by | September 8, 2022 · 8:29 pm

Sancho Panza Double Maduro and Extra Fuerte Cigars

Sunday I talked about the new Sancho Panza “The Original” cigar, newly reimagined with the help of Matt Booth.  I mentioned that I had bought a box of Extra Fuerte a while ago, and I looked it up and it was 2006.  That box is long gone, but I remember it fondly,  I admit I was a little concerned with the new branding, It’s growing on me, I guess.  I was interested in trying the other two new cigars in the line.  I chose the Sancho Panza Double Maduro first.  The wrapper is a dark Ecuadoran Sumatra, with a Nicaraguan Esteli binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil.  I assume it’s “double” maduro because of the oscuro color of the wrapper, there’s no indication that any of the other components are fermented to a maduro. Of course, I could be wrong.  I expected a sweet maduro, but I was quite wrong.  This was a savory, maybe mushroomy, maduro, and I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms! It wasn’t an off-putting flavor, but not what I was expecting, or prefer.  The cigar burned right, and wan’t unenjoyable.  

 

The Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte was next.  Like I said, I liked this cigar a lot it it’s previous iteration. This one has an Ecuadoran wrapper, Honduran Jamastran binder and Dominican Mao, Nicaraguan Esteli fillers. I’ve been to General’s farm in Mao, beautiful place, at least it was in 2011.  When I was there there wasn’t any cigar tobacco growing, but it was still pretty cool.  I wrote about it HERE. The Extra Fuerte was my favorite of the three, with The Original coming in second.  This had some sweet spice that I like, and was very enjoyable. It wasn’t as “furete” as I thought it would be, maybe the Double Maduro seemed stronger to me. All three I smoked were in the Robusto size, I’ll give them a try one day in a toro. I think the ones I had years ago were coronas. Considering these are priced reasonably, hopefully they finally have the success that the brand deserves. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | September 4, 2022 · 9:39 am

A Cabaiguan, a Mystery Cigar and a Sancho Panza The Original

Once again I’m having a cigar while I write. I don’t usually smoke in the mornings, but I’ve been enjoying it the last few Sundays, because I know that very soon it won’t be a comfortable thing to do.  To be honest, I really don’t like this time of year. When my end of August birthday comes around, I get depressed, because it signals the end of summer.  I love summer, Fall is a major bummer for me.  I know many disagree, like cigars, everyone has their preferences, I prefer to be warm over cold.  So I’m enjoying every last drop of summer I can.  More on the cigar later, I just lit it up, and it’s pretty good!  But I smoked a few other cigar in the last half of the week, starting with a big Tatuaje Cabaiguan.  This is a new shape for this year, the Cabaiguan No.752, which is 7″ x 52 (good name, that worked out well!).  I thought maybe this was in the Guapos series because of the pigtail cap, but I believe I’m wrong.  This has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers and binder.  It was a very nice cigar, toasty with a hint of sweetness.  I definitely lean more toward the maduro in this line, but this was a really nice shade cigar.  

 

Near the end of this month, September 28th, Drew Estate is having another Freestyle Live events to reveal a new brand.  They put together packs with three sizes of the new cigar, as well as a cutter, case and flask set.  It amuses me that people are trying to guess what this cigar is, as if it were a line extension. I smoked the toro size yesterday and was really happy with the cigar.  I want to smoke the robusto and Churchill too, but I want to save one for the event! I am actually toying with the idea of buying another pack, but I don’t need more goodies, although I have a feeling I could probably find a good home for them 😉! The case and cutter are really nice, I have no need for a flask! Anyway, this cigar had a very unique flavor, a sweet spice I can’t identify.  It was, in my opinion, better than any Liga Privada. I was enamoured with it. I’m going to go out on a limb, for the sake of documentation, and say that I think it has a Nicaraguan Broadleaf wrapper.  It’s something very different, whatever it is, and Willy Herrera outdid himself on this one.  I hope it’s not outrageously priced. I love the Undercrown 10, and this was better.  I can’t wait to see what this is!  

