Tag Archives: Alec Bradley

by Craig Vanderslice | January 1, 2023 · 9:59 am

Happy New Year, Winner Announcement and a Cigar or Two

It seems that 2022 is in the books, and it’s 2023 now. Still no flying cars, but we do carry the entirety of human knowledge in our pockets, at the expense of education and common sense! I am blessed with a beautiful family and enough cigars to get me through for a while, so I’m not complaining. I’ve had worse years than 2022. I managed to fly 4 times, a record for me. Twice to trade shows in Las Vegas, once to Tampa and a personal vacation to Puerto Rico. We also went to a Barnsmoker, a Red Meatlovers Club dinner on a friggin battleship, and a few shop events, although not as many of the latter as I’d like. It was a good year. Hopefully ’23 is equally good! I know I’ve slowed down a little on original content, I’m just not smoking the volume of new cigars that I used to. I’m finding as I get older I tend to want to smoke what I like! Weird, huh? I have no plans to give up though, after 13 years I’m invested. I do have a prize to give away, so let’s get on to that!

I let this giveaway go on a week and a half, longer than usual, but it’s been a busy week or two! You may recall the prize was a hefty pile of stuff from various venders, and undisclosed cigars from my humidor. I’ll have fun packing up a bunch of my favorites to share with the winner. I referred to Google’s random number generator and the number it spit our was 2, which corresponds to the second comment at 9:28pm on 12/21, which was by Tim McCabe. Tim, please email me your info! Tim is a long time reader, and I have to appreciate the patience and fortitude of the many folks who’ve been reading my nonsense over the years! Thanks to everyone, I may be able to scrounge up some more goodies in the near future.

Naturally, I smoked some good cigars over the last few days. Most notable was another of the Alec Bradley Fine and Rare series, this one dated 2017. The one I smoked last week I’m told was from the tenth anniversary set, and I assume this one is from the same. My Secret Santa, Mitch, was very generous and shared these with me. Aside, he managed to send a bunch of cigars I’d never smoked before! No small feat. Another aside, and Kevin Shahan witnessed this, while in Tampa I met a gentleman, we’ll call him Aaron, who was shocked when he attempted to gift me a cigar he was sure I’d not had before, a pre-release Nica Rustica with actual Rustica leaf in the blend, and I had smoked that back in 2013 in Nicaragua. I digress. The ALec Bradley Fine and Rare 2017 (BR12-13) is a 6″ x 52 torpedo, or maybe 109, shaped cigar. It has mostly Honduran components, with some Nicaraguan in the filler. It started off with a little bit of a bite, some acidity, perhaps, but that quickly became what I call spicey. It was, overall, a very good cigar, with some nice, medium flavors, and I think there was a cinnamon or baking spice flavor that came and went. Thank you, Mitch, for the opportunity to try these!

Yesterday we met friends at what might be the only White Castle in PA for lunch, and I would have stopped in to New Tobacco Village, in Whitehall, PA, but, you know…White Castle…When I got home after an hour drive and got things squared away, I sat down to watch hockey with what might be my favorite cigar of 2022, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond. It gives the Muestra de Saka The Bewitched a run, if I had smoked more of those it would have been my number one for the year. As it stands, I’m going with the Black Diamond, so good! I ended 2022 with a Partagas Serie D No. 6 which I had picked up at the Rome Duty Free several years ago, just a little guy, but tasty. So let’s just say that the New Diamond Crown Black Diamond Emerald is my favorite cigar of 2022! Thanks to J.C.Newman for making this year memorable for me!

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Black Diamond, cigar, cigars, Contest, Diamond Crown, Fine and Rare, J.C.Newman

by Craig Vanderslice | December 25, 2022 · 6:00 am

Merry Christmas and a Couple of Cigars

This is going to be a short one, I mean, I have family stuff to do today, and I assume many of you do also. Not many people are going to have time to read a long post! So Happy Holidays to everyone! Go back to my last post and enter the contest! Maybe you’ll win some great stuff!

