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by | November 3, 2010 · 7:30 pm

Sam Leccia at Old Havana Cigar Co., a Nub, and a Camacho – Wednesday October 3, 2010

I’ll go a little out of order this time.  Tuesday evening my son Corey and I took a short drive down to Old Havana Cigar Company just south of West Chester PA.  They were hosting an event featuring Sam Leccia.  Sam greeted us when we arrived as he was taking a break, then we popped into the walk-in and selected some Nubs to smoke.  I grabbed a few of the Cameroon 358s as I hadn’t yet tried them, my Nub consumption had been limited to the Habano wrapper and I love a good Cameroon wrapper.  The store was packed, and I can only assume there were a bunch of folks in the lounge, but didn’t make it that far to see.  Corey went with a Nub Cain Maduro and enjoyed it quite a bit.  Here are a couple very raw videos I took with my phone of Sam wrapping a couple cigars, the second of which he gave to Corey.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPQ72RbvP5g

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=430zvaf1N0I

Pictured here are the custom wrapped cigars that Sam gave Corey and I.  He told Corey that he’d have to smoke his, because the bunch he used was one of the original release of the Nubs.  I know that I couldn’t bring myself to smoke this one or the last one he gave me, which is similar to the one he made in the first video.  It’s amazing the detail he puts into these cigars, they are beautiful works of art.  Sam is a tremendous guy and if he makes an appearance in your neighborhood make a point to go see him.  Old Havana Cigar Co, is a nicely appointed shop located in a strip mall between West Chester, PA and Wilmington Delaware.   They have a broad range of cigars in a large walk-in humidor, as well as a spacious lounge in the back.  The access through the humidor is reminiscent of the set up at Holt’s in Philadelphia, but I think the lounge is larger.  The front of the store features Humidors, cases and other accessories.  Sam had his rolling table set up in the front of the store.

The Nub Cameroon 358 was a nice smoke that I enjoyed despite a sinus infection and a very smoky room.  The cigar burned very well and, like I told Sam and have always said about the Nub line, would be much better if it were a little longer.  Still I spent an hour or so with this cigar that the box said was good for 38 minutes (a very clever idea, putting the smoking time on the box).

Sunday was Halloween, which is always a traditional cigar night for me.  I grabbed a nice green Camacho Corojo Candela Monarca and sat on the porch with my wife, the gas heater, and all the trick-or-treaters.  We live in a development that is fairly large and it’s not unusual to get 150 or more kids visiting us.  The cigar was awesome, I really enjoy these every now and then for a change of pace.  This box has been pretty consistent in that this cigars all have had a very loose draw.  I’ve come to compensate for this by piercing the cap instead of cutting it, but I was distracted and lopped off the cap.  I was careful not to over draw and nursed the cigar for the duration of the trick-or-treating.

That’s about all I have this time around, I feel a contest coming along in the very near future so stay tuned.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | June 2, 2010 · 7:08 am

Mid-Week Cigar Recap: Ramon Allones, Deisel – Wednesday June 2, 2010

Monday was Memorial Day, a special occasion which called for a special cigar.  I went to the “special” humidor and selected a Ramon Allones 8-9-8 that had been in there for 5 years or so.  After doing a bit of research on it, I found that this lonsdale size cigar had been discontinued since sometime around 2003.  I figured it had been in my possession long enough and was ready to go.  I wasn’t disappointed with it as it was a delicious cigar which just delighted my taste buds for a good hour or so.   It wasn’t the prettiest cigar in the world, it was a little lumpy in places, but it was just about everything I like about cigars from this particular geographic location.  There is a flavor, or a “twang” if you will, that I can’t put a name to that seems to be a characteristic that was present in this cigar.  I wish I had the ability to better describe this fairly rare vitola, other than it was a special cigar that I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with.

After a dinner which featured jalepeños stuffed with macaroni and cheese (HOT!), I fired up a Deisel Unholy Cocktail,   which I’ve spoken about here before.  This was another great cigar, for far different reasons than the Ramon Allones.  It had enough flavor to get past the damage done by the peppers and a great burn.  This was my last one of these and I will need to grab some more the next time I see them.  For a $4 cigar ($3.33 each by the box) these are just dandy!  Pennsylvania broad leaf goodness down to the last inch. The only downside to me is the name, I think “Deisel” does this cigar a disservice, but that’s just my opinion and won’t stop me from enjoying them.

This evening (Wednesday) I will have the distinct honor and pleasure of attending a dinner cruise and herf in New York City at the invitation of a dear old friend.  I expect to have a lot to report from this event, and will try to tweet (@cigarcraig on Twitter) over the course of the evening.   I’ve been really looking forward to this event and am grateful for the invitation.  More on this in my next post.

