CigarCraig's Blog

by CigarCraig | December 14, 2016 · 10:12 pm

Mi Maria Cigars Maduro, Habano and Connecticut

A few weeks ago I received a message through Instagram about Mi Maria cigars. Since our beloved FDA has made everyone afraid to share samples, they offered me a discount on their cigars. I never expect anything anyway, and I’m perfectly happy buying cigars. It was generous of them to offer, so I took them up on it and spent some cash on some new-to-me cigars. I bought some of the Maduro Boutique Blend in a Toro, the Habano Boutique Blend in Lancero, and got a couple of the as yet unreleased Connecticut in a pigtailed Lonsdale or Fuma size. I smoked some of each this week and though

buy female viagra online https://childrens-dentistry.com/uploads/flash/new/female-viagra.html no prescription pharmacy

t I’d write a little post about them. I’d like to applaud the folks at Mi Maria cigars on the ordering process and follow through. I received both e-mail and Facebook message updates up to the package landing on my doorstep. They really went above and beyond with the communication, something I appreciated and really deserves mention. I’m not really sure I provided my Facebook contact info or they took the initiative to track it down, not that I’m difficult to find.

Sunday afternoon I dove in, and started with the obvious choice. The Maduro Boutique Blend toro is a 6″ x 52 parejo with a Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper, binder from Jalapa and fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras and Peru. I typically like blends that include Peruvian tobacco, and I’m a sucker for a good maduro, so expectations were reasonably high. I really enjoyed this cigar, it was well made, had the nice, sweet chocolate flavor I like with that spice that the Peruvian tobacco tends to bring. The burn was perfect, as was the draw, and the over-all smoking experience was very positive. Maybe I should have tried this one in the Lancero?

buy vidalista online http://malpracticeexperts.com/new_layout/images/gif/vidalista.html no prescr

buy avana online http://malpracticeexperts.com/new_layout/images/gif/avana.html no prescription pharmacy

iption pharmacy

nbsp;

Tuesday I went with the Ecuador Connecticut 6″ x 43 with Nicaraguan filler and binder. I’ll circle back to Monday in a bit, bear with me. Apparently this differs from their regular Connecticut line which has a Nicaraguan Connecticut wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. The Lancero seems to share the blend of this cigar, and they offer what they call a “Mini Corona”, which at 6″ x 38 is more of a Laguito no 2 (where as a Laguito no 1 is the 7″ x 38 lancero) having a Honduran Habano binder. They all sound interesting, and I may have to get some of them in my next order. I quite enjoyed this cigar too, it was creamy and nutty, but not overly mild. It was a Connecticut with a ton of flavor. If I had one complaint it was that the cigar was a little spongy, but this really didn’t have any effect on the experience.

buy finasteride online https://childrens-dentistry.com/uploads/flash/new/finasteride.html no prescription pharmacy

Maybe I took a risk getting the Habano blend in the Lancero size, but it’s hard to resist a Lancero. Maybe I would have been better off sticking with the toro, or even the robusto size. They also offer torpedos, Churchills and a 6″ x 60 “Chubby”. So Monday I picked one of the Lanceros, and for some reason it was flat, flavorless and drew poorly. Maybe a sign of inconsistency, maybe I had high expectations, or (more plausible), something I ate didn’t agree with me too much. So tonight I went back to the Habano Lancero. Tonight’s was wonderful, so different from the previous experience. Burn and draw were good and it had a wonderful light, sweet flavor. I may have been better off with any of the other sizes, and, once again, I may have to order more. The other shapes in the Habano line have Pennsylvania tobacco in the filler blend, the one leaf missing in the lancero. The PA tobacco may add the strength that I was looking for that lead my to the initial issues the first time around. I was quite pleased with tonight’s cigar though, it was really very good.

So, what did I learn from this? The folks at Mi Maria make some tasty cigars and I probably should have diversified my purchase a little more and gotten a broader selection, although in my defense, three cigars fits into my posting style a little better. I do want to go back and try the Connecticut and Habano in some other sizes.

