Tag Archives: cigar store

by | April 10, 2013 · 8:22 pm

Leaving New Jersey, an Illusione, a Reinado, a Liga UF-13 and a Recluse Cigar

Sunday was my last day in New Jersey, so I decided to seek out one more cigar shop to check out, one in Nutley NJ.  I arrived at 12:15 to a closed store with signs all over the glass saying they were open at noon every day.  I waited around until 12:30 when I decided that there was a perfectly good shop five minutes away that I knew would be open.  I made my way back to Cigar Emporium, the scene of Saturday’s terrific herf.  I once again perused the generously stocked humidor and decided it was about time I tried my first Illusione cigar, and, having heard good things about the Epernay, I opened my wallet and picked one out.  I should mention that at the time I was suffering from another migraine, and  took an Imitrex upon arrival.  These things whack me out pretty good, so I want to be someplace comfortable when I take one.  The Epernay was a nice cigar, it burned pretty well considering it came right out of the store walk-in.  It was quite tasty and smoked for nearly two hours.  If you find yourself in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, hunt this place down. It’s a friendly and well appointed store and lounge.  The clientele and staff were friendly and accomodating and  I had as nice a time there Sunday as I did the day before.

 

ReinadoGER_ToroMonday evening I selected a cigar that Antonio Lam stuck in my hand, a prototype of a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve box pressed toro.  This is a new line extension to the Grand Empire Reserve line which had only come in a 5×55 Robusto.  This cigar has the same Habano Maduro wrapper, and is a beauty.  We are getting warmer weather here and it was a nice cigar for a long walk in the neighborhood.  The toro size just provides more of a good thing, since the Grand Empire Reserve is a spectacular cigar.  Rich and loaded with flavor, Antonio has another winner on his hands, and I look forward to seeing this size appear on the shelves.  I belive he also had a 6″x 60 he was waving around.  Good stuff from the Empire of Reinado!

 

LigaPrivada_Serie Unico_UF13Tuesday brought another nice evening for an after dinner walk, so I grabbed the Liga Privada Serie Unico UF-13 Dark that the folks at Drew Estate sent my way a few weeks ago.  I’m sure you’ve read other reviews by now, and the few I’ve read have been positive.  I loved the cigar, even if it was a bit strong out of the gate.  It mellowed out some and gave me a very satisfying smoking experience.  You have to love the care and attention to detail that goes into these, although the nice little flagged pigtail on this example broke off in transit.  Still, one does not smoke that part, and the part I did smoke was pretty stellar.  It will be very interesting to see what they have up their sleeves in a few weeks when I, once again, visit the promised land which is  Esteli and the Drew Estate Compound.  Have I had a Liga Privada I didn’t like?  I doubt it.

 

Recluse_ToroAs I started writing this post I was sitting on the back deck enjoying the heck out of a Recluse Toro, the last one I had in my humidor.  I still have a double corona, and a couple of the cool Kanu No. 1 perfectos, but this Toro is a thing of beauty.  It’s another maduro cigar, and is smooth as silk and tasty as all get out.  It’s burned perfectly, besides the Entubar method of construction it’s been resting in my humidor since last August.  Anyway, a storm rolled in and I had to pack up the PC and move into the garage so I could finish this great smoke and this post.  Come to think of it, we’re in the final days of a week and a half long contest here where someone is going to win a box of the Recluse Kanu No.1!  Get on back to the contest post and leave a comment for a chance to win.  Many thinks to Scott and the gang at Iconic Leaf Cigar Co. for sponsoring this contest.  This prize is on a par with anything I’ve given away, trust me.  Once again I will be jealous of the winner!! Tune in Sunday to see if you won.

