Tag Archives: Cain F

by Craig Vanderslice | November 28, 2021 · 9:07 am

Paladin de Saka, Old Cain and New Partagas Cigars

Yesterday my wife and I went to the 35th Annual “not just” Rock Expo in the nearby Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, which sound much better than it actually was. It was basically a flea market of records, tapes and CDs, not that big a deal, but we did come across a few neat things. I managed a record store in the eighties, so I can’t start going through bins of records without compulsively alphabetizing and sorting by genre, so don’t look too hard at stuff like this anymore. My wife spied a CD though, and I dropped $2 on it because it looked good, and I can always listen to Cuban music, Hecho en Cuba 3. I haven’t give it a listen yet, I have to dust off the CD changer, and remember how to get music from the iMac onto my phone. Anyway, one never knows what one might find out and about.

Rewind to Thursday, when we finally got done with cooking, eating and delivering food, it was time for a cigar, and I decided on the Paladin de Saka that Steve had given me when we saw him in South Carolina. This is in the Sin Compromiso line, I suppose it would be the flagship of the line, as it’s aged a year longer than the rest. It’s also the largest of them all, measuring 7″ x 52. There’s one more difference in that there’s some Pennsylvania broadleaf added to the filler that gives it some additional oomph. I’m a big fan of the Sin Compromiso, except that they are so darned pricey. They are worth it though, and I don’t say that often, as Steve would agree. I love the sweetness of the cigar, and the espresso notes. This was a good two and a half hours of pleasure. These are north of $29, so I’m not going to be smoking many of them, but Thanksgiving is a special day, so a special cigar is always in order, and I thank Steve for special cigars. He is welcome to share my Stillwell Star posts…do they have to be videos? 🙃

I was reorganizing a tray in the cabinet Friday and I came across a cigar in a ziplock that I had completely forgotten I had. It had a handwritten note in it that said “Cain FU IPCPR 2013”. I remember this was after Sam Leccia’s “departure” from Oliva/Studio Tabac and they had this guy named Brian Scholle trained to travel around doing rolling demonstrations. I had met him a few times. He was making hi-octane Cain F’s he called Cain FU, I think we can figure out what that meant. It was a strong cigar then. So I figured after eight years in the humidor it might have lost some of its luster. I’ve smoked a number of Cain Fs over the years, many in the lancero vitola. I have some squirrelled away somewhere, perhaps I’ll find them one day. Anyway, this cigar was a toro, and it had a pretty rustic look, but it burned surprisingly well. It was still pretty strong, a notch up from what I would expect from a Cain F. It was pretty good, considering it sat in a baggie for over eight years ignored. Of course, It’s not something anyone will ever have again, and I wonder what ever happened to that Brian dude?

A week or so ago I posted the news about the Partagas Decadas 2021 that was coming out. Some samples arrived and couldn’t wait to smoke one. The Decadas have been treats for me for a long time. I’ve really liked the green banded ones going back many years. This one was intriguing because of the Brazilian Cameroon wrapper. First let’s work out the deal with the whole deal with the semantics surrounding wrapper. The foremost grower of Cameroon tobacco says there’s no such thing as Cameroon seed, but Sumatra seed grown in Cameroon. So it’s the soil and climate that make the tobacco Cameroon. Which begs the question: how can “Cameroon” tobacco be grown in other countries? I will say that this cigar, I don’t care where the wrapper was grown, tastes far more “Cameroony” than a lot of Cameroon cigars I’ve smoked. It was loaded with the sweet, nutty flavor that the Decadas, and Partagas should taste like. I was completely enthralled with this cigar. Whatever the seed, wherever it’s grown, it tastes good, and was a lovely cigar. It’s even the right size!

