CigarCraig's Blog

I’ve been all over the place this week with cigars, follow my Instagram

, Twitter or Facebook to seem my dailies.  I had some cigars I really like trying to buoy my spirits, an EPC Inch Ringmaster, a Diesel Whiskey Row Cherry Cask and a CAO Flathead V19, all really great cigars! But I wanted to talk about three other cigars for some reason.  First of which was the Gran Habano Gran Reserva 2012 in the Gran Robusto size.  I reached for this cigar for a few reasons.  First it’s really a Toro, 6”x 54, and I like that size, I’m surprised it’s lasted this long in the humidor.  Second, I feel like Gran Habano is a bit underrated, I generally dig their cigars, and I don’t see them in my local stores.  Third, they have been a great supporter of my site, and I just received a little care package from them with some corona gorda sized 2012s and seeing those made me want to smoke one.  So this cigar has Nicaraguan wrapper and binder with Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers, and they use the top 10% of the leaf that they use in the Corojo No.5 blend and then age it for 7-8 years.  The cigar is pretty darned good, with some earthiness and cedar and a bit of spice. The aged tobaccos smooth this cigar out nicely and it burned perfectly. This was a delightful cigar.

A while ago I picked up a 10 pack of what I

thought to be old El Primer Mundo La Hermandad Costa Fuerte Embajador Toros and put them in the humidor.  I hadn’t seen these for a long time and was a fan of a great many of the El Primer Mundo offerings. For those who don’t know, El Primer Mundo was the company founded by Sean Williams, who is now the Cohiba brand ambassador. I’ve known Sean a long time, he’s a cool dude. Anyway, these were made at the PDR factory in the DR, where Sean spent a stint as the director of sales. They have a Brazilian wrapper from Bahia, Dominican Olor binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I believe these to be older cigars, based on how they smoke, however, they seem to be still available in the wild (OK, one site in particular, easy to find, and very fairly priced). This confuses me a little because it’s rea

lly a very good cigar. It’s got a nice coffee flavor with some sweetness and spice that I like. This is one you can’t smoke with the band on!

Finally, this is a cigar I’ve had in the humidor for a while, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to dig in. Between the weather, and having a cold, and general malaise, I haven’t felt like the time was right. The cigar in question, of course, is the Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas Fundador. This is a new size this year, a box pressed 6″ x 54 Toro in addition to the 7″ x 50 El General and the also 6″ x 54 Diadema. I get out of typing up the wrapper, binder filler on these because they don’

t disclose the ingredients. One would suspect it’s a Nicaraguan puro, considering it commemorates the company’s 50th anniversary, at least that would be the hope. I have found it curious that they didn’t promote that outright. Interestingly enough, this cigar is rather unlike their powerhouse blends like the Antaños, and is far more refined, it’s definitely a super-premium, luxury offering. When these came out last year I made the comparison the the Joya Silver, and confirmed that they share some lineage. The Fundador is a treat, it’s rich, it’s creamy, it has subtle espresso and spices which intensify toward the end. Another masterpiece from one of my favorite factories. Friggin yum. 

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

CigarCraig