Tag Archives: Crook of the Crown

by | June 2, 2024 · 9:52 am

Crook of the Crown, Romeo y Julieta, Villiger Limited Release and Silencio Cigars

I had last weeks cold kicked by Monday, but it seems to have come back a bit.  I haven’t had a cold this bad since I quit smoking cigarettes (and had sinus surgery) back in 2007. Anyway, I didn’t have any trouble tasting this week, not that I have the greatest palate anyway, but I know what I like.  I think Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne Cigars is still mad at me because I didn’t really like the Yorktown Fleet (although I admit it’s growing on me, I’m due to pick up another one and try it), but I hope I redeem myself a little here. I picked up a few of the new Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown 5th Anniversary cigars this week, and had to smoke one right away.  I’ve been a fan of the Crook since the first one I tried, so I was excited to try it in what they are calling a Corona, but I’m not sure on what planet a 6″ x 46 is a corona.  Gran Corona, perhaps, but a corona is 5½” x 42.  It’s too long to be a Corona Gorda.  Whatever it is, I like it.  It has a Pigtail cap, a partially closed foot, with a San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder, and Nicaraguan fillers, made at the Rojas factory.  This one has the same Cocoa and spice as its namesake, with a little more focus given the smaller ring.  Burn and draw were perfect, this was an amazingly good smoke.  

 

Thursday I lit up the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua Midnight Twist Toro that was handed to me at the Smokeonos event by Charlie Watson of Altadis USA. I don’t have a great track record with Altadis Cigars, many of them just don’t appeal to me.  The exception is those that are made by AJ Fernandez, almost universally.  The Reserva Real Nicaragua line is made by AJ Fernandez, and I like it. I quite enjoyed the regular Reserva Real Nicaragua and really liked this one.  It’s a 6″ x 54 (also comes in the “Love Story” 4½” x 46 perfecto size), with a barber pole wrapper consisting of Nicaraguan Habano & Maduro leaf.  It has the same binder and filler as the Reserva Real Nicaragua, which, you guessed, is Nicaraguan.  I almost liked this more than the Crook of the Crown…almost.  This is a rich and decadent cigar, I got some creamy cocoa and spice.  It was really good and I want more.  To be fair, if it just had a maduro wrapper, and wasn’t presented as a barber pole, I’d probably like it, but obviously they can’t call it Midnight Twist if it doesn’t have the contrasting wrappers.  I believe I enjoyed the Twisted Love Story too.

 

Also at the Smokeonos I spoke with René Castańeda of Villiger Cigars, who handed me this Villiger Limited Release No. 39 Torpedo.  I can’t find any information about this cigar, and my message to René went unanswered.  I will update this post when I get a reply.  My assumption is that it’s made at the Villiger de Nicaragua factory, which I also assume is a subfactory within the Joya de Nicaragua factory.  I also assume that this is a Nicaraguan puro.  I can only find info about a No. 29, and a No 41, no No. 39.  I was really hoping to hear back from René.  One thing I’m not going to assume is that I really liked this cigar, and the fact that I may never find another one is disheartening. I took limited notes as I was enjoying the cigar too much (OK, I always take limited notes).  I liked the Chocolate and spice I got, it was really nice.  The torpedo shape was well made and it had a good burn and draw.  I was quite happy with this cigar, it was a nice way to wrap up the work week.

 

One of my favorite Saturday afternoon activities is sitting in my screen porch and watching TV with a cigar, after all the chores are done.  Yesterday it was “Clarkson’s Farm” season 3, the first three episodes. Jeremy Clarkson is a hoot.  Anyway, I chose one more cigar that I was handed at the Smokeonos, a Silencio toro.  This is a cigar that Sean Williams, Cohiba brand ambassador, uses as his calling card.  Silencio is also the name General Cigars/STG uses on the Cohiba line in Europe, as they can’t use Cohiba there.  The cigar has a Nicaraguan wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.  I found the smoke to be rather drying, which is odd for me.  It seemed leathery with some interesting spices. I felt like this would sit well with a European palate for some reason.  I always like seeing Sean Williams, he’s just about the nicest guy you’ll want to meet, and he’s cooler than the other side of the pillow.  If you see him at an event, maybe he’ll give you one of these.  I enjoyed it, but I like the Cohiba Riviera more!

