Sunday evening, after a very busy weekend, I had a hankering for a Berger & Argenti Mooch Loll maduro. This was a really nice looking 6″ x 52 torpedo, perfectly proportioned with a beautiful dark wrapper. I have to say that in this case, I really enjoyed the natural wrapper more. Still, it was a delicious cigar that performed admirably. I had spent the afternoon at a street festival in my town, I had hoped to smoke a cigar or two while there, but it rained and was cold. My youngest son was playing in one of his bands at the festival, they played at one of the locations, but their set at the main location was cancelled due to the weather. I had planned on smoking one of the camouflage wrapped American Eagles cigars, so if someone complained, I could act like I didn’t know what they were complaining about! This joke probably goes over better in my head, just like when I run into the rack of camo clothes in the sporting goods store and saying I didn’t see it. Anyway, I still like the Berger & Argenti Mooch line quite a bit, the name may be a little odd, but the cigars are good. This one was a sample from the IPCPR show.
Tuesday I selected a Toraño Family Cigars Single Region Serie Jalapa, which I bought at G & G Cigars on a recent visit. This one was the 6″ x 54 Toro Grande. I;m not usually a fan of Criollo wrapped cigars, but this one, with it’s entirely Jalapa grown tobaccos, was sweet and rich, and I really enjoyed it. It didn’t burn arrow straight, but I still was a very relaxing and enjoyable cigar. My son, Corey, joined me on the front porch with a Cain F Nub and it didn’t kill him. The Single Region Serie Jalapa is made completely from tobaccos grown on the El Estero Farm in Jalapa, Nicaragua. A unique cigar, very nice.
Here is a little video I took with Charlie Toraño a the IPCPR show last July. As with all my videos, don’t forget to turn your computer speakers down after watching!
That’s it for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
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Sunday afternoon I decided to take a ride to see my daughter and son-in-law and my 5 month old grand-daughter. I visited with them until it was nap time (the baby’s, although I could have taken one myself!). Anyway, they happen to live in the same town as one of my favorite area cigar shops, the Wooden Indian. I got there within a half hour of their closing, so I took a look through the humidor to see what was new. They have a very nice stock, which includes a smattering of nice boutique brands that aren’t always available in stores closer to home. Normally I’ve visited this store on days when they are having events, and haven’t really taken a close look at their stock. Neither needing more cigars, or wanting to spend a lot of money, I settled on a pair of Cain Daytona coronas, which ended up under $5 each. I hadn’t yet smoked the Daytona, although I do have a couple lanceros in the humidor at home. I had a nice ride home and after dinner I sparked one up. This is now my favorite Cain. I love the flavors in the line, but the Maduro and Habano and “F” series tend to be stronger than I prefer. Somehow nausea detracts from the cigar experience. Anyway, the Daytona is full flavored, yet not so strong as to cause the world to spin. Top notch cigar and priced fairly. It’s all I can do to not smoke the lanceros now!
Monday was a long day at work so my evening was slightly shortened. I grabbed a shorter smoke in an A. Turrent Tripple Play Robusto. I had the good fortune of meeting Enrique Seijas at the Altadis booth at the IPCPR show and he gave me a thorough tour of the booth. One of the sample pack s he gave me included this cigar. The Triple Play is an all maduro cigar, with a San Andreas wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and fillers from Nicaragua, Mexico and Honduras. Since I love Mexican maduro, and broadleaf, I figured this would be a good fit for me. I did enjoy the cigar quite a bit, although I had to touch up the burn a few times. Nice cigar that I look forward to trying again, although I can see where it may not be for everyone.
Tuesday evening I grabbed a Monte Pascoal Minuto on the heels of an e-mail from Wesley Gensel announcing an article in Smokeshop Magazine about the brand. I met Wes at the IPCPR show in New Orleans and spent some time with him at the show this year, where I first enjoyed this cigars. The Monte Pascoal was also awarded the best Brazilian cigar by Cigar Journal magazine at an awards ceremony at this years show in Las Vegas, which I was privileged to attend. These cigars are Brazilian puros, made with Mata Fina and Mata Norte tobaccos. I really enjoy this little 4 3/8″ x 42 petit corona. It had a very rich flavor and was quite satisfying. I look forward to trying the larger sizes, but this Minuto is a very nice little smoke.
Here is a video of Wes from the IPCPR show last July:
That’s it for now! Don’t forget to enter this weeks contest to win a Macanudo Millionaire 4-pack! Leave a comment on my last post to enter. I failed to mention that there would be TWO winners again!