This afternoon I’m going to Son’s Cigars to meet up with the gang from Stolen Throne Cigars who are doing an event there, I’d encourage anyone in the area to pop in. I’m looking forward to finally meeting these guys as I’ve been enjoying the Stolen Throne cigars. I’m still looking for Secret Santa participants, we’re up to three, which is an awkward number, but I’d make it work if I had to! The more the merrier! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cain, Cain F, cigar, cigars, Decadas, oliva, Paladin de Saka, Partagas, Sin Compromiso

by Craig Vanderslice | July 25, 2021 · 10:31 am

Smoking Through a Cain Cigar Sampler

Last week I was auditing some of my advertising partners (OK, that’s a euphemism, I was shopping…), and I picked up a couple Cain samplers from CigarThief. This happens all the time, I start browsing and see something that I don’t need or have room for and the price is too good to pass up, I’d be nuts not to buy it, so I do. I then have to worry about where to put the stuff later. In this case it was the five cigar sampler of Cain cigars from Oliva. It arrived the next day. I remember walking in to my local shop at the time and the proprietor, fresh back from the trade show, said to me “throw away your Cubans, you gotta try this new cigar called “Cain”. This guy was a guy who was into Havanas too, he had gotten into some trouble years earlier with the BATF for having them in the store. This was a major boast coming from this guy. Of course, I had to wait for them to come in. Turns out that this was another brand that Sam Leccia was behind, following his success as the brand ambassador for Nub with Oliva Cigars. He would continue to do rolling events featuring both cigars for a few years until his unceremonious departure. I was a fan of the Cains early on, smoked a bunch of them, I was especially fond of the Cain F Lancero, which is what prompted me to take this little sentimental journey.

Cain Cigars are made by Oliva Cigar Co., although you wouldn’t know it looking at their website. I can’t figure this out. Is Cain still in production? It seems like they are still widely available. I just can’t find them on a website anywhere. It’s a cigar they should embrace! I started with the original Habano 550. Their sizes are confusing, because this one is 5¾” x 50, which is pretty close to a toro, which is like, but it ain’t 550. I’m not sure what they call the 5″ x 50, which they clearly have in the portfolio. This is where having them listed on the manufacturer website comes in handy. Retailers websites aren’t always all-inclusive. I seem to recall the old Studio Tabac website having a breakdown of the blend, with percentages of the ligero too. These were billed as “Straight Ligero”, which, of course, didn’t mean they were 100% ligero. They are bold cigars, and the Habano was excellent. It took me back to one of my very first blog posts, where I was celebrating the birthday which I received the CigarCraig.com domain as a gift with a Cain Habano. Deep, rich earthy flavors. These remain very good cigars.

I deviated from the chronological order of the brand’s releases by smoking the Cain Daytona next. I believe this cigar came after Sam’s departure. This was a little bit mellower representation of the Cain blend, maybe more sophisticated. This one, whatever they called it, was definitely 5″ x 50, has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers. This is probably better suited for a sunday morning with coffee cigar, but it was a great cigar for a Saturday afternoon after cutting the grass and running errands, before taking a nap. Just enough strength and loads of flavor. Definitely a solid robusto, and I am fairly certain I have an old lancero or two in the humidor.

Last night I tackled the Cain Maduro. I’m pretty sure this is a the same blend as the Habano with a Maduro wrapper, although,, lacking information on a manufacturer’s website, I have no way to verify that. As a maduro lover, I have to say that I can do without this cigar in the line. It’s a good cigar, if it was the only Cain, I’d be happy with it, but I think the other iterations are better. The wrapper adds the espresso component, but I actually prefer the Habano wrapped version more. If I’m picking Cains, I admit that the Maduro is on the bottom of my list. Weird, huh? It’s still a pretty strong cigar, having a high percentage of Ligero.

Sometime around 2012 They came out with the Cain F. I think the F stood for Fuerte, maybe Sam had his hand in it before he left, I don’t recall. By 2013 they had replaced Sam with a guy named Byran Scholle. They had trained him to do rolling demonstrations something like Sam did, without the artistic flair. Bryan’s signature was. rolling a cigar he called the Cain FU, which was an amped up Cain F, which I smoked fresh and it wasn’t all that ass-kicking. I am smoking the Cain F 550 Robusto as I write this and it’s a rich, flavorful cigar, with a fair amount of strength, especially for a Sunday morning. It’s especially good with coffee, and I’m glad I had a heaping bowl of Cheerios! I can’t tell you how many Cain F Lanceros I’ve smoked over the years, and I still have a couple squirreled away, so I’m fairly familiar with the cigar. I like it a great deal. I don’t know why I like it , I just do, it checks all the boxes for me. It’s burning perfectly for me, although I have let it go out a few times. It’s a good way to start the day! I’m glad I picked up a few of these samplers! It’s been a fun trip down memory lane!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cain, Cain F, cigar, cigars, Daytona, Habano, maduro, oliva

