Tag Archives: Corojo

by | November 21, 2021 · 11:07 am

Alec and Bradley Blind Faith, Perla Del Mar Corojo Toro and Platinum Nova Corona Cigars

While we were driving home from South Carolina a few weeks back we took a rest stop at the JRs in Selma, NC. It’s been a few years since we were there, it’s downsized a bit. We were expecting to shop for some bed linens, alas that part of the business is gone, and it’s just a tobacco store. Right inside the door of the cigar department was a large area of stuff marked down 50% off. I immediately rescued a partial box of Sobremesa, and a box of RomaCraft Intemperance. I was told that it was stock from another store that had closed. Upon catching wind of my purchase, Saka (who, by the way, for some reason hasn’t bothered to share any of my Stillwell Star posts, while sharing other content creators work, I thought we were friends…I’m not mad, just disappointed) put his people on JRs about this. My assumption is that he has an agreement with his accounts that he’d rather buy back inventory than have it discounted. I just wanted to spare him the indignity of having it on the discount rack (and get a killer deal on some Short Churchills!). This is all a lot of words leading into talking about the Alec and Bradley Blind Faith. My wife was actually suggesting I buy a box of these, and I didn’t want to without having smoked a few. I know it’s a ridiculous problem to have, and sounds like bragging, but I’m pretty strapped for storage space. I had to shoehorn the little box of Intemperance in, no way I’d fit a box of A&B. Anyway, I bought a couple singles, and I smoked one this week. It’s weird, you know, I went into it hoping I didn’t love the cigar and kick myself for not listening to my wife! When your wife tells you to buy a box of cigars you should do it, right? Anyway, this has a Honduran wrapper, Honduran/Nicaraguan double binder and NIcaraguan fillers, made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. I would have tolerated having a box in the humidor, but I’m not kicking myself for walking away, let’s put it that way. It’s a good smoke, tasty. Nothing wrong with the burn and draw, nice presentation, and it’s a shame that these were on the discount rack. Honestly, there was a LOT of stuff that was in that area that shouldn’t have been. I could have gone broke, but I’d have had to go back to using coolers for storage. 

 

Last year J.C.Newman re-packaged the Perla Del Mar line, and introduced the Corojo to the mix. Late this year they added the Toro to the Corojo family. I’ve long been a fan of the Maduro, but the Corojo might be my new favorite.  This line is another great example of how the wrapper changes the flavor of the cigar. They use the same blend across all three lines, with only the wrapper changing, so smoke all three to get an idea of what the wrapper adds. In the case of the Corojo, which covers Nicaraguan binder and filler, by the way, it adds an almost candy sweetness, as opposed to a dark chocolate sweetness in the case of the maduro. It’s a terrific cigar, well made, nicely box pressed, I just wish they had been a little more creative with the band, the old one was prettier, the new one makes me think of another cigar company. It’s a great cigar and well priced, so screw the band, I’m a fan.

 

Last night my wife and I went to the movies, probably the first time in nearly two years. The dine-in feature was sub-par, had to order at the bar and food was served in takeout containers, whether that’s life in the pandemic world or life in the short-staffed world, I’m not sure. Call me old fashioned, but if I’m asked to put a gratuity on my check up front without knowing what kind of service I’m going to get, I’m going to tip conservatively. Maybe that works against me? I have no way of knowing. The food was pretty good though, and the movie was entertaining (discount tickets). We got home and I hung out on the porch to watch the last period of the Flyers game with a Platinum Nova Corona from the 2020 TPE. I’ve been passing by these because they are fairly small for me, but it was late, and I didn’t want to be up all night. This is a (ridiculously) expensive cigar, at $23, it’s a pigtail capped 5″ x 43 Ecuador H2000 wrapped cigar with Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Dominican fillers. The cigar ended up being good for nearly an hour and a half, but I had to relight it a few time. It had a definite floral flavor, nearly perfumy. I rarely get this flavor, it’s not one I’m particularly fond of. I smoked an Undercrown 10 earlier in the day that was more to my liking, much less flowery. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that it’s not one I’d gravitate to on a regular basis. not offensive, not bad, just not me. 