 

That’s it for now.  I have to wait for this storm to pass so I can go try to get my son’s car to the shop since it died while he was going to work. It’ll be an adventure, I’m sure.  Good thing I’m having a nice, relaxing smoke to settle my nerves!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | April 7, 2013 · 9:53 am

A Weekend In North Joisey: Casa Hispaniola in Englewood and Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst

article-05This weekend I’ve been in Secaucus, New Jersey hanging out with my wife while she helps some of her clients out at the New York Metro Fest For Beatles Fans.  This festival takes over the entire Empire Meadowlands Hotel, and let me tell you, it’s an interesting group of folks.  I’ve been Tweeting short videos via Keek here and there.  I love the Beatles, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a reason one of my wife’s sites is Beatles-Freaks.com!  There’s no shortage of loonies here. I’ve been poking fun via Keek and Twitter, but it’s probably not that much different than a herf or cigar festival is to the outside observer (OK, maybe there aren’t too many people dressed as their favorite cigar maker at cigar fests..).  It’s certainly something to be experienced.  Fortunately, while my wife was busy with her duties at the show, I was able to visit a few cigar shops and smoke some cigars.

 

Friday evening I ventured north to Englewood, NJ to seek out Casa Hispaniola.  This is the retail/lounge arm of Hispaniola Cigars.  Through a series of Tweets I had the great pleasure of meeting with Hugo Melo, one of the owners of the company.  This is a nice little shop and lounge in what appears to be an upscale suburb of New York City.  The shop has cabinet humidors lining two walls, plenty of comfy seating and quite a relaxing atmosphere.  The selection was reasonable and certainly included the Hispaniola line of cigars, of which I smoked a Tres Carabelas, a name which refers to the three ships that Columbus sailed to explore the new world. This 5″ x 50 rubusto was smooth and tasty, and I found it to be fairly strong, on the high side of medium to me.  It’s a Dominican puro, wrapped with a ruddy wrapper which is described as a “Havano Oscuro Vuelta Arriba”. Hugo mentioned that it contained several leaves of ligero, which was evident in the burn, it required some touch ups, but nethier the draw or flavor seemed to be compromised.  In short, it was a tasty treat.  Prior to Hugo’s arrival at the shop I enjoyed a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor robusto, and, as I stated in my previous article’s comments, I can be reasonably certain that this is the same as the UK/Europe market’s La Aroma del Caribe Mi Amor. It was a stellar smoke, spice at the start and nice cocoa/coffee flavors throughout.  It was a great way to spend and evening and reinforces the theory that a cigar shop is a safe haven for any traveler, one feels at home and a stranger can sit down and join in on the conversation and feel at home.

 

Saturday, after a very surreal late Friday night, seeing everything from people with Beatles t-shirts, to a Jake Blues impersonator (?), and after a decent continental breakfast at the hotel, I managed to make my way a few miles to Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, NJ.  I had put out some correspondence to some of the locals, and Alex Martinez (Stogiecop.com), Matt Ross (@MattSRoss81) and Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars) were kind enough to take time out of their Saturday and bring some friends along as well to smoke a few cigars with an out-of-towner.  The shop is very nice. The walk-in humidor is expansive and I like the fact that it’s down a few steps from the lounge area.  I don’t know why I liked that, but it was different and sets it apart from other shops. The selection was quite good, and the prices were typical New Jersey prices.  I selected an EP Carillo Core Maduro Club 52 to get started.  This was a very nice cigar, not strong at all, but very well balanced and flavorful.  I followed that with an enormous San Lotano Oval Gordo, a 6½” x 60. The “oval” presentation makes this easier to handle, and it’s a tremendous smoke.  This lasted me close to two hours. I was there for about 5 hours, and it went by in a flash.  I appreciate these guys coming out, it was great to see Antonio again and actually get to talk to him as opposed to interviewing him at the IPCPR show, and I look forward to smoking his Grand Empire Reserve again (stay tuned).  I was also quite happy to finally meet Alex and Matt after having corresponded with them both over the years.  Thanks for a great afternoon, and thanks to the staff of Cigar Emporium for their hospitality.

 

 

I have a few hours to kill this afternoon, maybe I’ll head back to Cigar Emporium since it was so close and so good.  It’s been a great weekend.  Don’t forget to go back to Wednesday’s post and enter the contest to win some excellent Recluse Kanu No. 1 cigars.  I’ll select a winner in next Sunday’s post, so leave a comment answering the question: “What do you know about Recluse Cigars?”

 

Also, don’t forget the promo codes that are currently available for your use:

You can use the code “MPCGRS10” on CigarFromBrazil.com to get %10 off any purchase on the site. The Monte Pascoal cigars are very nice.