by Craig Vanderslice | April 12, 2020 · 10:05 am

Vicarias Negotiator and Cain F Lancero Cigars and a V-Herf

I finally dipped my toe in the V-Herf pool last night briefly. I was smoking a fairly old Cain F Lancero Tubo (having removed it from the tube, of course), and checked out the Smoke Inn Room on the Whereby app. It was fairly early, and there were only a few people there, but it was pretty cool, and I enjoyed it and will return for more virtual herfing. Perhaps I’ll try to pop in at various times of the day to see who might be in there. In all the years I’ve been interacting digitally with people, I haven’t just video chatted with people, so this was neat, and I’ll keep doing it. I usually just sit around listening to podcasts keeping to myself, but I’ll try to be more social. Suggest some other popular video herfs besides Smoke Inn. I’ve been trying to get in on the Jersey Cigar Lounge’s herfs on Discord, but they always seem to be too late for me! Oddly, by 8:30 I’m done with my cigar and on to other things!

On to cigars. The Cain F Lancero I smoked last night was spectacular. I had a ten count box I bought several years ago, and still have a few tubos left. It’s been a while since I smoked one, I tend to save tubos for some time that never seems to come because they are nice and portable and I can throw one in my pocket. I either forget to do that, or end up packing a travel humidor or case, rarely just taking one cigar. I end up with a load of tubos, I have a few that are pretty old. I won a box of Don Tomas Classico Tubos well over ten years ago and have two left, I should smoke them and see who they are. I really liked them. I think I still have a Montecristo Tubo from one time when I had lunch at JRs in Whippany, and that was 10 years ago. I suppose that one is ready to smoke! Like I said, I save them for a time that never comes. Maybe that’s this week’s project for Wednesday’s post. Anyway, the Cain F had the Studio Tobac footband, and was generally the stronger of the Can line, but the lancero was not strong at this point, but a wonderful smoke, with a hint of sweetness and earthiness. It burned perfectly and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I have every one over the years. I had sen several friends post pics of this cigar on social media recently, which inspired me to grab one. So glad I did. I need to rummage through my lanceros, I know there’s at least one Can Daytona in there, might be more! Oliva doesn’t list Cain or Nub on their website, are they even still a thing? I still see them around. We have Sam Leccia to thank for both of those great lines!

My new cigar of the week was the Vicarias Negotiator. I met Jay Clark at the TPE and he gave me his Negotiator cigar and told me the story behind it. He used to be a buyer in the metals industry, and I used to buy metal powders and steel, among many other things when I was a buyer, so we had some common ground. He would go into negotiations and had out this cigar, which is a box pressed, 5″ x 48 robusto (Hermoso?) with a San Andrés wrapper, DR binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The negotiations would last the duration of the cigar, and if a deal wasn’t done when his ciga was finished, he would walk away. As a former buyer myself, I could relate to this story and wish I had used this tool in some negotiations myself! The only trouble I might have would have been that the cigar was so good that I might have been distracted from the task at hand! It was just the kind of cigar I like, dark, espresso flavors, good amount of strength, and a perfect burn and draw. The only thing I didn’t care for was that it wasn’t a toro, but that would defeat the purpose, right? No need for negotiations to go on for an hour and a half or so, right? I really enjoyed The Negotiator, Might not be easy to find, but really a great cigar.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate. A few months ago I removed a cigar from a tube I had put it in several years ago to see how long it would last in the tube before it would dry out. When I started the experiment I really had no way to tell how dry it would get. Through the miracle of technology, I have cince gotten a way to find these things out, the CigarMedics Humidimeter! I removed the cigar from the glass tube with the corks stopper, and the foot of the cigar read 35%, not good. Not 0, but certainly not optimal for smoking. So I labeled it and put it in the humidor. After about a month I checked it again and it was up to 54%. Getting there. I tend to think it might take longer than two months for a dried out cigar to rehydrate, but maybe not! It’s nice to have a tool to actually check without guessing. I do have a control cigar, one from the same box that’s been properly stored (for the last 8 years), when the time comes to smoke the cigar, I’ll see what effect the drying/restoring process had on the flavor. I should have started this project much earlier, it would have been appropriate to post the findings today. ( I think I’ve made that joke before…probably every year). Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Cain F, cigar, CigarMedics, cigars, Humidimeter, Negitiator, oliva, Smoke Inn, V-herf, Vicarias

