Tag Archives: 12 days

by CigarCraig | December 14, 2012 · 10:11 am

CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Day 3: Monte Pascoal Cigars

The first three days have started with technical difficulties that threatened to drive me insane! If you are seeing this, then I guess everything is back to normal. It seems that I ran out of room in my database, bad timing, eh? I threw money at the problems and got it fixed, so we are back in business! By the way, I’ve seen a couple entries that looks like they may be duplicates (same IP address, different name). Let’s keep it to one entry per person please? Anyway, the winner of the box of Foundry Wells cigars on Day 2 of CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways is chekk12. Congrats! Send me your info so I can ship this box along to you!

Day 3 features 11 delicious Monte Pascoal cigars courtesy of Wes Genzel of Tabacos Mata Fina USA, LLC. Wes is making his second appearance in as many years (I know, this is only the second year…), and I always enjoy seeing him at the annual trade show. He’s a super nice guy and the Monte Pascoal cigars are super nice as well. The winner of today’s contest will receive 11 cigars, there’s a 5 pack of Robustos, a 5 pack of Minutos and a Belicoso. I’ve personally smoked all of these sizes and they are all excellent! I really like the 5 pack packaging that is new this year as well, very handy!

You know the drill, leave a comment for a chance to win and check back tomorrow to see if you won and see what tomorrow’s prize will be!

Until tomorrow,

CigarCraig

Rules

Here’s how you enter: leave a comment. That’s it, plain and simple. Tweets don’t count, but feel free to spread the word, only comments on this page count as an entry. Each day there will be a different prize and the winner will be drawn from that day’s comments. The winner will be announced on the next day’s post. The contest is open to everyone, even if you’ve won one of my contests in the past six months, but once you’ve won, you are ineligible to win again in this series of contests. All prizes will be mailed as soon as I get a chance to go to the post office, or whenever the sponsor decides to ship, whichever is the case, so don’t make me chase down your address! Please e-mail your contact information to 12days@cigarcraig.com as soon as possible!

52 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as 12 days, cigar, cigars, Contest, Foundry, general cigars, Monte Pascoal, Tabacos Mata Fina

by CigarCraig | December 13, 2012 · 8:51 am

CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Day 2: Foundry from General Cigar Co.

Yesterday’s response was outstanding! Thanks for all of your comments and support. Please remember to visit the sponsor’s sites, they went out of their way to provide goodies for us. The winner of the Stogieboys.com prize pack on day 1 of CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways is The Commish! Congrats and e-mail me with your details!

Today we are featuring what I think is one of the most unique and interesting cigars to come out in quite a while. Here is some background info:

FOUNDRY is a stark juxtaposition between the old and the new. This visually-arresting collection was inspired by the art form of “steampunk,” which is both a retrospective and futuristic interpretation of innovation.

Visual considerations aside, FOUNDRY’s avant-garde approach extends to its masterfully balanced synthesis of flavors. Featuring an indulgent collection of five proprietary tobaccos from four different countries, each aged between three and six years, Foundry’s foundation is amplified through an eight year old wrapper developed by General Cigar. Called H-47 Pleno Sol, the lustrous wrapper imparts a deeply complex, layered smoking experience like no other.

The four-cigar collection is accessibly-priced, and will make its mark on tobacco retail starting in late-October. Foundry features these new cigars: Wells (6”x 50, SRP per cigar is $7.95); Lovelace (6 ¼ ” x 54, SRP per cigar is $8.45); Talbot (5” x 60, SRP per cigar is $8.95) and Cayley (6 ½” x 60 x 56 x 43, SRP per cigar is $9.45). Each frontmark is presented with a unique box design and features both a traditional paper band and a steampunk-inspired metal gear band.

I happen to find this cigar really delicious, considering that none of the four countries that are mentioned above are Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras or Mexico. I found myself enthralled with the different flavors. For what it’s worth, this will probably make into my top cigars of 2012. Today’s prize is a box of the Wells size, a 6″ x 50 Toro. Thanks to Victoria and Michael and everyone at General Cigar Co. for providing this awesome box of cigars.

