Tag Archives: 777

by CigarCraig | June 10, 2012 · 9:39 am

It’s Been a Long Week: J.Fuego, Partagas, My Own Blend, News, and a Contest Winner!

I had a long week! I worked at my second job last weekend, went to a one year old’s birthday party, we went to NYC on Tuesday, and my youngest son graduated from high school Friday night. I still managed to get a few cigars in though!

Going way back to Sunday, I sat down that afternoon with a J. Fuego 777 Zero robusto. Jesus gave me this cigar at the IPCPR show last year, and I’ve been looking forward to smoking it. I’ve really enjoyed the maduro and Corojo in the 777 line, so I was sure I’d like this one. Visually, the cigar is stunning. The wrapper is flawless and the triple cap was very prominent, a certain sign that it was the work of a skilled torcedor. I loved this cigar. Like many Ecuador Connecticut wrapped cigars these days, it leaned more to the side of medium than mild. As I suspected, it burned beautifully and was a perfect smoke for a fine Sunday afternoon after coming home from the birthday party. I can highly recommend the entire 777 line, give them a try.

I dug into the samples of the new Partagas 1845 cigars this week. these arrived just after Memorial Day, so I wanted to let them rest a little after spending the long weekend in the hands of the USPS. I couldn’t resist any longer and selected the robusto, which measures 5½ x 49, as it does in the regular Partagas line. I like the size quite a bit. A quick aside: the Partagas 1845 website is well done. It presents all the information, sizes, blend information, bios of the team, very well done. I was critical of the CAO website and was told it was a work in progress, but they still don’t have any size information and they should take a look at their sister site for some inspiration! The cigar is well done also. It’s a solid, satisfying medium smoke with loads of flavor. It’s reminiscent of the Partagas line, with a little something extra. A fine smoke and I look forward to working through the rest of the sizes.

Friday evening was my son’s graduation ceremony, and before we left I had time for a special smoke. I selected one of the cigars I blended on my Cigar Safari trip last March. I’ve smoked a couple of these and been really happy. For those who don’t recall, the blend was a Mexican Oscuro wrapper Indonesian binder, seco from both Esteli and Dominican Republic, half a leaf of Esteli ligero and filled it out with Brazilian Mata Fina viso. The size is 5×44, and they were rolled by the team that rolls that Liga Privadas. The construction was perfect, the flavor was dark and delicious and it was the perfect cigar to celebrate the end of an era, our participation in the public school system!

Yesterday I went back to Partagas, but this time it was a Partagas Black Magnifico. This is a big, ugly cigar, but boy, is it good! I love the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, great smoke. I sat on my front porch for nearly 2 hours enjoying this cigar. I can’t actually recall a Partagas cigar I didn’t like, from either manufacturer, they all bring something a little special to the table. It’s an iconic brand, it’s usually reasonably priced and readily available.

News

I’ve received a ton of press releases this week, and everyone else has gotten them published, so here’s a little recap:

CAO Cigars and Two Foot Fred to Rock CMA Music Festival – TheCigarmy.com

Butthead’s Tobacco Presents a Virtual Cigar Workshop – Cigar-Coop.com

Dona Flor Cigars Reaady To Unveil Its “BRAZILIAN BLACK TREASURE” To The U.S. Market – ACigarSmoker.com

Emilio Cigars Upcoming Releases – Halfwheel.com

Thanks to all of my fellow bloggers for taking care of this so I don’t have to! 🙂

Contest!

Today is the day we announce the winner of the contest. The winner will receive a signed copy of the book “Once Upon a Time in Cuba” , by Mitchell Orchant and Micheal Mirecki. I’ll, no doubt, include some other goodies with the book as well. I return to Random.org to select a number between 1 and 31. The number is 28, which corresponds to the 28th comment which was made by “Tonbofrogman”. Please e-mail me your address so I can get this out to you! Thanks to Mitchell for contributing this great prize and for his support and kindness!

