Tag Archives: Alec Bradley

by | September 4, 2011 · 10:21 am

It’s Contest Time! An Alec Bradley, An OSA Sol, A Macanudo and a Lighter Review

I realized that my last post had “and Some News” in the title, and I failed to include said news.  Bad form on my part!  While I go back and edit the title, I’ll say here that the news I was going to mention, while no longer breaking news, is that José  Blanco joined Joya de Nicaragua this week in the capacity of Senior Vice President.  I met José at the IPCPR show, as well as Dr. Cuenca, his new boss, both are fine gentlemen.  I had the pleasure of visiting the Joya de Nicaragua factory last March and, while I loved their cigars before, I developed a special fondness for them that comes from having a personal connection.  If I can blend what I think is an excellent cigar at that factory, José will be able to do amazing things there.  Best wishes to José and Joya de Nicaragua from everyone here at CigarCraig.com!

I had purchased an Alec Bradley American Classic Blend for myself for Father’s Day, and I came across another one  in my IPCPR samples, and I was in the mood for a big cigar, so I grabbed this 6×60 Gordo and took it for a walk to the store.  It’s got a beautiful band, and a really nice looking wrapper, made me really look forward to smoking this one.  This is made at the Plasencia Factory in Esteli, and had a Honduran Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I really enjoyed the flavor, although I wish it had produced copious mouthfuls of smoke so that I could get more of the flavor.  It took a little bit to get a good mouthful of smoke, which was a little frustrating considering the huge girth on this cigar.  I’ll happily try this cigar again, and will try to get some different sizes in the future.

 

Friday brought the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, so I grabbed a CAO OSA Sol Lot 54 and enjoyed it on the front porch.  This 6x 54 version didn’t impress me quite as much as it’s 5x 50 little brother, but it was a darned fine cigar.  I don’t know exactly what made the 2 cigars different to me, maybe the Robusto seemed a little cleaner to me if that makes any sense. I suppose there are a dozen variables to consider, what I had to drink and eat, the weather, my mood, so my opinion really doesn’t matter in the end! Perfect burn and draw and a pleasing flavor.  Lasted a good hour and a half on a beautiful late summer evening.   I look forward to the CAO website having some information on it about this new cigar! 😉

For my Saturday evening walk to the store, I selected a Macanudo Crü  Royale Robusto that I received at the IPCPR show.  I had gotten one of these at the show last year and thought it was a really nice cigar, and this one was no different.  It’s not a mild cigar and, along with the 1968, is a really good, flavorful cigar.  It goes without saying that the quality of the construction is excellent.  I’ve smoked Macanudos that I could barely taste, but they’ve ALWAYS been perfectly rolled.  I like these a lot and they are priced well and they will be releasing a couple new sizes (if they haven’t already) in a tinned 4 3/16″ x 36 and a Poco Gordo at 4 x 60, to satisfy that 60 ring gauge demand.  Nice cigars for sure, something that any cigar smoker is sure to enjoy.  While I’m thinking of it, head on over to the  Macanudo Millionaire site and enter their contest to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a Million bucks.

 

Contest

Sticking with the Macanudo theme, General Cigars provided me with some of their Macanudo Millionaire  4 packs featuring 6 x 60 versions of the Cafe, Maduro, 1968 and Crü Royale cigars.  I’m going to select 2 winners on or around Wednesday, September 14, so leave a comment on THIS post saying something a little more substantive than say “comment” or “hello” to enter!  This time, as an added twist, I’ll count tweets which include @cigarcraig and the link to this article, doubling your chances to win!  Usual rules apply, Lloyd is ineligible this time around!  🙂

 

All of my cigars this week were ignited by a lighter that was provided to my for evaluation by Aaron at ButaneLightersWolesale.com.  The lighter is the Ergonomic 4.5″ Cigar & Pipe Butane Torch Lighter, which is a nice looking lighter.  It’s hefty, which makes it a little heavy in the trouser pocket, but has a nice feel in the hand.  My initial complaint is that on the lowest flame setting it doesn’t light for me, and on the highest setting the flame is just adequate. I let Aaron know this and he is looking into it with the manufacturer, which is a good sign that he’s a internet retailer with integrity.  This particular model wouldn’t be my personal first choice, but my wife thinks it’s cool looking, which it is.  Check out the site,  http://butanelighterswholesale.com/,   he seems to be concentrating on the “good lighters at a reasonable price” market segment, which fits my lighter philosophy just right.  I’ve owned a couple of fairly expensive lighters in the past and they’ve all crapped out after a while, and the cheaper lighters seem to last forever.  I’ll keep using this lighter exclusively and see how it holds up, and see if I can adjust the flame setting a little better.  I like to see a good 2″ blue flame on my single torch lighters.  Thanks again to Aaron for thinking of me.