by CigarCraig | July 1, 2012 · 10:06 am

Some Stronger Cigars: Joya de Nicaragua, Cain, Ortega, a Cusano and a Contest!

I found myself smoking more powerhouse cigars lately for some reason. Maybe it was the need for a satisfying smoking experience, or just the luck of the draw, I don’t know. I do know that Wednesday evening I wanted a sure thing, no gambling on a new cigar, something tried and true. I had actually wanted to drive up to Easton to see Jonathan Drew at the Drew Estate event at Leaf cigar bar, but after a long day at work spending three and a half more hours in the car didn’t appeal to me. I’ll see JD at the IPCPR show. So I went for a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo that I had picked up a few months ago when I visited a little shop in Kutztown, PA. The El Martillo is a 5 ½” x 54 over sized robusto and has a beautiful dark wrapper. This is a strong cigar. I remember smoking one of these in Nicaragua while touring the Joya de Nicaragua factory and having to put it down before the strength of the cigar and the heat and humidity in the factory got the better of me. This one was similar, I really needed some sugar when I was done to offset the nicotine effects. A tremendous cigar, maybe less suitable for sultry weather than some other cigars though!

Thursday was the exception to the rule, I had a Cusano 18 Double Connecticut that a business associate had sent me because he came across it and wanted me to try it, unaware that I have smoked these in the past. Of course, I appreciate the sentiment and I do give him a cigar when he visits from the west coast. These are a nice, mellow, flavorful Connecticut wrapped cigar. They were exceptional when Cusano was privately owned, and are no less exceptional under the wing of Davidoff. Pretty, well made and tasty. Gave me an hour and a half or so of pleasure.

Friday I took the day off to visit Monmouth Park in New Jersey with my wife’s family. My Father-in-Law likes to go there, so we celebrate his birthday at the park every year. I took a pocket full of cigars, and spent a few races outside enjoying the heck out of a Cain F Tubed Lancero. I love the Cain line of cigars, I just usually find them too powerful. The beauty of the Lancero is the format forces one to smoke slowly, which keeps the strength from really being a liability. I love the elegance of the Lancero, and this one was perfectly built, loaded with spicy, deliciousness. Like a fine steak, when you take the last bite you’re sad that it’s gone, this cigar made me forget that every darned horse I bet on, whether he led the whole race or not, came in in the bottom three. I strayed from my usual system at the track, yeah….that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Upon arrival home, I took the dog and an Ortega Series D No. 6 for a walk to the local convenience store to pick up a lottery ticket. I’m starting to sound like a real gambler, no wonder I get offers from poker sites for paid links. I’m really a light weight, 2 dollar bets at the track and a dollar twice a week in the Mega Millions isn’t really too bad. I’ve seen people drop thousands on the tables in Vegas. Back to the cigar. Did I mention that the temps were pushing 100° F yesterday? Hot stuff! The No. 6 is a perfect sized cigar, 4½” x 48 and had a beautiful and oily San Andreas Maduro wrapper. Lately, when I know I want a great smoke, I choose one with this wrapper. It just suits me, what can I say. The Series D has a really smooth, refined flavor. No rough edges at all, you could pop these in your mouth all day long like Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses, so it’s not really strong, but very rich and satisfying. Gotta get me some more of these! Well done Eddie!

Contest!

