CigarCraig's Blog

by CigarCraig | June 11, 2017 · 9:47 am

San Lotano Bull, Aging Room Havao, A Flores AFR-75 Cigars and the Contest Winner

I’ve been poking around the humidor lately looking for some interesting cigars and came across a San Lotano Bull Toro Friday. AJ Fernandez has been getting a ton of attention lately for his work with other companies, notably General Cigars and Altadis. I figured it would be good to spotlight the San Lotano as the companies own brands seem to be flying under the radar a little. Sure the New World and Bellas Artes get a little attention, but I really enjoyed the San Lotano line, specially the full-bodied The Bull. I find it funny that they called the 6″ x 54 the Toro, seems redundant to me, but what else would you call it? This cigar has a dark Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, with binder and filler

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AJ Fernandez’ proprietary tobacco grown on their farms. There aren’t many AJF cigars I don’t like, the Bull is one I really like. It’s got the coffee and spice I want with a hint of wood from the cedar sleeve and a year or so in the humidor. Perfect draw and burn made this a great cigar to end the week. Abdel Fernandez is a tobacco and cigar genius, his factories make great cigars.

Saturday I had a chance to enjoy an early cigar and I chose an Aging Room Havao Treble, the 6″ x 50 toro. Funny how 50 ring seems small these days, 6″ x 50 used to be the common toro size, now it’s 52 or 54. This is an elegant cigar in size, appearance and flavor. It’s got an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper and Habano Criollo in the filler and binder. I generally stay away from Criollo wrappers, but this cigar works very well with it in the filler. It’s a terrific smoke, it’s loaded with flavor, lots of depth with the creaminess from the shade wrapper. This was an absolutely wonderful cigar for the time, and

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it was very well-behaved with a perfectly straight burn line. Now that Altadis is distributing the Aging Room line, and Rafael Nodal is working for them, it’ll be interesting to see where this brand goes. I would choose this over a Connecticut wrapped Monte any day of the week, personally, so I hope the competition isn’t bad for the Aging Room brand.

I was hunting for a short smoke before going out to see a friend’s band play, and came across a cigar from PDR Cigars that I forgot I had. Maybe I thought it was a L’Atelier maduro as it was face down in the tray, or it just got buried. I actually can’t even recall where this cigar came from. As the size was what I was looking for, I looked closer and was delighted to find that it was an A. Flores AFR-75 Catador, a cool little 4″ x 54 pigtailed robusto. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Criollo 98 Nicaragua binder and Habano D.R., Connecticut Broadleaf & Criollo 98 Nicaragua fillers. Again with the Criollo, interesting. If you haven’t tried this cigar, it’s worth seeking out and dropping a few bucks on, because they are on the high side, this little guy coming in just north of $12. this price point tells me that someone must have given this to me or it was a sample, as I probably wouldn’t have shelled out that kind of coin for such a small cigar. It is a brilliant smoke though, dark espresso and a surprisingly long burn of around an hour. It’s a super premium cigar, but it’s super good, so worth it in my opinion.

Contest

Last week I threw out a contest for a whole bunch of cool odds and ends that have been accumulating around here and I’ll never use. It seems right to share them with someone who will appreciate them. I’m sure some cigars will be included to keep stuff from rattling around in the box! I see there were 26 entries, less one for Olie who won the last time. The Random Number Generator at Random.org spit out the number 12 out of 25, which corresponds to Dave Wisniewski, who commented that this would make a nice Father’s Day present. I think Dave is fairly local to me, so either he gets his

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address to me in a hurry and I can get it out this week, or week work out a meet-up which is always fun. Dave, you know how to reach me! Thanks to all of you who took the time to enter, I’ll scrounge more goodies up for a future contest!

That’s all for today, I’ve got a deck that needs power-washing, which isn’t a good activity to enjoy a cigar, so it’ll wait until after! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

7 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as AFR-75, Aging Room, aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Contest, Havao, PDR

by CigarCraig | June 7, 2017 · 9:36 pm

More Tatuaje Cigars: K222, Havana VI and Cheesesteak

I went on a bit of a Tatuaje bender this week, starting off with the great Seleccion de Cazador Miami K222 Reserva. This is a cigar that I have smoked a couple of and really like. It’s a 5 7/8″ x 52 Toro with an Ecuador Habano wrapper. The cigar is named for Pete Johnson’s Rottweiler, Kona, who passed away after a battle with cancer which previously resulted in the loss of a leg. Having a three-legged dog myself, I have a great deal of empathy, even though Macha’s leg was lost due to an accident. Also, as a dog lover, I sympathize with anyone who loses a beloved pet. The K222 is a wonderful cigar, loaded with dark, rich flavor that’s perfect for my palate. The size is great, the rustic appearance is great, there’s not muck for me not to like about this cigar.

