by | February 4, 2015 · 10:05 pm

An Ortega Mini Cigar, a Nestor Miranda and a Short Story

Ortega_Mini_MaduroIt’s been Maduro week so far!  Monday turned out to be very cold and windy, and after taking Macha on a car ride (she loves the car) to PetSmart for a little outing in lieu of out evening walk, I hit the back patio with an Ortega Mini Cigar in maduro.  Oddly, I was about to grab a little A. Flores Gran Reserva half corona when I came across the Ortega Mini Maduro from the 2013 IPCPR show. These are both made in the PDR factory in the Dominican Republic, which didn’t occur to me until I lit up the Ortega. I enjoy everything that I’ve smoked from Eddie Ortega, especially the Serie D maduros, and these little 4″ x 38 cigars are perfect for a half hour or so in my protected, but unheated patio.  It smokes like a much larger cigar, with all the richness and flavor. It’s kinda like the last half of a lancero without the time commitment.

 

Nestor Miranda Collection_Maduro_RobustoTuesday was a little better, although still pretty cold, so I went with a Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro in the 4½ x 50 Robusto size.  I’ve had the good fortune of smoking a few of these and it’s a really tasty cigar. It’s made in Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father factory, so it’s got a bit of the signature spice that one would expect, but is loaded with smooth, cocoa flavors and burns and draws exceptionally well. The new bands on these are very cool, the maduro having the red accents with black and silver foil, which makes it tricky for an amateur like me to photograph, but is quite striking otherwise.  This is a tasty smoke, as is it’s Habano wrapped sibling. I am looking forward to sampling the Ecuador Connecticut one of these days when the weather is better. I find that lighter cigars get lost in the cold weather, and the risk of the fragile wrapper splitting is greater.  Jason Wood at Miami Cigar an Co. did a really nice job on this line.

 
Tonight I got off to a late start after replacing the guts in one of the toilets. I’m hesitant to replace these commodes with modern ones, I never realized how much I missed the flushing power of the old three gallon flush johns.  Somehow it seems more efficient to use three gallons once, as opposed to 1.6 gallons twice or more.  Another case of shortsighted Fuente_ShortStory_Maduroover regulation I suppose.  Along those lines, I re-upped my CRA membership today, something everyone should do. Anyway, I just came in from enjoying the heck out of an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro that I had bought 2 years ago.  A business associate just sent me a bag of Fuente cigars, and there was a Short Story Maduro in there, so I figured it was as good a time as any to burn the one I had been holding on to.  Because of the way the head of these is finished, I recommend a straight cut as opposed to the punch. There was a fold that the punch didn’t get and I wasn’t getting a good draw, even after burning through the perfecto tip.  A quick snip and it was free flowing broadleaf goodness all the way down to a tiny nub.  The Short Story has been a special treat for me for nearly twenty years, but the maduro is a relatively new version for me. I loved it, but there’s nothing quite like the Cameroon wrapped SS. Either way this is a cigar that should be experienced, if it seems pricey for such a little cigar, and I can get thing in the $6 range here in PA, I think it’s a classic, and a great value as it gives an excellent smoking experience.

 

That’s all I have for now. I have a cigar I need to smoke this week for an upcoming Prime Living Magazine article I’m in the midst of writing, you can check out my prior articles in the Gentleman’s Room area of their website.  This month features Arielle of La Sirena‘s Oceano, a very tasty smoke.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 1, 2015 · 3:46 pm

A CAO Flathead and a Headlines 1st and 2nd Edition by Fusion Cigars

I’ve only got a few cigars to feature today, largely for two reasons. First is I came home from work Friday with a screaming migraine, the second wave of which I woke up with today), and yesterday I just managed to get too much accomplished in one of our new house renovations.  I attribute this weekend’s migraines to the weather, they are calling for snow and rain again, and that’s generally a pretty normal trigger. The room wave been working on lately is a 12×10 room between the garage and the family room which houses the heater and water heater, and will serve as a mudroom/storage room. It got painted top to bottom, ceiling, walls and an epoxy coat on the floor.  Not terribly exciting, but progress none the less.

 

imageThursday was another one of those days I knew exactly what I wanted to smoke all day.  It was cold, so I knew I’d opt for something short, and it had to be loaded with straight forward flavor on the strong end of the spectrum.  The CAO Flathead Sparkplug was the obvious choice.  This was the fifth size released in the Flathead line of square pressed, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigars that I personally find to be right up my alley. The Sparplug is 4½” x 50 with the same flat head as the rest of the line, but has a closed foot. It’s also individually boxed like it’s automotive namesake would be.  The flavors are strong, sweet, espresso, the perfect accompaniment for a brisk (read: brrrrr!) evening.  I love this line, even the gargantuan 7 x 70 Big Block, it has everything I enjoy in a cigar, and the packaging is pretty spiffy too.

