In the IPCPR show spirit, I smoked some more newbies this week! I’ve been seeing a few cigars from the show that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on, but from what I’ve seen on other media outlets, it’s a lot of the same. I’m amused when I see comment on the IPCPR show and their policies by either new sites (they are supposed to see if you’ve had your site up for more than a month or two) or bloggers who have never been there, or have no knowledge apart from what they’ve read elsewhere. I’ve seen my fair share of consumers at the show on social media, something which was strictly prohibited, I have also heard several stories of thefts from booths at the show, All I can say is I know who can’t be blamed this time! I’ve also seen some great coverage from the likes of The Cigar Authority, Cigar-Coop, Halfwheel and Cigar Federation. Glad to see some of my media brethren doing it right! I’ll see if I go next year, it’s fun but it’s a ton of work! On with the cigars!
Sunday I smoked a Gurkha 125th Anniversary in what they call the XO, which is 6” x 60, a nice sized cigar for a Sunday evening walk. This cigar features a Cubra Habano wrapper, accompanied by an Ecuadorian Habano binder and a complex combination of Nicaraguan, Brazilian and Dominican fillers. Bianca gave me this cigar at Cigarnival last month. I’ve smoked a few of the newer cigars in the Gurkha range, and really enjoyed most of them, particularly the Seduction, Ghost and Cellar Reserve Maduro. This was a tasty treat! It burned really well, had a perfect draw, and basically didn’t give me any trouble! Not sure where these are priced, or how available they are, but it’s a worthy smoke from the folks at Gurkha.
Monday I went with the new C-276 robusto from Nomad Cigars. Fred was kind enough to send me a couple of these, knowing I wouldn’t be at the trade show. This new release has a Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper which is dark and oily and Nicaraguan binder and fillers and is box pressed. Fred blended this cigar, as he’s been known to do lately, and it’s made in the AJ Fernandez factory. I’m impressed with the fact that Fred admits that he didn’t blend his original Dominican line, the factory gave him several blends to choose from. I think he’s getting the hang of it, as his last three, now four releases have been quite tasty! This C-276 is a powerhouse. Passing the smoke through the nose is a little painful, there’s loads of ligero in this cigar, and you can taste the distinct Ometepe influence. This is a great smoke, too bad it was only a robusto as it was finished too soon!
Tuesday evening my hand gravitated to a cigar the Yadi Gonzalez from Flor de Gonzolez handed me at Cigarnival. This is a cedar wrapped tor called Spectral, and has a dark, mottled wrapper. I seem to recall Yadi mentioning that it was five-plus years old, and made with tobaccos aged five years, and there might be plume under the cedar sleeve. I didn’t notice any, but this had a dark wrapper, and a really neat cold draw flavor which I tend to associate with tobacco from Peru. It was a Toro size, 6″ x 52 and was very nicely constructed. This was a solid medium cigar, with nice, rich, dark flavors and a perfect burn. This is another cigar I enjoyed thoroughly, right up to the point where I burned my fingers. This is another terrific cigar from Flor de Gonzalez, they are building quite a nice portfolio.
News
Cigar Journal Magazine had their annual awards event in Las Vegas this week, and here are the winners:
I went to the awards back in 2011 and it was a good time. I was just telling Glynn Loope a few weeks ago about how he stood in front of me while I was trying to video the whole thing and wouldn’t stand still! It’s OK, the quality wasn’t very good anyway so I never used the video. As long as I brought up Glynn, support Cigar Rights of America if you don’t already. We are in the home stretch with the comment period on this FDA nonsense and need every comment. Make sure you tell them what you think so that one day you don’t have any cigars to enjoy!
On another note, I will be finding myself in Chicago around August 15th to 17th, so if any of you Chigagoans want to get together for a smoke or two, I’ll be looking for places to visit. I’m sure there are several places I need to see.
That’s all I got, until the next time,
CigarCraig
Villiger Stokkebye
