Tag Archives: Aging Room

by | October 22, 2014 · 9:29 pm

Aging Room, Liga Privada and Royal Gold Kismet and Casino Gold Cigars

Thank you all for the kind words about my deer/car incident. There’s a lot of ways it could have turned out much worse, and it sounds like the car will get fixed so I’ll have my sexy black Toyota Yaris back in a few weeks!  I was ready to shop for a used car, something I could pay cash for, but I’d rather have MY used car back, I know where it’s been! I’d have a hard time replacing my Undercrown window sticker anyway!  In other news, this week the announcement came that Swisher International is purchasing Drew Estate, which caused quite a stir in the cigar community. All the folks analyzing this who have no idea about the inner workings drive me a little crazy. As far as I’m concerned, Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel are very intelligent business men, they wouldn’t have built what they have if they weren’t, and if they are happy, I’m happy. If nothing else, it gives them the ability to do the things they do best without having to worry about the business side as much. The people criticizing this don’t want anything to do with Swisher’s products for the most part. My only concern is the fact that Swisher may not have as big an interest in seeing premium cigars separated from non-premium cigars as far as the FDA is concerned, however now they have a greater interest in doing so. It will be interesting to see what other business moves happen in the cigar industry.

 

AgingRoom_QuatroF55_ConcertoSunday I selected a Aging Room Quatro F55 Concerto, a nice Churchill from Boutique Blends.  I’ve had trouble with many cigars in this line, they tend to put a physical hurtin on me!  I love the flavor, but more times than not they overwhelm me for some reason. Very few cigar get to me the way Aging Room cigars have recently!  this is doubly interesting since it’s a Dominican cigar. I had no such trouble with this size, it was delicious and perfectly behaved.  I’m not surprised that this was the number two cigar of the year last year in Cigar Aficionado, it was a very nice way to finish the weekend. I’ll not be afraid to smoke this line again.

 

LigaPrivadaNo9_CoronaMonday, after hearing the Drew Estate news, I figured I’d smoke something interesting from the Liga Privada line.  Last year around my 50th birthday I received a very generous package from my friend Will Cooper, whom you may know from Cigar-Coop.com and StogieGeeks.com.  In this package was a corona sized Liga Privada No.9, with the story that Steve Saka had these made for his own consumption and shared some with Will. The question is how it compared to the Dirty Rat, which is a similar size. Certainly the Dirty Rat is a stronger cigar, however this No.9 had some age, and the Dirty Rats I’ve had recently also were four or five years old. It’s hard to compare under those circumstances, but the No.9 in the corona size was very nice, although I think the toro size remains my favorite in the line.

 

Royal Gold_Kismet_ChanceI had a couple cigars from Royal Gold, which, ironically, is reasonably new premium cigar division of Swisher International, from when I talked to Alex Goldman at the Famous Smoke Shop Cigarnival back in June. I had smoked and enjoyed the Cameroon wrapped Nirvana, which is made by Drew Estate a couple months ago and had the Casino Gold and the Kismet in the humidor. The Kismet Chance is a 5½” x 46 corona gorda, although thinking back I thought it was a robusto. This is a Dominican puro made at Agusto Reyes factory in Santiago.  I found this to be a very mild and well made cigar, but it was fairly unremarkable. It burned nicely and wasn’t offensive, just didn’t really stand out to me in any way.

 

Tonight I smoked the Royal Gold  in the Queen size. This is a 5¾x52 cigar made by Placencia in Honduras.  I don’t know if it’s because I have a cold coming on or what, but this one fell flat for me too.  Ever have a cigar that isn’t plugged, but draws poorly? Ever wonder why you can blow through a cigar and produce tons of smoke, but drawing produces very little?  I wonder that all the time, and I wondered this again tonight.  It did open up in the second half, and I wonder if the very damp evening air had something to do with it. Chalk it up to experience.  I smoked these this week because I wonder how much attention the Royal Gold division is going to get now that Swisher owns a premium cigar company, factory and all.

 

That’s all I got tonight. I’m watching the Flyers play their arch enemies the Penguins, and they are winning for a change.  I have some great friends that are Penguins fans, but I like them anyway. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

Share

5 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | September 7, 2014 · 9:23 am

Aging Room, Black Abyss, and Señorial Cigars, and a Contest Winner!