I was going to announce the winner of the Holt’s gift card, but I figured I’d give it a few more days so everyone has a chance to enter. Look for a winner announcement Friday (and who knows what else could happen?). That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

7 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Mi Maria

by CigarCraig | December 11, 2016 · 9:30 am

CigarCraig’s Holiday Contest Number One! Holt’s Cigar Company

OK, so we all know now that I won’t be doing what I’ve done for the last five years, and that’s running a huge daily cigar giveaway featuring box upon box of great cigars and assorted goodies. That means I don’t have to spend countless hours writing posts, getting up early, choosing daily winners, shipping packages, all during the busiest time of the year. But, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some great giveaways! Today we are kicking things off with the Holiday Gifts from Holt’s Cigar Company. Click HERE to shop at Holt’s Christmas and Holiday Cigar Gift Shop where they have curated a lovely selection of cool cigar gifts! I love visiting the store when I’m in Center City Philly and generally spend more than I want picking up great cigars. Today’s giveaway is for a $20 Holt’s Gift Card, which can be used in the store or on their website. Buy yourself something nice for yourself or someone else! The usual rules apply! Leave a comment on this post to enter, and I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday, December 14, 2016. The winner will need to e-mail me their address so I can pass it on to Holt’s so they can send you the card! Must be 18 to enter and a resident of the U.S. (sorry international folks!).

Quick anecdote about Holt’s. It was the summer of 2000, and I had some extra cash on hand that I wanted to turn into cigars. Holt’s had a ridiculous sale on bundles of El Rico Habano, I think something ridiculous like $20 for a bundle of 25 or something. So, before driving into the city on a hot, muggy Saturday, I check the website to make sure they were open, yup, open ’til 5. Got into the city and parked by 4:15, walked up to the store to find them closed with a sign saying their summer hours were until 4pm. I was pissed. Even in 2000 it would have been a simple thing to update the website with the summer hours, especially in late July, well into summer. When I finally got home I sent an e-mail to Holt’s complaining and suggesting that they update the website to reflect the actual hours. A couple days later I received an e-mail from the Sr. VP apologizing up and down and offering to send me the El Ricos gratis. I was quite impressed with the service, and continue to be a customer of Holt’s largely for that reason. A little history on the El Rico Habanos: These were originally made by Ernesto Carillo at his E

buy phenergan online https://stmu.edu.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/phenergan.html no prescription pharmacy

l Credito Factory before the sale to Swedish Match, and they were butt-kickers! They were spice and power bombs before such a thing was fashionable, and I loved them. The company sold in 1999, and the El Ricos I received in this story were a milder version of

buy clomiphene online https://stmu.edu.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/clomiphene.html no prescription pharmacy

the blend (they were a corona extra size if I remember correctly). They were still excellent cigars, but they weren’t quite as special as the original blend. I smoked a bunch, and gave a bunch away, and wish had gotten more, especially for that price. I think the current version of the El Rico Habano is very good, but for some reason gets no marketing push from General Cigar, and it’s a shame, it’s a brand with a lot of history. I’d be willing to bet many reading this have never heard of the brand.

So I usually post about some cigars I smoked over the previous few days, and I did smoke some cigars. My practice is generally if I don’t have something nice to say, I don’t say anything, but that can be misleading and lead people to think a particular cigar (and if you follow my Facebook/Instagram/Twitter feeds you’ll see my daily smokes) isn’t to my liking. In one case this week, the cigar didn’t really do anything for me, in another two cases I loved the cigars, but one was one I’d smoked a lot before, and the other was one that got interrupted and I can’t wait to smoke again. I will say that the Sobremesa Short Churchill, Nestor Miranda Corojo and Henry Cay Tattoo are exceptional. I hate trying new things when it’s as cold out as it’s been, although I did get some propane for the porch heaters. So you’ll just have to be happy with a chance to win a nice Holt’s gift card today!

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

CigarCraig

50 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, holt's

by CigarCraig | December 7, 2016 · 8:38 pm

Lamborghini and Horacio Cigars

I’ve smoked Bugatti cigars in the past, and I’ve been using the great Xikar Xidris lighter, which has super car inspired styling, so I figured I’d have to try the Lamborghini cigar line, which has recently been introduced in the US. I got a couple from www.cigarluxury.com and they come cellophane wrapped in nice looking cardboard tubes. Circling back to the Xikar Xidris lighter, I’ve been using it exclusively for the past couple months and it works great. It has a large tank, lights every time, and while it’s pretty heavy, is comfortable in the pocket. I’ve discovered that while it’s symmetry leads me to often pick it up with the business end pointing down, it’s impossible to light the lighter if it’s tilted past 90 degrees. A wondrous design, it’s my favorite lighter now, and I have a drawer full of great lighters. Back to the cigars at hand. There are two varieties of Lamborghini cigars, both in a substantial 7″x 54 torpedo format. The black tube has the Lamborghini MCMXVIV Habano and the white tube contains the 1963 Lamborghini 350 GTV Maduro.