 

That’s more than enough from me today. What do you all think about doing a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa again?  Weigh in in the comments. If we get more than one person I’ll make it happen! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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by | June 2, 2019 · 9:54 am

A Couple of CLE Cigars, Villiger La Vencedora Churchill and Joya de Nicaragua

Last week when I was at Goose’s in Limerick I picked up some CLE cigars I hadn’t tried before, the Prieto and the Corojo, in the Toro size. Christian Eiroa is another one of those guy who was a regular in the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group back in the ’90s, so I’ve known him a long time. That being said, I’ve bought every cigar made by him or his family I’ve ever smoked, going back to the Camacho days. Not complaining, just saying that I always pick up a few of Christian’s cigars when I see them to give them a try, as he’s an old friend and I try to keep up with what he’s doing. That being said, I haven’t really found a CLE cigar that’s hit my palate right yet. I’m going to go a little bit backwards in today’s post and talk about last night’s cigar first, the CLE Corojo Toro. This was a surprise, because I really expected to like this cigar, like I loved the Camacho Corojo of old. Oddly, is had a metallic component to it that I just couldn’t wrap my palate around. It brought to mind the same experience I had with the CLE Corojo from the original 2014 release (I had bought some at Corona Cigars during the 2014 IPCPR show). I suppose if this is something you like in a cigar, and I guess a lot of people do because they seem to sell a lot of them, it’s a great cigar, and there was nothing wrong with the construction. It’ll just have to be a pass for me, not my cup of tea.

 

I had better luck with the CLE Prieto Toro a few days prior. This one is a box pressed Broadleaf cigar, what can go wrong with that?  Again, the Prieto had a beautiful burn. The flavor was what one expects, some coffee, some cocoa, all pretty good. Here’s the thing though, I expected to be really impressed and I was just mildly impressed, ya know? I Know what I liked from the old days of what Christian did, and I really like many of the Asylum offerings (admittedly, I have not tried any of the 70 or 80 ring gauge cigars save for one Ogre, which was quite good although obscenely large). Maybe I expect too much, or perhaps my palate just isn’t in tune with what Christian is going for with his CLE line. I just haven’t found the right one for my palate. I have an Eiroa  The First 20 in the humidor on deck, maybe that will be the one that trips my trigger!  I like the presentation of the line, the tissue paper sleeve over cello is a classy touch, and offers some protection over nothing at all. Christian is vehemently anti-cellophane, but the market requires some barrier between the consumer and the leaf, so the paper is a nice compromise.

 

Next up are two cigars that are made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Esteli, first being the Villiger La Vencedora. This isn’t a new brand, it’s been around since last year. It was billed as Villiger’s first full bodied offering, which may or may not be true, I thought the Trill was on the fuller side of medium, but that’s all pretty subjective anyway.  The La Vencedora is one of my favorites in the line, although the new La Meridiana is gaining ground. I recently received some Churchills from Villiger and had to give one a try (although, I’m quite sure I’ve smoked this size before). I like a Churchill, although this is a 7″ x 50, that’s OK, I like this size too. (a Churchill is 7″ x 47 traditionally, everyone takes liberties with the names). This is a good, stronger cigar that I find quite satisfying. There’s a nice spice from the Habano Oscuro wrapper grown in Nicaragua. It is a NIcaraguan puro, so the spice is consistent throughout, and it has the espresso flavors I like too.  This is a nice long smoke and one that I find enjoyable.

 

Finally, I smoked the new Joya de Nicaragua Seleccion de Torcedor Exclusivo de TAA.  This is what Joya has to say about this program:

Inside our factory, you will find a dedicated group of people working passionately to deliver the best-handcrafted cigars. Our team focus is to always create, always improve. As a result of this commitment, we are introducing Selección de Torcedor, a new program that we are launching this 2019 through our good friends at TAA.

From now on, every year, Joya de Nicaragua’s torcedores will select a special blend and size. After that, it will be shared with a selected group of retailers around the world. To give our friends overseas a piece of what our torcedores are working on the factory floor thrills us.