Speaking of herf, as I was listening to the latest Dogwatch Cigar Radio episode, they started out with a question about the word herf and where it originated.  One of the more frequently visited posts on my old blog is the explanation of where the term originated.  I’ve been contemplating re-posting it here on the new blog, but in the mean time it will always be at http://cigarcraig.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/the-origin-of-the-word-herf/ .

Don’t forget to enter to win some cool Joya de Nicaragua stuff!  There will be 2 winners this time so get your comment in to enter.  Deadline is Saturday, June 5th.  If everyone cooperates I’ll have a video to post with the selections on Sunday the 6th.

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by | May 23, 2010 · 11:56 am

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros – Sunday May 22, 2010

I was very fortunate to have come into possession of several samples of the  La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros 650s a few weeks ago, and it seemed appropriate to wrap up my General Cigar week with one of these.

Here’s a blurb from the official information about these:

Created by Team La Gloria Cubana to showcase the artistry of La Gloria Cubana “tabaqueros” (artisan cigar makers), Artesanos de Tabaqueros cigars are a stunning embodiment of the time-honored craft of cigar making. So exacting is the skill required to handcraft cigars of this complexity that Benji Menendez personally selected an elite group of just 18 master cigar makers, representing the cream of the crop from El Credito Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic.

Meticulously crafted to combine two different wrappers and two distinct tastes in one eye-catching cigar, Artesanos de Tabaqueros is a world-class smoke that opens to a rich and intriguing spice and ultimately reveals a depth of flavor that can only be achieved through a precise balance of unique and rare tobaccos. Hand selected from General Cigar’s extensive library of Dominican and Honduran tobaccos, the cigars are dressed in both a supple Connecticut Shade and hearty Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. The blend is made solely of proprietary tobaccos, each aged five years or more.

Presented with two different wood treatments to promote the unique tastes promised in each cigar, Artesanos de Tabaqueros cigars are protected in boxes of 25. The collection will debut in early April with three frontmarks, each named to according to its dimensions: 650 (6” x 50, SRP per cigar is $8.00), 652 Belicoso (6” x 52, SRP per cigar is $9.50) and 750 (7” x 50, SRP per cigar is $9.00).

Double Wrapper Examples

It’s a beautiful cigar, no doubt about that.  The “dos capas” presentation is unique, and the way it’s rolled makes more sense to me than the Joya de Nicaraqua Cabinetta, where the last third of the cigar is the darker wrapper.  I expect in the case of the Joya De Nicaragua, by the time you hit the wrapper change it’s very late in the smoke.  I have one floating around someplace which I will smoke very soon so I can compare (and it will tie in nicely with my next contest!)  The La Gloria is rolled in such a way that the first third is the Connecticut Shade and then it transitions to the Ecuador Sumatra.  I have to admit, I was expecting a more dramatic transition, but the change was very subtle.  It is definitely a great tasting cigar and it burned well, although not as evenly as I would have liked for a “special” cigar.  I smoked this down to about an inch and a half before I put it down.

These are pretty neat cigars which are visually appealing and, as opposed to “barber pole” style dos capos cigars, actually have a chance at providing a noticeable flavor change.   Many thanks to Victoria McKee Jaworski at General Cigars for giving me the opportunity to sample these.  I’ve loved the La Gloria Cubana line since first smoking them back in the ’90s when everyone was talking about whether the best ones were rolled in Miami or the Dominican Republic.  I distinctly recall a Corona Gorda that was SO good, but left me on the couch with my head spinning!  As a matter of fact, the first good cigar my wife smoked was a La Gloria.

That’s about all I got for now, until the next cigar,

CigarCraig

Go Flyers!

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by | May 19, 2010 · 7:31 pm

Mid-Week Cigars: Punch Rare Corojo and Partagas Cifuentes Julio – Wednesday May 19, 2010

I started out the week grilling some pork chops and felt compelled to smoke one of the cigars out of the Punch Grill box.  I selected the Punch Rare Corojo, since I’ve had these in the past and enjoyed them.  This example was no different.  This one was the 5¼” x 54 Magnum.  The pork chops were good, and the cigar capped off a busy day very nicely.  The Ecuador Sumatra wrapper was nice and tasty and the cigar burned quite well.

I’ve been “theme smoking” lately, so I grabbed a Partagas Cifuentes Julio (also from General Cigars) out of the humidor and went for a nice long walk.  These are apparently seasonal blends, and I jumped the gun a little smoking a July cigar in May.  Sorry about that.  It still was a nice cigar.  It was medium bodied with a long finish, tongue coating in a not unpleasant way.  I had to correct the burn a few times and it wanted to tunnel a little, but both are forgivable considering how much I enjoyed the flavor.  These are fairly beefy cigars in a 6″ x 54 format.  This was a single that was amongst the goodies sent by my buddy Jason at Rock’s Smoke Shop.  Thanks!  Another winner from that collection.

