I smoked a selection of cigars this week that I recently picked up on several shop visits that were all new to me. A few weeks back I stopped in New Tobacco Village in Whitehall, PA and one of the cigars I picked up was the VegaFina Exclusivo USA Patriot. VegaFina has a very small footprint in the USA, but has a pretty wide range available in Europe. I’ve smoked a few over the years, and, much like a lot of the Altadis portfolio, wasn’t too enamoured with them. I figured I’d give this one a shot. It came out almost a year ago, is a 6″ x 54 toro, has an Ecuadorian wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It was a nice smoke, rather light bodied with some wood and citrus tang. Not my favorite profile, but it was a perfectly good cigar. I try to smoke cigars that aren’t in my wheelhouse, once in a while I find a gem, but it wouldn’t be a cigar I’d buy a box of.

I stopped into CigarMojo (the King of Prussia, PA location) last week and smoked a really good Dias de Gloria Brazil and picked up a couple other cigars that I had wanted to try. The first one I smoked was the Tatuaje LLE Broadleaf Reserva. I love the Broadleaf Reservas as a rule, and this lonsdale size look really good. This is a relatively new release, and pretty reasonably priced at $11. The cigar is 6¾” x 42, has a rich Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made in the My Father Factory. I went into this cigar knowing that I had to relax and take it slow, there’s not many things worse than overheating a really good cigar, and this was a really good cigar. It starts out spice heavy, and then the cocoa/coffee flavors come through. I might have to get some more of these before they are gone as they only made 1500 boxes.

Yesterday was busy, we’ve been re-doing our foyer after putting it off for almost ten years, which involved stripping the painted wallpaper off (which my wife handled) and patching and sanding the bare drywall. It must have been a thing in 1959 to go straight to wallpaper, because the walls hadn’t been painted. Walls I can handle, the ceiling is giving me problems! I don’t care for working over my head. I also cut the front lawn and forgot, for the second week in a row, that there was a yellowjacket nest. Bastards got me three times, maybe I’ll remember next time I mow! After a while I gave up and sat down with a cigar, and I chose an Umbagog Bronzeback which I had picked up at Harrisburg Beer and Cigar last month. Of course, I very much love the Umbagogs, so I’d been looking forward to smoking this one. This Bronzeback is to Umbagog kindof what Triqui Traca is to Mi Querida. It comes in one vitola, 5″ x 48, and has a lower priming Broadleaf wrapper than the regular Umbagog line (which uses the wrapper leaves Saka deems as not pretty enough for Mi Querida). This has some exotic spices along with some earthy sweetness, not quite as chocolatey as the regular line. I loved it, it was the right size, and right flavor for the time. It’s a little more of a premium offering than its predecessors, a little fancier band and packaging, and a little higher price tag, but well worth it.

Finally, another cigar I picked up at Mojo that I have been looking forward to trying was the newish Drew Estate Blackened S84 Shade to Black. I really like the M81 from time to time, so I was interested to see what an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper over Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Pennsylvania and Nicaraguan fillers would be like. Of course I got the 6″ x 52 toro. The binder and fillers are fermented to a Maduro. I was hoping to really like this, but it wasn’t really my thing. It seemed too strong for the wrapper, which while it added some nuttiness to the blend, was easily overpowered. I understand the idea, and it’s different. but it didn’t really work for me. I’m wired to associate shade wrappers with a more delicate blend, I guess. I’m glad I gave it a shot, and I might try one again, but my preference leans toward the M81 (which is named after the year I graduated high school).

That’s all for now. I’m going to try to go on a little cigar adventure this week, I won’t say anything until it gets worked out. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Maybe I’m late to the party, but here’s the news from Drew Estate about the new brand they launched on the Freestyle Live event Wednesday. I’ve smoked the samples in the pack, and I personally enjoyed the Toro most of the three. Very interesting cigars!

Blackened Cigars “M81” By Drew Estate

BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate is a passion project that brings together three immensely talented and vastly experienced cigar enthusiasts—Jonathan Drew, Founder and President of Drew Estate; James Hetfield, Metallica co-founder, singer and guitarist; and Rob Dietrich, the Master Distiller and Blender of BLACKENED American Whiskey. The collaboration began with Hetfield and Dietrich, who frequently enjoy cigars together.

“It is really a fun social thing for me, a fellowship, to have a few buddies sit around with a few sticks,” Hetfield says. “My buddy, Rob Dietrich, BLACKENED’s Master Distiller, and I frequently enjoy cigars together and he introduced me to Jonathan from Drew Estate. The three of us connected and shared each other’s vision and story about where we’ve been, what we like to see and what is important to us now, and we all came up with what a BLACKENED ‘M81’ Cigar would look and taste like. I love the Maduro leaf and I’m super excited for everyone to try this.”