 

Sometimes you smoke a ci

gar on a Saturday evening hoping to write about it on Sunday, and the cigar doesn’t perform the way you’d like. Perhaps it’s super tight until around the band, and  then it’s falling apart from playing with it to loosen it up.  The flavor is good, but it doesn’t end up being a good experience. This is why I’m smoking a new Sancho Panza The Original robusto as I write this. So far, this sup-$7 cigar is outperforming one that was several time the price. Sancho Panza has been around a long time, I remember buying a box of Extra Fuertes nearly 20 years ago for about $35. They recently worked with the new General Cigars Employee, Matt Booth, on the rebrand. The new look is growing on me and I’ve been looking forward to trying them.  This cigar has a Honduran Connecticut Shade wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Brazil.  I’m really enjoying this cigar with my morning coffee, it’s silky smooth and rich, not a mild, papery shade cigar.  I look forward to getting into the Super Fuerte and Double Maduro! These are super budget friendly and this one was really quite good.  

 

That’s all for today. It’s a holiday weekend, I guess, I don’t celebrate it as the end of summer, but having Monday off is a reward for my labors through the year, I suppose. Soon I’ll have to put the shorts away and get the hoodies out, somethi

ng I dread. Anyway, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | September 1, 2022 · 10:03 pm

Celebrating CGars Ltd’s 25th Anniversary

Tuesday evening we went to Brooklyn, NY to help Mitchell Orchant celebrate 25 years in business with CGars Ltd, a London based purveyor of fine cigars. You may be asking: CigarCraig, you don’t smoke a lot of Cuban cigars, how did you end up on the guest list for such an exclusive event?  Let me tell you a little story.  Sometime around 1997 I received an e-mail from Mitchell, who I knew as “SmokeyMO” on the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group. It was asking me to have a look at his new website an offer any advice. I told Mitchell that “Montecristo” was one word, not two. I ended up meeting Mitchell in 1999 at an event in Las Vegas. We’ve been friends ever since, my wife and I even attended his wedding in London back in 2006, which led to my only appearance in Cigar Aficionado magazine (December 2006 with Dennis Haysbert on the cover).  So, even though I’ve been a very infrequent customer of his over the years, we’ve maintained a friendship. So that’s how we ended up in Brooklyn on a Tuesday evening, smoking great cigars with some old friends.  

 

The event was held at The Liberty Warehouse, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.  The food and deserts were amazing, and we saw several old friends. There was a great latin band playing throughout the evening.  If it hadn’t been so windy, we would have spent more time outside watching the ships in the harbor, but cigars don’t deal with the wind well, and the cigars provided were the best of the best. It was a fantastic evening, celebrating a milestone for a great business and family, with great friends. One of these days I hope to get back to the U.K. and visit some of Mitchell’s shops!  

 

I smoked one of the cigars last night from the party, the La Gloria Cubana Exclusivo Andino, which is exclusive to the Andes in South America. I haven’t had a Cuban La Gloria in 20-some years, and I have been off of Havanas for the most part over the last decade or so.  This was an excellent cigar, rich and buttery with some spice.  I quite enjoyed it, thank you, Mitchell for it and for an incredible evening. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | August 28, 2022 · 9:59 am

A New Rojas and a Couple More PDR Cigars

I smoked a few more new cigars this week, but I’ll revisit them another time because I was less than impressed with them. It’s not that they were bad, it’s just that either they needed more time, or weren’t the ideal size.  I’ll get back to them eventually. I was really impressed with the Rojas Unfinished Business.  I see where Rojas has been celebrating the grand opening of their factory in Esteli, I know a few people that were there.  I’ve really enjoyed the recent Rojas cigars I’ve smoked. The Street Tacos, and the cigars by Stolen Throne have been impressive. There’s a few I need to smoke yet, but, overall, Noel is making great cigars. I night have an old Guayacan cigar in the humidor someplace!  Anyway, I smoked the Unfinished Business Toro this week that Noel gave me at the PCA show and it was really to my liking.  It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Mexico. The blend hits a lot of “likes” for me.  It was dark and rich, with all the flavors I like, espresso, a little spice, and some sweetness. I very much enjoyed this cigar.  Definitely a future revisit.  