I started with the Lamborghini MCMXVIV Habano, I suppose the black tube reminded me of maduros and I grabbed that one first. MCMXVIV is 1994 in Roman numerals, and is significant because it’s the year that Lamborghini LatinoAmerica was formed. It has a dark Ecuador Habano wrapper that is beautiful and delicious. The fillers are from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. These are made at a factory in Esteli, which remains a mystery. I was quite impressed with this cigar, it burned perfectly, had great, rich flavors. It was medium bodied, had a nice spice and a savory flavor. I was quite enamored with this large cigar and enjoyed it town to a finger-burning nub.

I moved on to the 1963 Lamborghini 350 GTV Maduro in the white tube. While the 1963 part appeals to me because it’s the year I was born, but it relates to the Lamborghini 350 GTV, which debuted at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. I missed the show that year, as I was only two months old. Anyway, this maduro has a San Andrés wrapper from Mexico with over five years of age, and filers from the DR and Nicaragua. This cigar started out with a big spice and strength, which I love. It mellowed out a little after a while, but continued to be right up my alley. I’m not sure I could chose a favorite between the two varieties, the Habano was rich and sophisticated, and the maduro was bold and exciting. Both are excellent cigars, and while they carry a reasonably hefty price tag ($15), given the generous size and excellent performance and flavor, these are winners.

Along with the two Lamorghini cigars, I also got a Horacio Colossos Reserva Especial, a 5½” x 60 cigar with a closed foot. This brand is apparently available in Europe and does very well there, but it’s relatively new to the US market. The only information I could find was that it was made in Nicaragua, and was formerly made in Costa Rica. According to Yunior Lopez, the CEO of Lord of the Cigars Corporation, who has the distribution for the Horacio line in the US, this is a very rare cigar to find in the US. This cigar started out with the blast of flavor from the closed foot. I never toast cigars with a closed foot because it would be a waste of the blast of flavor, just torch these badboys up. The cigar was on the mild side, with a decent flavor, and a great burn. While I wasn’t as blown away with this cigar as I was with the Lambos, it was a good smoke with a lot going for it. It was smooth until the end, when I put it down with about ¾” left. I can see haw this would appeal to the European palate, and that’s not a dig at all.

I have a list of Secret Santa participants, I’ll match them up and e-mail people their recipient this week. I’m trying to think up an assumed name so I can join in too. That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

4 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as cigar, Cigar Luxury, cigars, Horacio, Lamorghini, Lord of the Cigars, xikar

by CigarCraig | December 4, 2016 · 10:34 am

Nat Sherman Timeless and Metropolitan Cigars and Secret Santa

The Nat Sherman company started out in 1930 with a tobacco store in the garment district of Manhattan, at the height of the Great Depression. Over time, the Nat Sherman store became a destination for tobacco lovers, hosting celebrity clientele such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and John F. Kennedy Jr., as well as being considered “neutral ground” by members of organized crime f

buy levitra super force online https://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/levitra-super-force.html no prescription pharmacy

amilies. The company remains family owned with the third generation of Shermans running the business, along with Michael Herklots,VP of retail and brand development. Nat Sherman is an iconic brand, and their flagship store is a Townhouse on 42nd street which is a must visit if you find yourself in New York City. I remember getting the catalog from Nat Sherman in the early 80s, not sure how I got on the mailing list, but I was a fan of their MCD cigarettes. Of course, at the time the cigars were quite the luxury item, not that the cigarettes weren’t, they were probably a very exorbitant $2.50 a pack. I was in a “smoke less, but smoke better” place, I guess, plus I

buy cialis soft online https://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/cialis-soft.html no prescription pharmacy

had very few expenses while living with my parents and working three jobs.