Also, this program will work as a way to know the acceptance of the product by consumers. If it turns out to be well received, we will certainly make this special blend into a regular one.

The blend in 2019’s Selección de Torcedor is a very approachable smoke, smooth yet flavorful. With the selection of tobacco, this cigar unquestionably reflects the historic ties between Nicaragua and the US.

“We are very excited that consumers in the US will enjoy Dr. Cuenca’s favorite vitola with a rare piece that we’ve been working at the factory for quite a few years. I’m sure they’ll enjoy this 6×52 toro. As much, as we do in the factory.” – Said Mario Pérez, JDN’s Factory Manager.

This an interesting cigar in that it isn’t the strong blend of the Antaño at all, it’s on the milder side, but loaded with flavor.  It’s rich and quite tasty, and, of course, the size is perfect.  If you can get your hands on these, they are well worth trying!

 

That’s all I have today, I’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it in!  More stormy weather is expected and one cant cut the grass in a thunderstorm! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 24, 2019 · 9:43 am

Camacho American Barrel Aged and Corojo Maduro Cigars

I went into the Camacho stash fir the first couple of cigars this week, and the first one that caught my eye was an American Barrel Aged Perfecto Gorda. This was in a Sampler from the IPCPR a few years ago, so I’m not entirely sure it’s a regular production size, hang on, let me go look. OK, It’s available, and it’s a terrific size. It’s a hair under 6” x 52, and lit easily and opened up to a perfect burn and draw. This is an all US Broadleaf blend, PA Broadleaf wrapper with broadleaf fillers, aged in bourbon barrels and made in Davidoff’s Dominican factory.  I found myself mesmerized by the sweet, medium-bodied flavor of this cigar. I’ve smoked this blend before, but I don’t recall enjoying it as much as I did in this shape. Perhaps it was the several years of additional age? As my regular readers know, if there’s any bourbon flavor from the barrel aging, it’s lost on me. If I ever even had bourbon it’s been over 30 years, and it wasn’t good, I’ll tell you that.

 

Last night was another late start, and I was tempted to go with the Nicaraguan Barrel Aged, but a Toro was more cigar than I wanted. I happened across a lonely leftover from a Camacho event I attended back in maybe 2011. It was a Camacho Corojo Maduro in the Monarca (robusto) size. Camacho Monarca is actually one of the first documented cigar reviews I did back in 1997 in Steve Saka’s Monthly Officious Taste Test, which can be found through some searching through CigarNexus.com via archive.org. It wasn’t even close to this cigar, except in name, but interesting to me at least.  The Corojo Maduro came out of an amber cellophane sleeve, and was not the powerhouse it once was. It was still quite rich in flavor, with some punch, but had mellowed. Oddly, I always regretted not just sticking with the natural Corojo as opposed to the Maduro in this line, as I think the darker wrapper somehow overshadowed the great flavor of the original Corojo line. I’ll likely never see another one of these old Corojo Maduros anyway, and it was an enjoyable smoke. Maybe the Nicaraguan Barrel Aged will be on the mine today.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 20, 2019 · 11:21 am

La Aurora, Camacho and Ventura Cigars

The latter half of my week was a little goofy with a couple of late work days, and an odd weekend off.  Now we have weird weather on top of that with a threatened winter storm, which turned into rain, and now it’s going to go from an unseasonably balmy 40s down to the single digits in a matter of hours today. If I don’t have a migraine today sometime I’ll be surprised!  Anyway, this has all conspired to throw my rhythm off a bit. Thursday evening I came home and repaired to the back porch smoking lounge a bit later than normal with a sentimental favorite, a La Aurora Corojo 1962 Robusto. I use the term “sentimental favorite” for La Aurora in general, not this cigar specifically, as a box of Bristol Especiales was my first big premium cigar purchase in 1996.  I think they were under $40, it looks like they have gone up by about $100 since then. My daughter might still have the box, I know she has several La Aurora boxes being that her name is Aurora.  That might be what motivated me to buy that first box and what maintains my attachment to the brand. When my granddaughters were born my celebratory smokes of choice were the La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003s. There are a lot of cigars in La Aurora’s portfolio that don’t particularly line up with my preferences, but smoking one always brings a smile to my face anyway. The Corojo, is one of the cigars that I like enough, this one was packed a little tight near the head and had a snug draw. Still a tasty cigar and I like everything in this series, the Connecticut, Cameroon and this Corojo. I suspect there will always be a selection of La Aurora cigars in my humidor. One of my secrets is, if we are at a family function and I have a chance to smoke a cigar, and I think my daughter may poo-poo the idea, I smoke a La Aurora, then she can’t be upset with me! Don’t tell anyone!