 

Fusion_Headlines 1st Edition_Page 3After finishing up with my painting and stuff, I headed to the back porch with a new cigar from Fusion Cigars which are distributed by Antillian Cigar Corp.  The Headlines 1st Edition is an interesting cigar from the folks at Fusion in the Tampa, Florida area, where they have a Fusion cigar Lounge. This cigar was a toro, but I swore it was a corona as it came along with the 5½ x 60 Maduro 2nd Edition. It looked smaller than the 6″ x 50 that it actually is and smoked very quickly. I think I was through this cigar in 45 minutes.  It had an interesting flavor, I imagine due to the Pennsylvania seed broadleaf wrapper which is grown in the Dominican Republic, where the rest of the components come from. It was medium bodied and meaty, it had a savory flavor that was quite different.  Not a terribly bad smoke, and I’ll revisit this after some humidor time.

 

Fusion_Headlines 2nd Edition_Page 1Today I smoked the Headlines Maduro 2nd Edition, also from Fusion Cigars. I feel like this one had a lighter wrapper than the 1st Edition, it’s listed as Dominican Habano Oscuro, but isn’t as dark as you would imagine.  Perhaps this wasn’t the right choice for an afternoon walk, although it wasn’t as frigidly cold as we are expecting snow tonight. It was a mild smoke, and had some trouble staying lit as the wrapper didn’t want to burn. Still, there were some entertaining flavors and it burned much longer than the toro.  The remaining samples will get put down for a rest to be revisited on a nice, warm day with little distraction.  The draw was on the loose side of perfect, and it had a straight burn, and it definitely had a different flavor than it’s sibling.  Proof that timing is everything. If I manage a second cigar today, it’ll be something on the strong side and something familiar.

 

I understand there’s a game on tonight, and I understand you aren’t allowed to call it the Super Bowl without getting into trouble?  We’ll see how that works out since I just said Super Bowl…I see it referred to as “the big game” and such.  It doesn’t seem like it’s a big problem saying World Series, or Stanley Cup or anything like that, what’s the deal?  Anyway, that’s nonsense, I hope the team your rooting for wins, I know I have readers in both the New England area and the Pacific Northwest. I don’t even tune in for the commercials or halftime show…doesn’t interest me in the least. I’ll just be sitting here waiting to see if the weather people are right again forecasting this winter storm. 🙂

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 28, 2015 · 8:49 pm

A 1502 Ruby Cigar, a MUWAT and a Merlion Sea Lion

1502_ruby_robustoCold and snow, but fortunately not any where near the snow that was predicted or our neighbors to the north got! I can’t complain too much about this winter so far.  It’s only really dissuaded me from taking my evening cigar and Macha walks a couple times, and the enclosed porch has been fairly comfortable.  If we can get through the next six weeks or so without too much bad weather I’ll be happy. I still look forward to basking in the warm sunshine with a cigar! On Sunday evening I came across a 1502 Ruby robusto and immediately wanted to smoke it.  I actually passed on watching the NHL All Star Game, who puts the game on at 5 PM? That didn’t fit my schedule! Judging by the score it wasn’t a good game for the goalies, so I don’t feel like I missed much.  I did enjoy the heck out of the Ruby.  I love the box press and the semi-closed foot on the line, and this was a stellar smoke. Medium bodied and rich in flavor.  It’s very hard for me not to smoke these when I run across them in the humidor. They are really very good cigars.

 

MUWAT_NightcrawlerMonday I took a night off, just wasn’t feeling it, so Tuesday I grabbed a  MUWAT Night Crawler. This cigar was given to me by Dave Lafferty of Drew Estate at an event several months ago, and I put it in the bedroom humidor and kinda forgot about it.  I definately favor the smaller sizes in the MUWAT line, I’ve enjoyed the 60 ring sizes, but they lack the punch I look for. This 4½”x 50 cigar had the punch.  You could tell it had a San Andrés wrapper, and it delivered big in the flavor department. This may now be my favorite size, second to the Digital Son 6 and the Baitfish. It was still smooth and rich and chocolaty, and had a perfect burn one expects from Drew Estate cigars.  Are these still made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory? Not sure, but it doesn’t matter as either factory makes great smoking cigars on a consistent basis. I’d smoke this again in a heartbeat.