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Contest, News, Review

Tagged as 1845, 777, broadleaf, c-gars ltd, CAO, cigar, Cigar Safari, cigars, Contest, drew estate, Emilio, IPCPR, J. Fuego, Partagas

by CigarCraig | February 5, 2012 · 8:49 am

A Cigar of My Own Blending, a 777 and a Grimalkin Contest!

In March of last year my son and I went to Nicaragua for Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. One of the many cool things we did on the trip was to blend a cigar at the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The exercise highlighted Nicaraguan tobacco, there were Seco, Viso and Ligero leaves from Condega, Jalapa and Estili to choose from, as well as Habano Criollo, Dark Corojo and Ecuador Connecticut wrappers and Habano Volado, Sumatra and Ecuador Connecticut binders. It was quite the experience touching, smelling, looking at all these leaves, and watching how each leaf burned. I selected the Dark Corojo wrapper and Sumatra binder, along with Condega Seco, Esteli Viso and a blend of Condega and Esteli Ligero. The factory rolled five robustos for each of the attendees which were delivered to us on our last night. I smoked one of these after about 3 months and was amazed, and the one I smoked Friday evening was no less amazing. It burned perfectly, even burn, nice flat coal. It was vaguely reminiscent of the Antaño Dark Corojo, no surprise there given the wrapper I selected. I have 3 left, and it will be fun to pull them out after another six months or so. On this occasion my son, who had traveled with me, joined me with an Acid Kuba Kuba Maduro.

Yesterday, after napping through a near comeback by the Flyers (helpful hint, don’t get down 6-0 and expect to win…) I needed a pick-me-up so I grabbed a J. Fuego 777 Maduro Belicoso for an afternoon walk. I have really been enjoying the cigars in the J. Fuego line. So far I’ve loved them all, but the Maduro 777 has been my favorite. Dark, rich, and savory, this cigar is always a treat for my taste buds. Normally I’m not a fan of Criollo wrappers, but this one is done just right. These aren’t priced too bad either. I could smoke these all the time. I will probably shy away from this shape in the future though, as it wanted to shoot out of my mouth easier than most figurados for some reason, maybe it’s oilier than most torpedos and belicosos I smoke!

It’s contest time again!

It seems like just yesterday I was in daily contest mode! December’s 12 days of Spectacular Giveaways was a huge success (for the winners and the USPS for sure!). Thanks again to all of the sponsors for taking part. A few weeks ago I went to visit Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars at the Peoples Plaza Cigar-ette City location and he gave me these two Grimalkin mugs for a future give-away. The future is today, my friends, so leave a comment on this post to enter and I’ll post the winner on Wednesday. The mugs are magic! they look like the one on the left until you put hot liquid in, then the eyes appear! I’m also going to include a Grimalkin Robusto from my humidor, and you never know what else might fall into the box as I’m packing it up! I will have to try to get some more of these before they change to La Musa. Many thanks to Gary for providing me with these collectors items to give away!

That’s it for today! Enter the contest, tell your friends and enjoy the day! I understand there’s some sort of sporting event on today…oh yeah, the Flyers and Rangers game this afternoon!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

39 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as 777, cigar, Cigar Safari, Cigar-Ette City, cigars, Contest, delaware cigars, drew estate, Emilio, Gary Griffith, Grimalkin, J. Fuego, joya de nicaragua, La Musa

by CigarCraig | November 27, 2011 · 5:36 pm

Holiday Weekend Cigars: Joya de Nicaragua, La Sirena and a 777

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful day, filled with family, food and cigars! We kept it small this year, my wife cooked up a delicious meal, and my brother-in-law joined us and enjoyed a cigar with me after the meal.

I first enjoyed a Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Lancero on the first day of Cigar Safari in Nicaragua last March. Jonathan Drew passed them around on our way to dinner after an amazing day of travel and sight-seeing. The cigar was amazing, so when I spied one in the gift pack from the blogger party that Drew Estate threw at the IPCPR show, I was quite pleased. So I selected that cigar for my post-turkey smoke, and gave my bro-in-law it’s shorter, fatter sibling, a Cabinetta robusto. Obviously, the lancero lasted a little longer thank the robusto, but it needs to be smoked slower, but it waswonderful. Smooth, reasonably mild, with nice flavors, this is a cigar that I need to get more of, and I don’t like not having one size or another of the Cabinettas in my humidors. It’s a perfect cigar for any time of day.