That’s it for now, enter the contest, visit my sponsors and enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | 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

 

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by | July 6, 2011 · 10:39 pm

Fourth of July Cigars and a TACFAW: My Uzi Weighs A Ton

fathersday_haul_2I decided to take a drive back down to Light’n Up Cigars in Frazer, PA to use my last LivingSocial Coupon that I got from my daughter for Father’s Day. My sons had some stops they wanted to make, so we made the cigar shop one of our stops.  The shelves were nearly bare.  They had gotten some boxes of Art Decos in, from the looks of the full tin boxes, so I grabbed one of those, as well as a La Traviata natural (which I still haven’t tried, I had the Maduro and wasn’t impressed), and an Alec Bradley American Classic, probably for next July 4th.  Another three new inmates in the asylum.

party_shortI have a couple of traditions when Independence Day comes along. As the 4th is my wedding anniversary, as well as our nation’s birthday, I always like to exercise some civil disobedience and smoke a fine Havana cigar.  This year I went with a very old Partagas Short.  While not a huge cigar, it’s got enormous flavor.  I love these little guys and this one had been sitting around the humidors for the better part of the last decade.  It burned great and was a very nice companion while the grill got fired up.  Nice little cigar.

cao_americaAfter burgers and hot dogs while waiting around for fireworks to start, I decided on a CAO America Constitution that I had received at the CAO party at the IPCPR show in 2008.  High marks for presentation on this dos capas cigar, with a nice Connecticut Broadleaf over a Connecticut shade wrapper, only revealing a pinstripe of the shade wrapper, a very nice spin on the barber pole wrapper.  The cigar was very nice, although not really overly distinctive.  It was a good cigar, no question, but not one I’d go out of my way for particularly.  Love the band and, in this case, I’ll even tolerate the foot band.

Take A Cigar For A Walk

MyUzi5x60Tuesday I felt the need to take a power walk.  Some people will take hand weights on their walk.  I decided to take a heavy cigar.  A couple weeks back I received a package from Jonathan Drew with two of his new cigar, My Uzi Weighs A Ton in the 5″ x 60 and 7″ x 60 sizes, along with a really cool Liga Privada cap, which matches my hair color in black and silver. This new line is from Jonathan’s Subculture Studios and Joya de Nicaragua, using tobacco from both Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua and rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory.  I opted for the 5″ x 60 for my walk, which took me almost 3 miles.  Based on the description of the blend of this cigar, I must admit I was expecting a little richer flavor.  The burn was perfect, which is to be expected from cigars rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, and has Jonathan’s hand in it.  The Mexican wrapper wasn’t as flavorful as I would have thought, and I expected more from the Brazilian filler.  I still really enjoyed this cigar, and I can’t wait to smoke the 7″ monster.  I think I’ll use a stopwatch with that and a 7″ lancero and see if my theory that length is the biggest factor in smoking time holds true.  Many thanks to Jonathan for sending me these goodies!

In The News

The Monday Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article on a new shop in town, Xhale Lounge.  I dropped Brad, the owner a note and hope to catch up with him in Vegas, and eventually visit his shop. Here’s a link to the story: http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-04/business/29736221_1_cigar-shop-cigar-industry-cigar-smokers It was nice to see an article about something so  un-PC as a cigar shop!  The paper had large, color photos and everything!

That’s it for now.  Don’t forget to go back and enter the contest that ends this Saturday.  Leave a comment with a link to a patriotic picture on any post since the contest started back on June 19th.  Since there were some technical difficulties on my provider’s end, I felt like I should loosen up the rules.  There have been three very cool entries and it will be hard to pick a winner so far.  Please make it even harder with more entries!

Until next time,

CigarCraig

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by | June 19, 2011 · 7:58 pm

Father’s Day Cigars, A Ride, and a Big Oja Contest!

Today is Father’s Day, and recently on LivingSocial.com, which is a site like Groupon.com for the Philadelphia area, a local cigar store chain called Light’n Up Cigars ran a special for $20 worth of cigars for $10.  Of course, I purchased one of these, and both my wife and daughter surprised me with one for Father’s Day.  So this afternoon I hopped on the old scooter and took a ride to two of the shops in the area. You had to specify which of the 5 shops you wanted the deal at and I received certificates for two different shops.  I headed to the Glenmoore, PA location with is about 10 miles or so from home. I shopped through the humidor for a bit and settled upon 3 cigars, an Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf, an Alec Bradley Family Blend, and a Perdomo Reserve Champagne, all cigars I have yet to smoke.  From there I took the 12 or so mile trip down PA Rt 401 and made my way to the Frazer, PA store. I selected a pair of Fuente Hemingway Best Sellers, and a Brick House.  I thought both stores seemed a bit sparse in their stocks as there were a lot of empty boxes. The clerk in the Frazer store blamed the winter months and the economy, both valid points, but I would have expected more cigars in the store, especially with the added business coming in from the special coupon deal.  I have one more coupon to use and the pessimist in me thinks I should probably use it soon, although my suspicions are probably off base and I’ll see the stocks restored in the next month or so.  The Frazer, PA store has a very large walk-in humidor, while the Glenmoore store’s is smaller, but the later store has a more comfortable lounge area.  The cheap bastard in me is appalled at 6 cigars for $40, but I guess the same cigars for $20 is a great deal.