You know what to do: leave a comment for a chance to win. If you are The Commish you aren’t eligible to win this time, but make sure you send me your address so I can ship your prize!

Until tomorrow,

CigarCraig

66 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as 12 days, cigar, cigars, Contest, Foundry, general cigars, Stogie Boys

by CigarCraig | December 12, 2012 · 7:00 am

CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Day 1: StogieBoys.com Prize Pack

Welcome to the second annual CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways! Last year’s was so much fun I decided to do it again. I think this year’s prizes are as good, if not better than last year! I honestly don’t know how much better it can get!

We’re starting off the festivities with this nice prize package from StogieBoys.com! Included in this prize is one Full Throttle Sampler consisting of 10 cigars, one Hurricane Torch Lighter, a Stogie Boys T-shirt, V-cutter and a deck of cards, as well as a sticker and a pocket guide. Thanks to Sheryl and everyone at Stogieboys.com for kicking this thing off right!

Rules

That’s it, leave a comment to enter and good luck. Check back tomorrow to see if you won and enter tomorrow’s contest!

Until then,

CigarCraig

63 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as 12 days, cigar, cigars, Contest, Stogie Boys

by CigarCraig | December 9, 2012 · 10:13 am

Announcement! CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways (and a Los Regalos)

It’s that time of year again folks, it’s time to officially announce the 2012 CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways! Last year’s contests were pretty spectacular, but this years will be better! We’ve got an abundance of samplers, boxes, accessories from all of your favorite companies, and maybe a couple new and interesting items that you haven’t heard of yet. The rules are simple. Every day starting Wednesday, December 12, 2012, around 7 AM Eastern Standard Time I will post that days present. You’re job will be to leave a comment which will serve as your entry. Feel free to Tweet about it, Post it on Facebook, post it in whatever groups or forums you like, but only the comment counts as an entry. Also, I can see your IP address on your comments so no stuffing the ballot box please! One entry per person per day. My usual contest rules exclude winners from previous contests for 6 months, this rule is suspended so everyone starts fresh. However, once you’ve won a present in the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways you are no longer eligible to win. I know everyone will behave. Some gifts are being shipped directly from their contributors, and some are being shipped by me. I will ship items when I get the chance, please remember it’s a busy time of year for all of us! If you’ve won, it will be announced the next day, so be sure to check back. The winner will need to e-mail me their name and address at their earliest convenience.

Many thanks to the generous sponsors of this event! I always say, sure, I could do this without them, but it would cost me a FORTUNE!

They are (in alphabetical order):

AJ Fernandez Cigars

CAO Cigars/General Cigar Co.

Drew Estate

Emilio Cigars

Foundry Cigars/General Cigar Co.

Tobaccos Mata Fina USA

Toraño Family Cigars

United Cigar Retailers

Villiger Cigars North America

These folks all went above and beyond as you will see over the coming two weeks. I get excited about this all year long, and even though it’s a lot of work, it’s so much fun! Stay tuned for Day 1 on Wednesday and good luck to everyone who participates!

One Last Cigar recap:

As much as running contests for 12 consecutive days is almost a full time job (and thanks in advance to my wife for all her help) it allows me to just grab a cigar from the humidor to smoke and enjoy without having to take pictures or really worry about all the particulars. However, I need to slip in one last cigar before my hiatus (although I will be reporting on a cigar event I’m attending tomorrow evening). This week I fired up a Los Regalos Quetzal from Emilio Cigars. The cigar was a toro size, and had a little firmer draw than I’d have liked. It was also much milder than I expected. Other folks whose, palates I respect, have called this medium to full, and I didn’t get that at all. Perhaps the firm draw caused me to perceive it as mild. That’s not a complaint, mind you, but illustration of how preconceived notions can color perception. The cigar burned well and had a pleasing flavor, with little, delicate flavors popping in and out from time to time that kept me on my toes. Does the draw effect flavor? Absolutely! Is everyone’s palate different? Once again, absolutely. This is a cigar I will revisit, I know a shop not far from here that’s sure to carry them! I’ll hold off until conditions are better as I didn’t think this was an ideal cold weather cigar. Thanks to Gary Griffith for sending a sample of this cigar for me to try. He’s been loading me up with samples of the lines he’s distributing and they all seem to have one thing in common: I love them!