General Cigar Co. has been having a contest on their HoyoDeMonterreyCigar.com site where they are giving away a box of their Reposado en Cedros cigars every day so head over there and try to win a box! These are really tasty smokes! From the press release:

After being handcrafted by a handpicked team of artisans, each Reposado en Cedros cigar undergoes Inmersión, an innovative method of aging created at HATSA, General Cigar’s Honduran cigar factory. With this technique, each cigar is enveloped in fragrant cedar and left to rest for an extended period of time. The cigar matures to a complex, medium-bodied smoke that has won the brand stellar ratings and praise from the premium cigar category’s most discerning experts.

In honor of that, I will give away two (2) Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros 3-packs courtesy of General CigarCo. to a lucky reader for the next four weeks! Please leave a comment to enter. Usual rules apply, and I’ll stress that if you enter, and are chosen as the winner, please contact me with your mailing address so I can send your winnings! A new contest will start each Sunday and the winner will be announced the following Wednesday. If you’ve tried these, you know how good they are, and if you haven’t, here’s a great opportunity to try them!

That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Cain F, cigar, cigars, Contest, Cusano, general cigars, Horse Racing, hoyo de monterrey, IPCPR, joya de nicaragua, Ortega, Reposado, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | February 12, 2012 · 9:42 am

A Couple of Cigars: a La Libertad and a Cain F

A few months ago I received some cigars from Villiger-Stokkebye, a couple of their newest offerings, and a 4 pack of their current brands. Since the only Villiger cigars I’ve smoked in the past have been the little machine made Exports (which, by the way, are excellent little cigars!), I figured I’d start with the older lines and work my way up to the newest. So, since there were 2 of the La Libertad Robustos, I snagged one and fired it up the other night. Let me briefly explain my thought processes in the winter when it comes to smoking samples. I’ve come to realize that winter time outdoor smoking is NOT the best time to fairly and accurately judge several aspects of a premium cigar. That’s largely why I’ll smoke old favorites over the winter, or items that I have more than one of on hand. I like to give cigars, especially those generously provided to me, a fair chance (not that my opinion means anything really). If this La Libertad had given me problems, I’d have a back-up to try again under better conditions. In this case, I get a bonus, because the cigar was very nice, burned about perfectly, and had a very nice flavor. Kudos on the construction of this, it has to be difficult to make a cigar out of what the website says is “mainly Ligero tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua” and have it burn so dead even. Interesting that the Habano seed wrapper and Nicaraguan seed binder are both grown in Peru, you don’t see that every day. Nice cigar, good flavors and perfect burn. I’d be interested to hear from Tad Smith, who was the reader who won the Day 2 prize in my 12 Days of Spectacular Giveaways back in December. I’d like to know if he’s smoked this cigar and what he thought.

Friday night rolled around and I wasn’t taking any chances. I’m not sure how many times a Cain F 550 was in my hand and I put it back in favor of something perhaps less scary. Yeah, the Cains still intimidate me. With the exception of the Daytona (which, incidentally, can be mistaken for a Cain F in low light, not-really-paying-attention conditions), I’ve had my tuckus kicked by more than one Cain cigar, Habano, Maduro, F….I don’t discriminate. I’ve come to make sure that Cain examples spend a minimum of 6 months in “time-out” in my humidor, seems to mitigate the head spins and nausea…but, I digress. So I grabbed this Cain F, with is 5¾ x 50, but feels more corona gorda-ish to me. Exceptional cigar. Great construction, once again, the slow-burning ligero somehow is blended to burn perfectly with the rest of the blend, amazing. Bold, decadent flavor, perfectly balanced. Brilliant cigar. I can hardly wait for the perfect occasion to smoke the lancero that Mike Staiber gifted me back when he hooked me up with the excellent Oliva prize package for Day 6 in my December give-aways.

Thanks to Anne at Villiger-Stokkebye and Mike at Oliva for the gifts and for their support! I love cigars, but the most amazing thing is all of the wonderful people I’ve had the opportunity to meet over the past 16 years of on-line cigar discussion. Please get over to the Cigar Rights of America site and write to your elected officials so we can keep all of these fine people, as well as your shop owners, internet retailers, distributors in jobs, as well as all of the fine folks in the Caribbean and Central America who rely upon the cigar industry to feed their families. The FDA must not be permitted to regulate premium cigars.