ItalianSmokes.com has a special offer code for you, it’s CIGCRAIG10 and will get you 10% off your purchase of their selection of Toscano style cigars.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | April 3, 2013 · 8:01 pm

A Zen, a Camacho, a La Aroma del Caribe and an Iconic Contest!

Screenshot_2013-04-03-19-14-22My last post was on Easter Sunday, and by the time I was ready to get out the door to have a smoke it started raining.  I don’t like sitting out in the rain, it takes the fun out of enjoying a fine cigar.  So with the garage door open, I pulled up a chair and lit up a Zen by Nish Patel.  This one was a pre-release sample from the 2011 IPCPR show when it was released.  I’ve has a few of these that I purchased awhile back, so I didn’t see any point in having this funky banded example laying around.  True to the hype, this is a Shade wrapped cigar that has some oomph to it. Nice and smooth, with a good bit of spice. It’s a nice smoke and was a great choice for a rainy, post-Easter breakfast carb coma afternoon.

 

CamachoCorojoMaduro_MonarcaMonday, after a trying day, I needed something satisfying and familiar.  I grabbed a Camacho Corojo Maduro Monarca that I had picked up a few months ago.  It’s interesting to see how the Camacho brand has evolved over the years.  Back in 1996, soon after getting online and finding a community of cigar nuts, I was invited to participate in a blind taste test that one of the newsgroup participants, a young man named Steve Saka, was hosting.  In that tasting group was a Camacho, before Christian Eiroa relaunched the brand with the Corojo wrapper. At the time I really liked the Camacho (but I gave a “dog rocket” rating to a Cuban Monte No.2 and wasn’t at all impressed with an expensive Lane Signet.  Anyway, I’ve smoked tons of the Corojo, Havana blend, and even the Candela, and I always liked the Havana blend best (of course, discontinued). This maduro is a nice, strong cigar, with a good spice and thick, chewy smoke.  I enjoyed it quite a bit until the Flyers game was about to come on, there was only about a half an inch left at that point.

LaAromadelCaribe_Belicoso

 

Tuesday evening I picked out a La Aroma del Caribe Mi Amor Belicoso that I received from Tom at Cigar-Club.com, a UK based retailer that specialises in Havana cigars.  This is the non-USA version of the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, which I am going to hunt down to see for myself that it’s the same cigar.  Besides my curiosity about the naming, it was a darned fine cigar. I should have known that I’d enjoy this smoke given that it is wrapped in Mexican leaf.  It started out with a blast of spice, then settled into a nice, reasonably powerful smoke that was very satisfying and enjoyable. Thank you to Tom of Cigar-Club.com for giving my the oportunity to sample something that I may not have had the chance to smoke.  This was a really delicious cigar.

 

Contest!

I know, it’s only been a few short weeks since the last contest, you have my apologies.  I realize I run the risk of spoiling you all with great contests.  I’ll try to scale it back a little.  This month’s contest is truly something special, so I’m asking for a little bit more than the usual comment.  You ‘ll still need to leave a comment, but this time we need you to answer the question: “What do you know about Recluse Cigars?”  That leads to the prize, which is an amazing box of Recluse Kanu No. 1.  Recluse cigars are one of my favorite new cigars of last year, and the Kanu No.1 shape is unique and a really fun smoke.  So answer the question in the comments, and a week from Sunday I’ll pick a winner. Yes, I’m going to let this contest run for a week and a half (and hope I don’t forget to pick a winner!). Thanks to Scott and the gang at Iconic Leaf Cigar Co. for providing this awesome box of cigars!