It was a good thing I finished my Sunday post on Saturday and scheduled it for Sunday morning, because Hurricane Irene brushed past us and knocked our power out for about 40 hours or so. We were luckier than some, of course, we only lost a couple quarts of ice cream and had a little water in the basement. No damage and just a minor inconvenience. We take out electricity for granted, don’t we. I’m glad we have gas hot water and stove, and a French press. I did manage to smoke a few cigars so far this week:
Cain Maduro 660 – Picked this up a few weeks ago at Top Shelf Cigars in Skippack, PA for just under $5 on closeout. I should have left this rest for a while longer, but it called to me…you know how it is…I’d been hearing hurriCAIN all weekend, been without electricity for 20 hours and needed some POWER. My past experience with the Cain line has been that I love the flavor, but they tend to knock be on my ass with the strength. I like a strong cigar as much as the next guy, but I smoke to relax, not to feel queezy and want to barf. In my mind, these feelings detract from the experience. This one was good, it could have had a better draw, odd for a 60 ring cigar, but it was pretty hefty in the hand. I have one left that I’ll try to ignore for a while, plus a couple of habano torps.
Bolivar Royal Corona – Last year on my birthday I decided to try selecting a cigar with a ring gauge to match my age, I turned 47, so a Havana Churchill was in order. I couldn’t find a 48 ring cigar in my humidors, was out of anything in the Hermosa vitola, so I abandoned that tradition and went with a Bolivar Royal Corona. I selected this because I love Bolivars and wanted to smoke something special on my 48th birthday. It was not a bad choice, I loved it, it had a few years of age on it and burned nicely. It had that typical Havana twang to it that I love from time to time. With the over-all quality of Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican cigars being so high recently, the Havana cigar remains distinctive, maybe not “better” but different. Bolivars have a flavor that hits me just right, and this one was a very nice way to celebrate another journey around the sun.
San Lotano Oval – This one was a sample from the IPCPR show, although I just received another pair of them from Clay Roberts of AJ Fernandez. I think I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve smoked from AJ Fernandez, the Emilio AF1 and 2, and the Diesel Unholy Cocktail, although this is a small sampling of the many cigars this gentleman has had a hand in making. The first thing you notice about this aptly named cigar is the shape, take a guess… OK, I’ll tell you, it’s oval. I love the shape, it has a very natural mouth feel, and is still round, yet doesn’t roll off the table. Very creative presentation. I liked the cigar, I consider it medium, with a very nice, savory and satisfying flavor. This is another cigar I smoked well below the band. Here’s a video I shot at the show with AJ talking about the Oval line:
That’s about all I have for now. I think I’ll have a contest starting Sunday, so check back then.
Sunday we took a drive to Skippack Village, PA to check out Top Shelf Cigars. Skippack Village is a quaint little shopping area with all kinds of little shops and businesses. We located the cigar shop, which is tucked away in the back of a building. It was pouring, which it hasn’t really done all summer, so I shouldn’t complain, but couldn’t it rain overnight, or during a working day? It should always be nice and sunny on days off….but I digress. The shop has a nice little patio area, and I’m told that they have an event there on the first Thursday of every month with a cook out and specials which is very popular. I may have to try to catch one of these events in the near future. Anyway, it’s a nice little shop. They have cabinet humidors lining the outside walls with a counter in the center, so the store is in a “U” shape. On one side they had a couple couches and a TV. The humidors were well stocked, which is a departure from the mostly empty boxes I’ve seen in a lot of stores recently. I was impressed with the selection, they had a fair amount of what I consider to be reasonably priced lines, which are often absent in some of your nicer shops. Most of the major brands were represented, as well as a selection of their house brand, which I believe the gentleman there said was made by the folks at Don Leoncio/Pinar del Rio. They didn’t have a lot of the new items in yet, but were making room. The regular Cain line was marked down, for example, and, as if I needed any more cigars, I felt compelled to pick up a couple each of the Habano torpedos and Maduro 660s for $4.95 each. If you find yourself in the Montgomery County, PA area stop in and have a cigar. I’m pretty picky about cigar shops, and this one carries my seal of approval (worth the paper it’s printed on…..)
Some of this weeks cigars:
Emilio AF2 – the last of a pair that Gary Griffith sent me. I finally got to meet Gary at the IPCPR show. Yup, the guy operates not 25 miles from my home and I have to go 3000 miles away to meet him, pathetic, I know. Gary is a great guy, and introduced me to a few folks at the show which I’m grateful for. He also is 3 for 3 with the cigars he’s generously shared with me, the Grimalkin, and the Emilio AFs 1 and 2. I really dig all of them, and really can’t pin down a favorite, I like each one for different reasons. The AF2 is just a lovely medium to full bodied cigar that I enjoyed with my last bottle of Reed’s Ginger Brew, on my front porch watching the rain come down.
