by | July 3, 2022 · 10:16 am

A Couple Knuckle Sandwich Cigars and The Baller Cutter

I went out shopping this week and picked up some new cigars that I’d been wanting to try. One set I’m going to withhold comment on because there was something off about them and I want to pick up some more and give them another shot. I also want to discuss this with the manufacturer and I’ll probably see him next week.  So yesterday I smoked the Knuckle Sandwich cigars from Guy Fieri and Espinosa Cigars.  Of course, I bought Toros, which may or may not have been the only size they had at the shop, I really don’t recall. Nine times out of ten if there’s a Toro I’m getting it, you know me.  These are made in A.J. Fernandez’ San Lotano factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua, blended by the Espinosa folks with Guy Fie

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volvement. I think I talked about this with Erik in the interview video I did with him at the TPE (here). I started of with the Habano after lunch.  The wrapper is an Ecuador Habano and the binder and fillers are Nicaraguan. What could go wrong?  Nothing, that’s what.  This was a delicious cigar. I was h

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oping for some good cigars after a couple days worth of disappointments, and I got them. It was bold and spicy, with some nuttiness. I was impressed. Not surprised, but impressed. 

I moved on to the Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Toro after dinner. Again, this was much anticipated, and we all know how much I like maduros. This one is a Sumatra varietal, grown in Ecuador and fermented to a rich, dark maduro.  I also like Sumatra. This has to be a winner for me, right?  Of course it was. Again, this is a cigar that has some strength, and I imagine Guy Fieri to be someone who is all about flavor.  This, as well as the Habano, had tons of flavor. The Maduro, of course, had more of the rich cocoa/espresso flavor, with a healthy spice.  Both cigars had exceptional burn and draw, and were a pleasure to smoke. A great tasting cigar can be a bad experience if the cigar falls apart or doesn’t draw well, not the case here.  I really enjoyed these two cigars. I understand that Guy may be making an appearance at the PCA show at some point. I doubt I’ll get to actually meet him, but I know some people, I have to see what I can  do. 

I used a new cutter on both of the Knuckle Sandwich cigars, which was a little risky, but I have a lot of faith in the guy that made the cutter, as I know he’s been working on it for a long time and wouldn’t put something on the market that wasn’t perfect. This cutter is called The Baller, from the folks at CigarMedics. and is really unique. It has a curved blade that literally takes a scoop out of the head of the cigar, leaving a hole like a punch, but removing some of the tobacco in the end. This is a bit of a hybrid between a V cut and punch in a way.  So far, the three cigars I’v

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e used it on have performed well,  and I’m going to use it primarily (except next weekend, I’m not risking losing it to TSA in my travels, my advice is always to not travel with any thing you don’t mind losing) for the foreseeable future. I think it’s neat, although a little heavy in the pocket, fortunately it came with a case that has a belt loop!  Awesome device! I’m looking forward to finally meeting Luigi and his team at the PCA show! I made a little video, check it out!

That’s all for today. Of course, it’s the Fourth of July weekend, as well as my wedding anniversary tomorrow, so I’ll be breaking out the good stuff over the next couple days!  Everyone stay safe and enjoy! Until the next time, 

CigarCraig

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by | June 30, 2022 · 6:33 pm

News: Casa Cuevas Cigars Announces Sangre Nueva Cigar

I always enjoy talking to Luis Cuevas, so I’ll hunt him down at the PCA show if nothing more than to say hello and pay my respects. I always come away feeling like we are old friends after seeing him. Good dude, and really important family in the cigar world.  This looks like an interesting cigar! 

 

Casa Cuevas Cigars announces the release of the “Sangre Nueva” cigar brand at the 2022 PCA taking place in July at the Sand Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the first Casa Cuevas brand solely blended by Alec Cuevas who was recently promoted to Director of Brand Development. Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. felt it was time that his grandson Alec Cuevas take the lead on new brands and the aptly named Sangre Nueva (translates to New Blood from Spanish) is his first creation. Alec Cuevas, the 5th generation of the Cuevas tobacco family looked to create a blend that represents “old Traditions, new Generation”.

 

Alec describes the Sangre Nueva as a Medium plus strength cigar that elegantly boasts rich, savory chocolate notes along with hints of pepper, earthy tones, and a tad bit of spice. The cigars feature an Ecuadorian Cameroon wrapper, and Honduran Corojo binder, and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania broadleaf filler. Alec estimated that he needed include a high percentage of Pennsylvania broadleaf in the filler. This gave the cigar extra strength while balancing out the cigar’s flavors.