 

I finally placed an order for a cabinet humidor so I can get out of the coolers which have been my mass storage solution for the last 15 years or so.  Of course, it’s back ordered, which is my fault for not placing my order back in December, but stuff like moving and the holidays happen. So far, my experience ordering from 1st Class Cigar Humidors has been positive, look forward to play by play in March when it arrives. I’m so looking forward to not having to rummage through the coolers and playing humidor Tetris trying to fit in new arrivals, and my wife looks forward to something more aesthetically pleasing than blue plastic.  My plan for now will be to use my Cigar Oasis in conjunction with the dozen traditional humidification units and see how it goes from there. I look forward to the adventure.  1st Class Cigar Humidors has been an advertiser here for a few years, and this is an item purchased by me. I shopped around and decided on this unit.

 

Merlion_Sea LionTonight I went with a Merlion Sea Lion from La Sirena Cigars.  This is a cool shaped cigar which is a lot of fun to smoke. It’s a 5½” x 47 perfecto of sorts, with a shaggy tail sticking out of the foot, making lighting quite easy. These are made at the La Aurora factory in the Domincan Republic, there were only 500 boxes of ten made, and one in each box has a San Andrés wrapper, and the remaining nine have the same Ecuador Corojo wrapper as the rest of the line.  In an odd twist, I still have not smoked the maduro, and I’d generally smoke that one first.  In this case, I’m quite sure I’ll never see another maduro, and I’m afraid I’ll love it. I’ll get to it when the time is right. Tonigh

t the time was right for the Sea Lion and a great tasting smoke it

was. Very smooth and creamy, and the shape concentrates the flavor more on the palate than the parejos in this line, I think, and it’s just a damned tasty smoke. As I said, it’s a fun shape, and a great size.  I don’t think I mention often that my favorite size might be the classic Corona Gorda, 5 5/8″ x 46, and this comes very close, but the shape causes changes in the flavor as the fattest part is near the beginning and as the diameter of the cigar narrows, the flavors intensify. It’s practically a cigarillo by the time it’s finished.  Try one if you see one on your tobacconsits shelf.

 

Quick little terminology refresher, since I was mentioned on last weeks Cigar Authority radio show (thanks Mr. J, if you don’t listen, you should, it’s a hoot!) as Dave Garofalo was confusing the term “vitola” with “parejo” once again.  I had pointed out to him some time ago that “vitola” is a generic term for the basic size of a cigar, robusto, torpedo, Churchill, perfecto are all vitolas. The Cubans have a list known as Vitolas de Galera, which give very strict definitions of what each shape must be. Where a Robusto can be just about anything from a 4½” x 50 to a 5½” x 54 or just about anything in between, in Cuba it’s ONLY 4 7/8″ x 50, a 5″ x 48 is a Hermosos No. 4, and so forth. “New World” cigars take liberties with the vitola names, so in our usage it’s a generic term for the size.  Vitolas are then broken down into two classes, Parejos, or straight sided cigars, or Figurados or shaped cigars such as the torpedo, diadimas, perfecto, etc.  Really a mater of semantics, but something that should be known when jerks like me through the fancy schmancy terms around all willy nilly.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | January 25, 2015 · 10:23 am

San Cristobal Revelation, Dubnium and Bernie Parent’s Vezina Cigar

To touch once again on the issue of Cuban cigars I brought up last time, or to expand upon it, I suppose, the issue of fakes was brought up.  I was saving that for a separate discussion, so here it is.  There will be no shortage of criminal behavior in this regard. How many people unfamiliar with cigars would be able to spot the difference between a Partagas Serie D No. 4 and a Rosa Cuba robusto without bands?  It ma

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y look like a worthwhile investment to have some bands made and but a bunch of cheap bundles and reband them. I hope I’m not giving anyone any ideas, but I would hope that anyone stupid enough to not have thought of this is scenario isn’t smart enough to run a business anyway.  So unsuspecting newbs wanting to try their fist Cuban cigar and willing to shell out a $20 to do it will get as much of a crappy experience as they might get smoking the real deal right off the truck! How many of us have seen everyone posting pictures of the Cohibas in the box with the sliding plastic lid that they got at a resort in Mexico? Fakes are already a big problem one that will get much worse when the embargo is lifted, and may already considering people misunderstand the recent relaxation of rules about what you can bring back from a licensed trip to the island. As always, I deeply appreciate the comments and discussion!

