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by | December 28, 2011 · 10:31 am

CigarCraig’s Top Cigars Of 2011

Once again I’d like to thank everyone for making the 12 Days of Spectacular Giveaways a huge success.   I certainly couldn’t have done it without stuff to give away and people to give it to and  the great support I had at home.   It was tons of fun but it was a loads of work and quite tiring.  I’ll plan on doing it again next year but will do a few things a little differently on the back end.  Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to everyone for making it a great year on CigarCraig.com!

 

Everyone’s publishing their “Top Whatever” lists, and I’ve avoided doing anything like that over the years since I don’t really have a quantitative method of reviewing cigars, if you even want to call it reviewing.  I know what I like, I know how a cigar works and I also feel that nobody sets out to make a crappy cigar, so there must be someone, somewhere who likes a given cigar, no matter how offensive it is to me.  Also keep in mind that I’m not the kind of guy who runs all over creation looking for the hip boutique cigars, I’m just as happy with a Partagas Black as I am with some limited edition cigar that only comes out on arbor day and had 7 bands on it (happier, no doubt) So with all that in mind, let’s take a romp through what tripped my trigger over the last year!

 

You’d be hard pressed to find a list without the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla on it, and I have to concur, this is one of the cigars this year that really made me happy.  Broadleaf.  That’s all it is, Broadleaf.  I love Broadleaf.  I only smoked the corona size, but to me it compared favorably with the Liga Privada Serie Unico Dirty Rat in flavor and balance.  Tasty, tasty cigar!  I purchased these at a local shop and they weren’t too much more than $5 or $6 each.

 

A group of cigars that have received favorable reviews everywhere and are on everyone’s lists are the Emilio and Grimalkin cigars from Gary Griffith.  The Emilio AF1 is a nice, dark, heavy, seriously yummy cigar, it’s sibling, the AF2 is different, perhaps a brighter flavor, but equally well made and delicious.  The Grimalkin is a different beast, subtle, complex, an orgiastic feast of the senses.  I have not had the occasion to purchase these, all of the samples I smoked were provided to me by Gary, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t buy them in a heartbeat.  Gary and his partners are producing exceptional cigars, and I’m quite happy to know him.

 

I have also been enamored with the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especial and the CAO OSA Sol this year, both new cigars from General Cigar Co., and I’m not just saying that because I had the great fortune of visiting their Dominican factory.  One of the many eyeopeners on that trip, besides revisiting some of their classic cigars and finding them to be outstanding, was the time and passion that goes into making every cigar.  It almost has to be harder to make a million great cigars that are great year after year thank to make a batch of a couple hundred thousand that are gone when they are gone, right?  The La Gloria Retro has been excellent and tasty in all the sizes I’ve tried, cigar after cigar,  and the CAO OSA Sol seems to shine in the Lot 50, or robusto size, but is a nice enough cigar across the board.  Both are in the medium range with lots of flavor.

 

One of my favorite finds of the year has to have been Oja Cigars.  I met the brand owner, Luis Garcia, on my trip to Nicaragua, and we hit it off pretty good.  His cigars are made by Tabacalera Esteli, which is owned by Kiki Berger.  There haven’t been a lot of cigars from Cuban Crafters that have floated my boat, but the Oja line is really nice.  I think my favorite cigar of the year was a Connecticut Toro I enjoyed in the pool on a hot summer day, but that had as much to do with the circumstance as with the cigar.  The line is solid, full bodied (even the Connecticut) and tasty.  The Anniversary, with a Brazilian maduro wrapper outshines them all.  It’s a little more refined and complex.  I love the whole line and look forward to seeing them in stores in my area.