 

Alec Cuevas stated: “The slogan “old traditions, new generation” signifies so much more to me than a passing of the family torch. It represents all the experiences I’ve ever been through in this industry, from working behind the counter selling my fellow manufacturer’s products, to spending my summers learning all there is to know about our factory from a very young age. Sangre Nueva is a personal love letter to my family, who placed their faith in me to create something from scratch given my knowledge of tobacco. It is also the culmination of patrons and distributors alike that took time out of their day to educate me and better help me define my palate throughout all these years. It’s been a blast creating such a savory blend, and I think it’s a perfect representation of the gratitude I have for this one-of-a-kind industry.”

 

 

The Sangre Nueva blend is available in 10 count boxes and expressed in three vitolas.

4.75X 52 Robusto MSRP: $13.00
6X52 Toro MSRP: $13.50
6X58 Double Perfecto MSRP: $14.75

 

ABOUT Casa Cuevas Cigars:

Casa Cuevas Cigars was established in 2016 but has decades old history behind it. Cuban born Master Blender Luis Cuevas Sr. has been blending cigars from his factory in the Dominican Republic for many popular cigar brands. Now, together with son Luis Cuevas Jr., the Casa Cuevas Cigar brands were created to honor their four-generation cigar heritage. Currently the Casa Cuevas Cigars line of brands include the Casa Cuevas core line, the Casa Cuevas Limited Edition Flaco, the Cuevas Reserva Natural (91 rated by Cigar Aficionado), Cuevas Reserva Maduro, La Mandarria (ranked no. 16 boutique cigar of 2020 by Cigar & Spirits Magazine), and the Patrimonio (No.1 cigar of 2021 by Stogie Press)

 

For more information please visit: www.casacuevascigars.com

Follow Casa Cuevas Cigars on social @CasaCuevasCigars

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by | June 29, 2022 · 5:32 pm

News: Gran Habano Announces 20th Aniversario Cigar

I like Gran Habano and George Rico, so here’s some news from them about their anniversary cigar.  I’ll try to stop by and congratulate them next week at the show.

 

GRAN HABANO ANNOUNCES 20TH ANIVERSARIO

 

Gran Habano announces the release of the 20th Aniversario, a cigar celebrating an incredible milestone in the family business. The inspiration for making this cigar was drawn on the first chapter of the Gran Habano story: El Sueño (the dream), El Desafío (the struggle), and El Triunfo (the success). Gran Habano is thankful to everyone that believed in us and supported us along the way. The best is yet to come.


“It is with great pride that after 27 years in business as a company, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our brand, Gran Habano. It is a wonderful feeling to reach this special milestone as a brand, as we will continue to maintain our culture as a company

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by following our principals to pursue making quality cigars. We look forward to the next chapter in our family’s journey, and to the new generations continuing the family tradition that has allowed four previous generations to be successful in the industry of tobacco.” – George Rico

Gran Habano 20th Aniversario

Description: The Gran Habano 20th Aniversario is described as having a four year aged lush rosado wrapper from Jalapa Valley, Nicaragua, enveloping a rich Nicaraguan binder and unique blend of Colombian, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian fillers.

Body: Medium

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo Shade Wrapper

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru

Box Ct: 20

Sizes: El Sueño 5 x 52 (MSRP $14), El Desafío 6 x 54 (MSRP $15), El Triunfo 6 x 60 ($16)

The 20th Aniversario is a limited-

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production release with 4,000 boxes of each size made and released each quarter. Only 200 retailers will be carrying the cigar. The Gran Habano 20th Aniversario is rolled at the company’s factory in Danli, Honduras, Gran Habano Honduras. The 20th Aniversario will be making its official debut at the PCA trade show in Las Vegas July 9-12, and starts shipping in August.

 

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by | · 7:35 am

News: Latitude Zero Signature Announced

I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of the Latitude Zero brand! I don’t closely follow CI anymore, so it may be all over their catalog for all I know, but this is in national distribution, through their wholesale company. I find it interesting because I just mentioned the factory that’s making this in my Sunday post. It’s also interesting because this factory has a strong association with JR Cigar, which is owned by STG’s largest competitor. The cigar industry is very incestuous. 

LATITUDE ZERO ADDS NEW EXPRESSION

Latitude Zero, a blend named to honor Ecuador’s tobacco growing regions, is expanding its lineup with a new expression called Latitude Zero Signature.