 

This weekend I’m headed to New Jersey for the weekend where I plan to meet up with some folks and smoke some cigars.  If anyone is around Lyndhurst, NJ Saturday afternoon, stop in to Cigar Emporium, and I’m thinking of going to JR Cigars in Whippany, NJ for Lunch Sunday maybe, unless I decide to head into NYC and go to Nat Sherman or De La Concha or someplace.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | March 24, 2013 · 10:59 am

A 262 Cigars Event at Ned’s and a Room101 Big Delicious and Some Cigar News

I’m trying to get back in the swing of things after the interruption of my trip to California.  I figured the best way to do that was to jump in with both feet and head an hour west to Newtown, PA and Ned’s Cigars where Clint Aaron of 262 Cigars was having an event.  Clint has done something exceptional with 262, he’s left a career in finance behind and launched a successful cigar brand.  Ned’s is a nice little shop on a quaint little street, located in a building that probably dates back to the 1700s.  We were well received by Luca, the owner, who is a super nice guy and a terrific host.  Clint sold me a couple cigars, I started with a 262 Paradigm Lancero, which was a stellar smoke.  I followed it up with the 262 Revere which was the free cigar that I received for buying 4 cigars.  I thought the Revere had a nice sweetness that the Paradigm didn’t have, and both cigars burned dead even and had perfect draws.  I have a few more of the Paradigms left and still have an Ideology floating around from the IPCPR show.  It was a fun event, the traffic in the store wasn’t too bad.  The lounge is small but comfortable, and between watching “Used Cars” and a basketball game on the TVs, and the great cigars it was an entertaining evening.

 

Room101_BigDeliciousSaturday I took a walk around lunchtime since it was a nice, sunny day.  Unfortunately, it’s still cold (where’s Spring? They are forecasting 5-8″ of snow tomorrow!).  A Couple weeks ago I received a pair of pre-release samples of Smoke Inn‘s latest micro-blend release, the Room101 Big Delicious.  This cigar is a box pressed torpedo with a nice, dark wrapper and an untrimmed foot, great for getting a big blast of wrapper upon lighting.  Last weekend I smoked and loved the last micro-blend release, the Tatuaje Anarchy Apocalypse, but I think I enjoyed the Big Delicious even more!  It had a unique and different flavor that excited my taste buds. Was it the right cigar for a pre-lunch walk?  Probably not.    It probably would be better after a sumptuous feast instead of some supermarket donuts from last night, but it was still a most enjoyable smoke that was filled with surprises and didn’t disappoint.  Two thumbs up to Abe and Matt on this one, it’s a winner!   I’ve had fun reading along with the comic strip on the website as well.

 

 News

Here’s the latest news from CAO cigars:

CAO Brazilia Carnivale Hits Retail

CAO Brazilia Carnivale is hitting cigar shops as we speak. The 6 ½” x 60 box-pressed beauty is a limited edition release that puts an innovative spin on the popular Brazilia blend.

 

“Carnivale” is made with ligeros from the DR, Honduras and Nicaragua, and a binder from Brazil. The wrapper is a rare Habano Grueso leaf cultivated only in small quantities. 

 

Rick Rodriguez who heads up blending for CAO said, “We haven’t changed any CAO blends since we took over the brand. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t put our spin on one of them. That’s exactly what we did with Carnivale…it’s my and my team’s take on Brazilia. We added a new wrapper, made the original wrapper the binder, and cranked the whole thing up with more ligero.”

 

You won’t miss CAO Brazilia Carnivale at your favorite cigar shop. It’s in an eye-catching, bright yellow, 12-count box, and is a must-have for the CAO collector. Single CAO Brazilia Carnivale cigars are on sale for $8.30 until the limited supply is gone.

 

Rick hinted that there could be another small batch twist on the horizon for another one of CAO’s top blends. “My team and I have been experimenting with some fantastic tobaccos, so CAO fans should be on the lookout to see what we come up with next.”

 

I look forward to smoking this one, as I’ve always enjoyed the Brazilia.  Since Ricky took over the blending at CAO I’ve been pretty impressed with the new releases. Both the OSA Sol and the Concert had something that appealed to me, and the cigars in the Last Stick Standing promotion were all pretty tasty.

 

In other news, the Midwest Smokeout is coming up in about a month.  This year’s Smokeout will be held on April 25 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, In.  They will have a bunch of cigar makers on hand and it looks like a $150 ticket will get you a load of cigars.  They also offer a $95 ticket that doesn’t include the cigars.  I’ll try to get more information on the event and pass it on.   