 

That’s all for now.  Please take notice to the Daily Deal graphic on the left sidebar courtesy of Panacea Cigars.  It changes daily, and there’s always something good offered.  They are great cigars, I might have one today!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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by | July 20, 2022 · 6:18 pm

PCA 2022: Stolen Throne Cigars

Continuing along with the video interviews I did at the PCA show, here’s a few minutes with Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne Cigars.  This was my first time meeting Lee in person, I’ve talked to him via video chat plenty over the last year, but our paths finally crossed in the physical world.  You may remember that one of my favorite cigars of last year was the Stolen Throne Three Kingdoms, and it remains amongst my favorites. I need to get more!  The Crook of the Crown is tasty too. I sampled the new Phantom Queen at the show (while recording this video), and it was really good. I don’t gravitate toward Connecticuts, but this one had some oomph and was very tasty.  

 

 

Stay tuned for more, I didn’t do many interviews, but I tried to get the best!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | December 5, 2021 · 10:05 am

Crook of the Crown, Triqui Traca, and Room 101 Cigars

As the holidays and year end gets closer things seem to get busier. As I mentioned in last Sunday’s post, I went to Son’s Cigars and hung out with the crew from Stolen Throne Cigars, less brand-owner Lee Marsh, who’s wife has been expecting their son to be born any day and felt that being five hours from home would be less than prudent. What a wuss. 😀. I got past the initial disappointment, and hung out and smoked cigars with them, and my friend Greg, whom I’ve known since high school. I smoked another Three Kingdoms Toro, and a Crook of the Crown Robusto while there, and during the week I smoked a Crook of the Crown Toro. These are some outstanding cigars. The Crook of the Crown has a San Andrés wrapper, and is exactly my kind of cigar, it’s down and dirty, reich and earthy, but I think I like the Three Kingdoms a little more! I love the sweetness it has. They both have a place, and I think I smoked more of those two cigars last week than I’ve smoked any one brand of cigars in a week in a long time. I just got hooked on them. Great stuff from the Rojas factory in Esteli. I’m still looking forward to meeting Lee, I’m told there will be another event in the Spring at Son’s, hopefully he doesn’t have another lame excuse! Meeting Kevin, JR, and Josh made up for his absence. 

 

I know a lot of seasoned cigar smokers like smaller cigars, and I do consider myself a seasoned cigar smoker. Heck, I’ve been smoking cigars for 25 years, that should count, right? I actually prefer larger cigars, smaller cigars don’t satisfy me. There are times, however, when time doesn’t allow for a larger cigar. If I don’t have 45 minutes, Im just not even going to have a cigar, if I have 45 minutes to an hour, I figure I can squeeze in a petite corona or a short robusto or one of the smaller formats. Such an occasion presented itself Friday. My youngest son (27), graduated from Nursing school Thursday evening, so we celebrated Friday evening with a family dinner. I snuck in a Montecristo No. 5 which I had purchased at the Duty Free in the Rome airport back in 2018 when one could do such things, before dinner (which was a very nice little cigar) and then when everyone had gone, I sat down with the new Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Mi Querida Triqui Traca 448. Steve (who still hasn’t shared my Stillwell posts, while sharing everyone else’s!) had given this one to me when we saw him in South Carolina a few weeks ago, it’s basically his regular production version of the Firecracker, which was the genesis of the Triqui Traca blend. This is a bold little smoke, and there’s really nothing unsatisfying about it. It’s got some pepper to it, along with the espresso that I love. It’s definitely the Mi Querida on steroids, and I love it. I was afraid that smoking it as late as I did would give me problems, as sometimes happens (trouble falling asleep, weird dreams, etc), but I was OK. If you loved the Firecrackers and can’t get any more, this is a reasonable alternative. If you never had the Firecracker, and like small, delicious cigars, you’ll like this one.