 

Featuring premium, hand-selected tobaccos grown by Oliva Tobacco Company, Latitude Zero Signature is blended by Raul Disla and was created to extend the popular Latitude Zero line.

 

Kevin Irvine, product coordinator of Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s (STG) Online and Retail division said, “Latitude Zero Signature is rich and refined with an intriguing spice. It complements the original Latitude Zero blend, offering a completely unique smoking experience. This cigar smokes like an ultra-premium, so it’s a great choice for someone who wants the utmost in to

bacco quality and complexity at a great price point.”

 

 

For the blend, Raul Disla selected a robust assortment of Nicaraguan Habano, Dominican Habano and Connecticut Broadleaf fillers, and a Nicaraguan Habano binder. He crowned Latitude Zero Signature with Ecuadoran Sumatra leaf from the lush, cloud-covered equatorial growing region from which the

Latitude Zero brand takes its name. The result is a full-bodied smoke, brimming with notes of pepper, leather and cream and an alluring spice.

 

Latitude Zero Signature will be available starting on June 24, 2022. National distribution will be handled by Meier & Dutch Wholesale Cigar Distributors.

 

Latitude Zero Signature is handcrafted in Nicaragua at the NACSA factory. The cigars are box-pressed, and ship in 20–count boxes.

 

Robusto (5” x 54); SRP per cigar $8.00

Toro (6” x 52); SRP per cigar $8.25

Gordo (6” x 60); SRP per cigar $8.75

 

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by | June 26, 2022 · 10:10 am

Nat Cicco, JFR Lunatic and La Palina Cigars

The PCA show is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’ve decided to go after all. I’m actually going as a correspondent for another media site, so I’ll be doing a little double duty. I know I said I wouldn’t go again until media was invited, but I was going to be in town anyway, and couldn’t be there without spending at least a couple days at the show. I’ll only be there for Saturday and Sunday, so I’ll have to plan things carefully. So I figured I better smoke up some of the cigars I still have from the TPE show! I started with a Nat Cicco HHB Gold. I didn’t really know much about Nat Cicco until they bought Epic Cigars and Dean Parsons went to work for them. This was a toro size cigar with a pigtail cap, Ecuador Habano wrapper, and Nicaraguan binders and fillers. From what I can tell, this is made at NACSA, the same factory that makes Mi Querida, Patina, and Dapper).  This was a nice smoke, with woody and leathery flavors. It burned well, and was on the medium full side. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but nice, nonetheless. I don’t see this cigar listed on their website, but there is a non-gold version, I’ll be interested in seeing what the difference is between the two. I really liked the Aniversario 1965 Liga No.4 that they make. 

 

Not a cigar from the TPE show, but one I recently picked up, was a JFR Lunatic Habano in the Short Titan size. I’ll be honest, I had to look just now because the cigar didn’t seem like a 60 ring cigar, but sure enough it’s 4½” x 60. They call this Habano, yet the website lists the wrapper as San Andrés, wich it neither looks or tastes like. I’m confused. These come in ridiculous sizes, up to 80 ring. I stuck with a normal size, and I really can’t remember if I’ve smoked this blend before or not. I don’t think they were outrageously priced either, and the place I bought them might have had a buy five get one deal or something, my memory is hazy. This was a good smoke, on the nutty side. I have another one, so I will smoke it again, and wouldn’t hesitate to pick up more, I just won’t be getting the larger sizes. They have a toro, I’d like to try that one.

 

This last one was from the TPE, I talked to Clay Roberts of La Palina there and he gave me a La Palina 125 Años, which is a $25 cigar, made by the Oliva’s  in Nicaragua. This celebrates the anniversary of Samuel Paley founding the cigar company that would make the first La Palina cigars back in 1896. The blend is undisclosed tobaccos, but they say that they were given access to Oliva’s private stock of vintage tobaccos. I realized that all three of the cigars featured today have a fancy cap treatment, this one has a fan cap, much like the Goldie had. This was a fascinating cigar. It’s a 6½” x 52 Toro. It had a heavy, almost cloying mouth feel, like a black licorice.  Not really an anise flavor, just that mouth coating sensation. It did have a sweetness, and a doughy, nutty kind of flavor. It was different and quite enjoyable. I’m not sure the band was in keeping with how special this cigar is, although I guess it may be reminiscent of the period. these come in jars of 37,  which I won’t be pring $975 for, but it’s a really good smoke. Thanks, Clay, for sharing this one with me! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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