 

I’m catching up on the PDR cigars, I think I only have one more in the queue for now. I actually need to organize the humidor I put these in to make sure I’m not missing any!  I started with the A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro in Robusto.  This is a 5″ x 50 robusto, and PDR has done a great job with consistency in branding with the little paper sleeves on each cigar and the name of each cigar on the band.  The look is uniform and quite classy.  This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan Habano and Dominican Corojo fillers. Oddly, this is not a sweet maduro, but more on the savory side.  Burn and draw were acceptable and it was an enjoyable smoke.  In the past few years I’ve gotten away from the Robusto size, but on a Saturday when I am going to smoke two cigars, this fit the bill.  

 

I followed the Serie Privada Maduro with the A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro, also in a robusto size, after dinner.  This cigar has a Mexico San Andres Maduro wrapper, with Olor Dominican Republic binder and  Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano fillers. It seems to go without saying that all of PDR cigars are made in the Dominican Republic. The PDR originally stood for “Pinar del Rio” after that region in Cuba, but they recently changed it to “Puros Dominican Republic” to better reflect the brand and factory. It was still on the savory side for a maduro, but had more spice and a hint of sweetness.  It must be the Dominican Corojo that has the savory component.  I enjoyed it while listening to Will Cooper guest on The Cigar Authority (I think he’s now one appearance behind me!). He gave me a shout-out and I appreciate that!  He referenced my interview with George Hamilton (available here in the archives and still out there on my long defunct podcast, which is one of the few that Coop has never been on!). I always thought Hamilton missed the mark by not having a lighter wrapper under the band, so when you  took the band off it looked like a tan line. The A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro was good. 

 

That’s all for today. Tomorrow marks the thirteenth anniversary of CigarCraig.com, looking forward to year 14!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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by | August 24, 2022 · 5:00 pm

News: J.C.Newman Ships New Diamond Crown Black Cigars

 

I’ve long been a fan of the Diamond Crown line, with the darker wrapped versions bring my favorite. I recall smoking one of these three years or so ago and really liking it.  Please read on: 

Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is shipping its new Diamond Crown Black Diamond cigars to premium cigar retailers across the United States.
Drew Newman holding the new El Baton cigars with old El Baton sign next to him.
Diamond Crown Black Diamond Cigars are the pinnacle of J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown luxury cigar brand.  First introduced in 2016, Diamond Crown Black Diamond cigars are hand rolled in Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic.  They feature an elegant and flavorful Connecticut Havana wrapper with a blend of very well-aged Dominican binder and filler tobaccos.

“My grandfather, Stanford J. Newman, told me that his father, J.C. Newman taught him that we should aim to do something better every day,” said Drew Newman, general counsel, and fourth-generation owner.  “Although our Diamond Crown Black Diamond cigars have been savored by cigar enthusiasts around the world for six years, I was not satisfied and wanted to make them better.”

This year, J.C. Newman is reintroducing Diamond Crown Black Diamond.  The sizes, price, and box quantity remain the same.  The blend has been strengthened and refined, and the cigars will feature new luxurious packaging printed in Europe.  The new Diamond Crown Black Diamond cigars are shipping to premium cigar retailers this week.
  • Diamond Crown Black Diamond Emerald, 6” x 52, Packed in Boxes of 20 with a MSRP of $21
  • Diamond Crown Black Diamond Marquis, 5 ¼” x 56, Packed in Boxes of 20 with a MSRP of $20
  • Diamond Crown Black Diamond Radiant, 4 ½” x 54, Packed in Boxes of 20 with a MSRP of $18
Visit our Diamond Crown Black Diamond Page
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About J.C. Newman Cigar Co.
Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America.  J.C. Newman rolls its El Reloj, Factory Throwouts, and Trader Jacks cigars by hand-operated, vintage cigar machines at its historic cigar factory in Tampa, Florida.  It also hand rolls its Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars at the J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.  J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic.  With its longtime partners the Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.
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