 

I like listening to podcasts, and one of the ones in my rotation is the A Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Ironically, there’s a cigar store called Cigar Hustler, and the guys on the Podcast are also involved in the store, one of them even is one of the owners! I suppose this helps to avoid trademark infringement. It was on this show where I heard about the Room 101 Who Shot Ya, which is an exclusive for Pospiech, which is, ironically again, owned by Mike Szczepankiewicz of the aforementioned Cigar Hustler. I saw these on the counter at Son’s and had to give one a try, or a shot, I guess. Like the Bangarang, which is the other non-Powstanie cigar in their portfolio, it’s also a pretty strong cigar, and starts with a heavy pepper flavor. It’s a well behaved torpedo, it burns well and was a nice smoking experience throughout the 5″ x 52 of the cigar. The components of the cigar are not disclosed, but it tastes good, definitely worth a “shot”. The podcast is fun too, I recommend it, and Mike and Mike are nice guys, I’ve met them, and they’ve met me!

 

Wednesday I posted the link for the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa, so get in on that if you would like to!  I need  to get a few giveaways together for the holidays I suppose, I have a few goodies laying around! That’ll do it for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

 

 

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by | July 4, 2021 · 10:07 am

A Plasencia Cigars Sampler and the LouLiga Lounge Grand Opening

At the end of last year when everyone was posting their top ten cigars of the year, I, being the rebel, posted my top cigars I hadn’t smoked yet. A little bit of me did it to test Halfwheel’s Consensus process, to see how closely they paid attention, and it appears they either do, or I’m just that far under the radar any more, I have made appearances on the consensus in the past though when I’ve done a list. Anyway, I had said that I hadn’t smoked any of the Plasencia Alma series last year, so I ordered a nice sampler from my friends at Fox Cigars, and smoked them this passed week. I had smoked the AlmaFuerte Sixto II not long ago and was thrilled to get my hands on another one. Somehow getting one as a part of a sampler felt better than buying one at

the store for $22, and I don’t see the sampler listed anymore, and I forget what I paid for it. It was five cigars, the Alma Fuerte in Robustus I and Sixto II, Alma Del Fuego in Concepciòn Toro and Candente Robusto, and an Alma Del Campo Tribu Robusto.  I always joke that these are named after my grandmother, Alma Vanderslice, but I’m sure that’s not the case. I quite enjoyed the flavors in all of these, although I thought the Alma Fuego was just too darned strong for me, that is to say I became tired of it being so strong by the end. The Del Campo seemed to be to more medium bodied to me, and all three were excellent examples of Nicaraguan cigars.  They all had rich dark tobacco flavors, with the Fuerte especially having a slight sweetness on the lips pre-light. The weird thing was that, and it might have been the weather or something unrelated, but I got migraines each night after I smoked one of these. Probably a coincidence, as I’ve smoked plenty of Nicaraguan puros before without issue, and gotten plenty of migraines before without having smoked Plasencia cigars! Anyway, Thumbs up on both Plasencia cigars and Fox Cigars for exceptional customer service! 

 

Yesterday I took a drive into the Fishtown section of Philadelphia to visit the grand opening of the LouLiga Cigar Lounge. If you follow cigars on social media, I’m not sure how you could avoid having heard about this place, or at least it’s owner, Luis Rodriguez. Luis has been a long time cigar ambassador, and had realized his dream with this new lounge in a very cool area in the city. It’s in the same block of buildings as The Fillmore, which is a music venue, The Punch Line comedy club, and Philadelphia Distilling, with the Rivers Casino and Convention Center more or less across the street. When I arrived, the place was packed. To be honest, if I hadn’t seen my old friend Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars, watch for his new cigar, the Grand Apex), I probably would have bought a handful of cigars, snapped some pics and gone home. However, I lit up a Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown Toro and hung out with Antonio and his fiancé for a few hours.

The Lounge is nice. The air handlers work well, it has an industrial feel which is consistent with the building. The furniture is comfortable, there’s plenty of TVs and the humidor is huge. While the humidor shelves were fairly sparsely stocked, what was there was very high quality and fairly pried for a city location. Luis knows his stuff and is very in tune with the boutique brands. I’m not sure how this will relate to the casual, fresh out of the concert, distillery, comedy club, etc, patron who is stopping in for a cigar and know Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Cohiba and that’s about it, but it’s going to be a great place for cigar geeks. Luis was an excellent host, greeting everyone who came in warmly. When I got home I tried one of Luis’ own cigars, from an undisclosed, yet prominent, factory. It was quite good, a robusto with some spice in the beginning, and some floral near the end. It’s certainly a place to visit if you find yourself in Philadelphia. 