As I compose this edition, I am smoking my annual Father’s Day cigar, an Esperanza para los Niños. I Have smoked one of these every Father’s Day since I bought a box in 2000.  I detailed the background of this cigar in my June 20th post last year, so I won’t repeat it.  I’m enjoying this tasty, well-aged cigar with an IBC root beer which was a gift from my son.  As it has been for years, it’s a chocolaty maduro that’s burning very well and goes well with the root beer.  This is a tradition which I can only continue for another 4 years, at which time my prized stash of these will be exhausted, never to be replenished.   I will savor each and every one until then, and remember that they were made “For the Children”.

Contest

For the last couple weeks you will, no doubt, have noticed the name “Oja” coming up in my posts.  I have been enjoying sampling these cigars made in Nicaragua and blended by Luis Garcia, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Nicaragua.  I most recently smoked the 6 x 60 Mestizo (Habana2000) Artefacto.  I really enjoyed the sweetness that dominated this cigar. It was a really nice cigar and I seem to be getting used to this idea of 60 ring gauge cigars (a good thing, since I also received a couple of Jonathan Drew’s newest cigar, the My Uzi Weighs a Ton).  The other two lines, an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and a Brazilian Araparica wrapper, have also been very tasty, but this H2000 is my favorite of the bunch.  Luis has very generously provided me with a BOX of the Oja Mestizo Artefactos which is the prize for this month’s contest!  That’s right, a whole box of very nice cigars to be won by a lucky reader.  The contest will run until Sunday, July 3, in honor of the July 4th holiday, and I’m going to have to make you work a little harder than the usual random selection that I normally do.   In the comments of this post, place a link to a picture of you smoking a cigar in a patriotic setting of some sort any patriotic theme which includes a cigar or cigars. Let’s try to keep the photos g-rated and within the bounds of good taste (I have the power to edit and delete and disqualify at my discretion).  I will close the comments at Midnight on Saturday, July 2 July 9 and a selection committee of my choosing will select a winner.  The only other proviso is that the photos must be publicly accessible, so all can enjoy, and I’m going to suspend the six month rule for this contest to give everyone a chance to win.  This is a pretty big prize in my opinion, so let your creative juices flow!  A big THANKS to Luis at Oja for providing such a great prize!

That’s it for now, Happy Father’s Day and until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | March 25, 2011 · 10:29 pm

La Gloria Cubana Serie N Contest and a Visit to NYC!

In honor of La Gloria Cubana Serie N Day, I’ll be giving away two (2) Five packs of Serie N JSB (5½ x 54) to two people who leave a comment on this page. Winners will be drawn randomly on or around Wednesday, March 30, 2011. I will also be giving away five packs for the next 3 weeks, so stay tuned!

I had the honor and pleasure of participating in the Serie N day webcast, and, in case you missed it, I asked how they could possibly manufacture the Serie N cigars with the light tobacco leave “N” and sell it for a reasonable price.  Having recently seen all the steps that go into the manufacture of a cigar, it’s incredible that the cost can be kept as reasonable as it is, and the “N”s are hand applied.  If you look at a box of Serie N cigars you will notice that all the “N”s line up and are nice and straight.  This  is a testament to the attention to detail paid to this one little distinctive feature.  The cigars smoke great, and if you like maduro cigars with some oomph to them, the La Gloria Cubana Serie N is well worth a try.  General Cigars was very generous in providing samples as well as the cigars for these contests, many thanks to all involved in this very special event. It was fun to participate in this event, and I always appreciate the opportunity to embarrass myself!

We took a family trip to New York City today (Saturday) and I had an opportunity to stop by De La Concha and pick up a few cigars.  It’s very convenient that the store is right around the corner from Tiffany’s, where my wife always likes to visit.  Of course, I spent more than I normally would on cigars, but I wanted to try some of the New York only cigars that have been released recently.  I picked up a La Aurora Broadway, a couple sizes of the Alec Bradley New York Series and a Gurkha Para la Gente.  These cigars were created specifically to help out New York State cigar retailers after the cigar taxes were raised.  The cigars were pricey by my standards, but probably provide the retailer with better margins than other cigars.  I wanted to pick some up as much for the novelty as anything, and I’ve never had a Gurkha, believe it or not.  Maybe I’ll have a “NY Cigar Week” in the coming months!  As a side note, we walked at least 50 blocks on our visit, but I passed on having a cigar because it was so crowded, cold and windy I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.  How many miles is 50 city blocks?

That’s it for now, leave me comments to win a 5 pack of great cigars, and remember, I’ll be selecting two winners on Wednesday!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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