 

SanCristobal_Revelation_OdysseyOddly, I’ve been on a bit of a large cigar kick, at the time of year I should be smoking little cigars.  Thursday I reached for a San Cristobal Revelation Odyssey, an interestingly sized 5¾” x 60. This cigar was a Christmas gift from one of my vendors at work. This gentleman owns a steel company in Oxnard, CA and shops at Olde Oaks Cigar Co. in Thousand Oaks, CA. This is a really neat shop with a really good and well priced (for CA) selection of cigars, and what appears to this non-drinker to be an incredible booze selection. The lounge is nice as well. Anyway, this San Cristobal Revelation is one of his current favorites and he wanted to share it with me. I can see why he likes the cigar, the man may not smoke cigars more than once a week or so, but he has good taste, and this one is loaded with flavor. I found it to be medium bodied, smooth with a hint of savory sweet

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ness. It started off with a hint of pepper, a signature of the manufacturer, the My Father factory. This size is round, but several other sizes have a box press, and it has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and a really beautiful band.  This is a winner in my book and I would reach for this cigar without hesitation.

 

CE&M_DubniumFriday evening I thought it would be a good time to smoke the Foundry Compunds, Elements and Musings Dubnium: the Cheshire Cat.  As we all know, Dubnium is a chemical element with symbol Db and atomic number 105. It is named after the town of Dubna in Russia, where it was first produced. It is a synthetic element (an element that can be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature) and radioactive; the most stable known isotope, dubnium-268, has a half-life of approximately 28 hours (thank you Wikipedia), and a Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularized by Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, not sure what one has to do with the other except that neither occurs naturally in nature, or has a damned thing to do with cigars. Knowing the beautiful mind of Michael Giannini as I do, one quickly learns not to question these things, the just are, reason and logic play no part, and that’s OK as the Foundry cigars, despite the gimmick and novelty, deliver in quality for me.  This was a cigar on the milder side, but heavy on the creamy soft flavors that I deeply appreciate on occasion. It had a sweetness and perfect burn and I found interesting and unique flavors as I frequently do in this line. That’s probably what keeps me sampling the Foundry line every chance I get, besides the fact that the Compounds, Elements and Musings series is generally wallet friendly, this 6″ x 60 box press cost me under $7 locally, and many are priced lower than that.  Innovative packaging, unique tobaccos (although, to be fair, it could be just about anything considering they rarely specify the tobaccos used), and a neat story and the trust I have in Michael makes me a fan.

 

BSBNo1 40th_VezinaYesterday, after a heavy, wet snow over night which was (thankfully) only a few inches, I opted for the second of three cigars from the Rocky Patel Bernie Parent BSB No.1 40th Anniversary set, the Vezina. It’s All Star weekend in the NHL, so I figured it would be appropriate, and I wanted to smoke it anyway, so there!  The Vezina is the trophy awarded each year to the goaltender “adjudged to be the best at this position”, and Bernie Parent won it in 1974 and 1975.  The cigar has a cedar sleeve, covering a beautiful Ecuador Habano wrapper, and is 6½” x 52. My friends at Halfwheel have a nice write up on this series of cigars, however they have spelt Vezina “Venzia” on two occasions, making it darned near impossible to find in a search, which isn’t pertinent to this story, just fun to point out.  I enjoyed the cigar, although it wasn’t as distinctively good as the Conn Smythe with the broadleaf wrapper. Not to say it wasn’t a wonderful smoke, but those aren’t hard to find these days, and I certainly won’t avoid it. Burned great, tasted great and evokes great memories of both a childhood watching the Broad Street Bullies win the Stanley Cup twice in a row, and times hanging out, smoking cigars with the legendary goaltender and wickedly funny story teller and friendly guy, Bernie.  Now I’m looking forward the the third in the series, the box pressed, Ecuador Sumartra wrapped Lord Stanley. Should I wait until June to smoke that? I’m not sure I can wait.

 

imageMy boss called me into his office yesterday morning, and instead of firing me, he gave me this interesting ashtray made from a well cap by a guy who works for a local well drilling company.  I’m more of a fan of having the business end of a cigar suspended over the ashtray, but this is an interesting design and will have a place in the smoking porch. It’s a much appreciated gift, much better than a pink slip!  That wraps up today’s episode, tune in Wednesday for more literary regurgitation as I meander through the wonders of the cigar world!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | January 21, 2015 · 9:07 pm

Ezra Zion, East India Trading Co. Classic Cigar and an Orchant Seleccion by Oliva

