CigarCraig's Blog

I started off this week with something a little different.  I had a Toscano Master Aged Serie 3 in the humidor from last year’s PCA show, and I decided it was time to give it a try.  I’ve been enjoying Toscano cigars for over 20 years, my wife brought me some from a trip to Italy in 2000 (Anticos), and I’ve been a fan.  I bought some more when I went to Italy myself a few years back, Unfortunately, I have so many other cigars to smoke, these get pushed to the back of the rotation. They are dry cured, so they are great to keep in the car in case of emergency, and it’s totally acceptable to cut them in half.  The Master Aged 3 I smoked is a high end Toscano, made with aged Kentucky tobacco, which is fire cured and tastes like it.  I probably should have cut it in half, because it had a hole in the middle of the cigar, under the band, which I had to cover with a finger to get a decent amount of smoke.  I only realize as I type that I could have cut it in half, it never occured to me when I was smoking it.  that would have saved me some frustration!  It was a bold, tasty cigar with the smoky, bar-be-cue type of flavors which is nice from time to time.  I still think the Modigliani is the best  Toscano I’ve smoked.

I bought a Gurkha Ghost Gold a few weeks ago after hearing someone rave about it.  I like the original Ghost well enough, so I wanted to give this a try.  They have replaced the Brazilian wrapper with a Habano, grown in Ecuador. I have to give a little critique of the Gurkha website here, on the Ghost pages there are some errors, the Gold list all three sizes the same, when it should be the Shadow at 5″ x 54, and the Exorcist at 6″ x 60, with the Asura, 6″X 54 being the only one correct.  There is also an inconsistency in the blend info, one place it says a Criollo 98 binder and Mexican in another. I tend to believe it has a Mexican binder.  This was a very nice smoke, I smoked it while watching Blazing Saddles, which may be a little ironic. The cigar burned well and had a nice, creamy sweetness.  I dug it, although it wouldn’t make any lists for me.  I’d smoke either the Ghost or the Gold again.

Another PCA show leftover was a Dos Niños robusto, which I believe to be the Corojo variety.  The guy behind this cigar is someone I’ve known for many years, from the Usenet days, named Chris Kelly. There are an abundance of Chris Kellys in the cigar business, one owns Tesa Cigars in Chicago, one is one of the owners of  Ezra Zion/Cigar Federation, and one is the owner of Leaf Lovers Tobacconist in the incorrectly named town of North East, PA. (it’s near Erie, with is in the North West part of the state). It’s the third one who owns the Dos Niños brand. From what I remember, he started this brand rolling the cigars himself in his shop. If I also remember correctly, which is a crapshoot, by the way, the are now produced by Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars, and distributed by Sutliff. This cigar started off bold, which is why I think it was the Corojo as opposed to the Habano. It had a rich, heavy chocolate flavor that was quite good. It was less of a sweet chocolate, but very lush and satisfying.  I quite enjoyed the cigar, although I’ve been passing it over for the last 8 months, worried that if I smoked it and didn’t enjoy it I’d hurt a friend’s feelings.  No issue, it was very good. I’ve spent my weekend power-watching House of the Dragon before my free trial expires, and this got me through an episode and a half, pretty good for a 5″ x 50 robusto.

Finally, I smoked a Cavalier Geneve White toro last night. I was watching TV, and a wicked thunderstorm passed through, knocking out the power for 45 minutes or so. Oddly, when the main TV came back on, and we were trying to watch hockey, it didn’t have any sound.  I was quite unhappy since the TV was only a few months old. I did some Googling,  and came across an unlikely solution which involved turning the TV off, unplugging it, then holding down the power button in the remote for 30 seconds.  Seemed far fetched, but I was desperate. It actually worked. Reduced my stress level considerably. This all went down after I finished the cigar.  I first encountered this brand at the 2016 show where I met Sebastien Decoppet, who started this brand shortly before that.  He’s a young, hip guy with the beard and tattoos, last time I talked to him was in the Starbucks line after the ’22 TPE where he was kind enough to buy me a coffee.  Phil of Comedy-Cigars-Music fame sent me this Cavalier Geneve White toro, which I hadn’t had the chance to try yet.  This 6″x 52 cigar has a Habano wrapper, a Connecticut binder (guessing broadleaf, shade isn’t used for a binder often, if ever), and Habano fillers, probably made in Cavalier’s own factory in Honduras. Again, I was distracted by a reasonably violent thunderstorm, but this tasted very good, on the mild to medium side, with some bready notes and some spice. I can never taste the 24k gold leaf when I burn though it, but it’s a cool touch.  I’ve enjoyed the Cavalier cigars I’ve smoked, although it’s been limited to a handful of the “Black” varieties. This White was really good, and another thanks to Phil for sending this!

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

CigarCraig