A Few Family X Loyalty Cigars

Over the past year or so I’ve gotten to know, and become friends with, Phil from comedycigarsmusic.com. He produces some engaging content, using video, podcast, and written formats. I look forward to his “Phil Switch” and “1st and 15th” podcasts (the latter with Kaplowitz), for their entertainment value, although they are light on cigar content. It’s my understanding that the next 1st and 15th show may finally tackle the long awaited “Cigar 101” topic. I’m not holding my breath. All that to say that I sent Phil some cigars a while ago, and he, despite my cautioning not to, sent me a pack of cigars, may of which I hadn’t yet smoked. Chief among these were three cigars with enormous, brightly colored bands from a company called Family X Loyalty.  I had never heard of this brand before, and I’ve heard of a lot! Information about this brand is elusive. They have a nice website, although there is no “About” page.  I can’t seem to glean any information, even their address listed is incomplete.  I suppose I could dig into the “whois” and all, but who has the time, as long as the cigars are good.  The cigars were good (a little digging leads me to believe these may be made at Jonas Santana’s Blackbird factory in the DR. I can see this as that factory produces some excellent cigars) .  I started with the Skoll. This has a yellow band covering the majority of the cigar. This is a Gran Toro (6″ x 54) wrapped in a Brazilian Cubra wrapper with a Criollo 98 binder and Nicaraguan fillers. “Criollo” is consistently misspelled on the website, by the way, unless there’s a “Crillo” tobacco I don’t know about. This cigar started with a bitter espresso flavor, but smoothed out to a medium to full bodied black coffee.  I really quite liked this cigar. 

 

Next I ventured into the Geri.  This has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with the Criollo 98 binder and a filler blend of Criollo 98, Corojo, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania.  Again we have a mix of tobacco naming conventions, where is the Criollo and Corojo from?  What varietals are coming from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania? I have an in with Blackbird, perhaps I’ll inquire, but probably not.  I’m nit-picky about info on websites. This cigar, again, was very good. I noted that it started out with a brightness, which I suppose is a light spice. It had some wood and pepper notes. This is another cigar I would smoke again, very good. 

 

 

The final cigar in the trilogy was the Freki.  I wish I could find some back story about this brand and the naming.  To my eye, they have sort of a Nordic feel to the names.  I’m not sure. Looking at the bands, I’m more inclined to believe that they come from the same factory that makes Blackbird, who also uses large, colorful bands. These do tend to stand out, so there’s some wisdom to using this type of bands.  Mental note, I need to get some more Blackbird Crows.  The last cigar was called Freki. I got curious just now and Googled “Freki”, and is seems like Geri and Freki were Odin’s wolves in Norse mythology.  It looks like Skoll is also a wolf, as is Hati, another one of their blends.  I’ve uncovered the theme, I think, maybe the wolves on the bands could have been some sort of hint?  I also enjoyed the Freki. I got started much later than I would have liked. We got cheap tickets to see “John Wick Chapter Four”, and spent the day watching th 2nd and 3rd movies, with some hockey interspersed, so I really wanted to sit and relax in a non-violent way. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, with the Criollo binder and the same fillers as the Geri. I’m guessing it’s the same blend with a different wrapper, which is fine.  This was maybe the strongest of the bunch, with some nice earthy sweetness.  It has some dark chocolate and some pepper. Interestingly, I think I liked all three of these cigars about the same, usually there’s one that stands out.  All were excellent, and thank you again to Phil for sharing these with me.  I send cigars to people and don’t expect retribution, but it’s pretty great when I get to try some new stuff!  

 

I had worried that this would be a short post today, I guess I managed to stretch it out! Anyway,  that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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News: Partagas de Bronce Due in April

Following the Cohiba M and La Gloria 8th Street, we have another General Cigar Co. offering being made at Al Titan de Bronze in Miami. These are pricey, it’s not cheap to make cigars in the US.  I expect to see a Macanudo made there next.  I’ll be honest, my favorite from ETB is the Cornelius, at half the price of most of these. Sadly they are extinct, fortunately I still have a bunch. I may spring for one if I see it in the wild, but I haven’t shelled out for the La Gloria yet, so…

 

 

PARTAGAS RELEASES FIRST US-MADE CIGAR IN COLLABORATION WITH EL TITÁN DE BRONZE

Partagas will release its first collaboration in April with Partagas de Bronce, an exceptional cigar handcrafted in Miami by the Cuban expatriate rollers of the famed El Titán de Bronze Cigar Factory.

 

The cigar’s name calls upon the Spanish spelling of “bronce in tribute to the origins of Partagas and El Titan de Bronze.

