CigarCraig's Blog

by CigarCraig | May 13, 2018 · 9:26 am

Debonaire Habano, EP Carrillo Elite Oscuro and Macanudo Inspirado Red Cigars

Spring, nice weather and unemployment lead to long walks with good cigars. Besides the constant searching of job postings, and brainstorming on my future path, it’s come to my attention that I’ll be launching a podcast soon, so I’m trying to figure out the logistics of that venture. More to come on that and obviously it will be announced here. Fortunately I have a stockpile of cigars to smoke, but one that recently arrived in the mail from my friends at Drew Estate was a Debonaire Habano Belicoso. I’m a fan of the Debonaire line, Phil Zanghi, the owner of the brand and chief cigar alchemist, is a cool guy with a ton of energy. Phil founded Indian Tabak cigars, partnered with, and later sold to, Rocky Patel. I’ve bought some of the Debonaire cigars in the past, and enjoyed them quite a bit, for me they are pricey but worth it. The Habano was the first line they released in 2012, and it has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Dominican binder, and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. This belicoso was one of the original sizes released in 2012, and the example I smoked burned perfectly and really had a great taste. These fall into the “savory” category, and this may be one of the few lines where I like the “natural” wrapper over the maduro. The Maduros are great (as are the Connecticut Shade “Daybreak” line), but this Habano wrapper really makes for a great cigar. the Belicoso and Toro both measure 6″ x 54 according to the Debonaire Cigars website, either is a good choice, I’d think.

About two months ago I went to an event at Goose’s lounge in Limerick, PA (which is named after Limerick, Ireland, not after the often off-color poetic style) with EP Carrillo‘s José Blanco. It was a guided tasting, which José is known for, and was great. I picked up some EPC cigars while there, some Dusk and some of the Elite Series Seleccion Oscuro in the Small Churchill size. I smoked the Oscuro Friday and was really, really happy with it. This line has a Mexico San Andrés Oscuro wrapper, binder from Ecuador and Nicaraguan fillers and is a sweet, earthy feast of the senses. I don’t think this was overly complex, and I don’t generally sense a great deal of changes in cigars, but the flavors that it had were very appealing to me and it was just fine that they didn’t change much. I hated putting this one down. I swear I bought more than one, I’ll have to do some humidor rummaging…by the way, I also smoked a Dusk from the Classic Series this week that was spectacular. That Broadleaf wrapper is tasty!

I was wow’d by the Macanudo Inspirado Red in the box pressed robusto size initially, and wanted to sample the other sizes in the line. I picked up some Toros and Gigantes (loved the Gigante but leave yourself 2+ hours…), and finally got around to smoking the Toro. I had been told that the Robusto was the best in the bunch, and I think I’m inclined to agree, but the Toro was also quite good. It’s a 6″ x 50 in a round format, not pressed, and shares the high priming Ecuador Habano wrapper, Jalapa binder and fillers from Honduras (Jamastran), Nicaragua (Esteli, Ometepe) as the other sizes. These are full-bodied on the Macanudo scale, but high medium in the grand scheme of things, I think. I enjoy the crap out of the Inspirado Red, in this case I think the Toro is my least favorite size, which is like me saying a Maduro is my second favorite wrapper in a line! I love Toros, they are almost always my favorite vitola in a line, but this time I go with the robusto. Maybe it’s the box pressing? I’d love to try a box pressed toro!

That’s all for today, I’ve got to get working on that podcast thing. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Debonaire, drew estate, Elite, EP Carillo, general cigars, Habano, Inspirado, oscuro, Red

by CigarCraig | May 9, 2018 · 8:36 pm

News: Ventura Cigar Company Celebrates Three Essentials with Nationwide Events

Fathers, Friends, & Fire

Ventura Cigar Company Celebrates three essentials with Nationwide events.

Note: they have announced the dates for the events, which can be found here: https://venturacigar.com/fathers-friends-fire/

May 2018 – Celebrating the bond of fatherhood and friendship, Ventura Cigar Company is partnering with key Tobacconists and Smoke Shops across the nation for Fathers, Friends, and Fire, a series of events aimed at sharing stories, experiences, and the love of premium cigars and pipe tobacco.

Held throughout the month of June, the Fathers, Friends, and Fire events are festive affairs, offering attendees the opportunity to meet, take a photo, and smoke with well-known industry personalities, Michael Giannini, General Manager at Ventura Cigar Company, and 4th Generation Tobacconist, Erik Stokkebye. Guests will receive both a printed and digital copy of the photo with Giannini or Stokkebye, and have access to special offers on Ventura Cigar Company brands, including Archetype, Case Study, PSyKo Seven, 4th Generation Tobacconist, and Comoy’s of London.

