Tag Archives: Cigar Rights of America

by | April 17, 2022 · 9:42 am

Upmann, CAO and Black Label Trading Co. Cigars and a Rant

 

There seem to be few cigars in Altadis portfolio that fit my preferences. I probably say this every time I post about an Altadis cigar, and it probably doesn’t endear me to the marketing folks there! I do have some friends there that are aware of my feelings. I keep trying though. There are exceptions, and I can pretty much count on enjoying anything Altadis produces in conjunction with A.J. Fernandez. I smoked the z Nicaragua Heritage by A.J. Fernandez in the Toro size this week and was pretty surprised.  This is a 6″ x 54 toro with a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper. The binder and fillers are all Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by A.J. Fernandez. I found this to be a powerhouse cigar, much stronger than I expected. I likened to to the Gispert Intenso. I personally liked it a lot, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who enjoys the original H. Upmann by A.J. (which I also enjoy!). It’s a totally different cigar, the difference between a Latte and an espresso, I would imagine.

 

I’ve had the occasion to smoke a couple of the new CAO Pilón Ańejo cigars over the past couple weeks, and the one I smoked yesterday was fairly impressive. The first one I smoked maybe wasn’t rested sufficiently from it’s travels. This 5½” x 54 robusto has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. The blend is rich and savory, consisting of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers,  a Honduran Habano binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. Curiously, this is a different blend than the original Pilón, which has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder. That kind of blows my plan of doing a back to back comparison between the two! I like Sumatra wrapped cigars, so this one works for me. It was a good, smooth cigar without any problems. I found it to be enjoyable, pleasing woody flavors without much sweetness. A good cigar. I may still pull out a Pilón from the original release and see how it stack up against this one, just for kicks. 

 

OK, here’s my rant of the week. I know it’s Easter Sunday, and happy Easter and passover for those of you who celebrate. Earlier this week the CRA posted this meme, and the subsequent apology, on their Facebook page, and it caused a bit of a kerfuffle.

There were those who defended it, thought it was funny, etc. While it might be funny in a Facebook group that is predominantly a men’s social group, it’s not the kind of thing I believe the folks at Cigar Rights of America should be devoting their resources to. Let’s set aside the misogynistic nature of the meme, make no mistake, the divisiveness of the message was no small part of the backlash that this caused. I take issue with the fact that I’m paying the CRA to advocate on behalf of the cigar industry, and I have been since 2009. It’ not a lot of money, but the point is that our money isn’t to pay for an entertaining Facebook group. Whoever is running things there, and I don’t think that’s clear since Glynn Loope left, should be posting legislative updates up the page, not funnies. The CRA complains about membership and wants to be taken seriously and fails to set a good example of why they should be in a public forum. I hold them to a higher standard. I think their apology missed this point. Anyway, that got my hackles up this week!

 

Last night I went over to Son’s Cigars where James and Angela Brown (and Levi) from Black Label Trading Co. were there holding an event. This was possibly the biggest event at the shop since they opened last summer. Angela Brown is rarely at events, and I had only met her at an IPCPR show several years ago, so it was nice to see her again. there was a contingent there from Mane Street Cigars in Woodbridge, NJ for the event, and I’ve known Alex, who manages the shop, for many years (here’s the story of when I met Alex). I selected and smoked a Lawless Churchill, 7″ x 48 (close enough), with an Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper and Nicaraguan Binder and fillers. This was a delicious cigar, it’s really right in my wheelhouse. It has rich, dark fruit and cocoa flavors. I must grab a handful next week when I’m back at the shop. It might be one of my favorites in the line. Lovely cigar, lovely people, good times. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig 

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by | February 15, 2015 · 10:20 am

La Aurora Untamed, La Palina and Recluse: All Maduro, All Dominican, All Tasty!

LaAurora_Untamed_RobustoThe La Aurora Untamed is a new release from the oldest cigar maker in the Dominican Republic, and is a departure from the norm in a few ways.  As it’s name suggests, the Untamed is a strong cigar. It’s got a dark, rustic Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper surrounding Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.  The packaging is also a departure from the traditional and classy presentation of the rest of the La Aurora line, with a noticeably agitated lion’s head roaring in front of what appear to be bloody scratch marks in black, red and foil. It’s a striking band that some consider tacky, but I rather enjoy it.  The cigar is made for my palate. I’ve had a very long history with La Aurora, going back nearly 20 years to my very first box purchase, and my experience has run the gamut from not caring for certain cigars at all, to absolutely adoring certain blends. This Untamed, at least in the robusto size (I’ll certainly try more sizes), is a contender for my overall favorite, at least in the normally affordable range. I can’t count the Preferidos or the Puro Vintage lines, as they are special, either because they taste great, or because of events surrounding them that evoke pleasing memories (I’ve smoked Puro Vintage 2003s whenever granddaughters were born, I only can only have two more granddaughters…). The Untamed is strong, bold, and loaded with rich, sweet, earthy cocoa and espresso flavors that I love.  I seriously dig this smoke, box worthy in my early opinion. Thank you to Jason at Miami Cigar and Co., and Gabriel Piñeres for providing these samples.