Without even thinking I selected a Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles that had been gifted to me quite a while ago by Dan, a great reader and someone I consider a friend I haven’t met yet. the 5″x 50 size was perfect for a late walk after catching an early movie (Wonder Woman: pretty good flick!). This cigar fascinated me. I’m certain I’ve smoked from the Havana VI line before, but I didn’t recall the sweet, almost floral flavors I got from this robusto. There was a very unique and refreshing character to the first half, and it built in strength in the second half to more of the cocoa flavors I would expect. I may have more of these around, but if I don’t I’ll be picking some up. Thank you to Dan for sharing this great smoke with me!

Last night I figured, what the heck, and grabbed what Pete told me is a Tatuaje Cheesesteak, an unbanded toro that was in the Oh F*ck I’m Lost pack that I had bought at the tour stop at Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA a few months ago. Since we are close to Philadelphia, and the Cheesesteak is one of the more famous local cuisines, this was an appropriate inclusion in the five-pack, which included some Pudgy Monsters and a Black Label CRA toro. I believe this was an event exclusive for one of Pete’s “Mega Herf” events. Holy crap was this a great cigar! It was smooth as butter, or should I say Cheeze Wiz, I wasn’t expecting such a medium bodied, silky smoke. Once again, it had an interesting spice component that was so appealing. I’ll likely never have the opportunity to smoke one of these again, but if they were available I’d stock a humidor with these, it was that good. This may have been one of the best cigars I’ve smoked in a very long time. Exceptional cigar, I’d smoke this over eating a cheesesteak in a heartbeat, and I love a cheesesteak.

That’s all for now. I have to make some travel arrangements as I’ve decided to attend the IPCPR show this year after all. I was on the fence for several reasons, but an opportunity arose and I took it. Now I need to find some flights and book a room. Don’t forget to go back to my last post and enter the contest if you haven’t already! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

5 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as Cheesesteak, cigar, cigars, Havana VI, K222, tatuaje

by CigarCraig | June 4, 2017 · 9:41 am

A Fratello Cigars Event, a La Aurora, a L’Atelier and a Contest!

Friday evening we took a family trip over to the Wooden Indian cigar shop in Havertown, PA to have a visit with Omar d

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e Frias and his amazing Fratello cigars. When I say family, my wife sometimes joins me on these trips, but this time my son Corey came along, and, at the invitation of the shop owner, Dave, Macha joined us too. Macha loves these outings as she gets a lot of attention and loves everybody. She was well-behaved, most of the time just laying down and relaxing, something I wish she’d do at home when we get back from a long walk and I just want to finish my cigar and she wants to play in the yard! Anyway, she had a great time, and I smoked one of my favorite cigars from last year, the Fratello Bianco Boxer. This is a box pressed torpedo wrapped in a beautiful San Andrés wrapper, Dominican binder and fillers from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua and Peru. What distinguishes the Boxer from the regular Bianco line, and this holds true with the regular and Oro Boxers as well, is that they use a little extra ligero in the blend. Not only does the cigar smoke perfectly and taste amazing, it’s got a little extra kick! I picked up a few more for the humidor, along with some other goodies, and enjoyed a great evening at the Wooden Indian with my buddy Omar. It was the fist time I’ve seem Omar without his goatee, is that the breaking news here? Omar Shaves Goatee!…only at CigarCraig.com, Sorry Halfwheel and Cigar-Coop, I was first with this bombshell!

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday to go to the track, and my daughter decided to have our grand-daughters joint birthday party in the picnic grove at Delaware Park. We got there early to secure a spot, and while we were waiting for everyone I smoked a La Aurora Preferido Corona in the Diamond or Broadleaf wrapper. Since I smoked this the first time over two years ago the pungency and cloying flavor I got then has settled down and it’s more like what I would expect from an aged Connecticut Broadleaf. It was a little over the top the last time I smoked it, but it was slightly underwhelming to me yesterday. Honestly, I forgot that I didn’t really like this cigar the first time around, but was looking forward to a tasty Broadleaf cigar. I usually don’t choose my granddaughters events to enjoy a cigar, but when it’s reasonably appropriate, like at the track 45 minutes before they arrive, I go for it, and it’s usually something from La Aurora because Aurora is also my daughter’s name and how could she get mad at me, right? It works in my head. Anyway, I didn’t lose all my money, had a nice day playing the ponies and hanging with the family.