 

That’s it for today.  I want to thank whoever took advantage of the Gotham Cigars Living Social link I posted.  At least three people purchased the deal so I got it for free.  I used it to purchase a Xikar VX  cutter and a couple cigars to make up the difference.  I’ve been thinking about buying the V-cutter for  a while.  Truth is, I’ve never spent more than about $3 on a cigar cutter.  The V-cut takes me back to when I first started smoking cigars, buying them one at a time and cutting them on the Boston cutter on the counter in the shop.  It’s certainly not that I needed a cutter, I’ve got plenty ranging from cheapos to nice Colibris and the like, but I didn’t have a good V cutter and it was a perfect opportunity to get one.  Gotham’s service was exceptional and I look forward to the delivery of this order.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | March 21, 2013 · 2:07 am

A Non-Cigar West Coast Swing – A San Lotano at Bo’s and a La Atelier at Old Oaks

I was going to wait until I got home to post, but I hate to miss a Wednesday post (it’s still Wednesday on the west coast) so I thought I’d share a couple experiences I managed to have on my business trip to the Los Angeles area.  My trip’s focus was to visit a couple of the venders I buy from and visit my company’s home office.  Fortunately, my boss likes a cigar, so Monday evening when we got into town we located Bo’s Cigar Lounge.  I was expecting sticker shock in California, and I wasn’t disapointed.  However, this lounge was very nice.  They have plenty of TVs which had the Flyers game on, and very comfortable seating. There was even a TV in the loo!  There are two locations, the one closest to us was in Torrance.  One of the highlights was that one on my longest and most loyal readers, DB, came down to meet and have a cigar or two with us.  It’s always a treat to meet a cigar friend whom I had only corresponded with electronically, and I’ve done it hundreds of times. I really appreciate DB taking the time to make the trip down, it was great to finally have a cigar with him in person.  The lounge patrons were very friendly and we didn’t feel out of place at all.  The selection was excellent, but, as I said, the prices were roughly double what I see in Pennsylvania, which was shocking.  Given that we were hanging out in the lounge, the price was justifiable, as one would spend more than that hanging at a bar or something. I picked out a San Lotano Maduro that was a terrific smoke.  I think I like this better than the Oval line, the Mexican Maduro is loaded with sweet coffee/cocoa flavors and burned perfectly. We ended up being joined by one of the venders we were meeting later in the week who also is a cigar lover, and ended up having a fine Mexican dinner before parting ways.

IMG_0277[1]

 

IMG_0278[1]Wednesday, after all of the meetings and tours and whatnot, our host took us to his local cigar shop, Old Oaks Cigar Co. in Thousand Oaks, CA.  First, I was blown away by the prices in this shop as they were only a dollar or two more than PA prices. How do they do this.  They also had a gentleman in the humidor rolling cigars that were also well priced.  I really should have picked a couple up in retrospect.  I seleceted a La Atelier LAT 56 as I hadn’t smoked one of them before. It should be noted that the cigars I smoked on this trip were not paid for by me. Kevin, our host is a regular at this shop, and introduced me to the owner, Albert, who has an amazing operation.  In addition to cigars, they have what my boss described as an unbeliveable selection of Scotches, as well as wine, and a very busy lounge.  Kevin directed us to the enclosed patio area in the rear where we enjoyed our smokes and watched some hockey.  The LAT 56 was a very nice cigar.  Not mild or strong, yet very flavorful and interesting.  This was a great shop, exceptional selection and the pricing wasn’t rediculous!  Highly recommended.

 

These couple cigars over the course of a few days really helped relieve the stress I had about this trip.  It’s always nice to visit a strange place (and I think we can agree that LA fits that description) and find friendly cigar folks to spend an hour or two communing with.  I appreciate everyone’s hospitality.  This post was brief, but it’s late and I’m away from home.  I didn’t even mention having gone to Cigars International last Sunday and smoking an Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan, which was delicious, by the way. If you have been scared off of the candela wrappers, give this one a try.  The blend takes the grassy, chlorophyll flavor out of the wrapper, and the wrapper mellows out the filler blend a bit.  I think it’s a fine smoke.

 

That’s it for now, long day of travel tomorrow and I can’t wait to get back home. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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