 

LaPalina_BlackLabel_RobustoTaking a nearly 180° turn from the unapologetic, in-your-face nature of the La Aurora, Friday I decided to wrap up the week with a La Palina Black Label robusto that had been in the humidor for a while. In it’s uncellophaned state, I felt it was time to spare it any further risk of wear and tear and smoke it up. This has a Brazilian maduro wrapper, another wrapper I really like, and is more refined and delicate in flavor, sophisticated, perhaps.  This cigar is made in the Dominican Republic also (PDR factory? Working from memory, not always a good thing for me to do), and has Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf in both the double binder and the filler. I really enjoyed this perfect smoking cigar for it’s complexity, it kept me guessing as opposed to having a bold flavor throughout, and was entertaining to smoke.

 

Recluse_Draconian_Sidewinder3Wrapping up a string of Dominican maduros, yesterday I took a long afternoon walk with the Recluse Draconian Sidewinder #3 from Iconic Leaf. This one has an Ecuador maduro wrapper, I’m guessing Habano.  The cigar is a formidable 7″ x 57, and is their proprietary Sidewinder shape which is a round/box press hybrid with a head reminiscent of a blunted woodworking tool one might use to make mortise joints, or square off a hole, or perhaps recess a hinge. What’s great about this cigar is it’s self cutting, a gentle squeeze pops the cap, which you peel away and it looks like you have it a cut with a brand new guillotine cutter.  This cigar fell somewhere between the La Aurora and La Palina cigars in terms of strength and complexity. It was solidly in the medium bodied range, with nice dark coffee flavors and great construction. I’ve been a fan of these guys from the beginning, they are innovative and make exceptional cigars. This one was a good 2 hour smoke, and the head of the cigar was much more comfortable in the mouth than a 57 ring cigar “in the round”.  this particular example had been in my humidor since the 2013 IPCPR show.  Interesting to note, I took a walk that was about two and a quarter miles, and when I got home I had about four inches left that I was able to enjoy in the porch. Seven inch cigars are a commitment.

 

I came across this article at Barron’s website today: Nanny Doesn’t Like Cigars which is well worth the read. There are a couple points that I think are off the mark though. I don’t think the Nannies want to do away with smoking because of the health issues, I’d say it costs more to keep people alive longer than it does to have them die early from smoking related disease. Consider people living for one third of their lives on social security, medicare, etc., has to be more expensive than “treating” tobacco related diseases.  Also, I think they are more concerned with seeing people doing something enjoyable, if it were just nicotine that is bad, I have no problem banning tomatoes and eggplant, both of which contain nicotine. I don’t like them, they must be banned. Sounds ridiculous, right? But it’s the same thing.  The government should worry about more important things than trying to put people out of business and regulate what we do with our free time. Down with the pleasure police! Everything in moderation, raise your children to know the difference between right and wrong, and join Cigar Rights of America!

 

Off of my soapbox and on with my Sunday. I may have to visit a shop for a smoke today as it’s cold, the wind has had it’s way with the plastic on the back porch…and it’s cold…Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | March 5, 2014 · 8:20 pm

A Partagas, a Star Insignia, a Cain and a Cigar Rights Video

Partagas1845_RobustoMonday evening I came across a Partagas 1845 Robusto in a box buried in one of the coolerdors. I forget what I was on the hunt for, but as soon as I saw that I had to smoke it. I’ve had a few of the 1845 line in various sizes, and I really like this particular take on the robusto format, 5½ x 49 is a very cool size to me for some reason. They use this size in the regular “yellow box” line as well, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had the Limited Reserve in that same size. The wrapper is Ecuadoran Habano Viso, the binder is Connecticut Habano and the fillers are Dominican & Nicaraguan Ligero & Seco, and there’s some aging in rum barrels that goes on too. It’s a darned good tasting cigar. I’m looking forward to the upcoming release of the 1845 Extra Fuerte (see Coop’s piece on this at www.cigar-coop.com/) featuring higher primings (and therefor stronger and more flavorful) of the same tobaccos used in the 1845. I also seem to recall something about an Oscuro coming out, but I’ll have to do some more digging. Partagas has always been a preferred line for me, there seems to be a little something for everyone in the portfolio.