AgingRoom_M356_ForteAfter staring the week smoking the newest offerings from Villiger Cigars, I figured I’d continue a trend and smoke some other cigars originating from the same factory in the Dominican Republic, Tabacaleras Palma. This seems to be the hot factory these days, and they are, no doubt, making some tasty smokes.  I started on Thursday with the Aging Room M356 Forte. This is a really cool shaped perfecto, measuring 5 7/8″ x 40-56-40, tapering on both ends.  This is a classic, old-school shape, I like it.  The M356 has a Habano wrapper over Dominican Binder and fillers and is NOT a mild cigar. As a matter of fact, every example in the M356 line I’ve smoked has given me a little bit of a butt-whooping, and that doesn’t happen to me often.  That being said, it’s a terrific smoke, it burned perfectly and was loaded with rich flavor.  I wouldn’t smoke these on an empty stomach!  One thing that confuses me about lines which use number in their naming is that I just can’t remember them!  It’s a darned good thing they put it on the bands.

 

Senoreal_Corona GordaFriday I finally got around to smoking José Blanco‘s new cigar, Señoreal, in the Corona Gorda No. 5 size.   My daughter doesn’t buy me a lot of cigars, but she lives a stone’s throw from The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA, I asked her to grab me a few last week.  This is another cigar made at José’s cousin Jochi’s Tabacaleras Palma.  When José suggests that this may be his strongest blend to date, you can take that to the bank. This is a full flavored cigar with a mix of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos wrapped in the Ecuador Habano wrapper.  This is, perhaps, the perfect size for a cigar, 5½” x 46, and was recommended to my daughter by the tobacconist (I gave her very specific direction…and that was on my list).  There must be a leaf in common with the M356, becuase this cigar also threatened to put a hurtin on me, I needed some sugar after I was done. José has a winner here, his first true solo effort is awesome.

 

BlackAbbys_Hydra BlackAbbys_BansheeI’ve smoked a couple of the sizes of JR Cigars new brand, Black Abyss.  This is a San Andrés wrapped cigar made for them by Boutique Blends/Tabacaleras Palma.  This week I smoked the Hydra (toro) and the Banshee (robusto).  I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this cigar from the start, and I was right. These have a down and dirty, bold sweet and earthy flavor that I really like. It’s a no-nonsense smoke, and is priced very well staring in the $3 range. Both burned perfectly, the toro I smoked on a walk with the dog mid-week, and the robusto was smoked while waiting out a thunder storm in the garage. I got a lot of pleasure form these cigars, and would probably keep some around if I had room for more cigars. I think there’s a torpedo and a 6×60 left in my humidor, I’ll be interested in smoking those to see if one size stands out over the other. I think the toro and robusto were a tie.

 

AgingRoom_Havao_SharpLast night I sat down with an Aging Room Haváo Sharp (Torpedo). I had my reservations, but I wasn’t going anyplace, so if I found another Aging Room cigar that was going to do a number on me I was ready. This line has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, although it’s by no means mild. It’s full of flavor.  Actually the website lists it as “Mild Plus”, but I think it’s a pretty big “Plus”.  I loved the silky, creamy smoke that poured off this cigar, and the dead even burn. One reason I despise this time of year is that it’s getting darker earlier, which makes it hard to see my cigars!  In this case, I stared to get a papery flavor then realized I was burning through the band. I hardly ever do that!  I thought this was a great smoke, and can’t help comparing it to the Villiger Cuelllar Connecticut Krēmē made at the same factory.  Both are bolder than usual Connecticuts and both are loaded with flavor. This is a “must try”.

 

Here’s a video from the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival with Rafael Nodal of Boutique Blends. If you ever get the chance to meet Rafael, you will come away with the impression that you’ve just caught up with an old friend. He’s a tremendously nice gentleman.

 

 

Contest

CAO_Signs Contest_3Monday I promised that I’d select a winner today for the CAO Flathead tin sign and Flathead 554 Camshaft and Sparkplug cigars. there were some great pairings, and some of you threw my count off with replies to replies!  No big deal, I can manage!  So Random.org’s random number generator selected 21 out of 44 entries. By my count, Ray Holthaus is the winner!  Ray, send me your address so I can pack these goodies up and send them along!  I hope you watched and enjoyed the video, I thought jum and Bruce did a fine job of describing their experiences. Thanks to everyone for entering and stay tuned for more contests!

 

I have some yardwork to do today, and we had a PODS container dropped off so we can start getting ready to move sometime in the future!  Plenty of stuff to move, plenty of weeds to pull! I’ll provide cigars to anyone who wants to help! 🙂

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

Comments Off on Aging Room, Black Abyss, and Señorial Cigars, and a Contest Winner!