Friday, following another family feast, I decided the La Sirena Prince that I picked up at the Delaware Cigar Festival was in order. This robusto is a little hard to find behind the enormous band. Fortunately, once the large band is removed, a smaller one is still there so you don;t forget what you are smoking. I found this to be a tasty treat, wrapped in a dark, broadleaf wrapper. I quite enjoyed this cigar, it burned perfectly and had a unique flavor that defies my ability to describe. All I know is that I liked it, and thanks to Chris Lenzo of Miami Cigar and Co, for hooking me up with this after someone bought up all of the cigars they had brought to the expo!

Saturday turned out to be a very nice day, so I grabbed a Jesus Fuego 777 Maduro Belicoso for my evening walk. I really like these cigars. They have all of the deep, dark flavors I want out of a maduro. I had previously only smoked the coronas, but this Belicoso came from the hand of Jesus Fuego himself at the IPCPR show. Terrific cigars and not unreasonably priced. The burn was a little ragged in the first half, but ended up being perfect in the last half. Jesus Fuego is pretty consistently coming out with some great cigars. You can see a little video I took of him here.

As I write this I’m enjoying a La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale on a mild evening. I’m contemplating taking a ride up to Easton, PA next Saturday to attend the LGC Event at Famous Smoke Shop. I haven’t been up there yet and look forward to seeing the new store. I’m also plotting something special for the Christmas holiday season, so stay tuned! Finally, don’t forget to check out the special deal mentioned in my last post. Get your free calendar and a cigar from PipesandCigars.com !

That’s enough for now, until the next time,

CiagrCraig

3 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as 777, broadleaf, cigar, Cigar Safari, cigar store, cigars, drew estate, Famous Smoke Shop, general, general cigars, IPCPR, Jesus Fuego, joya de nicaragua, La Sirena, Miami Cigar and Co, Thanksgiving

by CigarCraig | August 28, 2011 · 8:00 am

End Of The Week Cigars and News: Alec Bradley, J.Fuego, Best Cigar Prices and Irene

After a long day, and getting a late start on my evening smoke, I selected the Alec Bradley Family Blend D3 (4½” x 58) that I purchased on my Father’s Day Cigar ride. It is a beautiful cigar, short and fat, with a fanned little pigtail not unlike a Liga Privada Unicos Dirty Rat. That’s where the similarities end. This cigar had a unique flavor, not one I usually find in a cigar, which really made me happy. Was it a, dare I say, fruity flavor? I was talking about this with my wife and she asked if it was like sex in your mouth, which I didn’t quite understand and decided that no, it was not like that at all! What does that even mean? Whatever it was it was quite refreshing and a cigar I look forward to re-visiting the line.

News

In the news, it looks like another major internet retailer is moving to Pennsylvania. BestCigarPrices.com announced that it was relocating from New York State to North-eastern PA this week. Since PA is friendly toward tobacco products tax-wise, and New York state isn’t, this move doesn’t surprise me. It also gives us another business to fight any future proposed taxes on cigars and other tobacco products (OTP) as they are proposed, and they are pretty regularly. I think this brings us to five of the larger internet cigar retailers that are headquartered in PA. Now, if one would just move to my area…

Saturday evening had us waiting for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. We are about an hour west of Philadelphia, and aren’t expecting a direct hit. Certainly we are in far less danger than many in the path of this large storm, but our town has a creek running through it that is prone to flooding. We are on high ground, but it’s possible that the roads leading to our neighborhood will be impassable at some point. I am hopeful that the trees behind us stay put and everything clears out tomorrow. Obviously, our thoughts are with those directly effected by this storm. Anyway, I took a Jesus Fuego Sangre de Toro Robusto out on the front porch for my evening smoke. This was a sample from the IPCPR show, given to me by Jesus Fuego himself, who may be the most under rated manufacturer in the business. I’ve enjoyed his 777 line quite a bit, in the maduro and corojo wrappers, although I’ve been mixed on the Xikar HC line that he makes as well. This Sangre de Toro was a really nice cigar. It was solidly medium to me, and had some very pleasant flavors. Again, it was a refreshing cigar, rich and a little spicey, and burned perfectly. I finished it just as the wind was beginning to blow the rain on the front porch.