 

Saturday I unsuccessfully struggled with a plumbing issue, then took a walk before the alleged winter storm which didn’t happen with a Camacho Triple Maduro 6×60.  It’s been years since I had a Camacho Triple Maduro, I think the last time was when Camacho had a promotion with three cigars banded A, B and C, with a story line to go along with it and I can’t remember the details, nor can I find anything I wrote about it, so it may have been pre-2009. I’ll really have to dig through the archives, which are filed in a bankers box in a warehouse in the desert in Nevada, several aisles away from where the Ark of the Covenant is stored. I’ve said too much. Anyway, I remember the robusto being pretty strong, but the gordo seemed to temper the strength and I thought it was pretty smooth and medium for me.  It was a very tasty cigar, loads of espresso, low on the sweetness scale, oddly enough, but much to my liking. Brother Kevin, of CigarProp fame, commented that the Triple Maduro made his throat hurt, which made me think he was doing something wrong. BTW, check out Kevin’s latest video interview with Steve Saka, it’s outstanding and your’s truly gets a nice mention, TY!. I guess the point of all this is that I still like the Camacho cigars in the Davidoff era, but is it unreasonable to think that a company like Davidoff would not be able to make quality cigars? They’ve continued to make good smokes, with eye-catching packaging, and kept the prices fair. I’ll still smoke  them!

 

Finally, a couple of weeks ago I gave a way almost all of my Ventura cigars in a contest, but I still had a couple here and there, and I found a Case Study CS/02 from the 2016 IPCPR in the humidor that was about the size cigar I was looking for, so I figured it was a good time to light it up. This one is in their “Master Editions” line, which I believe is regular production, while they have a limited edition line with is more along the lines of a “we found this batch in a aging room, put our bands on them, and once they are gone, they are gone” model. I smoking this cigar and felt like there was a familiarity about it. It had a really nice flavor, a milk chocolate-brown Habano wrapper with a sweetness to go along with it. It was very “clean”, well-balanced, and lacked any aggression, just a nice, well-mannered, luxurious sweet smoke.  A little research turned up that this cigar is made at La Aurora. It indeed has an Ecuador Habano Wrapper, a Sumatra binder from Brazil, and an undisclosed filler blend.  It was tasty, it was smooth, if I ever see these around, I might pick some up, but I haven’t seen these in stores locally. All I every see from Ventura are Archetype, it seems, I don’t even see the Psyko Sevens in my local shop, which sucks because I’d buy the maduos from them all the time!

 

To recap: three days, only smoked cigars on two of those days, but smoked three enjoyable cigars.  Check out CigarProp’s Youtube Channel.  If you haven’t already, check out The Retrohale Podcast, They’ve been kind enough to promote my site for a while, and I’ve provided them some content, have fallen behind on that (as well as my own podcast). I’m going to be a guest on their show this week, so we’ll see how that goes. Finally, I’m proud to welcome J.C. Newman to the sponsor family! Click the banner on the right and enter the contest!  That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | July 17, 2016 · 8:10 am

Intemperance, La Aurora and a Laranga Cigars

I don’t have a lot of cigars to share with you this time.  I had a busy week with the video I posted and the various Leccia cigars I had to smoke for inspiration, yeah, that’s it…Bottom line is that the Desnudo cigars are really good, the Luchador line is also very good (the El Hombre is one of my favorites, the El Gringo line doesn’t excite me as much as the original line), whatever that Barber Pole cigar was was really good, and many of Sam’s other creations over the years have been to my liking. If we could just get him to dump the Penguins and become a Flyers fan…So I posted the video, and I posted Friday about the suit filed against the FDA.  I hope this is effective, I know a lot of thought and preparation went into it, and I can’t imagine taking legal action against the US Government is a comfortable thing to do. Someone has to understand that it just isn’t right for an un-elected, bureaucratic department to cost so many jobs in so many countries. It’s wrong, it’s completely a tobacco vendetta, and it needs to stop. Rant over.

