In the IPCPR show spirit, I smoked some more newbies this week! I’ve been seeing a few cigars from the show that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on, but from what I’ve seen on other media outlets, it’s a lot of the same. I’m amused when I see comment on the IPCPR show and their policies by either new sites (they are supposed to see if you’ve had your site up for more than a month or two) or bloggers who have never been there, or have no knowledge apart from what they’ve read elsewhere. I’ve seen my fair share of consumers at the show on social media, something which was strictly prohibited, I have also heard several stories of thefts from booths at the show, All I can say is I know who can’t be blamed this time! I’ve also seen some great coverage from the likes of The Cigar Authority, Cigar-Coop, Halfwheel and Cigar Federation. Glad to see some of my media brethren doing it right! I’ll see if I go next year, it’s fun but it’s a ton of work! On with the cigars!
Sunday I smoked a Gurkha 125th Anniversary in what they call the XO, which is 6” x 60, a nice sized cigar for a Sunday evening walk. This cigar features a Cubra Habano wrapper, accompanied by an Ecuadorian Habano binder and a complex combination of Nicaraguan, Brazilian and Dominican fillers. Bianca gave me this cigar at Cigarnival last month. I’ve smoked a few of the newer cigars in the Gurkha range, and really enjoyed most of them, particularly the Seduction, Ghost and Cellar Reserve Maduro. This was a tasty treat! It burned really well, had a perfect draw, and basically didn’t give me any trouble! Not sure where these are priced, or how available they are, but it’s a worthy smoke from the folks at Gurkha.
Monday I went with the new C-276 robusto from Nomad Cigars. Fred was kind enough to send me a couple of these, knowing I wouldn’t be at the trade show. This new release has a Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper which is dark and oily and Nicaraguan binder and fillers and is box pressed. Fred blended this cigar, as he’s been known to do lately, and it’s made in the AJ Fernandez factory. I’m impressed with the fact that Fred admits that he didn’t blend his original Dominican line, the factory gave him several blends to choose from. I think he’s getting the hang of it, as his last three, now four releases have been quite tasty! This C-276 is a powerhouse. Passing the smoke through the nose is a little painful, there’s loads of ligero in this cigar, and you can taste the distinct Ometepe influence. This is a great smoke, too bad it was only a robusto as it was finished too soon!
Tuesday evening my hand gravitated to a cigar the Yadi Gonzalez from Flor de Gonzolez handed me at Cigarnival. This is a cedar wrapped tor called Spectral, and has a dark, mottled wrapper. I seem to recall Yadi mentioning that it was five-plus years old, and made with tobaccos aged five years, and there might be plume under the cedar sleeve. I didn’t notice any, but this had a dark wrapper, and a really neat cold draw flavor which I tend to associate with tobacco from Peru. It was a Toro size, 6″ x 52 and was very nicely constructed. This was a solid medium cigar, with nice, rich, dark flavors and a perfect burn. This is another cigar I enjoyed thoroughly, right up to the point where I burned my fingers. This is another terrific cigar from Flor de Gonzalez, they are building quite a nice portfolio.
News
Cigar Journal Magazine had their annual awards event in Las Vegas this week, and here are the winners:
I went to the awards back in 2011 and it was a good time. I was just telling Glynn Loope a few weeks ago about how he stood in front of me while I was trying to video the whole thing and wouldn’t stand still! It’s OK, the quality wasn’t very good anyway so I never used the video. As long as I brought up Glynn, support Cigar Rights of America if you don’t already. We are in the home stretch with the comment period on this FDA nonsense and need every comment. Make sure you tell them what you think so that one day you don’t have any cigars to enjoy!
On another note, I will be finding myself in Chicago around August 15th to 17th, so if any of you Chigagoans want to get together for a smoke or two, I’ll be looking for places to visit. I’m sure there are several places I need to see.
That’s all I got, until the next time,
CigarCraig
Craig, I have to admit, that without the presence of both you and Stogie Review, I haven’t had the impetus to check out what transpired at IPCPR this year. I hope that they will gain some semblance of sanity and make things fair for electronic media.
I look forward to getting my hands on the Nomad C-276. I recently lit up a Connecticut Fuerte lancero that I got from Fred, and after a bit of a slow start, it turned into a stick that I just didn’t want to put down.
Ya Yadi! One of the nicest people ever! See you in September!
Craig, I’m gonna disagree with you. I was on the show floor and if there were consumers on the floor, I’d be surprised.
There were people who were unpaid working for a manufacturer or retailer. In both cases the key word is work. These people were not trick or treating, but they were helping with a booth (manufacturer perspective) or doing buying (retailer perspective). Let’s face it, much he Cigar Industry does not like to spend money on anything, so unpaid labor is the best way to accomplish this.
Honestly, I think the show operational was huge. Some folks said traffic was down – and some did not like the Hookah/Vape stuff – but otherwise, I thought it was a very good show.
I found online media to be welcomed by the IPCPR Board, the Exhibitors, and even some of the retailers.
Will, I defer to your wisdom as you were there and I was not. I think it’s a matter of semantics, personally. Can we agree it’s a grey area? Like retailers with blogs? As far as the hookah/vape thing goes, I get hookahs, its a kind of pipe, right? I have mixed feelings about the vape stuff, kind of like some of the lifestyle items (hats, canes) that you see. If a tobacconist is gong to sell that stuff, it only makes sense that the are displayed at the show. On the other hand, it gets in the way sometimes, right? Maybe they should group all the non-tobacco items together? Anyway, I’m glad to hear that media was welcomed, on the other hand, disappointed to see show reporting from a site that went online in June. Why does the IPCPR deny membership to a guy who’s had a blog for 5 years becuase he recently started an e-commerce site, but accept a brand new site? Still so many questions….
I think we agree its a gray area, but as long as folks are there for what their role is, I’m fine.
As for the site with one month, it reinforces why I believe so strongly in what the CMA is doing to identify legitimate media.
The problem with vape and hookah wasn’t so much the product, but the solicitation on the aisles. I was chased/approached many times to try product. We didn’t see that from cigars or pipes.
Most importantly – you were missed this year!
Nice write up as normal. I enjoyed the CigarFed videos as well, they gave a great overview of the show. I can only imagine what happens on those floors and who tries to get samples as a “regular blogger.” In saying that there were a few cigars I am going to keep my out for.
Did enjoy your thoughts on the Gurkha. I have enjoyed the Ghost and have been happy with some of the new things that Gurkha is doing. Keep up the great work and enjoy your week.
Best cigar lounge, Burn by Rocky Patel. It’s only an hour from me! Can’t wait to try it out!
This is great information. Thank you for publishing this.