Last night I rummaged through the Lancero tray and came up with a L’Atelier LAT 38 Special. This 7½” x 38 Lancero was a beauty, with a dark, Sancti Spíritus Ecuador wrapper, binder and filler from Nicaragua rolled at the My Father Factory in Nicaragua. I wanted to smoke something from the Johnson family of cigars, but I was only finding rubustos, and I craved more than that. I have a ton of rubustos in the humidor and should probably just go on a rubusto bender and work them down. There was a time when that was my vitola of choice, but I’ve either gotten more patient or have more time because I want a toro or larger more times than not. I digress, theLAT 38 was a beauty, and the flavor was outstanding. It had the savory and sweet flavor I’d expect more from the Broadleaf than the Sancti Spiritus that the L’Atelier line is known for. I can’t remember when I got this, it may have been at an event at a shop in Colorado I was at back in 2014, but it was good. I haven’t found many cigar in any of Pete Johnson’s portfolio that don’t satisfy my palate. My only complaint with this cigar was that it suffered from Nomex Wrapper Syndrome (Nomex is the stuff that electrical wiring is wrapped with so it doesn’t burn) it required a lot of attention with the lighter, and I was being careful

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not to overheat the cigar since Lanceros can easily be ruined by smoking too aggressively. The humidor these are in stays in the mid to low 60s so it wasn’t wet.

Contest!

Since we got to the track early yesterday they were giving out hats, and since I’m not a huge hat wearing guy, I figured it might be a good time to have another giveaway. I’ve assembled some odds and ends that have been collecting for a while to go with the Delaware Park hat. There are a couple of bottle openers including one for your key chain from Nomad Cigars, a torch lighter from El Artista, a couple cutters, a highly collectible Matt Booth Room 101 punch cutter, a Ninety Degree magnetic cigar holder and a nice Balmoral flask. As always, a few cigars might fall into the box as I’m packing it up, it happens, I can’t help it! So the usual rules apply, must be of legal smoking age in your municipality, one entry by way of leaving a comment on this post, and have fun! I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, June 11, 2017.

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

CigarCraig

26 Comments

Filed under Contest, Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as Balmoral, cigar, cigars, Contest, Fratello, L'Atelier, La Aurora, Ninety Degree, Nomad, Room 101, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | May 31, 2017 · 9:00 pm

World Know Tobacco Day and an Archetype Axis Mundi Corona Cigar

I read somewhere that today is World Know Tobacco Day, so I said to myself: “hey, I know tobacco, and I really like it!” It’s been said that tobacco cultivation has been done for ten thousand years in the Americas, the indigenous people used if medicinally and ceremonially long before Europeans “discovered” the Americas. The Europeans took a shine to it, and its use was met with mixed opinions, some of the more enlightened (tongue firmly planted in my cheek) thought people with smoke coming out of their mouths an noses was a sign of demonic possession while others saw the economic potential. Our beloved nicotiana tabacum was the currency that underwrote the war of independence and made the United States the independent country that it is toda

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y. Of course, nobody remembers that, and it’s again demonized by the less enlightened. Just the other day I was yelled at by a woman on our local mult

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i-use trail where Macha and I take our daily walks. She ran past me and yelled “how can you be smoking on a trail where people are running?” I chuckled at her rudeness, an imagined that it offset any of my own rudeness for daring to enjoy a legal product. I wonder how people can live in a world where people do things that they don’t like. I don’t appreciate all the sweaty, stinky runners and cyclists disturbing my relaxation on the trail, but I’m not so rude as to point it out! Perhaps if I had a stick up my ass I’d have a different opinion. Anyway, tobacco is now grown in beautiful countries, tended by passionate and caring people, rolled into cigars by artisans and smoked by intelligent and humble people like us. Hopefully now you know tobacco a little better and can properly celebrate this World Hedonism Organization (WHO) holiday with a fine cigar. I got that all right, didn’t I?

I celebrated tonight with a cigar from the folks at Ventura Cigar Company, the folks that make the Psyko 7 and Project 805 cigars. I’ve been a fan of the Psyko 7 line since I had one in late 2013 as a guest on The Cigar Authority radio show. I have a neat Psyko 7 humidor that my wife won that works quite well, and have a cool light-up Psyko 7 Maduro sign hanging in the smoking porch. So I was pretty excited when I saw the Archetype line displayed at the IPCPR show last year, but I couldn’t really find anyone in the Phillips and King International booth to help me. Not their fault, they were busy and I’m not the guy at the show that’s high on the priority list. I managed to get my hands on some of the Archetype Axis Mundi Coronas, which was tonight’s smoke. I also got some of the Initiation in the same size, and the one I smoked last night tasted great, had a really unique flavor that I loved, but half way through it died on me, one of those strange situations that blowing through the cigar gives plumes of smoke, but drawing gets nothing. I tried and tried, but it frustrated me. I have more, I’ll come back to that one at a later date because I really liked the flavor. To be fair, it had spent a couple of hours in a case in my pocket on a humid evening, which may have contributed to my problems. The Archetype Axis Mundi has a Habano Ecuador Maduro wrapper, Indonesian Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan Habano filler. This is on the stronger end of the spectrum, had a great burn, although I let it go out a couple of times because I was trying to maximize the time smoking. It was great for a three-m

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ile walk on the trail where nobody complained. It had some burned wood, savory and sweet dried fruit kinda flavors with a hint of spice. I really enjoyed this, I’ll be on the look out for larger vitolas in both this and the Initiation lines and would recommend it highly.

That’s all for now, unless you’re looking for Father’s Day gift ideas, then Holt’s has a nice selection on their Father’s Day Cigar Deals page, or the folks at Stage V Clingers are still running a special on their four-pack with the “StageVdad” code. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Archetype, Axis Mundi, cigar, cigars, tobacco, Ventura, World No Tobacco Day

by CigarCraig | May 28, 2017 · 10:01 am

Felix Assouline, Cain and Man O’War Cigars

It’s Memorial Day Weekend for my US readers, let’s remember that this weekend is about those who serve and paid the ultimate price, it’s not Veterans Day. Memorial Day is for the folks who didn’t come back and I thank them and their families for their sacrifice. I hope every celebrates in a safe and responsible manner! Friday my wife and I went out to the local Movie Tavern and had dinner and a movie, which is a nice way to go. We saw the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie which we really enjoyed. When we got home I grabbed a cigar that my Secret Santa George (thanks George!) sent last December, the Felix Assouline Something Special Sublime. This is a 5″ x 52 box pressed robusto that has a Habano Criollo 98 wrapper, Indonesian binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. It was a nice looking cigar, I’m generally not a Criollo fan, but the cigar looked enticing with its nic

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e box press. It had an earthy, leathery flavor, not a lot of sweetness, and a really nice burn. I know next to nothing about this brand, but it looks like they sell direct on their website, and the Something Special line is reasonable price, this robusto coming in at $5.60. While perusing the website, it appears that they have a line called EGO, which would have been an appropriate cigar to follow the movie we saw (no spoilers).

Saturday was a two cigar day, and I decided to start out with a cigar from the depths of the humidor, one that has been in there for at least five years. Oliva’s Cain line, and their Studio Tabak division was a pretty big deal, putting a pretty traditional company on the map with a cutting edge line. The Cain Daytona Lancero was, at the time I got it, a bit of a unicorn, I believe it was only available at events. I have one more in the humidor that has a secondary band with the Studio Tabak designation, I think the one I smoked was older. The Cain Daytona follows the Cain tradition of using Ligero in the majority of the blend, this one uses all Ligero from Nicaragua’s Jalapa region, which make it a bit more refined than it’s siblings which employ Ligeros from Esteli and Condega in addition to the Jalapa. The Cain line seems to have lost steam over the years, maybe not surprising as the face of the brand, as well as it’s creator, left the company to form Leccia Tobacco, and subsequent attempts at putting a face to the brands didn’t last. I keep a constant eye out for a great deal on this brand, I wouldn’t mind having a box of Cains in my humidor.

Last night I went with a large Salomon cigar, the Man O’War Ruination Special Edition Figurado. A month or so ago I saw a three pack of Man O’ War Salomons for something stupid like $5, with the shipping it came out closer to $14, but still a pretty good deal. Truth is, I’m a sucker for good deals, this one I couldn’t pass up. the Man O’ War line is made by AJ Fernandez and distributed by Meyer & Dutch, and is probably mostly associated with Cigars International, but they can be found in other major retailers as well as it’s not an exclusive brand. I have trouble finding specifics on this particular ci

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gar, I think it was only available in a Salamon sampler of some sort (a bit of alliteration for you there), it looks like Cigar.com has a bundle with four each of the Ruination, Legend and Man O’War for $50. The cigar is a massive 7-1/8″ x 58 and is tapered with a nipple foot. This cigar has an interesting and unique flavor in the savory family, I think, or maybe it’s a spice, I’m not sure. Whatever the flavor is, it’s not one I normally come across, but I think I’ve experienced it in another Man O’ war cigar before, one of their limited edition lines. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, with mostly Ligero from Nicaragua and Honduras. I guess I had a Ligero kinda Saturday going on, its a wonder I didn’t have crazy dreams last night! Bottom line: I enjoyed the Man O’War Ruination Salomon, but by the time it got the about two inches it lost my interest, that unique flavor passed and I put it down, got a little bored with

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it. Of course, this is a risk with longer cigars, and I’m not disappointed in the least.

That’s enough out of me to

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day. It’s a nice day so far, and would like to get a few things accomplished around the house/yard before it rains and I’m stuck in the enclosed porch smoking cigars! Have a safe weekend! Until the next time,

CigarCraig