With all the talk of the lifting of Cuban Embargo, and all the speculation that goes along with it, it got me thinking about what happens when the embargo is actually lifted and Cuban cigars make their way to US retailers shelves. Of course, there will be a huge number of people who want to try what was the forbidden fruit, and the Cuban cigar industry will be struggling to meet the demand.  It seems to me that opening the US market will effectively double that demand. One point I never hear discussed is that Cuba struggles now to meet the global demand, and Cuban cigars, as they are now, need to rest for a good couple of years before they reach their potential.  I can see the initial deliveries of cigars being fresh, and potentially turning off the new smokers out to try that which hasn’t been available for the last 50 plus years, due to the cigars not being ready. This theory of mine also supposes that Cuban cigars will come in at the same quality that they are at now, not that they will be rushing poorly grown and processed leaf to the factories to crank out an additional several million cigars to meet the demand.  If the embargo is a few years from being lifted, the cigars will be another few years until they are really ready to be smoked!  Just a few thoughts that roll around my head as I’m listening to speculation being bandied about!

 

EzraZion_FHK_TruthSo Monday, after struggling mightily with a migraine on Sunday, I reached for an Ezra Zion FHK in the Truth size. This is a 7″ x 44 cigar, a long lonsdale, or fat lancero, I’m not sure which.  This cigar is in their Honor series, and the FHK stands for Fathers of Hoover and Kelly, a tribute to the forefathers of the founders of Ezra Zion cigars (who, incidentally, also founded The Cigar Federation website, Kyle and Chris, not their forefathers).  It’s a beautiful box pressed cigar with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Brazil, made at the Placencia factory in Esteli.  This was a very enjoyable cigar, smooth with a nice espresso flavor, lacking the rough edges I generally associate with the Mexican leaf. I’m  sure the Brazilian leaf helps to temper that some, and while I’m not a fan of Indonesian tobacco, it’s pretty neutral and doesn’t detract from the blend. It’s a very nice smoke, like most of the cigars I’ve smoked from the Ezra Zion line.

 

EastIndia_The Classic Cigar - Havana BlendRobustoTuesday I found myself in one of my “I don’t know what I want to smoke” moods, so, after some rummaging around I decided to choose an East Indie Trading Company Classic Cigar Habano Blend Robusto from a box which was a recent gift from the folks at Gurkha (many thanks!). I’ve smoked a few of this cigar in the toro size, and it was a good smoke, but this one surprised me with a minty quality. It was quite refreshing and unusual. It’s another box pressed cigar, measuring 5½ x 52, and my main complaint was that it smoked a bit too fast for my liking. I suppose that was a good thing, since I wanted to watch the Flyers play the Penguins, which was a very entertaining game. So I had a full evening of entertainment, first with a cigar that was very refreshing, then with a great fight, where a hockey game broke out!  I’m very interested to see if that cool, refreshing mintyness is present in more of these. If you’ve smoked this vitola, please let me know in the comments if you got the same sensation.

 

MitchellOrchant_OrchantSeleccionOliva_ChubbyTonight I knew exactly what I wanted to smoke, it was just a matter of choosing a size.  Last week, Mitchell Orchant, of CGars Ltd. in the UK, released his Orchant Seleccion by Oliva in three sizes, Skinny (5 x 43), Short (5 x 50) and Chubby (4 x 60,).  in boxes of 10 and limited to 500 boxes per size. Mitchell is the UK distributor for Oliva Cigars, and this series will only be available in the UK. I chose Chubby, it being a very American thing to do, I think, as I don’t imagine the 60 ring as as popular in jolly ole England as it is here.  Word on the street is that this is based on the Serie V blend, although the wrapper is lighter in color and rather flawless in appearance. The wrapper is Ecuador Sumatra, like the Serie V Melanio, with Nicaraguan filler. It smoked very smooth and flavorful, really a delicious smoke that I feel bad about telling you about since it’s damn near impossible to get on this side of the pond. The construction was perfect, the draw was open as a non-plugged Havana cigar generally should be, and it was a very enjoyable smoke.  I look forward to Mitch releasing his Inka line of Peruvian puros here in the US, but in the mean time, I will certainly enjoy smoking this exclusive Orchant Seleccion Oliva cigar, as I’m certain it will be a hit in the UK, especially at the modest price points comparatively (the most expensive in the line being around $15 USD, in the land of very expensive cigars).  Thanks to Mitchell for sharing these fab smokes! Blimey, it was the dogs bollocks!

 

Please join me in welcoming Stogies World Class Cigars to the CigarCraig.com family!  For as long as it appears on their ad on the left sidebar, there’s a 10% off coupon code,  Craig10, you can use, and they also offer free shipping!  They love lanceros there and have several shop exclusives, and will soon have the Fratello lancero to add to their portfolio.

 

That’s it for today’s installment! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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