Filed under Contest, Review, Video

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | March 16, 2014 · 9:12 pm

An Alec Bradley Event, THE Kind, an Aging Room and Cigar Transporter Tubes

Thursday there was an Alec Bradley event at the world famous Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia (that’s about 20 minutes outside Philadelphia for those who don’t know.  Ask your wives, they probably know the area for the enormous mall!) Jonathan Lipson was present and managed to sell through all of the Filthy Hooligans before I arrived.  Trae, the co-owner of the shop managed to find me one, so I picked up some Nica Puros too and settled in with the candela toro.  I enjoyed several of these last year, and still have one buried in the humidor someplace.  I think this is a great tasting smoke.  I like the way the candela wrapper tempers the Black Market blend.  The downside is that the use an inordinate amount of glue on the bands, which is understandable, they have to stay in place through a secondary sleeve, as ABEvent_CigarMojowell as cellophane. Removing the band does a number on the fragile wrapper. The flavor is refreshing to me, it’s clean and I like this cigar. I was unhappy that I couldn’t go home with a handful of these.  My brother-in-law was in Holts the previous evening and they had sold out there too.  The event was well attended, we even ran into those guys from The Cigar Lounger magazine again.  Always a pleasure having a cigar with Vince, Graham, Steve and Drew. Trae and Wade are consummate hosts, always checking in , emptying ashtrays and making sure all is well.  A good time was had by all, and I’m still looking for a few Hooligans!

 

THEKind_ToroFriday evenings I try to smoke something I know will be satisfying after a long work week, but I decided to try a new cigar that was sent to me by the folks at Nice Ash Cigars in New York State.  As it is,  THE Kind is an exclusive in their three stores (one of which is in North-western Pennsylvania), but they hope to distribute on a larger scale.  The cigar is the Toro, which is 5¾” x 56, is nicecly box pressed and has a closed foot and a pigtail cap.  It’s a very appealing looking cigar.  It’s made in Omar Ortez’s factory in Esteli, and has a Jalapa Corojo wrapper with Nicaraguan filler and binder.  I really enjoyed the cigar, it had a nice sweetness and was full of flavor, but was a solid medium in strength.  It burned fairly well, even though it had only been in my humidor for about a week. I’ll give the other sample a few months rest, but I’m sure it’ll be just as good.  My thanks to Andrew at Nice Ash Cigars for thinking of me.

 

transporter_tubeThis week I also received a prototype of a Cigar Transporter Tube from Kevin, the maker of these tubes and the gentleman behind the Indiegogo campaign to raise capital to purchase a lathe so he can produce these on his own.  The tube is a Dupont Delrin® plastic which is an industrial strength thermoplastic used to make precision parts.  He machines this to pretty tight tolerances and matches the top and bottom halves to insure a perfect fit. I had one of the machinists where I work take a look and he was impressed with the machining, and he’s a perfectionist.  I put a cigar in this tube and toted it around with me and it worked out very well.  Check out his Indiegogo campaign here and throw a couple bucks his way, he’s got some tubes listed as perks for donating, I am looking forward to seeing the aluminum version.

 

AgingRoomM21_FortissimoSaturday afternoon I took a nice, long walk with an Aging Room M21 Fortissimo that I received at the IPCPR show last July.  This was in a coffin box, and is a nice perfecto shape, probably around 5½ x 46, which is a great size. I’ve heard many great things about this cigar, so I had high hopes.  A few months ago I smoked an Aging Room M356 Rondo and it conspired to kick my ass, so I was a little worried.  Unfortunately, this cigar must have been stored in slightly higher humidity than it should have. Rafael Nodal, the principle at Aging Room told me directly just today that this cigar is all ligero, so it’s sensitive to higher humidity (the humidor reads in the low 60s, go figure). I had a heck of a time keeping it burning, and given my experience with the M356, I was hesitant to over smoke it to keep it burning.  The flavor was very good, and I will be looking for another sample to fully appreciate the cigar this is supposed to be.  Rafael generously offered to send me another, however I think I’ll try to find one in one of my local shops.  These guys are really making some great cigars, so I have every confidence that my experience was a fluke. The fact that the same factory is working with José Blanco speaks to the quality of their tobacco and production.