 

Intemperance_RevengeFriday I decided I wanted to smoke something from Skip and Mike’s RoMaCraft line, and while rummaging through my meager selection, I came across a box pressed robusto bearing the Intemperance band. I recognized that this was the BA XXI iteration of the Intemperance line, but couldn’t place where I got it. Once I figured out that it was the Intemperance BA XXI Revenge, a store exclusive to Outland Cigars in Charlotte, NC, I realized that it must have come from Will Cooper. My memory is not what it used to be. This cigar is 5″ x 56, basically a box pressed version of The Breach of the Peace. The wrapper is a Brazilian Arapiraca, not so dark, kind of a medium brown. They use an Indonesian binder (I’m typically not a fan of Indonesian tobacco, never have been, but I think lately it’s a pretty neutral, flavorless leaf that only serves to hold the filers together), and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It was a very well balanced cigar, flavors of coffee with cream and a little sweetness, some pepper and a little cedar. I think I have a Breach of the Peace in the humidor, and definitely need to grab some more of this line the next time I see them.  Congrats to Skip Martin on the recent birth of his third daughter!

 

LaAurora_Corojo_RobustoSaturday I busted ass around the house in the morning, when out for a late lunch, then settled into the smoking porch for a cigar or two.  I started with a La Aurora 1962 Corojo Robusto. I received a couple of these, along with it’s Connecticut counterpart, a few weeks back from Miami Cigar and Co. Regular readers may recall that I am a long time fan of the La Aurora brand, even though a great many of their offerings are not suited to my tastes. The first box of cigars I ever bought was La Aurora Bristol Especiales, which was under $40 at the time, my daughter still may have the box. Those cigars ended up having an odd, vegetable flavor that didn’t really do anything for me and taught me an early lesson about buying without trying. I do have a tradition of smoking a Puro Vintage 2003 whenever a granddaughter is born, but I can only accommodate two more granddaughters, not that we are expecting any more anytime soon. Anyway, my recollection is that the Corojo line has been around for a while, it’s made with Ecuador Corojo wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. This example smoked a little wetter than I prefer, it was a humid day, but I enjoyed the flavor and will dry down the others and smoke them again. I must remember to open the bags before putting them in the humidor. I look forward to smoking the Connecticut.

 

Laranga_CoronaGordaA couple weeks ago I visited a local shop and the Espinosa Cigars Laranga Reserva caught my eye, and I hesitated to buy one until the shop manager came in a recommended it without any prior knowledge that I had been thinking about it. I’ll admit, the price played into my hesitation to try this cigar that I’ve heard a lot about over the last year. All they had was the corona gorda, which is a great size, so I lucked out. Still, a just under $10 corona gorda doesn’t sit well with me, but I guess I better get used to it. Probably at $8 I would have tried it long ago, but I have trouble getting past $9…cheap bastard as I am. Anyway, this cigar had a wide open draw, so I knew I wasn’t going to struggle with it like I did with the Aurora. I don’t know if it’s the reference to Orange in the name (Laranga is Portuguese for Orange, btw, and so named because the wrapper leaf has an orange tinge), or some other outside influence, but I really did get a citrus note. As with most cigars I’ve smoked from La Zona, and the list of cigars they make seems to grow daily, this was a really good smoke. It was well balanced with a ton of flavor.

 

That’s it for now. A week from now I’ll be traveling to the IPCPR show in Las Vegas, and I’ll be trying to bring you news, although folks like Cigar-Coop, Halfwheel, Stogie Review and Cigar Federation will have more detailed information. I’ll try to put a different spin on things, and I anticipate it being a busy show with a ton of new releases trying to get on shelves before August 8. I usually do something fun and silly for the show, but this year doesn’t seem to be the year to do something like that. Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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