Thursday evening I had the pleasure of attending an event at my local CigarCigars store with Michael Herklots where he led a tasting of the Nat Sherman Timeless Dominican by having everyone smoke puros of the four filler components. I arrived late, but was on hand to see the participants trying various combinations together, with two or three little cigars in their mouths at once. It was interesting to see some components smoked together appeared to taste really bad, but the combination of all four tasted really good. The Timeless Dominican, the first cigar that Michael blended when he joined the company, is made at the Quesada factory and comes in about nine sizes, and has Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and a Honduran binder. I smoked the robusto size and was very happy with it. Aesthetically, it had a great burn and ash, there was a very thin black line at the perfectly straight boundary between ash and wrapper. The ash had to be almost forcibly removed. It had a load of great flavors, and was a medium to full-bodied cigar. I left satisfied, although I wished the cigar were larger! I solved that by purchasing a couple in the Churchill size, which I look forward to sampling.

Logically, I followed up the Timeless Dominican with a Timeless Nicaragua. I bought a few of these in the 660 size, with the box press that they use on the Nicaraguan line (as opposed to the round Dominican), it seemed less girthy. Obviously, this is a 6″ x 60 cigar, and its a Nicaraguan puro, with a dark Nicaraguan Habano wrapper that was very appealing to me. This cigar didn’t have the razor-sharp burn that its Dominican counterpart did, but it evened itself out after a while. The cigar had some of my favorite cocoa/coffee flavors along with a woody/meaty component. I liked it. Fortunately, when I go to an event I generally buy more than one of each cigar for a variety of reasons. Mostly so I have at least one to take home if I decide to smoke one at the event, where it’s hard to fairly judge a cigar, and because ya can’t buy just one, am I right? Anyway, another winner from the Iconic Nat Sherman.

I love watching hockey, but I hate Saturday and Sunday afternoon games as they seem to get in the way of getting thin

buy cephalexin online https://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/png/cephalexin.html no prescription pharmacy

gs done. I suppose I should embrace them as an excuse to relax on the weekend afternoons, which is why I grabbed a cigar and the tablet and watched the game on the back porch (which has been enclosed for the winter). Continuing the theme, I selected a Nat Sherman Metropolitan Habano toro. The Metropolitan series comes in Habano, Maduro and Connecticut, with the later two being made in the Dominican Republic, and this Habano from Nicaragua. I broke tradition and chose this over the Maduro, as it just looked so good and I really wanted to smoke it. I’d save the Maduro for later. The Metropolitan Habano was my favorite so far. It had a great sweet, medium bodied flavor and hit me just right. I think these are priced in the $6 range too and worth every penny. This is one of those cigars that I would buy two of for every one $12 cigar all day long. It burned perfectly and lasted through the second period and half way through the third. Good game, great cigar.

Finally I got around to that Metropolitan Maduro for my evening walk. This one has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, comes in about eight sizes consistent in shapes and names with the Connecticut shade counterpart. I selected the 6″ x 50 University. This cigar was on the milder side of medium, and it had more of a savory maduro flavor than the sweet. It was different enough to be interesting and pleasurable, but perhaps would be better suited to warmer weather. Again the construction was great and it burned with the nice flat burn that I appreciate as all the components are burning at the same rate. Perhaps I should have stuck to my maduro first tradition as this cigar might have been better earlier in the day, but that Habano was so good…

So it’s been brought to my attention that I am a little late to be trying to organize a Secret Santa, but, I’m an optimist, and if anyone is interested in participating, e-mail me (craig@cigarcraig.com) your mailing address before Sunday, December 11, 2016 and I’ll match people up and send out assignments ASAP. We’ll keep it simple, four cigars, with no expectation of having it delivered by Dec. 25, we’ll shoot for New Years. We can still have some fun with this, how’s that sound? I do have a couple of tricks up my sleeve for some giveaways, so don’t despair!

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

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as cigar, cigar store, CigarCigars, cigars, Metropolitan, Nat Sherman, Timeless

by CigarCraig | November 30, 2016 · 9:25 pm

Cigars From El Artista: Exactus, Big Papi, Pro Ambar and Pulita

This just happened to work out great, because as I was smoking some cigars from El Artista this week, I got a new ad from them (top right on the side) with a Cigarmas contest for you all to enter. Since I’ll be taking a break from CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways this year, here’s a chance to win some great stuff anyway. The contest will run from tomorrow, 12/1/2016 to 12/12/16. Click the graphic and upload a picture of yourself in your holiday finery!

