Spring is upon us finally, although we got through this winter relatively easily. I always look forward to warmer weather! This week I enjoyed a few cigars I really love, the Umbagog Toro Toro, and the E.P. Carillo Seleccion Oscuro Especial No. 6, both 6″ x 52 parejos that’s my preferred size, and both maduros, with the former being Connecticut broadleaf and the latter being Mexican San Andrés Negro. The two cigars aren’t that similar, but both overwhelm the palate with rich flavors and have heavy espresso notes in common, with Umbagog being sweeter and the Oscuro Especial being earthier and dirtier. I love them both, and never have regrets when I light either one up. They are two cigars I could see having in a rotation (of about 20) if I were to hang up my blog hat and settle into some normal semblance of cigar consumerism. As it is, I like to enjoy one of these every now and again, they are both so good.
For some reason I have been wanting to revisit a Drew Estate MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured lately, and I’m not sure why. I actually really like the Swamp Thang line extension now and then, heck, I’ll just say it, I’d smoke it more than now and then, I don’t so the novelty doesn’t wear off. I didn’t care for the KFC when I smoked a prototype at the factory in Nicaragua in 2013, it was too campfirey for me, but I’ve grown to enjoy the production version after some humidor time, and I have a handful that have been in the humidor for quite a while. So I went all in and grabbed a “Just a Friend” which is the 6″ x 52 toro, again, a size I like, and “fired” it up. I have a couple smaller vitolas, including a Flying Pig, floating around, but I figured I’d commit. It had the campfire on the pre-light, but no hint once lit, which is fine by me. I would put this cigar on the savory end of the spectrum flavor-wise, maybe leathery. It’s good, enjoyable, but I think I like the what the Candela adds to the blend in the Swamp Thang version better, it’s just a little more interesting to me. It’s not a cigar that I’d avoid, that’s for sure.
Last week I saw an article on Cigar Aficionados website about the formation of the Coalition of American Cigar Rollers, and one of the companies mentioned was Rodriguez Cigar Factory in Key West, Florida. I hadn’t heard of this factory until a few months ago when my neighbors who winter in Florida happened to send me a box of five of their Reserva Privada series Torpedos from a visit. I had set this little box aside in the humidor not knowing how long it had been out of proper conditions, and kinda forgot about it until this article reminded me of it, so I figured last night would be the right time to give one a try. The Reserva Privada has a four year aged Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, which is on the darker side in my opinion (I wasn’t sure it was Connecticut until looking it up actually), with Nicaraguan fillers and binder, rolled in Key West. The torpedo 
is a perfectly formed 6″ x 52 with a pointy head like a Perdomo torpedo and burned perfectly with an ideal draw, even though I snipped a rather small bit off the end to start. I was very impressed with this smooth, rich tasting cigar. It was elegant, with a caramel sweetness that was enjoyable. I am a bit jaded, and often go into cigars like this wondering if they will be either just another cigar, or worse, but this was a very nice smoke, and worthy of attention. It’s even priced well for a U.S. manufactured product.
That’s enough from me for now. It’s supposed to be nice today, and I have some things I want to get done in the yard, and I have the day off, so there are cigars to smoke too. Until the next time,
CigarCraig