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Partagas de Bronce was blended by STG’s Justin Andrews, with Sandy Cobas and the blending team a

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t El Titán de Bronze. Made with a Corojo wrapper, Partagas de Bronce is a medium- bodied Nicaraguan puro that brims with nuances. Cocoa, earth, wood,hints of citrus and an intriguing creaminess deliver a cigar that highlights the heritage of Partagas with the artistry of El Titán de Bronze.

 

 

John Hakim, brand manager of Partagas said, “For a venerable brand like Partagas, collaborating with a legend like Sandy Cobas and creating a special, limited edition cigar at her family-owned factory marks an important step in Partagas’ evolution. Partagas de Bronce highlights Partagas’ devotion to old-world cigar making techniques, and its commitment to marching the brand forward through innovation. We look forward to sharing this exceptional blend with cigar lovers across the country.”  

 

Partagas de Bronce will be released in April, when 5,000 boxes, each signed by the El Titán de Bronze cigar maker who crafted them, will ship to retailers. Each box contains ten cigars.

 

Partagas de Bronce Corona Gorda (6.25” x 46) – SRP per cigar $22.99

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Fratello, All Saints, Casino Real and Yaya Cigars

I’m running low on new stuff to smoke, in a few years I’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel!  Seems like there’s always something new, it’s just a matter of getting my hands on stuff.  A few weeks after my aborted attempt to be among the first to smoke the new Fratello Vice Versa with Omar when he released it in Virginia, I picked a couple up at a local shop.  I would have gotten more, but these are no cheap date.  I get it, they are expensive to make, they are bunched in a very specific way, and capped on both ends.  Not begrudging Omar the price, just saying I’m a cheap prick and don’t buy more than a couple $15 cigars at a whack.  I smoked prototypes last May, they were good.  I smoked a Vice Versa this week and started with the strong end. This is an interesting cigar that smokes mild from one end and strong from the other. Seems like I should have gotten a third one, because the one I smoked, unfortunately, had a void in the first half and tunneled. After struggling with it for a while, it eventually corrected itself.  I kinda missed the strong part, but it was a tasty cigar. This isn’t a small cigar at 7″ x 52, and it has a six country blend: Ecuador, Indonesia, Pennsylvania (USA) , the Dominican Republic, Peru and Nicaragua. Peruvian tobacco is a in almost all of Omar’s blends.  I wonder if I would feel better about cutting this cigar in half, although if I think a $15 7″ cigar is expensive, two $7.50 3½” cigars actually seems pricier. I have one left, I’ll need to get a couple more eventually, I enjoyed the flavor. 

 

Friday was Saint Patrick’s Day, so I smoked the new Firecracker cigar from United Cigars, the All Saints St. Patrick. This is a 3½” x 50 based on the St. Francis blend, which I really like. They accented the oscuro wrapper with a Candela, making a barber pole. It seemed to me to be stronger than the St. Francis, which is kinda the point.  I didn’t taste much of the candela, to be honest. A lot of the candela barber pole cigars have that grassy candela flavor present, this wasn’t apparent except it might have contributed to some of the bite. It was good, I liked it. I typically only buy from 3 to 5 Firecrackers, maybe I should have gotten 5.  It’s been a few years since I’ve gotten any, the last few didn’t capture my interest. If you find these, buy some, I bet they go fast. I wonder if All Saints will do a St. Bernard one day?  It would have to be a large format.

 

Yesterday I did a little test of a platform that will let me do interviews remotely.  Hopefully that is something that interests my readers.  It’s something I’ve been wanting to do but finally got around to it. So I tested it yesterday with a couple of friends and smoked a Casino Real Double Toro (6″ x 60) which I think I got at the 2022 TPE show. This is a brand which is, from what I can tell, is distributed by Zander Greg/Nat Cicco. This is a Ecuador Habano wrapped cigar with Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  It was a tasty cigar with some woody and coffee type flavors.  The burn and draw were perfect.  I have no idea what these cost but it was a solid smoke.

 

I got home from going out to dinner a bit late and decided it was a great time to smoke a short cigar.  I said before that my go to is a 6″ cigar, I don’t mind bigger cigars, although I don’t often go over a 60 ring. So shorter cigars end up spending some time in the humidor often. I had a Yaya Short Robusto, which is a 2022 PCA exclusive, which I got from the United Cigars booth at the 2022 PCA show.  I like the fact that this had the date on the band, it makes it harder for me to forget where it came from and when. Not impossible, just harder.  I’ve heard good things about this cigar, so I was anxious to try it.  It’s 4″ x 54, with an Ecuador Habano wrapper over Dominican fillers.  These are made in Jose Dominguez’ Magia Cubana factory in the DR.  I’ll be honest, there’s not a lot of cigar from this factory that have thrilled me. This one was the exception.  It started out with a little bite, which I liked, and had some nice spice notes.  It’s a tasty smoke!  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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News: Fratello Cigars To Be Distributed in Iceland