 

That’s all for today. It’s the Fourth of July, so, as with every year, it’s also my wedding anniversary (34), so I’ll be finding something good to smoke. Be careful out there!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 23, 2020 · 11:05 am

More Platinum Nova Cigars and a Stolen Throne Cigar

I dipped into the stash of Platinum Nova cigars I brought back from the TPE show again this week and started with one of their Limited Editions, the Park Avenue. This is one of their more expensive offerings, coming in a a whopping $31 per cigar. This has an Ecuador 2000 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. If I understand correctly, their factory is in Palm Beach, Florida, which will account for the price tag. Since last posted about Nova, they entered into a distribution arrangement with Sutliff Tobacco, who also distributes Regius Cigars in the U.S. now. The Park Avenue is a 6¼” x 54 toro. It’s a nice looking cigar with a flawless milk-chocolate brown wrapper, and the burn and draw were just fine, what one expects in a cigar of this caliber. As with the other Nova cigars I’ve smoked, there is a unique flavor that I can’t describe except that it’s very elegant. Perhaps the price point is in my head a little, but there is something special in the flavor of the Nova Park Avenue. It’s probably not a cigar I’d personally spring for, but I’m quite glad for the opportunity to have smoked it.

 

A few weeks ago when I visited Cigar Mojo, Wade, one of the owners, gave me one of the new cigars that they had that was moving well and he was impressed with for me to try. I was unfamiliar with this cigar, so I looked it up when I got home and only found a Facebook and Instagram page. The cigar is the Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown and it was a 5″ x 50 Robusto. Fortunately, Lee, who is behind the Facebook page, and presumably the, or one of, the brand owners, is quite responsive via messenger, because I had questions as I was really enjoying this cigar yesterday! He confirmed my suspicion that it has a San Andrés wrapper, and told me that it has an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. He let me know that it is made at the Flor de San Luis factory in Esteli under the supervision of Noel Rojas. I thought this was an incredible cigar. There’s a lot of things I don’t agree with Wade at Mojo upon, but he was right about this cigar. It had a rich cocoa and coffee flavor, but every now and then an interesting floral taste snuck in. It was quite entertaining to smoke while I watched a very good Flyers matinee on the porch. It did have some nicotine kick to it. I will take a look at these the next time I’m in Mojo. By the way, don’t forget, Cigar Mojo carries my favorite cigars from Danli Honduras Tabaco, including the new The Clown and the Box Pressed Marchetti maduro! Good stuff. 

 

Last night I grabbed another Platinum Nova cigar. I don’t really know if I’m supposed to call them Platinum Nova, or just Nova…When I was introduced to them by Ann at Sutliff, and I’m starting to connect the dots there, something might already have been in the works, they were just introduced as Nova, with is the most prominent word in their branding. For my own ease I’m going to go with Nova from here on out, I’m beginning to get that they are Platinum level in quality! I selected the Leo X, which is the personal blend of Leonor Abzaradel, the CEO of Nova Cigars. it’s a 5¾” x 50 with the Ecuador 2000 wrapper again, and Dominican HVA binder and Dominican fillers. I’d say that it was a very sophisticated blend, with some floral notes, and a lot of flavor. It didn’t surprise me that this was the favorite of Leonor, it struck me as a cigar one could smoke over and over without tiring. It was light enough to not fatigue the palate, yet loaded with interesting flavors. It certainly was not a girly smoke, and I don’t want to sound chauvinistic. I’d smoke it, I DID smoke it and I loved it! It’s a great cigar, and falls somewhere between their LE line and the regular line on the price scale in the $21  range, so, again, not a cheap date, but one you won’t forget. 

 

In an odd twist, my wife and I were only Friday talking about low airfares to south Florida and how if I had known a few days earlier I could have flown down for the Great Smoke and seen of one of the vendors needed some booths help or something, and doesn’t CigarProp Kevin post on his way to the event that he has an extra pass? talk about bad timing! A day or two earlier and I could have been a special guest helper at the I’d Tap That booth! Damn! That’s about all I have for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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