We’re enjoying a cold snap here, Friday started out a balmy 50 and dropped to the teens by evening. I got my cigar in early, my heaters can’t keep up with this bitter cold. I chose from a selection sent to me by my secret Santa this year, an Alec Bradley 2014 Fine and Rare. It was my first time smoking a Fine and Rare, I may smoke another Fine and Rare later if time and temps allow. This was a special smoke, a 7″ x 54 perfecto-ish cigar. I’ve had the same shape in a tubed Tempest ,I think. It didn’t seem like it was that big, but it smoked for a good two hours. When I say “good”, I mean really good! I seem to recall the Raices Cubanas factory having some quality issues around this time, which were not apparent in this cigar, it was perfectly built. I believe the blend is Honduran and Nicaraguan with a Honduran wrapper. I also seem to remember some ridiculous number of varietals in the blend on these. Seven? Anyway, this was a really delicious cigar, pretty nunced and refined, but full of flavor. It was bready, with some spice, but not much. It certainly was a special cigar befitting the season. TY MS for these! I look forward to future Fine and Rare’s.

Yesterday I stopped by Goose’s Montecristo Lounge in Limerick, PA for a smoke or two. I intended to just pick one or two nice cigars out to smoke, but I started looking through the discount bin (buy 3, get one free) and found some gems, some CyB Corona Reals, Cornelius and Anthony Meridian Corona Gordas, Jaxx LTs (forerunner of the La Sirena LT) and even an Emilio AF2 (AJ Fernandez). So after I smoked a gifted Montecristo Epic, I lit up one of the CyBs I bought and it was delicious. These had a pretty short life, coming out sometime around 2013 when José Blanco (the B) worked at Joya de Nicaragua with Dr. Alejandro Cuenca (the C). It was originally called Cuenca y Blanco until someone pulled a trademark dispute. The cigar was really good, and I think I found all that he had in the bins. The cigar has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Dominican Piloto binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Peru. It’s woody and sweet with some spice, the spice probably from that Peruvian leaf. Good stuff! Goose’s is a great spot with a large selection and comfortable lounge. I’d like to get there more than I do!

That’s all for today, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, cigar, cigars, CyB, Fine and Rare, Goose's Montecristo Lounge

by Craig Vanderslice | October 30, 2022 · 10:09 am

Tatuaje Tuxtla, Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf and CAO BX3 Cigars

I finally got around to trying the three cigars I’ve been looking forward to smoking this week. I picked up a few of these locally, and will definitely be revisiting these soon. It’s not often I get three winners in a row like this. I started with the one I was most interested in smoking, the Tatuaje Tuxtla Avion 13. They had all three sizes, and I had a choice between picking up a couple of each size, or trying three different cigars and I chose the later. I would have said that I made the wrong choice, but I have no regrets. The Avion 13 size is a perfecto shape, 6 7/8″ x 52. It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I’ve heard good things about this cigar, Pete talks about it in the video I did with him at the PCA show (which is my second most watched video on Youtube now). I’ve smoked, and enjoyed, an Avion before, but now I’m not sure which one it was, I think it might have been the 2012 version. Sometimes I expect the Mexican wrapper to overpower the blend of a cigar. This cigar had incredible flavors, sure it had the espresso and cocoa I expected, but they were refined, slightly different. It’s a beautiful cigar, and I see myself picking up the T110 and 7th sizes to see how they stack up. The Avion size was pretty amazing though.

Another cigar I found that was on my wishlist was the Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf from their Experimental Series. I got the Gran Corona size, which is 7″ x 46, a neat size. This has a Connecticut seed Broadleaf wrapper and binder, which are grown in Honduras. I suppose this answers questions about how in a world of Broadleaf shortages, they managed to make a double Broadleaf. I liked the size of this cigar, but I’m really curious how this smokes in a larger ring. They had Robustos and Gordos, looks like there’s more cigars I have to get! If you like Broadleaf, I think you’ll love this cigar. It’s rich with sweet cocoa and coffee, dark fruit, and some spice. I can’t help but think what I perceived as spice may have been the sharpness that a narrower ring might have from burning hotter, I’ll let you know when I try different sizes, which I expect to be smoother. Winner number two this week. Good smoke.

This last one had some controversy surrounding it. I understand having to protect one’s trademark, but it’s really hard for me to confuse the band on the CAO BX3 with the Opus X. Of course, if Fuente let this one go, someone else might take it further until they actually did make a band that could be confused. Both Fuente and Pete Johnson are quite good at protecting their marques. That being said, nobody is picking up a BX3 and saying “is this an Opus X?”. The BX3 has three Brazilian tobaccos in the blend, one of which is the dark, oily Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. It also has an Arapiraca binder and Brazilian, Honduran, Mexican and Nicaraguan fillers. When I lit this up I didn’t think I was going to like it. It had a bitterness that was off putting, but eventually became quite enjoyable. I got the 5″ x 52 Robusto, which I don’t generally buy anymore, but it must have been the only size they had. This is loaded with flavor, and after the initial shock, it turned into a very satisfying cigar. It was like good, black coffee, with some earthiness. It certainly wasn’t my favorite of the three mentioned here, but it was quite enjoyable, and different from, say, the Brazilia or any of the Basin series.

Friday I posted about a contest, so far everyone who’s entered will be a winner unless things pick up. These are pretty cool prizes, and a decent charity, so please have a look and get in on the action. Go back one post, or click HERE to get details! that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Avion, BX3, CAO, cigar, cigars, Double Broadleaf, tatuaje, Tuxtla

by Craig Vanderslice | December 29, 2021 · 5:47 pm

A Trilogy of Alec Bradley Trilogies

Back around 2004 I was at a cigar event in Las Vegas and these weird, triangle pressed cigars from a fairly new cigar company were passed around. They were called Trilogy by Alec Bradley and they were really good. I smoked a bunch of them, bought boxes and passed them around, then they vanished. In 2008 I found myself at the IPCPR show and met George Sosa, then VP of sales at Alec Bradley and asked about them, no go. I got to know Jonathan Lipson, who moved from sales to marketing, and asked him from time to time about them, nothing. Finally, now that Alan Rubin’s sons, Alec and Bradley, are involved in the company, the Trilogy are back, I came across a box of each at Son’s and grabbed some for a stroll down memory lane, hopefully. Having Monday off, I spent the afternoon with the Native Cameroon. These were initially offered in a robusto, torpedo and toro if I remember correctly, now they are just available in a 6″ x 52 Toro. They might be available in robusto, I’m really not clear, they definitely didn’t bring back the torpedo. The Authentic Cameroon has an African Cameroon wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s a delicious cigar, quite tasty, with the nice nuttiness one gets from that wrapper.

I followed the Native Cameroon with the Authentic Corojo. This had the lightest wrapper of the three, a Honduran Corojo, with a Honduran grown Connecticut seed binder, and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. This was a medium bodied cigar that was pleasing enough, with some spice and sweet earthy flavors. I would have liked it if this example had been a little freer with the draw, as the other two were, but it was still OK. It was still close to what I remember of the original, I think I smoked more of these long ago than the others, just because of availability at the time. Oddly, it was my least favorite of the three.

Finally, I smoked the Exotic Maduro, the cigar that I would have usually smoked first, I think we all know that. The reason I smoked in the order I did was because I smoked the Cameroon in the afternoon, and I wanted to save the Maduro for an evening cigar. I also had a recollection that I liked the Exotic Maduro the best of three, and I wanted to save the best for last. OK, I’m weird. The Exotic Maduro has a Nicaraguan Jalapa grown Maduro wrapper, fairly exotic, I guess, the Honduran Connecticut binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. This was a wonderful tasting cigar. It had an interesting spice throughout that I suppose warrants the “exotic” moniker, over some dark chocolate and espresso. This ended up being my favorite of the three, with the Native Cameroon coming in a close second. We should probably not be surprised that these are more than double the price that they used to be, all cigars are really, aren’t they? I am happy to finally smoke these again after all these years, it was a fun walk down memory lane.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Alec Bradley, Authentic Corojo, cigar, cigars, Exotic Maduro, Natural Cameroon, Trilogy

by Craig Vanderslice | November 26, 2021 · 9:12 pm

News: Alec Bradley Announces Limited Edition Collector’s Series Trilogy Cigars

I’ve actually been hoping Alec Bradley would bring these back for about 15 years! I remember smoking and enjoying a bunch of these back around 2004, buying a box of them from Atlantic Cigars when they were in New York when I couldn’t find them locally. I really liked them and was disappointed when they went away. I’m pretty sure it was my introduction to Alec Bradley Cigars, as it was most peoples. I’m quite sure they were well under $100 for a box of 20 though! The triangle press torpedo was pretty cool.

Alec Bradley Cigar Co. Shipping Limited Edition Trilogy Collector’s Series Next Week

2000 Ten-Count Keepsake Boxes of Each Toro Sized Authentic Corojo, Exotic Maduro and Native Cameroon to Hit Tobacconists’ Shelves for Holiday Season.

Alec Bradley Cigar Co. today announced that the Limited Edition, Collector’s Series, Trilogy keepsake boxes will begin shipping to tobacconists next week. Trilogy Authentic Corojo, Exotic Maduro and Native Cameroon are being released in their own unique “cigar-press” shaped boxes, paying homage to the triangular mold created by Alec Bradley brand owner, Alan Rubin in the early 2000s. Only two thousand collectable 10-count boxes of each of the tree cigar blends are being presented in the triangle pressed, 6″ x 52 ring gauge Toro format.

“Trilogy has been a passion project for me since I started with Alec Bradley in 2017,” said second generation cigar maker, Bradley Rubin. “I’m honored that my dad, Alan, finally allowed me to move forward with the project; and now we have the opportunity to share a part of Alec Bradley’s history with our brand advocates, old and new.”

Introduced in 2002, Alec Bradley Trilogy was the first triangular shaped cigar to hit the premium cigar market. A testament to Alec Bradley’s creativity and innovation, Trilogy set the stage for other unique brands and blends, including one of the earliest “large ring gauge” cigar lines, MAXX and Cigar Aficionado’s “96-Rated, Number 1 Cigar of the Year,” Prensado Churchill.

Although Alec Bradley Trilogy may still be found on some tobacconists’ shelves, sales for the line took a decade’s long hiatus. In August of this year, the company collaborated with a Florida tobacconists to resurrect the line in a sampler featuring 6 Robusto shaped cigars of each blend.

All three Trilogy cigars – Authentic Corojo, Exotic Maduro and Native Cameroon- have been blended to mirror their original flavor profiles. The iterations share the same Honduran Connecticut seed binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. Exotic Maduro features a Maduro wrapper from Jalapa, Nicaragua; Authentic Corojo features a Corojo wrapper from Jamastran, Honduras; and Native Cameroon features a true Cameroon wrapper from the central African nation of the same name. MSRP has been set to $15.00 per cigar/ $150.00 per box, before any applicable taxes. Trilogy will begin shipping next week to appointed tobacconists. Alec Bradley Trilogy cigars are being produced at Tobacos De Oriente, Danli, Honduras.

“The Trilogy packaging is just as unique as the cigars inside,” Bradley Rubin continued. “Just in time for the holiday season, any cigar enthusiast would truly be grateful to receive one, two or all three of the keepsake boxes of the historical Trilogy cigars!”

About Alec Bradley Cigars

Founded by Alan Rubin in 1996, Alec Bradley has been acknowledged as one of the world’s leading producers of fine, handmade premium cigars. Alec Bradley has received the cigar industry’s highest critical acclaim for its Prensado, Tempus, MAXX and Black Market premium cigars, to name a few. Their commitment to satisfying cigar enthusiasts worldwide is demonstrated by their passion for excellence, creativity and the highest quality standards.