Among the many cigars I’ve been smoking this week, I smoked a couple of cigars that were handed to me at the TPE show back in January, when life was relatively normal. Normal being relative, at the time, I was still jobless, although I thought I might have an opportunity in the works. Sadly, that opportunity fell through, although who’s to say what would have happened as the months passed. Anyway, as I’ve been self-medicating with premium tobacco, I’ve been searching for a new cigar here and there to include in a post, and I selected a cigar that Terence Reilly handed me while I was visiting with him at the Aganorsa kiosk. He was one of eight sharing one of the several “pods” they had, and was the lone representative of Aganorsa Leaf, and seemed to be having a good show. I enjoyed a brief conversation with him, mostly personal stuff. He gave me a JFR Connecticut Super Toro, which is a 6½” x 52 Parejo wrapped in tissue paper. This cigar had a pigtail cap on it’s Ecuador Connecticut wrapper covering Nicaraguan Aganorsa binder and fillers. This is a relatively inexpensive cigar, under $6 in lower tax states, and well worth the price. It’s got a smooth, creamy flavor, with some wood and pepper. It’s not without some body, I put it in the medium range. This is actually the first JFR I’ve smoked, and I’d certainly be interested in trying the Corojo and Maduro versions.
The other cigar I selected was the Vintage Rock-A-Feller Dominican Blue Line Churchill. Rock-A-Feller Cigars was another one of the Pod-dwellers at the TPE, which seemed to be a great set-up for a lot of the vendors. This setup had a counter and displays pre-built, and all the vendors had to do was bring in their wares and put them on the shelves and they were ready to go. No paying porters, renting furniture or any of the major expenses of traditional booth space. It kind of discouraged customers from hanging around, they did their business and moved along. I met Craig Roth, the sales manager for the company, and naturally, we developed an instant bond. I might have beat him to the “CigarCraig” moniker. Anyway, he gave me this cigar, and I decided to give it a whirl. The blend is as follows from their website:
Filler: • LIGERO-PILOTO-TIPO CUBANO: A Cuban seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• SECO SAN VICENTE: A Cuban seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• OLOR DOMINICANO: A Dominican Seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.
• LIGERO DE NICARAGUA: Nicaraguan Seed Grown in Nicaragua.Binder:
• Olor: A Dominican Seed Grown in the Dominican Republic.Wrapper:
• Habana: A cuban seed Grown in Ecuador.
The Churchill is 7″ x 48, close enough, and if I remember correctly, it had a box press. The burn and draw were exceptional, although the burn meanders a bit in the final inch, and by then it was just about finished anyway. This is a medium bodied cigar, and fairly middle of the road in flavor. It had some woody, and earthy notes, with a bit of coffee. It was a good cigar, although less in my wheelhouse. I’ll seek out the Nicaraguan line and see how that lines up with my preferences.
That’s all for now, back to social distancing and quarantine. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