“There’s nothing quite like a gathering of good friends and family,” says Giannini. “There’s a satisfying happiness found in sharing experiences and stories of the past and present. Our events are aimed at bringing people together, away from their busy lives, to enjoy- really enjoy– each other’s company. Erik and I are looking forward to traveling about the country, hearing stories and sharing smokes with our tobacconists and their guests.”

To make Fathers, Friends, and Fire truly memorable, Ventura Cigar Company commissioned exclusive mementos to give out at the events, which will not be available for individual sale. Events will feature a special cigar created by the father-daughter team, Omar and Indiana Ortez. Under Omar’s experienced eye, Indiana created the Father-Daughter blend, which balances their tastes for tobaccos, mixing the past with the present, featuring flavors reminiscent of the strength of age with a lightness of youth. The Father-Daughter limited-edition cigars will come pre-packaged in a 2-cigar coffin box, and are only available at Fathers, Friends, and Fire events during the month of June.

The Father-Daughter cigar is crafted at the Agroindustrial Nicaraguense de Tabaco factory, and features a Habano Ecuador wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. “I was really excited to collaborate with Indiana and her father on this project,” says Benjamin Winokur, brand manager for Ventura Cigar. “The Fathers, Friends, and Fire event series means a lot to me personally, as my father was the one who got me into cigars. To have the opportunity to share Indiana’s story, alongside the cigar she created with her father for these events is very special.”

In addition, guests attending pipe exclusive events will receive an exclusive pipe cleaner holder, autographed by the legendary Erik Stokkebye, whose family has been blending pipe tobacco and designing pipes for generations.

“We’re offering fans of Ventura Cigar Company brands a real treat,” says Jason Carignan, CMO of Kretek, parent company of VCC. “Fathers, Friends, and Fire is giving people the opportunity to share a smoke and a story with industry legends, Michael Giannini and Erik Stokkebye, and to also spend time with their loved ones, be they friends or family. We’re pleased to partner with our retailers to pay homage to the bonds of fatherhood and friendship, and the shared enjoyment of premium cigars and pipe tobacco.”

Fathers, Friends, and Fire events will be held around the country in the month of June. Tickets are limited in number and will be available at the participating Tobacconists and Smoke Shops for $10 each.

For the event dates and locations, please visit facebook.com/venturacigar For more information about Ventura Cigar Company and its offerings, please visit venturacigar.com

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About Ventura Cigar Company

Ventura Cigar Company (VCC) is a unique cigar brand born in sunny Southern California that is on a mission to create memorable, complex cigar blends that excite the senses and reward discriminating palates. Their flagship Archetype, Case Study, Project805, and PSyKo SEVEN brands offer multiple award-winning blends that earned 90+ ratings in Cigar Aficionado, Cigar & Spirits, and Cigar Snob. And Archetype’s Axis Mundi won #13 Cigar of the Year for 2017 from Cigar Aficionado. Ventura Cigar Company also distributes the 4th Generation and Comoy’s of London line of pipe tobacco products, extending its reach and tradition of offering top-quality tobacconist products. Pipes and blends under these brands are cultivated through generations of craftsmanship, making them longtime favorites of pipe tobacco enthusiasts.

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by CigarCraig | May 8, 2018 · 2:16 pm

A Quick Stop at the Nat Sherman Townhouse and an Epoca Perfecto

My wife and I happened to be in Manhattan yesterday for the Today Show, where they were celebrating Melanoma Monday and trying to break a Guinness record for the number of people applying sunscreen simultaneously. It’s hard to believe NBC couldn’t get 1823 people there in Rockefeller Center to get a free t-shirt and sunscreen and be a part of it. I doubt there were 500 people there. Obviously Melanoma is something we all have to worry about, especially if you’re like me and love sitting in the sun smoking a cigar. I have enough class (Id like to think) to not light up a cigar at a cancer event) We were right up front, and I thought I set the DVR to record, but haven’t checked to see if it did yet. After the show was over we went for breakfast and some entertainment at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, where the wait staff sings between waiting tables and it’s a lot of fun. The food was IHOP grade at 4x the price, but it’s Broadway, and you’re paying for the entertainment. As long as we were there, we figured we’d walk a few blocks to the Nat Sherman Townhouse on 42nd street. This is a top-notch, high-class operation, where an associate walks into the humidor with a tray and notes the cigars you select in a very helpful and unobtrusive manner. Jeff was a great salesperson and very knowledgeable, and, although I have few needs in the cigar department, I did pick up a couple goodies I hadn’t smoked before. They have an excellent selection, including accessories. The Laguiole Cigar Cutters they had were incredible works of art, if I weren’t unemployed I’d be lusting after one of those! I’f you find yourself in Manhattan, this should be a place to stop for a smoke. I usually link to a manufacturer’s website, but NatSherman.com seems to be just cigarette-centric, and requires one to log in to see that. It didn’t seem that Altria purchasing Nat Sherman had impacted the cigars or the operations of the Townhouse, but, unless I’m just not finding it, they don’t seem to have a cigar and associated accouterments website.