 

I should mention Adrian’s CroMagnon by Michael Rosales and Skip Martin, which is another cigar that’s been on everyone’s list.  I’ve only smoked a couple samples that Skip gave me, but they are definitely up my alley.  Also, for much different reasons, I really like the Berger and Argenti Mooch line, especially the Schnorr.  The name cracks me up, but the cigar is a solid, flavorful medium bodied cigar.  Also the Undercrown and My Uzi Weighs a Ton were on everyone’s list for good reason, and I enjoyed the samples I had.  Alec Bradley is making fine cigars, Toraño is making fine cigars, La Palina, El Primer Mundo, Oliva, everyone seems to be making fine cigars!  It’s a good time, there are so many choices!

 

That’s about all I can think of at the moment.  Honestly, there were a LOT of great cigars this year.

 

Until the next time, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | December 4, 2011 · 10:00 am

A Saturday Afternoon of La Gloria Cubanas

I received an e-mail from Famous Smoke Shop last week about the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale tour stop and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to finally visit their new location in Easton, PA.  I don’t quite know why I haven’y yet visited the place, it’s a little over an hour and a half from home, although it ended up taking two hours or so to get there.  The retail shop and Leaf Restaurant and Cigar Bar appears to be in the front of their huge warehouse and distribution center.  It’s a little off the beaten path, as I’m driving through a new, under construction residential area and industrial park, I was really starting to doubt my GPS (which has failed me before).  But there it was, in the middle of nowhere, this huge building, with a beautiful restaurant and retail store.  The humidor is enormous, with an equally enormous selection of boxes, five-packs and singles.  The staff was very friendly and attentive, and I picked up a fiver of La Gloria Serie R Maduros.  In the lobby, Michael Giannini was set up with posters that he was autographing, Retro Especiale Club samples, and bundles of Atesano de Tabaqueros, which were free with various levels of purchase.  My simple five-pack purchase got me three of the Artesanos de Tabaqueros, of which I chose two of the new Sumatra/Broad-leaf versions.

 

While I was hanging out talking with Michael, Gary and Seanna (Gary is the General Cigar Event Manager and Seanna is the General Cigar account manager for national accounts), I enjoyed another Retro Especiale Club, which I’ve been smoking quite a few of in the last couple months.  If you haven’t tried these yet, find them and try them. Great cigars.  After that I just had to try the Artesanos de Tabaqueros with the Sumatra and broad-leaf wrappers.  I love broad-leaf, and once the burn line reached that broad-leaf it exploded with flavor.  Not that it didn’t start off great, with the Sumatra wrapper portion being very nice, but the broad-leaf is so rich and full flavored that I was sad when it was finished. I’d love to try broad-leaf and Connecticut shade, hint hint. These cigars are only available on the Retro Tour.

 

It’s always a treat to hang out with Michael, he’s a real mensch, and I’m pleased to know him and call him “Bro”.  I’m glad that I had the opportunity to visit Famous finally.  We are fortunate to have quite a few very large retailers in Pennsylvania, due to the lack of a cigar tax.

 

For my evening “Take a Cigar for a Walk” cigar, I figured I’d keep the La Gloria theme going with a Serie R No. 5 Maduro that I picked up at the shop.  I haven’t had one of these in years, and it was actually milder than I recall. The Tabaqueros was much stronger, and I suppose I expected the R to be stronger.  Regardless, it was a very nice cigar, although the cold evening was, perhaps, not conducive to fully enjoying this cigar.  It burned perfectly. I remember drooling over the stacks of these I saw at the factory.

 

That’s about all I have for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | November 16, 2011 · 7:50 pm

A Book Review, an EPC New Wave, and a Joya de Nicaragua

When I’m not listening to podcasts or socializing when smoking a cigar, I’m usually reading. Sometimes it’s something in the fantasy genre, or something having something to do with Cuba or cigars.  When the opportunity came my way to read and review a book about growing tobacco, I had to jump at it.   Now, I have a black thumb, I don’t know what’s a weed and whats a regular plant, and I’m not a fan of gardening.  My wife, daughter and son-in-law are the gardeners in the family.  Along with the several visits to cigar country I’ve made this year, I knew the subject matter would leave me overwhelmed and confused.  Fortunately, “How To Grow Your Own Tobacco Freom Seed To Smoke” by Ray French, breaks the process down pretty neatly.

