This week I smoked a bunch of cigars that I picked up at various shops in my area. I’m fortunate, I guess, to live in an area with an abundance of cigars shops, and one of them (a chain, actually, with about five shops within a ten mile radius of my home) is a TAA member. Every now and then I stop in one of he shops to find something new and interesting, sometimes I find both, sometimes neither! I’ve been picking up some of the TAA exclusives lately, as regular readers will have noticed. I picked up a Kristoff TAA Exclusive from last year, a neat perfecto shaped cigar. It’s 6 ¼” x 60, tapered at both ends, like cigars in old cartoons. It has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. This was a really fun cigar to
smoke. I was surprised to read that this was a Connecticut Shade wrapper varietal. While I had sweet woody notes, it didn’t make me think of shade. I really enjoyed this, it was smooth, rich and quite enjoyable. I wish more cigars came in this shape!
At another shop nearby I was there for a Drew Estate event, so I was looking for something new-to-me in their portfolio, no easy task. I spied the Joya de Nicaragua Classico Media Siglo and picked one up. I got the Toro size, naturally, but they offer those in some interesting sizes: a 6″ x 41 and a 5½” x 42. This cigar is supposed to be an homage to the first cigars JdN produced fifty years ago, which I have no frame of reference for, but I’m sure I have smoked the classico, it’s on the milder side. This cigar was on the light side of medium, with leathery, wood
y notes, which aren’t normally my thing. It was OK, not my cup of tea, necessary. I’m more a fan of the Antaño lines, if I want a milder JdN I usually go for the Numero Uno or Cinco Decadas (with the Joya Silver close behind).
Friday I did what I said last year that I wouldn’t do again, and got both a Flu shot and a Covid Vaccine at the same time. This time, apart from the sore left arm, I had a dull headache all day and that was about it. I get migraines, and this wasn’t one of those, and Aspirin, Tylenol, etc. don’t do a thing for me. I did, however, power through and selected an Illusione Cigares Prívé PCA Exclusive, a box pressed 5 ½” x 56 robusto. This I smoked while watching a movie on the porch (the first Captain america movie, I’ve seen bits and pieces of a lot of Marvel movies, I’m trying to watch them all start to finish. I might have the only Captain America travel humidor on the planet, by the way). This is one of my favorite things to do on the weekend, relax with a cigar and a movie. I believe this cigar was the 2020 version, based on the shape and the band. I may stop back in the shop where I got this and take a closer look at the box. It has an Ecuador (Habano Claro) wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan (Criollo 98 & Corojo 99) fillers. It was a beautiful cigar, nice cafe con leche colored wrapper with a nice box press. This started with a bright citrus tang, and them mellowed a bit. It was very nice once I got past the sharpness of the start, I wouldn’t hesitate to smoke this again. I’m a bit negligent in sampling Illusione cigars, I need to get try some more.
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