One cigar that caught my eye and I bought a few of was the Epoca Perfecto. I think I was drawn to this cigar because the whole theme of the brand is that it’s a throwback to the Epoca brand of the 1920s, and the box of perfectos just looked like a vintage cigar ad. It’s a classic shape, and fit the classic image of the brand. I know these are available all over, but I never see them locally, and I seem to buy Epocas every time I visit the Townhouse. The Perfecto is 5 ¾” x 52 with an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Dominican binder and filler from the DR and Nicaragua. The NYC price of this was $14, I’m sure it can be found for less. I always find this line to have a unique flavor and feel. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the branding, but it smokes like a vintage cigar, and has what I imagine to be flavors of well aged tobacco. I suspect that the tobaccos are well aged, and the construction is perfect, withe the exception of some cracks I had in the very thin Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, which were from fumbling the football shaped cigar at one point. I really like this cigar, although I won’t pay $14 very often (everything is expensive in NYC!). It was a fun cigar to smoke, I really enjoyed it, especially after getting up at 3am, driving to NYC, hanging out for 6 hours, then driving home.

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

CigarCraig

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by CigarCraig | May 6, 2018 · 9:59 am

A RoMEo San Andrés, Macanudo Inspirado Red and Cigar Podcasts

A bunch of cigars I smoked this week have already been covered here, so I’ll concentrate on ones that haven’t been. Notable among them were a Camacho Ecuador, a Guardian of the Farm and a Flor de Gonzalez that were all really tasty. Now that I think about it, maybe I didn’t write about the Guardian of the Farm the first time around, I suppose I’ll have to get my hands on more and feature it, it was a really tasty cigar that was refined, complex and had some subtleties. A cigar that was a bit of a polar opposite of that was the new RoMEo San Andrés Toro, which is another collaboration between Altadis and AJ Fernandez. I’ve long struggled to find cigars in Altadis’ range that I like to smoke, with a few exceptions, the cigars they’ve made with AJ Fernandez have fallen into the “like to smoke” category. There have been plenty that I’ve wanted to like, some that I tolerate, but the cigars that have really excited me were those made by AJ (H. Upmann, Montecristo, Gispert and now the RoMEo SA). I do like the Placencia made RoMEo 505 quite a bit, so there are exceptions. The RoMEo San Andrés comes in four sizes, Robusto at 5″ x 50, Toro at 6″x 54, Pirámides at 6-1/8″ x 52 and the Short Magnum at 5½ x 60. Of course the wrapper is Mexican, the binder is Nicaraguan and the fillers are Nicaraguan and Dominican. I’ve been pretty much leaning toward Toros lately, so that’s the size I smoked. I really liked this cigar a lot. It’s got the bold, earthy Mexican tobacco flavors I like, that take me back to when I started on Te-Amo Maduros, and while my tastes have expanded over the years, I still like that “dirty” profile. Next to the H. Upmann by AJ, this might be my favorite Altadis cigar now. Worth a try if you like San Andrés tobacco. Odd side note: one year ago today I smoked an H. Upmann by AJ, and three years ago today I smoked a RoMEo by Romeo y Julieta.

Yesterday I intentionally avoided being cliché and smoking something with Mexican tobacco. The new CAO Zócalo would have been an obvious choice, and I really like that cigar. I decided to take a different journey. As previously reported, I am a big fan of the new Macanudo Inspirado Red, made in Nicaragua at the Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s factory in Esteli (I’ve been past it twice, never visited!). I really liked the Robusto, so I figured I’d try out the Toro and Gigante too. Interestingly, the Robusto is the only box pressed cigar in the line, the Toro and Gigante are round. I have no clue why that is. I smoked the 6″ x 60 Gigante yesterday. This is the blurb from the website about the blend:

This bold, full-bodied offering represents the marriage of rich volcanic soil and profound aging techniques to achieve unmatched strength and refinement. Dressed in Ecuadoran Habano ligero and blended with rare tobaccos including twelve-year aged Nicaraguan Ometepe, ten-year aged Honduran Jamastran and five-year-aged Nicaraguan Esteli, Macanudo Inspirado Red is bound with hearty Nicaraguan Jalapa. Enticing notes of pepper and spice reign, transcending the experience of Central American tobaccos to the point of sublime.