 

I started reading this with a nice little E.P. Carillo New Wave Connecticut Stellas (5.125″ x 42) that I had recently purchased at one of the nearby shops, G&G Cigars In West Chester, PA.  This lovely little corona isn’t your standard, mild Connecticut shade wrapped cigar.  Side bar: There seems to be a trend toward Connecticut shade wrapped cigars that aren’t mild, leaving us stuck with silly cliches like “this isn’t your mother’s shade cigar” or nonsense like that.  I blame Christian for starting this with the CT (I’ve grown weary of typing Connecticut) shade Camacho.  Always the trendsetter, that guy…Anyway, good cigar, look forward to trying it in a larger size one of these days.

 

Back to the book.  Mr. French touches on several varieties of tobacco that he’s grown, some of which are good for cigars, others for cigarettes, pipes and chew.   As I said before, there are SO many steps involved with getting one darned plant to grow, it seems impossible that they can plant fields of the things and have enough of a harvest.  I may have to get my hands on some broadleaf seed and try this out on a small scale.  We are fairly avid composters, although our yard lacks sufficient space to plant more than a few plants.  It might be interesting to follow the steps in the book and try to make some tobacco grow here in south-east, PA.  I know the Amish grow varieties of tobacco all the time, so it can’t be as hard as it sounds (if any Amish folks are reading this…..er…..strike that…).  Beside discussing soil and fertilizers, he talks about insect control as well.  Everything is approached organically too.

 

I read the second half of the book with an old favorite, the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970 Robusto Grande.  This is a strong cigar that’s supposed to be a strong cigar!  Not as strong as it’s Dark Corojo sibling, it’s still a nice, full-bodied cigar with loads of flavor.  I can remember years ago smoking the JdN and not caring for them, I suppose because they were pretty mild in the late 90s.  Then they came out with the Antaño line, and I really started to enjoy them.  Having visited the factory, I find myself with a deeper appreciation for their cigars.  One of my favorites now is the Cabinetta, which is a milder cigar. Figure that one out!

 

Anyway, the book, “How To Grow Your Own Tobacco Freom Seed To Smoke” by Ray French, is a nice primer if growing your own tobacco is something that piques your interest. I especially like the detailed journal provided at the end to track the various stages of planting, growing, harvesting and curing, as well as links to sources to purchase seeds on line. Thanks to the publisher, Cool Springs Press for contacting me and providing me with the copy.  The book is available at Amazon.com and, I’m sure, your local book store.

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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by | October 8, 2011 · 9:42 am

La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale Club

My love affair with La Gloria Cubana started in the mid 90s.  You could buy them right from the El Credito factory on Calle Ocho in Miami, and for $5 less you could get a bundle instead of a box.  Then they opened the factory in the Dominican Repuplic and there were the people that preferred the Miami rolled cigars over the ones from the DR, even though they were using the exact same raw materials.  I could never tell the difference, but that really doesn’t mean anything.  Then the company changed hands, the Serie R came out, another excellent cigar, more transitions in management, and now, under General Cigar, the team is coming out with one hit after another, most recently with the Artesanos Retro Especiale.  I received a couple of samples at the IPCPR show and Friday night was the night to fire one up.  First, it’s a really nice looking cigar.  The band is beautiful, keeping the general theme of the traditional La Gloria band, but giving it a more retro look to compliment the gorgeous packaging.  The wrapper is Connecticut grown in Honduras and is golden brown.  It burned perfectly from start to finish, and it was smooth and elegant in flavor and appearance.   Like it’s siblings, the Artesanos De Miami, Artesanos De Tabaqueros and Artesanos De Obelisco, this is a unique and special cigar.

 

I know this video is a rerun, but it’s certainly relevant to this post as it features Yuri Guilllen, General Manager at El Credito, and one of the masterminds of La Gloria Cubana talking about the Serie N, the Artesanos De Obelisco and the  Artesanos Retro Especiale.