And finally, I’ll leave you with the video I closed last year’s contest series with, Alan Bernhoft’s Christmas Classic, Imagine Christmas.

httpv://youtu.be/AioTRzrMlBw

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

17 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as 12 days, aj fernandez, CAO, cigar, cigars, drew estate, Emilio, General Cigar Co., oliva, Stogie Boys, Tabaccos Mata Fina, The Cigar Agency, Toraño, United Cigar Retailers, Villiger

by CigarCraig | December 2, 2012 · 9:26 am

A 1502 Ruby, a Pinolero from AJ Fernandez and a Couple of Ortega Cigars

I’ve been working tirelessly on this years 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways this weekend, getting the daily posts drafted, taking pictures, shaking down sponsors, you know the drill. If you weren’t totally impressed last year, you should be this time around. I think it will be the biggest CigarCraig.com contest to date. Stay tuned, the madness all starts bright and early on December 12, 2012. Subscribe to my e-mail list, follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on the goings on. You don’t want to hear any more about how to get free stuff, so on to some cigars I’ve smoked this week.

First up is a 1502 Ruby from Global Premium Cigars. This is a Nicaraguan company that’s being distributed by Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars. Gary sent me some to try recently. Gary has been going crazy in the distribution area, he just picked up the Ezra Zion lines, which is good because they are tasty smokes and now I know a local place to pick some up! I loved the 1502 Black Gold, it is a maduro that’s right up my alley. This Ruby has what I believe to be an Ecuador Habano wrapper and is also a fantastic smoke. It’s rich and tasty and very satisfying. So far the 1502 cigars I’ve smoked have been winners in my book. The Owner of this company, Enrique Sanchez seems to be out and about visiting stores and doing it right. I hope I have a chance to catch up with him one of these days.

When I was at the Delaware Cigar Festival in September I was speaking with Kris Katchaturian and AJ Fernandez and Kris provided me with a couple of their new cigar, the Pinolero. I’ve been hearing and reading about this cigar, and the word on the street seemed to be that this was a really strong cigar. I don’t mind strong cigars, but I don’t really need to be knocked on my butt. I like to be able to stand up without falling over when I’m finished a cigar. I didn’t find this cigar as curiously strong as I had been led to believe but it was an awesome smoke. Well balanced and perfectly made, I was very happy with this cigar. If you come across these and like stronger cigars, give it a try.

Friday night calls for a tried and true favorite to celebrate the beginning of the weekend. I have trouble keeping my hands off the Ortega Serie D Maduros in my humidors, so that’s what I selected. I consider Eddie Ortega a friend of mine, and I’ve always enjoyed cigars in which he’s been involved. When his Serie D was released with a San Andreas Maduro wrapper I knew it was going to be a perfect fit for my palate. I smoked the No.7, which is 5″ x 46, which is one of my favorite sizes. So far I haven’t really decided on a favorite size, they’ve all been spectacular. Rich and dark, like the high percentage cocoa chocolate bars that are out there. Have you ever had a 70% cocoa bar with jalapeños? It’s not as spicy as all that but it’s awfully good. One of my favorite cigars this year for sure, I could smoke these all the time and be a happy camper.

Of course, I had to smoke an Ortega Serie D Natural on Saturday. I’d actually forgotten that I have smoked the natural before, it turns out it was in September and I noted that it showed signs of youth. I smoked the No 10 last night and it was exceptional. It’s a belicoso shaped cigar, 6″ x 52 with a Habano Rosado wrapper that is quite attractive. This is also an awesome cigar. For my personal tastes, if this is awesome, then the maduro is super awesome, but that’s just me. I really enjoyed the flavor and perfect burn and draw, and I smoked it to a finger burning nub. Another “D”elicious cigar from Eddie Ortega, a way-cool guy who makes awesome smokes. I may have to dig around and see if I have any more hidden in the humidors.