For starters, make sure you set aside a couple of hours to smoke the Gigante, while it’s only 6″ x 60, it burned so slow. I was almost a mile into my walk and hadn’t gotten to the one inch mark, and I think the total smoking time approached two and a half hours. It was ridiculous, making it a very good value, because these aren’t expensive cigars. It was a very enjoyable smoke, it had the richness and great flavors of the Robusto in a little less focused way. I wouldn’t use the term “washed out”, but the cooler burn of the larger ring gauge certainly smoothed out the flavors. I thoroughly enjoyed the smoke and look forward to the Toro. The Inspriado Red is a great cigar to celebrate 50 years of Macanudo.

I’ve been listening to a few new-to-me podcasts lately. I’ve really enjoyed the Boveda Box Pressed and Cigar Snob Magazine‘s podcasts, very informative. A few months ago when I was in New Hampshire for The Cigar Authority‘s 400th show, I met Dave who launched the Cigar Hacks Podcast, in the last few months. The Cigar Hacks features a revolving panel and they do a blind tasting and run down events in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts areas. There is much spontaneous discussion and it can be quite hilarious. I’ve been invited on the show, and I need to make that happen, as there are some areas I can help them out with (like pronouncing words like Aganorsa). It was through this show that I was introduced to The Retrohale Podcast. This show is done by a couple of guys in Colorado, and what I like about it is their tagline: “We don’t review cigars, we smoke cigars and talk about them.” , which pretty much aligns with my own MO here at CigarCraig.com. This one is more entertainment than informative, but it’s akin to hanging out in a cigar shop and talking. There are a lot of cigar podcasts out there, I have my rotation, but try new ones out all the time.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Boveda, cigar, Cigar Hacks, Cigar Snob, cigars, Insprirado, macanudo, podcasts, Red, Retrohale, Romeo, San Andrés

by CigarCraig | May 5, 2018 · 9:18 am

News: Avo Improvisation 30 Years

Some news from Davidoff, it’s a few days late though. They originally sent the release in German, and I toyed with the idea of posting it that way, but I didn’t want to be a complete ass…Oddly I’ve been eyeing some Avo cigars in the humidor lately.

“Celebrating 30 Years of AVO Cigars”

AVO Cigars, the globally renowned brand, is celebrating a remarkable milestone – 30 Years of AVO Cigars. To commence this special year, AVO Cigars is proud to announce the sixth release of the prized AVO Improvisation Series, a limited series inspired by unexpected combinations of music and cigars that create rich noteworthy experiences for all to celebrate: The AVO Improvisation 30 Years.

The AVO Improvisation 30 Years makes its debut as the first release in the highly anticipated AVO 30 Years Collection. Limited to only 3,400 boxes worldwide, this special release emerges from an improvised blend based on the renowned AVO Classic No. 3. The blend utilizes the same wrapper leaf from Ecuador, but the Dominican binder and filler tobaccos differ from the original blend, allowing for a remarkable progression in both flavour and complexity. Further building exclusivity the stunning white packaging is inspired by the textures from Avo Uvezian’s hallmark hat and white linen suits.

“As we celebrate 30 Years of AVO Cigars throughout 2018, there is no better way to honour the brand and its legendary creator, Avo Uvezian, than to offer this special improvised blend of the AVO Classic No. 3 for all to experience,” states, Scott Kolesaire, Sr. Brand Manager at Davidoff of Geneva USA. “The AVO Improvisation 30 Years release strikes two major chords: it commemorates the foundation of the AVO brand and builds on its mission to continue delivering harmonious and noteworthy cigar experiences consistently, as it has for the last 30 years.”

CIGAR INFORMATION
Length: 7 1/2”
Diameter: 50 RG
Format: Double Corona
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

LAUNCH AND AVAILABILITY
The AVO Improvisation 30 Years will arrive in US stores on March 22, 2018 with a limited production of 3,400 boxes. It will launch in European and other markets from June 2018 onwards.

ABOUT AVO CIGARS
In 2018, we celebrate a remarkable milestone: 30 Years of AVO Cigars. It all began when the brand’s founder, Avo Uvezian, a legendary jazz and cigar composer of global fame, met the cigar master blender Hendrik Kelner in the Dominican Republic. A fruitful collaboration between cigar pianist and cigar composer began to develop, resulting in the 1988 launch of the AVO Classic Series. It was an almost immediate success. Two creative masters joined forces with one purpose: to help aficionados “SAVOUR EVERY NOTE” in life through delightful cigars. For the next three decades, the AVO brand went on to compose cigars that are meant to be savoured individual note by note. AVO Cigars is honoured to invite fans throughout the world to celebrate 30 Years with us.