Having been friends for well over a decade, Dietrich and Drew always wanted to combine their talents to collaborate on something special, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. Samples from the Drew Estate portfolio were sent to Hetfield and Dietrich who kept cigar journals to critique the cigars and identify what they liked and disliked about each one. After two years of enjoying and sampling cigars together, the group decided on the exact flavor profile that would become BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate.

“This was a project that was purely born from passion …for music, for fellowship, for life, and all the in-between moments within,” says Dietrich. “James, Jonathan and I worked together to create what we feel like is the perfect cigar. The result is truly a monster of flavor—all-maduro, designed with definitive depth for darker and bolder palates.”

BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate presents a journey through different Maduro leaves, starting with a thick and oily Maduro wrapper that’s grown in the rich volcanic soil of Mexico’s San Andres Valley. The blend includes a thick and meaty Connecticut River Valley Broadleaf Maduro binder and a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro tobaccos, including the boldest Pennsylvania Broadleaf ligero in Drew Estate’s vast tobacco inventory. Maduro to the Core, BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate is dark, bold, rich and powerful with alluring notes of espresso, leather and dark chocolate.

“Hetfield, Dietrich, and the DE team have dedicated an immense amount of time into this historic brand,” adds Drew. “BLACKENED Cigars ‘M81’ by Drew Estate reveals layer-after-layer of Maduro’s deepest, darkest, most magical, and mysterious character that narrates a defining story of just one thing … passion!!!”

Presented in beautiful copper-accented black 20-count boxes, BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate debuts in four sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Corona Doble (7 x 50), and Corona (5 x 43). Exclusively available to Drew Diplomat Program participants beginning on Sept. 29, BLACKENED Cigars “M81” by Drew Estate’s MSRPs are: $183/box or $9.15/cigar for the Corona; $189/box or $9.45/cigar for the Robusto; $197/box or $9.85/cigar for the Toro; and $207/box or $10.35/cigar for the Corona Doble.

ABOUT ROB DIETRICH

Rob Dietrich is the Master Distiller and Blender of BLACKENED American Whiskey, and the former Master Distiller for Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. Dietrich has more than 15 years in the industry and is well-regarded for his unique limited-release, cask finish expressions such as Snowflake, Sherry Cask and more recently, the Masters of Whiskey series. Dietrich is responsible for every aspect of production and is committed to not only maintaining the original recipe of BLACKENED, using artisanal methods and a handcrafted approach, but is also dedicated to creating contemporary and unique world-class whiskey. Dietrich initially learned the art and science of distilling from legendary distiller Jess Graber whom he proudly calls his mentor. His passion for music was honed throughout 10 years spent in the music business, beginning with working with Bill Graham Presents, and also as a freelance agent for a variety of venues like Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater and The Fillmore in San Francisco and Denver, as well as producing and managing many tours and festivals. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and served from 1992 to 1995. His two tours in Somalia, as well as relief operations in Haiti, helped shape his life-affirming philosophy.

ABOUT SWEET AMBER DISTILLING CO.

Established in 2018, Sweet Amber Distilling Co. is a producer of hand-crafted spirits. Helmed by Co-Founder and CEO John Bilello, Sweet Amber launched with the creation of BLACKENED—a masterful collaboration between late whiskey luminary Dave Pickerell and rock icons Metallica, which is now available in all 50 states and parts of Canada, with plans to expand rapidly. Sweet Amber is a nimble, dynamic organization that is completely virtual, allowing a greater flexibility, efficiency, and geographic coverage across the U.S. with depth of experience in the spirits and music industries.

ABOUT METALLICA

Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 15 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on all seven continents.

The band’s several multi-platinum studio albums include Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning, Master of Puppets, … And Justice for All, Metallica (commonly referred to as The Black Album), Load, Re-Load, St. Anger, Death Magnetic, and most recently Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, released in November 2016 and charting at #1 in 32 countries. Metallica’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards and a 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in 1996 in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Drew Estate has singlehandedly defined modern day cigar culture through a hard-hitting, authentic, bottom-up approach to lifestyle branding and culture building. Our mission and manifesto is “The Rebirth of Cigars,” which we amplify through our uncanny authenticity, high energy and through deeply-loved brands produced from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua, such as: ACID, 20 Acre Farm, Deadwood, Factory Smokes, Herrera Estelí, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fire Cured, Liga Privada, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial and Undercrown; and the celebrated Barn Smoker, Cigar Safari and Freestyle Live experiential events. Learn more about our story and our brands by visiting Drew Estate.