Cusano CRA Edition – I don’t have too much information on this, except that it came as a result of my renewal of my Cigar Rights of America membership last December. It has what I’m going to guess is an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper that gave the smoke a dry mouth feel and had a little bit of acidity. Not a bad cigar, but, to me, it wasn’t particularly memorable either. Unfortunately I went 0 for 2 on the CRA cigars, as the Casa Fernandez wasn’t exceptional either. Can’t complain, they only cost me $2.50 each over and above the cost of the membership, and are for a good cause. Every year I hope for a CRA edition Opus or Liga Privada…hasn’t happened yet. Still, it’s nice for the sponsoring manufacturers to provide some different cigars for joining. If I may vent a little: As a CRA member, I find it a lttle insulting when the CRA gives away a years membership, AND a 10 pack of the CRA edition cigars with the paid admission to certain events. I don’t want to take away from the events, because we NEED cigar events, and the CRA NEEDS members to fight so that we can continue to HAVE cigar events. But I feel like giving away the memberships ($35 for the membership, $99 for the 10 pack of cigars, $125 for admission to an all day event, admittedly a great deal for the attendee) defeats the purpose of raising funds for the organization. I guess I feel like my contribution is going toward giving other people free memberships instead of fighting for our freedoms. Of course, the gamble is that all the people receiving the free memberships will join next year, but I think the majority will either expect a free renewal at the event next year or won’t even think about contributing because it doesn’t represent a value to them (it was free). Anyway, I think giving the memberships away dilutes the funds available to fight the fight, and I don’t think I like that…your opinions and comments are welcome and appreciated, maybe I’m not seeing the whole picture and someone will set me straight! Again, no offense to the event that I have quite obviously failed to name, I wish I could attend, it sounds like a good time!
I haven’t really dug into the trade show samples this week, but here’s a fun little video from the show:
That’s about all I have for now, until the next time,
I’m going to open by saying that it’s a good thing I don’t worry too much about passing on every bit of industry news that comes along as I just don’t have the time to react fast enough. It seems that all of the really good news comes out during working hours, at which time I am otherwise occupied. I wish I could say that writing a cigar blog was my full time job, but in all honesty, it’s a few pegs down on the priority meter in the grand scheme of things. Work and family always comes first. Since my last installment, I’ve been battling a sinus infection, so I thought it would be in my best interest to lay off cigars until I was pain free. Sucks, I know, but it’s the reality of things.
Anyway, as I alluded to earlier, there have been quite a few pretty big announcements in the past week. Two days after I had the good fortune of hanging out with Sam Leccia, it was announced that he would be parting company with Oliva, who owns the NUb and Cain brands which Sam developed. I really hope that this is going to be a good move for Sam, it’s a shame he has to leave his creations behind, but he can certainly take pride in having developed 2 hit brands. Also in the news was the resignation of Tim Ozgener as the president of CAO. It was reported that he would be leaving the premium cigar industry, however, the Tiki Bar Online published a statement from him stating that he would remain involved in the trade organizations and the political and social fronts. Also leaving CAO is Lifestyle Marketing Director Jon Huber. I’ve had the good fortune to have met both of these gentlemen and I wish them the best in their future endeavors. I’m sure we will see all of these guys someplace in the not too distant future. Of course, rumors abound. The only insight I can provide is that none of these guys are either purchasing, or going to work for Drew Estate, I was able to confirm this in a series of text messages with Steve Saka (half in jest of course, I like giving Steve the business, even though sometimes I don’t think he gets my wise-ass sense of humor!).
Another area where having a real job gets in the way is when you receive an e-mail in the middle of the morning saying someone like Jose Blanco is stopping by a The Wooden Indian Cigar shop that’s an hour or so a way and there’s just no way you can get away from life to go meet him. Obviously I torture myself by checking e-mail at work, maybe I should get away from doing that. I would have liked to have met Jose, but I’m sure there will be another time.
That’s about all the rambling I can manage tonight. I am working on another exciting celebrity interview which will hopefully be out next week. Also, I mentioned a contest in my last post, and I am overdue. I’m waiting for a couple interesting things to materialize, so please be patient, I don’t want to do things half-assed.
So, until the next time,
CigarCraig
Comments Off on A Week Without Cigars, and Some News – Friday November 12, 2010
Sunday evening, after a very busy weekend, I had a hankering for a Berger & Argenti Mooch Loll maduro. This was a really nice looking 6″ x 52 torpedo, perfectly proportioned with a beautiful dark wrapper. I have to say that in this case, I really enjoyed the natural wrapper more. Still, it was a delicious cigar that performed admirably. I had spent the afternoon at a street festival in my town, I had hoped to smoke a cigar or two while there, but it rained and was cold. My youngest son was playing in one of his bands at the festival, they played at one of the locations, but their set at the main location was cancelled due to the weather. I had planned on smoking one of the camouflage wrapped American Eagles cigars, so if someone complained, I could act like I didn’t know what they were complaining about! This joke probably goes over better in my head, just like when I run into the rack of camo clothes in the sporting goods store and saying I didn’t see it. Anyway, I still like the Berger & Argenti Mooch line quite a bit, the name may be a little odd, but the cigars are good. This one was a sample from the IPCPR show.
Tuesday I selected a Toraño Family Cigars Single Region Serie Jalapa, which I bought at G & G Cigars on a recent visit. This one was the 6″ x 54 Toro Grande. I;m not usually a fan of Criollo wrapped cigars, but this one, with it’s entirely Jalapa grown tobaccos, was sweet and rich, and I really enjoyed it. It didn’t burn arrow straight, but I still was a very relaxing and enjoyable cigar. My son, Corey, joined me on the front porch with a Cain F Nub and it didn’t kill him. The Single Region Serie Jalapa is made completely from tobaccos grown on the El Estero Farm in Jalapa, Nicaragua. A unique cigar, very nice.