I’d be willing to bet I’m the only cigar blogger/media guy who’s been to the Bjork shop in Reykjavík.  For a long time I was in the first couple results on Google when searching for info on cigars in Iceland.  I think I saw where Karen Berger also got distribution in Iceland. From my experience, there wasn’t a whole lot of cigar culture there.  I’m happy to see brands besides Havanas, Davidoff and the odd Macanudo being sold there.  Read on:

 

 

FRATELLO CIGARS ANNOUNCES ICELAND DISTRIBUTION

Omar de Frias is proud to announce Fratello Cigars newest distribu

tion partner in Iceland Björk Tobacco.  Björk Tobacco has their headquarters in Reykjavík Iceland and has been in operation f

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or over two decades.

 

“We are very excited to be partnering with Trausti Reynissson and his team.  After meeting with Bjö

rk Tobacco at Dortmund last year we saw an incredible opportunity for Fratell

o in the market.” Said de Frias.  

 

“We are very happy to get to work with Omar and bring his outstanding cigars to Iceland.  We own 2 locations and recently opened our third location in December and Fratello is already building a strong following amongst our customers.” Said Reynissson.

 

Fratello Cigars currently has distribution in the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Norway, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Nicaragua, Czech Republic, Slovakia, New Zealand, Spain,  Sweeden, Romania, France, Qatar, Australia, Italy,  Germany, Cyprus, Virgin

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Islands, UEA and now Iceland. This partnership will open new doors and continue to expand on Fratello Cigars accelerated international growth.

 

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News: Smokin Tabacco Cigar Family Charitable Foundation Raffle Begins

Here’s some news from the folks over at Smokin Tabacco. I know I don’t make it a habit of posting news from other media outlets, but this one is a great charity event.  Throw a few bucks toward the CFCF, and maybe win some spectacular prizes!  It’s a great cause! 

 

 

Smokin Tabacco is proud to announce the third annual Smokin Tabacco Cigar Family Charitable Foundation fundraiser raffle has officially gone live. You can now purchase your raffle tickets as you wish. More prizes are being added daily, including some unimaginable ones from Arturo Fuente.

 

In their first two years, Smokin Tabacco has been able to raise a total of $57,000 for the cause that is run and operated by the Newman and Fuente families of J.C. Newman and Arturo Fuente, respectively. This was something that Matt and Nicole first started in 2021 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their first podcast, The Smokin Tabaco Show. Instead of more traditional methods of marking an anniversary, they decided to use their media platform to host a raffle that would benefit a cause they both felt strongly about. While going through many different foundations and causes, they ultimately decided upon hosting a raffle that would benefit The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.

 

In year one the fundraiser finished at $7,000. In year two however, things heated up when nearing the $20,000 line, Carlito Fuente called Matt and Nicole and told them he would personally match the final total bringing the final amount for 2022 to $51,000. The goal for 2022 was $10,000 and was easily exceeded. Now, going into 2023, Smokin Tabacco is proud to announce a third round and hopes to pass the amount raised from the year before.

 

In November 2022, Matt and Nicole traveled to the Dominican Republic to visit the Cigar Family campus and met all the amazing kids, teachers, personnel and even some former students who return to the school to give back. It was a life changing experience and gives you a new sense of how important this organization is once you see how far this money goes.

“It is such an honor to be able to play a small

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role in this great organization. We are so proud of everyone who came out and donated these past two years and hope to see another amazing year in 2023.” says Matt Tabacco, owner of Smokin Tabacco.

 

 

Nicole Tabacco with one of the students at the CF-CF campus in Bonao

 

There are some amazing items being raffled off including

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items from the OpusX Society, La Flor Dominicana, Tatuaje, Aganorsa Leaf, Drew Estate, Room 101, Red Meat Lovers Club, J.C. Newman, Arturo Fuente, Cigar-Coop, Hiram & Solomon, Rabbit Air, a box of TGS 2021 Opus X from Smoke Inn and more. The fundraiser will run until April 26th at 5PM EST. The website for the raffle can be found at go.rallyup.com/smokintabacco2023 or by texting SMKTAB to 855-202-2100. For questions about the fundraiser, email Matt at Matthew@smokintabacco.com or call us at 978-886-1574.

 

ABOUT CIGAR FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation (CF-CF) began in 2001 when long time cigar industry business partners, the Fuente and Newman families, formalized the dream of improving people’s lives in the mountainous Bonao region of the Dominican Republic. By focusing on families, they hoped to give the children in this cigar producing region an opportunity for a better future.

 

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