 

That’s all for today, apologies for not getting this out this morning, but other projects took precedence.  Until the next time,

 

Cigar Craig

Share

3 Comments

Filed under Accessories, Events, Review, Stores

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | October 2, 2013 · 9:15 pm

Aging Room, Alec Bradley, Debonaire, Viaje Cigars and an Upcoming Trip

We’ve had some nice weather here in southeast PA, so it’s been a pleasure taking my evening walks.  I’ve managed to get some nice cigars in (so whats new?)

Aging Room Small Batch M356

Sunday evening I  grabbed an Aging Room Small Batch M-356 toro that Rafael Nodal gave me at the Cigarnival last June.  This is a cigar that is new to me, sure I’ve heard about them over the years, but never had a chance to try one.  This is a Dominican cigar with a Habano wrapper which I approached with anticipation.  I found it to be enjoyable, but I had a heck of a time keeping it burning right.  I had to really pay a lot of attention to it or it would go out.  I smoked this while walking with the dog and my oldest son, who enjoyed a Diesel Unholy Cocktail.  I would love to smoke another one to see if the burn characteristics were an anomaly. It had a really nice, sweet flavor that I enjoyed.

 

AlecBradley Tempus Maduro RobustoMonday night I grabbed an AlecBradley Tempus Maduro Robusto. I believe this cigar came from the pack that they handed out at the party Alec Bradly Cigars threw at the Palms Hotel pool at the IPCPR show in Vegas.  They had three or four cigars packaged like a Wonka bar (almost appropriate since Tuesday was International Willy Wonka Day!), of which I smoked the Nica Puro while there. The Tempus Maduro has my favorite San Andrés wrapper, so I figured I was in for a treat.  It was a treat, although different from what I generally expect from this wrapper.  This cigar had a pretty aggressive flavor reminiscent of the Mexican tobacco of the 90s. It burned well and had a nice, long finish. This is a cigar that after you’ve smoked it, you know you smoked a cigar. I’m getting old, I prefer a smoother, creamier maduro these days, but this was an enjoyable smoke. There are so many great smokes in the Alec Bradley range.

 

Debonaire RobustoTuesday I, once again, dug into the IPCPR samples and pulled out a Debonaire Robusto.  This is a Dominican cigar that is made by Phil Zanghi, who is the guy who originally made the Indian Tabak line in the 90s and sold it to Rocky Patel.  There’s not a lot of information out there about this cigar, and I failed to make it back to the Debonaire booth at the IPCPR show to talk to Phil. In doing  a little quick research, it looks like this is a pricey smoke, running in the $13 range.  It was a good smoke, perfectly rolled and pleasing.  Honestly, this is just me, but If I were faced with the choice of this cigar or a Liga Privada of just about any variety in the same price range, the Ligas suit my palate much more.  Certainly a cigar to try.

 

Viaje_Friends and Family Le JoueurTonight I took my nightly walk with a recent gift I received from Will Cooper of Cigar-Coop.com.  This is the first Viaje cigar I’ve smoked, and I’ve stayed away from the line largely because the selection is dizzying, there are so many small batch lines that I can’t keep them straight.  This cigar was the 5″x52 Friends and Family Le Joueur, and there’s no information about this cigar on the Viaje website (there’s no information about any of the cigars on the website).  Since Will gave me this cigar, see what he had to say at Cigar-Coop.com. I have to say that it was a very enjoyable smoke. The burn meandered a bit for me, but it drew perfectly with a V-cut and ended up straightening out in the last half.  I thought it was pretty savory and satisfying, and I wan to thank my friend Will for sharing this with me and giving me my first glimpse into the world of Viaje.  I can’t say I haven’t been curious about the line, and after smoking one, I may have to sample some more at some point.

 

This weekend we are driving up to New Hampshire and plan to pay a visit to the 2 Guys Smoke Shop in Nashua.  While there I hope to weasel my way into their Cigar Authority radio show, so if you are bored, tune into the Cigar Authority website to watch the live video feed, or listen to it via podcast.  I’ve long been a fan of the show and am looking forward to the visit. In other news, this in from my friend Barry Stein at Miami Cigar and Company:

Come celebrate National 107 Day, by smoking a La Aurora 107 on 10/7. Share with us your images on social media with the hashtag #LaAurora107 and you could win an all inclusive trip to the La Aurora Cigar factory.

 

That’s it for now.  Sunday’s post may be a little late, or early and short, I’m not sure which yet.  Either way, it’ll be the usual nonsense you’ve come to expect.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

 

Share

1 Comment

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

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,