 

 

Don’t forget to visit my sponsors, and get on over the IPCPR.org, or CigarRights.org (or use the link in my sidebar) and send letters to your elected officials regarding the FDA and Premium Cigars!  If the FDA has their way, we’ll never again see wonderful works of art like the packaging for the Retro Especiale, not to mention having premium cigars to enjoy in the first place!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | July 6, 2011 · 10:39 pm

Fourth of July Cigars and a TACFAW: My Uzi Weighs A Ton

fathersday_haul_2I decided to take a drive back down to Light’n Up Cigars in Frazer, PA to use my last LivingSocial Coupon that I got from my daughter for Father’s Day. My sons had some stops they wanted to make, so we made the cigar shop one of our stops.  The shelves were nearly bare.  They had gotten some boxes of Art Decos in, from the looks of the full tin boxes, so I grabbed one of those, as well as a La Traviata natural (which I still haven’t tried, I had the Maduro and wasn’t impressed), and an Alec Bradley American Classic, probably for next July 4th.  Another three new inmates in the asylum.

party_shortI have a couple of traditions when Independence Day comes along. As the 4th is my wedding anniversary, as well as our nation’s birthday, I always like to exercise some civil disobedience and smoke a fine Havana cigar.  This year I went with a very old Partagas Short.  While not a huge cigar, it’s got enormous flavor.  I love these little guys and this one had been sitting around the humidors for the better part of the last decade.  It burned great and was a very nice companion while the grill got fired up.  Nice little cigar.

cao_americaAfter burgers and hot dogs while waiting around for fireworks to start, I decided on a CAO America Constitution that I had received at the CAO party at the IPCPR show in 2008.  High marks for presentation on this dos capas cigar, with a nice Connecticut Broadleaf over a Connecticut shade wrapper, only revealing a pinstripe of the shade wrapper, a very nice spin on the barber pole wrapper.  The cigar was very nice, although not really overly distinctive.  It was a good cigar, no question, but not one I’d go out of my way for particularly.  Love the band and, in this case, I’ll even tolerate the foot band.

Take A Cigar For A Walk

MyUzi5x60Tuesday I felt the need to take a power walk.  Some people will take hand weights on their walk.  I decided to take a heavy cigar.  A couple weeks back I received a package from Jonathan Drew with two of his new cigar, My Uzi Weighs A Ton in the 5″ x 60 and 7″ x 60 sizes, along with a really cool Liga Privada cap, which matches my hair color in black and silver. This new line is from Jonathan’s Subculture Studios and Joya de Nicaragua, using tobacco from both Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua and rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory.  I opted for the 5″ x 60 for my walk, which took me almost 3 miles.  Based on the description of the blend of this cigar, I must admit I was expecting a little richer flavor.  The burn was perfect, which is to be expected from cigars rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, and has Jonathan’s hand in it.  The Mexican wrapper wasn’t as flavorful as I would have thought, and I expected more from the Brazilian filler.  I still really enjoyed this cigar, and I can’t wait to smoke the 7″ monster.  I think I’ll use a stopwatch with that and a 7″ lancero and see if my theory that length is the biggest factor in smoking time holds true.  Many thanks to Jonathan for sending me these goodies!

In The News

The Monday Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article on a new shop in town, Xhale Lounge.  I dropped Brad, the owner a note and hope to catch up with him in Vegas, and eventually visit his shop. Here’s a link to the story: http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-04/business/29736221_1_cigar-shop-cigar-industry-cigar-smokers It was nice to see an article about something so  un-PC as a cigar shop!  The paper had large, color photos and everything!

That’s it for now.  Don’t forget to go back and enter the contest that ends this Saturday.  Leave a comment with a link to a patriotic picture on any post since the contest started back on June 19th.  Since there were some technical difficulties on my provider’s end, I felt like I should loosen up the rules.  There have been three very cool entries and it will be hard to pick a winner so far.  Please make it even harder with more entries!

Until next time,

CigarCraig

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