I received a very nice delivery today from Vegas de Santiago.  You may recall one of my loyal readers, DJ, kindly sent me a couple of these to smoke and I enjoyed them quite a bit.  Rudy and Lani in Costa Rica are making some very nice cigars in beautiful presentations.  One of these weeks real soon will be Vegas de Santiago week and I’ll smoke and review (and I use that term loosely, I’m a crappy reviewer!) some of them.  I have a cigar from an event that they sponsored back in 2004 that I will finally smoke to compare and contrast. The wooden tubes are really cool and almost too cool to open.

Here’s another site for the blog junkies:  Cigar TopSite.  This is a simple listing of some of the more popular sites.  CigarCraig.com has been listed there since the beginning.  I’d LOVE to see it climb up the rankings, so if you wouldn’t mind spreading the word, I’d appreciate it.  I’m almost as bad at self-promotion as I am at cigar reviews.  I know what you’re thinking: “if more people follow the CigarCraig.com blog then there will be less chances for me to win some of the great stuff Craig gives away!”  I understand, but the more readers I have, the better my chances of mooching quality goodies to give to you, my loyal readers (there will be a new contest soon!).

Well, that’s about enough from me, until the next time,

CigarCraig

Oh yeah…..GO FLYERS!

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by | May 16, 2010 · 4:18 pm

A Reyes Family Cigars Weekend – Sunday, May 16, 2010

I did something unusual for me, I smoked a bunch of the same cigars in a row. I found myself with a handful of Puros Indios Viejo Media Coronas and smoked about 3 of them in a row.  For the price, these are terrific cigars, and at  5½” x 45 is one of my favorite sizes.  These are touted as well aged cigars with a 10 year old Ecuador Sumatra wrapper and filler from the DR, Nicaragua and Brazil.  They burn pretty well with a good draw and a nice flavor.  I remember back in the boom years Puros Indios were known for having a tight draw,  I recall having one that was a really great tasting cigar, but it was like smoking a wooden dowel it was so tight.  Clearly this problem no longer exists. I smoked 2 of them during the excellent Flyers win over the Bruins.

I figured since I was on a Puros Indios kick, I’d fire up a Reyes Family Cigars Premier Gordo that I got at the IPCPR show back in 2008.  This is a big  perfecto, 6″ x 60 ring gauge at it’s largest point.  The  maduro Ecuador Sumatra wrapper is rustic, not the prettiest thing, but quite tasty and the shape is just amazing.   It’s burn wasn’t dead even, but didn’t take anything away from the experience.  I’m a reasonably fast smoker, but this cigar seemed to last forever.  I think I smoked this for over an hour and a half.  It was medium bodied and tasty.  Not a bad cigar at all and a good one to follow the Puros Indios Viejos I had smoked earlier.   Except for a few more of the Viejos, I think I’ve exhausted my supply of Reyes Family Cigars.  What ever happened to the 18″ x 66 Puros Indios Chief?

In The News:

I came across a really neat site for all you blog junkies to bookmark: http://www.cigarosphere.com/ .  This is a cool page that has an  excerpt from a ton of different blogs all on one page.  They have graciously added the CigarCraig..com blog to the site, despite the fact that they state that they trying to aggregate QUALITY blogs. It’s neat to be able to see a whole bunch of different blogs on one site.  Keep up the great work guys!

Please keep up with http://www.cigarrights.org/ as the FDA starts looking at ways to screw up out enjoyment of cigars.  Don;t be afraid to write to your representatives when you hear about possible injustices where cigars are concerned.  The folks at CRA are doing great things to protect our rights, I urge you to support them.

Oops, I almost forgot!

I keep forgetting to mention that last week I enjoyed the Vegas de Santiago Don Luis Secretos de Maestro Canionazo that DJ sent me.  It was another very nice cigar which burned well and had a pleasing flavor. Vegas de Santiago deserves more notoriety than they receive.  They produce a very nice product and are always very willing to sponsor events when asked.    I’m sorry that things got a little busy around here and I kinda forgot to mention it in my last post.  I truly appreciate the opportunity to  try these cigars, thank you sir!  I still have a Vegas de Santiago in a wooden tube somewhere in the bottom of the coolerdor that’s about 5 years old that I need to exhume and smoke.

Also, Joel Scott, winner of the box of 5 Liga Privada‘s, was kind enough to send me a couple pictures of the opened box, since I resisted the temptation to open them before shipping them out. You may drool now, and remember that I just may have more of these for future prizes, as well as a bunch of other goodies!  Keep checking back, the cats are looking forward to the next contest video!  Testimonials from past winners are always welcome.

That’s about all I have for now, until next time,

CigarCraig (GO FLYERS!)

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