Here is a little video of Jesus Fuego telling me about the Sangre de Toro as well as his other lines:

I should have included this warning when I first started posting videos, but remember to turn your volume down after watching so you don’t blow your speakers the next time you get an e-mail!

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under IPCPR, News, Review, Video

Tagged as 777, Alec Bradley, cigar, cigar store, cigar stores, cigars, drew estate, IPCPR, J. Fuego, Jesus Fuego, sangre de toro, xikar

by CigarCraig | April 1, 2011 · 6:27 pm

Take a Cigar For a Walk – Catching Up…

I’ve been busy reporting on my trip, then the La Gloria Cubana festivities, but I’ve been taking cigars for walks all along. I’ve been hoping to hear from Tommy but he hasn’t responded to my e-mails lately. I can only assume he’s busy with work and family, but I hope everything’s OK with him. I also am waiting for another guest “Take A Cigar For A Walk” report that I will post when I receive it. I don’t have exact dates for the cigars that follow, I could look them up but I’m too lazy and I figure it really doesn’t matter to my readers much anyway!

Back on St. Patrick’s day I took a Camacho Corojo Monarca Candela for a walk. I enjoy the occasional green cigar, and this is a powerhouse. I’m coming to the end of a box of these that I bought 2 years ago or so. The cigars from this box all have had a very loose draw, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the punch is the way to go with these. Great burn, that almost refreshing grassy organic flavor from the candela wrapper. Nice cigar.

My next TACFAW cigar was a 777 Maduro Corona. I picked up a few of these at my local shop around Christmas and really enjoy them. Well made, nice dark maduro flavors. I should try the 777 Corojo next time as I’ve heard good things about them. I can’t find a website for Jesus Fuego, can anyone point me to it?

After that I grabbed the last of the CAO Italia robustos I had. I want to like these. The examples I had didn’t burn worth a damn, they all ran up one side, burned unevenly, needed constant attention. I enjoy the flavor, the bit of Italian leaf gives them a little bit of a unique flavor, but the burn problems detract from the experience for me.

I was in a lancero mood one night and grabbed a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Maduro Lancero. I had picked this up last summer on a visit to a shop about an hour away. I took the scooter for a spin and met up with Walt White of StogieReview and Dave Wagner of Oliva at Sire Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA. This one behaved much better that the one I smoked in the shop. Burned great and had a nice flavor. Good for 2 laps around the neighborhood (about 1.6 miles) and a cool down.

Sunday’s walk cigar was a La Gloria Cubana Serie N JSB. I enjoyed the one I smoked during Friday nights webcast so much I had to spark up another one. Don’t worry, I’m not dipping into the contest prize stash, but I will need to show some restraint! I did a little shopping around and found that several of the larger internet retailers are selling the Serie N for very good prices. One could get a box of 24 for under $90 delivered, which is not a bad price for these cigars.

Last night I dug out a Don Tomas Classico Corona Grande for my walk. I only have a couple of these left from a box I got a few years ago. I have enjoyed them quote a bit and the fact that they are tubed makes them a nice cigar to grab and throw in you r pocket. I gave this a punch since it’s a 44 ring and I’ve been playing with the punch lately for smaller ring cigars. I enjoyed this cigar while I took a nice long walk, but when I got home I noticed that I had some brown stains on my fingers. It seems there was some brown goo coming from the punch, which I clipped off as soon as I noticed. I didn’t taste anything, and I’ve had this happen in the past but haven’t experienced it in many years. I noticed afterward that my fingers smelled like I had been sifting through some Marlboro smoker’s ashtray, it was terrible! I had to use a scrub brush on my hands to get the smell off. I love the cigars, but I don’t want to have that happen again!