 

AB_StarInsignia_RoboloTuesday I tried a new (to me) cigar that is a house blend for Best Cigar Prices called the Star Insignia Robolo by Alec Bradley. This is a box pressed robusto with a nice dark wrapper from the Jalapa region, a Sumatra binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and secret tobaccos. Despite a slightly uneven burn this is a very nice smoke. It’s unlike any other Alec Bradley cigar I’ve smoked. It has a flavor I can only characterize as steak cooked on a mesquite fire. There’s a smokey meatiness that stands out to me. It was a nice surprise and I liked it quite a bit. Sure, I had to touch up the burn a few times and the draw was a tad snug, but it tasted really good. Best Cigar Prices sent me samples of this and I appreciate it as I might have passed it by otherwise. Worth the time to try something this unique, I think, as they aren’t cheap, but they aren’t unfairly high priced either. Interesting side note about Best CigarPrices: I remember years ago, in the early days of the World Wide Web, we got our cigar specials via the FujiPub E-mail listserve.  Before they were called Best Cigar Prices, they were New Global Marketing, and would include a lengthy test list of their specials, easily several pages long.  So they’ve been around a long time, they aren’t just some new outfit.  They are located in the north east part of PA, I need to take a drive up there one of these days, I understand they have a lounge.

 

CainF_550Tonight I grabbed one of the last Cain F 550s I had floating around, and smoked it on my walk.  This is a powerhouse cigar, all ligero from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa in Nicaragua. The wrapper is also Nicaraguan and really tasty.  The Cain line is a favorite of mine, but it took me a while to really appreciate the bold flavors. I really believe some age smooths these out a lot.  As I said before, this is one lone that the maduro is my least favorite in the bunch.  In the Cain F line, the tubed lancero is the cream of the crop, but this 5¾ x 50 was really quite good. It seems more like a 46 ring for some reason, perhaps it’s that it’s a little longer than a robusto, yet not as long as a toro.  It’s among my favorites whatever the size.  I’ll have to track down some more (as if I need more cigars…).

 

I’ve changed one of the videos in my left hand sidebar because Tommy Zman of Famous Smoke Shop released a new video this week regarding the FDA and CRA and the importance of  fighting for our rights as users of a legal product. Here is is again, in case you’ve missed it (even though it’s right there on the side bar!).

 

httpv://youtu.be/1uAEfPX__u4

Life will be really difficult for us as smokers, but it’ll be even worse for all of the people who feed their families by working in the cigar industry. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (a bit of a dated cliché, when is someone going to update it to the digital age?), not only are jobs at stake in the US, but in Central America and the Caribbean, where it will be economically devastating and those countries will look to the US for financial support. Nobody wins, except for the fun police who aren’t happy if they see someone enjoying themselves in a way that they don’t approve of.  Support Cigar Rights of America and write to your elected officials.  FDA regulation of premium cigars is unnecessary and  oppressive.

That’s enough out of me, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | February 20, 2013 · 7:10 pm

A Couple of Thurman Thomas Cigars, A Macanudo and CRA News

Since it’s a new legislative session in Washington D.C., there is a new bill in the house to exempt premium cigars from FDA regulation. It’s more important than ever to write to your representative and ask him or her to co-sponsor the bill.

 “The premium cigar industry supports about 85,000 jobs – from manufacturers to small retailers – throughout the United States,” said Congressman Bill Posey.  “Washington bureaucrats should turn their attention to promoting private sector job growth and protecting our rights, not chipping away at our freedoms through bureaucratic overreach.”

Cigar Rights of America makes it very easy to e-mail your representatives. Go to their site or the IPCPR site to send an e-mail.  Just fill in the blanks.  Do it. Now. I’ll wait. 🙂 

 

ThurmanThomas_MaduroToroA few weeks ago I received some samples from StogieBoys.com of their Thurman Thomas Hall of Fame line of cigars. I’m not a football fan, so at first I had Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in my head, and former senator Strom Thurmond, and even Thurman Munson’s name made an appearance  I come to learn that Thurman Thomas was a Hall Of Fame Football player who likes cigars and for whom this cigar is named. I suppose it would have been more appropriate to feature these a couple weeks ago when the game with all the hyped up commercials was on, but I had just received them and I wanted to let them rest. Here’s one of the problems I face here in the blogosphere: a handful of bloggers receive the same samples so everyone is featuring the same cigars on their sites. I like to give new arrivals a couple weeks rest in the humidor so often I am a couple weeks late smoking the cigars that everyone else reviewed already. I’m ThurmanThomas_NaturalTorosure you’ll have seen a handful of reviews of these, and the Arandoza and Cuenca cigars are recent examples that spring to mind (both excellent smokes, by the way). Anyway, I received Toro sized samples of the natural and maduro versions of this cigar.  The cigars are very nice looking, the wrappers are both nice and clean, and they are rolled in the telltale style of  General Cigar Co., they have the rounded head that all of the GCC products have. Of course, I chose the maduro first and it lived up to my expectation. It was a nice, smooth, tasty basic maduro.  Consistent in construction and flavor from start to finish.  The natural version had a familiar flavor, I know I’ve smoked something very similar before.  It was a reasonably mild smoke, but the flavor was very nice, leathery kind of flavor. It was pretty smooth, like it’s maduro sibling.  These were both very nice cigars for the $3.95 price point.  I wouldn’t say they were particularly surprising, but good, no-nonsense cigars that were satisfying and easy to smoke.  Thanks to the folks at StogieBoys.com for their support and for sharing these smokes.  