Tabacalera El Artista has been around since 1956 in the Dominican Republic, and has been flying under my radar until recently. When they approached me about advertising on my site I was intrigued, and I picked up a handful of their cigars from Best Cigar Prices (yeah, another advertiser) on my own dime. Among them was the Puro Ambar and the Exactus, and I also managed to acquire a couple of their Pulita and Big Papi, newly released by Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz. The release of the Big Papi was delayed by a brief play-off run, as they weren’t going to release it until Mr. Ortiz officially retired from the sport. I started off with the Exactus Clasico in the 5″ x 54 Robusto size. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper leaf over Dominican Criollo 98 fillers and a special wine-fermented binder leaf. Look for a better take on this cigar in the future as the conditions I smoked it in were not conducive to getting the best experience. It was windy and cold the day I took this cigar with me for my walk home from the store, and while it was a nice enough cigar, it was on the mild side and lost given the weather, which was better suited for a strong, broadleaf cigar. These are also available in a “Super Coloso” size in the Connecticut and Maduro, running around $45 each for an 11″ x 90 cigar. I seriously doubt you will see a review of that size here.

The Pig Papi by David Ortiz is a 6″ x 54 toro with a Ecuador Habano wrapper, Criollo 98 binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. I grew up watching National League baseball, so the whole designated hitter thing was always a little foreign to me, and I understand that Big Papi was a DH (designated hitter, I’m sure he’s a really nice guy, he smokes cigars!). Pitchers were never really great hitters anyway, so not having them bat seems like a good enough idea. This cigar was really quite good, creamy with some spice and nuts, with a good burn. While I was impressed, I can see where this will benefit from some humidor time and can’t wait for baseball season to try another one (not a big fan, but baseball=warmer months, which I am a fan of).

The Puro Ambar Gran Robusto was next up. This cigar was a 5¼” x 54 size, and has all kinds of hybrid tobaccos from El Artista’s farms in the Dominican Republic. The Wrapper is “T13”, a three tobacco hybrid, the fillers are Dominican Criollo 98 and another exclusive hybrid, and the wine fermented Criollo 98 like the Exactus. As a non-drinker, and never a wine fan when I was, this is lost on me, although that may have been the unique and interesting flavor I found in the cigar. Like the other cigars from this manufacturer, the construction was top-notch. This is an earthy cigar, pleasant, but lacking the sweetness I like in a cigar. This might be my least favorite of the three, but certainly not without merit.

Tonight I went with the Pulita 60 Anversario robusto, a classic 5″ x 50. This cigar honors the founder of El Artista, Ramón “Pulita” Rodriguez, with his original six tobacco blend. The wrapper is a Negrito from the DR, and the last time I heard of Negrito tobacco was from Robert Caldwell’s The King is Dead. It’s a chocolaty wrapper, very nice looking. The binder is the Criollo 98, and fillers are an interesting mix of Dominican, Nicaraguan, Colombian and Pennsylvanian tobaccos. This was easily my favorite of the bunch, even though it was raining like crazy, thankfully my enclosed back porch was nice and dry. This was a slow burning cigar, with a lot going on in the flavor department. It tasted of well-aged tobaccos, with some coffee and cocoa, some damp earth and sweetness. It was interesting and held my attention. It’s funny, I hadn’t heard of this cigar until my amigo Mike mentioned it to me a couple of weeks ago, apparently it was featured on The Cigar Authority and included in their care package (a cigar of the month club of sorts which supplies cigars to smoke along with the show). I guess I zoned out during that part of the show that week, I usually pay attention better. Tasty cigar.

OK, so we know that I’m not going to spend 14 days having rapid fire contests this year, which isn’t any fun for anyone, and I’m sorry about that. Don’t be surprised if there aren’t some contests popping up here and there though. I had mentioned doing a secret Santa kind of thing, and if there’s still interest among the readership, I’ll put it together. It’s a little tricky, I have to trust everyone to behave themselves appropriately, and I haven’t really ever administered such a thing, but I have some idea how to do it. Let me know in the comments. That’s all I got for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig