Artista | CigarCraig's Blog

I’ve been working my way through the Big Sky portfolio, this week I sampled the Madison and Bitterroot in the river series. The four cigars in this series, which include the Blackfoot and Bighorn that I discussed last week, are homages to to brandowners love of fishing those Montana rivers. I don’t fish, if I did I’d be happy just sitting, smoking a cigar and holding a pole, no need to be inconvenienced by actually catching anything. Seems like that would interrupt a good time! I was in a Habano mood Friday, so I lit up the Habano wrapped Madison. Big Sky doesn’t waste time on multiple vitolas, this one is a 6¼” x 52 toro, I like that for the most part, mostly because most of them are toros and I like toros. I don’t have to wonder how another size might be different or if I might like it better, that’s already been worked out for me, it is what it is. In the case of the Madison, it has a Habano wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan fillers (Ometepe, Japlapa, Esteli and Condega, did they miss any?), made in the TACASA factory I’m guessing. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of this cigar. It was heavy on the cane sugar sweetness that I enjoy from time to time, and it mellowed, but never went away, as some subtle spice snuck in near the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar. For a guy who prefers heavy cocoa maduros, this was a really nice change and I could see keeping these around.

I had a couple Cuesta Rey Centenario No. 60 Toros this week, a few weeks late as this would have been an appropriate cigar to smoke during my birthday week. Perhaps that’s why the folks at J.C. Newman sent them out! The Centenario blend is one that is nostalgic to me. Many years ago, late 90s, maybe 2000, I was at a big cigar crawl in North Carolina, and a friend who’s since departed won a box of the Pyramid No. 9 and gave them to me. It was a very special gift at the time, and became more cherished after his untimely passing. This is a Fuente made cigar, a darker Connecticut shade wrapper, with Dominican binder and fillers. Funny enough, it doesn’t have the classic shade wrapper flavor that one would expect, it’s more earthy and leathery. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had the Broadleaf version of this, and I want to try it. I enjoy the Centenario, it brings back a lot of memories.

I stopped in to a local CigarCigars shop yesterday to make a small Cigars for Warriors donation, and picked up a few new-to-me cigars, one of which was an Artista Midnight. I haven’t had anything from Artista since they rebranded from El Artista. I’m a fan of the Buffalo TEN series, but I never really loved the Exactus or Puros Ambar lines they made. The Artista branding looked sharp, and I figured the Midnight was worth a shot, I like those guys and have had a good rapport with them in the past. Heck, if it wasn’t for El Artista, I wouldn’t know Jonas at Blackbird and enjoy his cigars. I picked up the Midnight in the Box Pressed Toro, of course, 6″ x 50, which has a Dark Ecuador Habano wrapper, Ecuador Connecticut shade binder and Nicaraguan, Dominican, and USA filler tobaccos. The wrapper had a mottled appearance, and expressed some nice oils as is heated up. It was a tasty smoke, dark and rich, with a unique and interesting spice, most likely that USA tobacco, tasted like some PA seedleaf to me. I liked this one, it’s a winner, and I’m going to have to pick. up the Sumatra wrapped Harvest the next time.

Finally, as I’m typing this morning, I’m smoking the Big Sky Bitterroot, named for another river in Montana. This is a 6″ x 54 toro, with a Habano wrapper, San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan fillers. On paper, it looks like the same blend as the Madison, but it sure is a different cigar! The Madison had just the green Big Sky band, where this Bitterroot has a cream colored band with a secondary band with the cigar’s name. Maybe this was the first one in the line and they decided it wasn’t cost effective to continue with secondary bands? Different colored bands is a fine alternative. Of course, having the secondary band helps differentiate the cigars one they are out of the box. The Bitterroot is on the woody/nutty end of the spectrum, with a hint of sweetness. It’s medium bodied, has been a fine morning cigar for me, with a perfect burn and draw, like all of the samples I’ve enjoyed from this company. Stay tuned for a few more in next week’s edition. I’ve been impressed with the line.