 

Macanudo1968_RobustoLast night I reached in the humidor and came out with a Macanudo 1968 Robusto. I figured I’d keep with the General Cigar Co. theme.  This was different from the Thurman Thomas cigars by quite a bit.  First, it’s actually stronger and spicier, which sounds strange for a Macanudo. I recall back to my first premium cigar experience back in the mid 1990s.  A buddy and I picked up a couple of Macanudo Duke of Devons to smoke on our lunch break to see what the fuss was with the premium cigars.  We had been enjoying our Gacia y Vegas and Backwoods at lunch time every Friday and were ready to take the next step.  Of course, we didn’t have cutters, so we pierced the caps with knives or whatever we had, and lit these babies up.  It’s actually a wonder I went any further with premium cigars after that, as I remember it being kind of a non-event.  I really didn’t get the flavor I thought I would.  I was a cigarette smoker at the time, so obviously that had something to do with my need for more flavor.  I can honestly enjoy a regular old Macanudo nowdays, but it took a long time to get to this point. I’ll stand by my assertion that there’s not a damned thing wrong with a Macanudo Maduro, it’s a tasty smoke.  I digress. The 1968 has some strength and is a nice smoke that I’ve enjoyed on many occasions and under varied circumstances.  It’s one of those cigars I pick up when I can’t decide what to smoke and I’m quite happy.

 

I just wanted to throw this out to anyone who is looking for embroidered or printed stuff, I’ve had amazing luck with Queensboro.com lately. I’ve gotten four polos embroidered for around $36 delivered.  Try buying plain polos for that! The link is  my referral link, I’ll get $25 credit if someone uses it.  That’s my shameless plug of the day.  You should use E-Bates too, it puts a couple extra bucks in your pocket every quarter.

 

That’s it for this installment, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | November 30, 2011 · 8:01 pm

Square Press Week: A Oja Anniversary and a G.A.R. White Label

I seem to be on a square press kick this week.  Don’t know why that is really, I like square cigars, but I don’t really go out of my way to select them.  They are perfect for my bi-weekly walks to the convenience store, where I usually rest my cigar on the Redbox machine while I go in.  I hate it when a cigar rolls off and I find it on the ground when I come out.  I had that happen with a Liga Privada last week and I thought someone stole it, but I found it under the machine!  Phew!  I was scared there for a bit!

 

Monday evening I had a call from Luis of Oja Cigars and felt inspired to smoke the Oja Anniversary Robusto that he gifted me  when I saw him last in Vegas.  This is a pretty square pressed robusto with a dark Brazilian Samba wrapper.  It’s full of dark and decadent flavors and was perfectly constructed.  This cigar was made to celebrate the first anniversary of the brand.  The whole line has been a highlight for me this year, all three wrappers in the regular line are very good, and a toro, torpedo and 6″ x 60 gordo are good sizes, although I have to say this robusto fits my cooler weather smoking needs the best.

 

Tonight I grabbed a G.A.R. White Label Corona Gorda for my walk.  This cigar was sent to my by one of my loyal readers, Lloyd, who seems to be very lucky when it comes to winning cigars!  As a matter of fact, he won a box of Oja cigars right here a few months back.  Here we had a 6″ x 46 cigar with am Ecuador Corojo wrapper, Ecuador Connecticut binder and Nicaraguan Filler.  I’ve only had the pleasure of smoking a few cigars from the Gran Habano lines, and they’ve been pretty good so far. This one was perhaps a little light for a chilly evening, but it performed admirably and provided a satisfying smoke.  Thanks, Lloyd, for the opportunity to sample this cigar!  Best of luck to you in future contests!

 

Don’t forget to send an e-mail to mailinglist@pipesandcigars.com to get on their mailing list and get a free PipesandCigars.com calendar with special monthly deals.  Also, use the “Write to Congress” widget in my sidebar (between the IPCPR and CRA graphics) and e-mail your elected officials asking them to support the bills to keep the FDA out of our humidors!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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