fire, also in the Country Range. This has a Maduro wrapper that, as we discussed, is of Honduran origin. The binder is Connecticut, and the fillers are from Trojes and Copan in Honduras and Esteli in Nicaragua. I’m a music fan, but I’m not a country fan at all, but it’s hard not to like Johnny Cash, and Ring of Fire is a classic. This cigar was very good, it was bold, with rich chocolate and dark fruit flavors. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the video here with Shaun Wilkinson.

If you’re a retailer and happen to be reading this, stop by the Rebellion Cigars booth at the PCA show and give them a look, and tell them you saw them here!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Rebellion, Rebellion Cigars, Redneck Woman, Ring of Fire

by Craig Vanderslice | May 28, 2023 · 9:30 am

ATL and Luciano, Macanudo and West Tampa Tobacco Cigars

The highlight of the week for me was my interview with Marvin Samel (see video at the end of the post, or go back to the Friday post). I really enjoy doing these interviews, hopefully they are enjoyable for you. I didn’t mention it on the video, but I smoked a Liga Privada No. 9, the cigar I smoked for the first time when I met Marvin in 2009. Marvin was smoking a Havana Cohiba from a box he had bought in the Netherlands ten years ago. I guess we should have talked about the cigars, but I thought the behind the scenes movie stuff was really fascinating! Anyway, I smoked some other cigars this week, starting with the Foreign Affair Toro Extra from Luciano Cigars. Luciano debuted this cigar at this year’s TPE show, which I did not attend. This cigar has a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper, Nicaragua & Ecuador binders, and fillers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica & Dominican Republic. One does not see a lot of cigars with Costa Rican fillers. This cigar smoked very well, had a really interesting sweet spice, almost a ginger sort of flavor. I love a Sumatra wrapper, and this one was really nice, and probably accounts for the sweetness. It was very good.

The next cigar shares some traits with the Foreign Affair, in that it’s made in the same factory, since ATL Cigars partnered with Luciano for distribution, and one of ATL’s founders, Peter, has taken on an executive roll with the Luciano company. I found the ATL Magic to be an exceptional cigar, very special. I tried the ATL Wise Blood in the Gordito size, 4″ x 60 and was impressed. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado HVA wrapper, Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and fillers from three Nicaraguan regions. I happened to take Friday off, and after running some errands and doing some stuff, I smoked this cigar. It had a hint of sourness, kind of the sourdough bread kind, which was interesting in a good way. I’m one of the odd set who doesn’t mind a 60 ring, I think it’s best in the shorter lengths, it’s certainly ridiculous in anything longer than six inches. Good smoke, looking forward to trying other sizes.

Continuing on the short and fat vein, yesterday morning I lit up a new Macanudo Gold size for 2023, the Gold Nugget. This is a 4½” x 60, with the classic Macanudo Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and Piloto Cubano and Mexican fillers. The wrapper leaves come from early primings, making them smoother and cleaner looking than higher primings because they get less sun exposure. I was trying to reupholster the seat on my scooter, and needed a cigar to reduce profanity. If I can give any advice to someone who wants to try this, it’s to just buy an OEM seat cover and be done with it, it’s worth saving yourself the headache. So, as the scooter waits for it’s seat to come in, I enjoyed this Macanudo Gold. Fun fact, this blend is (or was) the favorite of Victoria Jaworski, the queen of public relations for Scandinavian Tobacco Group. I smoked it early in the day, and it is a milder, creamy smoke, but it’s not without flavor, and delivered a really nice smoking experience for this guy who isn’t a huge fan of the Connecticut shade genre. Like the Macanudo Inspirado White, it’s one I’ll go back to happily, whenever that shade mood hits me.

Finally, I’ve been smoking a bunch of the West Tampa Tobacco Co. Red cigars lately after finding them in stock at my local shop. I grabbed another robusto yesterday afternoon after smoking one earlier in the week. When I talked to Ricky Rodriguez last month (video HERE), we talked about the similarity between the Attic and the Red, they share all the same components, which are Mexican San Andrés Maduro, Condega Nicaragua Binder and Condega Viso, Esteli Viso, Esteli Ligero. The robusto is a powerhouse compared with the Toro and Gordo, it packs a punch! There’s a lot of cocoa and coffee, which I love, and, especially the Robusto, a healthy amount of pepper spice. I think the Red is slightly less refined than the Attic, there must be some priming difference somewhere in the blend. This isn’t a knock, by any stretch, it wouldn’t make sense to have the exact same cigar with different bands and prices (although inside sources tell me that the Attic is sold out at WTCC). I love this Red, and it seems like I’ve been smoking a lot of the Reds and Black’s recently! Great cigars from a great family company.

That’s all for today. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, so take a moment and think of those who perished so that we can relax with a great cigar. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as ATL, cigar, cigars, Foreign Affair, Gold Nugget, iMordecai, Luciano, macanudo, Macanudo Gold, Marvin Samel, Red, West Tampa Red, West Tampa Tobacco Co., Wise Blood

by Craig Vanderslice | May 26, 2023 · 7:25 pm

A Video Interview with Marvin Samel, Writer and Director of iMordecai

I first met Marvin at a local cigar shop back in 2009, it’s when I smoked Liga Privada No. 9 for the first time. I enjoyed seeing Marvin at events over the years, but it’s been quite a few years since we talked. When I heard he was making a movie, I was excited. When I heard iMordecai was available on Amazon, I watched it immediately. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, it was relatable and quite touching. Here is my discussion with Marvin.

Here is the trailer:

I highly recommend seeing iMordecai, it’s available on Amazon and Apple TV. Thank you to Marvin for taking the time, and to Matty Rock for connecting us.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, drew estate, iMordecai, Marvin Samel

by Craig Vanderslice | May 14, 2023 · 9:39 am

An Olmec Claro, a 601 La Bomba Warhead and a Video

Last December I picked up the Foundation Cigar Co. Olmec in Madur and Claro. I had smoked the Maduro, and gifted he Claro. I happened to be shopping at The Wooden Indian a few weeks back and picked up another Claro, because I wanted to smoke it! I really enjoyed the Maduro, and I’ve enjoyed so many cigars made by Nick Melillo over the years. Of course, this is a cigar that is an homage to the original cigar smokers, the Olmec, and has a San Andres Claro wrapper, a double binder of Nicaraguan Esteli and Jalapa, and undisclosed fillers. Odd the undisclosed part, must be something interesting in there, although, upon reading the website description, there seems to be some some confusion, the filler may be Esteli and Jalapa, it says two different things! Anyway, this was a really good smoking cigar. I liked the Maduro more, but that’s not unusual for me, but this had some nice creamy coffee flavor and was very rich in flavor. I may not drop $15 on these regularly, but it’s a nice treat.

On the same trip to the Wooden Indian I picked up an Espinosa 601 La Bomba Warhead VII, just because it looked so tasty. The La Bomba line has been a favorite since the EO Brands days, when it was made at the My Father factory. This one is made at AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory in Nicaragua, has a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s a 7″ x 50 Churchill, and it lacks the La Bomba “fuse” cap treatment. I actually haven’t smoked enough of the Warhead series to know if that’s a thing or not. I really liked this cigar. The box press makes it feel like a smaller ring than it is, and it’s really reasonably priced at around $10. It was loaded with dark coffee/espresso flavors. This was a really good smoke, burn and draw were perfect. I’m a fan.

Yesterday we attended the AC Cigar Social in Atlantic City, and I did a quick video interview with Jon Henderson (I had Jon Anderson on the brain for some reason…). I’ll write a more indepth post this week about the event, but in the meantime, here is the video: