CigarCraig's Blog

by Craig Vanderslice | July 7, 2023 · 6:09 pm

News: The New Antaño Power play Sling Puck

Here’s another new item from Joya de Nicaragua, not cigars, but the packaging. The two cigars in this collection are really good, the Antaño Gran Reserva is great, and the CT is an exceptional shade wrapped cigar. The best thing about it is that they are in the toro size, when is the best size! Pretty cool, check it out:

The New Antaño Power play Sling Puck: Where Tradition, Play and Legendary Cigars Collide

Playing has been shown to releases endorphins, improve brain functionality – and to stimulate creativity. And just because you are no longer a child, doesn’t mean you can’t benefit.

Joya De Nicaragua recognizes the role that their cigars have in adult play; JDN cigars are often called calming, contemplative, fun, and even stress-relieving. So, the country’s first cigar factory now invites you to a whole new gaming experience to enjoy alongside one of its famed cigars.

Encased in a specially-designed 20-count cigar box, the Antaño Power Play Sling Puck includes a thoughtfully created selection of two opposing teams from the revered Antaño family. The 10 Antaño Gran Reserva GT20 6×54 Gran Toro and the 10 Antaño CT Toro 6×50 each offer an extraordinary smoking journey and an exploration of flavors to delight the senses. But that’s not all; the Antaño Power Play box also ingeniously transforms into a dynamic playing surface for intense matches of skill and strategy.

“Building on the success of Antaño Shut the Box, we learned that cigar enthusiasts are keen to combine their cigars with fun,” says JDN Executive President, Juan Martinez. “This time we’ve merged the profiles of their favorite Nicaraguan puros into one game, teasing their tastebuds with contrasting flavors.”

Antaño Power Play Sling Puck demands precision and finesse as you use the built-in elastic band mechanism to propel pucks towards your opponent’s goal – all the while fiercely protecting your own. The friendly competition requires focus, agility and camaraderie to bring cigar smoking amigos together.

The Antaño Power Play Sling Puck Box is a collector’s dream, with only 1,400 exclusive boxes produced for U.S. market and just 600 boxes allocated for the rest of the world. The innovative new packaging has been developed in collaboration with HumidifGroup.

“It has been an absolute joy to collaborate with Nicaragua’s oldest cigar manufacturer,” says Pedro Balgañon, CEO and owner of HumidifGroup. “This project brings our smart packaging to life, driving innovation in the cigar industry, while honoring the legacy and rich history of this cherished tradition.”

Antaño Power Play Sling Puck, priced at $255.75 per box, will be an exclusive collectible available for a limited time. It will make its debut this July at the PCA Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, catering to all U.S. retailers. It will also be showcased at InterTabac in Dortmund in September 2023. It will begin shipping to stores in September 2023.

ABOUT JOYA DE NICARAGUA

Joya de Nicaragua is a family-owned tobacco grower and cigar factory. Established in 1968, it is the first and most authentic premium handmade cigar manufacturer from Nicaragua. Based in Estelí, many regard Joya De Nicaragua as the patriarch creator of the Nicaraguan cigar industry, and its cigars are sold in more than 60 countries around the world. The company’s commitment to quality, along with its skillful and resilient people, has been rewarded with industry recognition more than once.

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Tagged as Antano, Antaño CT Toro, cigar, cigars, Gran Reserva GT20, joya de nicaragua

by Craig Vanderslice | · 5:57 pm

News: Joya de Nicaragua Presents Cinco De Cinco

I guess one of the things I’ll miss about not going to the PCA show this year is seeing my friends at Joya de Nicaragua. They are attending there on their own, where in the past they were integrated into the Drew Estate booth. I always thought they should stand alone, Drew Estate just distributes their cigars in the US. It’s been one of my most favorite factories since my first visit back in 2011. I’m looking forward to trying this anniversary cigar, the last several they’ve put out have been exceptional!

2023 brings Joya de Nicaragua’s 55^th anniversary and to mark the occasion, Nicaragua’s first cigar factory launches Cinco de Cinco, the latest edition to the ultra-premium Obras Maestras line.

“This cigar was made with the people, by the people and for the people,” says Juan Ignacio Martínez, Executive President of JDN. “Our past is all about tobacco. Our bright future is all about tobacco. We are here, stronger than ever thanks to our wonderful community of amigos.”

Inspired by Amigos. Blended by Maestros. Handcrafted for those in the know

Joya de Nicaragua was one of the first to host private cigar blending sessions in its factory in Estelí, offering a fun and fascinating insight into blend creation. The JDN master blenders have since reviewed hundreds of blending records to build the perfect scoring recipe.

Harmonious Intricacy

Cinco de Cinco is made from ultra-vintage tobaccos, including a Mexican San Andres wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers and binders in a soft-pressed format. It is a five out of five in profile and complexity; full-bodied and medium strength, with deep, rich, earthy flavors that offer hints of cocoa and dark chocolate. The cigar box shines bright in emerald green. “An emerald symbolizes love, wisdom, growth and prosperity – values very much embodied in this blend,” says Martinez. “It is indeed a rare and mystical jewel.”

Cinco de Cinco will be unveiled this July at the PCA Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, catering to all retailers, and at InterTabac in Dortmund in September 2023. The handcrafted masterpiece will be on U.S. shelves beginning in September, followed by a global release in October.

Cinco de Cinco comes in 10-count boxes, with five distinct, semi-box pressed vitolas, three of which will be available in the USA and two exclusive for international markets.

Vitola	Size	MSRP USD$/Cigar	Available
JDN Cinco de Cinco Robusto Gordo	5 ½ x 54	$17.95	GLOBAL
JDN Cinco de Cinco Toro	6 x 52	$19.95	GLOBAL
JDN Cinco de Cinco Corona Extra	6 ¼ x 46	$15.95	GLOBAL
JDN Cinco de Cinco Robusto	5 x 50	$15.95	International  Exclusive(Non-USA)
JDN Cinco de Cinco Corona Doble	7 x 54	$20.55	International  Exclusive(Non-USA)

ABOUT JOYA DE NICARAGUA

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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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by Craig Vanderslice | June 25, 2023 · 9:18 am

Smoking Through The Twisted Tasting Kit From Fox Cigars

Yes, Fox Cigar advertises on this site, but I purchased the Twisted Tasting Kit from them unsolicited, kinda for five reasons. I really like the Araposa Negra, and never mind having one more in the humidor (I’m smoking one now as I type! It’s absolutely delicious!), and I was quite curious to try the other four cigars. I started with the Araposa Blanca, a Fox exclusive made by Black Label Trading Co.. This is the Ecuador Connecticut answer to the Negra, and one thing BLTC does exceptionally well is make aesthetically appealing barber pole cigars. Another thing they do exceptionally well is make great tasting cigars, and this is a great tasting cigar. We know that shade cigars are low on my preference list, but this one was really, really good. It had a wonderful roundness to the flavor, if that makes any sense, it was full flavored without being overpowering, delicious without too much spice, it was very good. I may need to put more of these in the humidor, and I might need to sample Black Label’s other shade offerings.

In addition to the two Fox BLTC exclusives in the Twisted sampler, the other three were new cigars in the Altadis USA line up presented in a barber pole format. Historically I have not gravitated toward a lot of the Altadis cigar that are not made by A.J. Fernandez. I have a relatively open mind, although I’ll admit there are some cigars I have no interest in even sampling. Legacy brands such as the H.Upmann and Romeo y Julieta don’t fall into that category, I’ll give them a shot, even though I have pretty poor track record when it comes to liking cigars from the Tabacalera de Garcia factory in the DR. I gave the H. Upmann Barbier a shot first. This was a Toro, 6″ x 54, has Ecuador shade and Ecuador Sumatra wrappers, Indonesian Java binder with Nicaraguan, Dominican and Pennsylvania Broadleaf fillers. This was a very enjoyable cigar. It was smooth, rich, and had plenty of flavor. There was some sweet, bready flavors, and maybe the PA Broadleaf gave it a little oomph. I finally found a Dominican Upmann I like. Very nice.

I took a short break from this series to visit the Wooden Indian yesterday where they were hosting Erik Espinosa for the afternoon. I smoked, and very much enjoyed, a 601 La Bomba Warhead VII. I should buy more of these as I really enjoy the flavor. As always, the Wooden Indian staff was great, it was great seeing Erik, Mark, Jose, Bobby, and everyone else. I went home and took a nap.

After dinner I lit up the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Twisted Toro. The Twisted Tasting Kit included both the Toro and the Twisted Love Story, which is the 4¼” x 46 perfecto version. I’m shocked that they were able to get away with using the name “story” with this shape cigar, although it would come down to who has the bigger lawyers, I guess. Still seems weird to me. I’ll get to the little guy when I need a small cigar, but the 6″ x 54 Toro works better for me. Regarding all of these dos capas, or barber pole style cigars, all four have burned perfectly, and often the dual wrappers can cause a meandering burn line, not the case. They all burned perfectly. The Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Twisted Toro has Ecuadorian Habano and Ecuadorian Connecticut wrappers, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, with the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper seeming to be the only change from the Reserva Real blend. I haven’t had a Reserva Real in forever, like I said, it’s not something I reach for (it kinda has two strikes against it for me, it’s DR Altadis, and it’s a shade wrapper). All that being typed, it was an enjoyable smoke, with the Habano knocking the grassi/nuttiness off of the shade a touch. It was good. For my palate, the Black Label offerings in this sampler were better, but I like a nice “theme” week now and then, and this was a good one. It was a good deal too, I was happy with the purchase.