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, woody 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
