Tag Archives: Crow

by Craig Vanderslice | July 16, 2023 · 10:14 am

Some Blackbird Cigars and Some Villiger Cigars

I had a different idea of what today’s post was going to be, but that plan changed at the last minute. To be honest, the plan was tentative, at best. I’ve got some new and not so new cigars to talk about this week, lets start with the not so new, but great cigars. When I went to the TPE show in 2020, right before the world shut down, I met Jonas Santana and his crew from Blackbird Cigars. Jonas flattered me by knowing who I was, after 4 years of doing this it still takes me aback. Jonas had worked for Artista (then El Artista) who I had been working with, so he was familiar with my work. I’ve kept up with Jonas over the years and while this old white dude may not be able to keep up with a young, hip-hop cat, we connect on the cigar level, I dig his smokes. The Crow is my main jam, but this week I decided to take a wander through the range again as it’s been too long. What prompted this was one of my wife’s cigar band furniture projects, which required a bunch more Blackbird bands! So I had to by more cigars. I picked up some Toro singles locally, and bought a Robusto sampler from my friends at Trash Panda Cigars. Let’s talk about the Cuco first. This is probably the last cigar I’d go to because it has Criollo on the band and that tobacco usually doesn’t work for me. This is listed as a Brazilian wrapper, Indonesian binder and Dominican fillers, so I imagine it’s a Brazilian Criollo wrapper, perhaps that makes the difference for me, because I quite enjoyed this cigar in both Robusto and Gran Toro vitolas. It’s medium bodied with some cocoa and a hint of spice. very nice cigars.

The Finch from Blackbird is one of two Sumatra wrapped cigars in the portfolio, the other being the Rook. The Finch is only available in the Robusto size, has an Indonesian binder and US and Dominican fillers. It’s just me, but I think if I were going to have one cigar in my lineup that was just a robusto, I might call it the Rook, thinking like the chess piece, but I suppose finches are small birds so I get it. It’s a bird themed line, not a chess themed line, what am I thinking? I guess what I’m thinking is that while I really enjoyed the Finch I forgot to take any notes, so I don’t really have anything to say about it except that I found it quite enjoyable and it makes me want to pick up a few more. I do recall a bit of the sugar cane I get from Sumatra sometimes, along with a sweet spice, perhaps from whatever US tobacco (PA maybe?). Good smoke. As I type, I’m smoking the Unkind in Robusto, which has a dark Cubra (Brazil) wrapper and works exceptionally well with my black coffee. Even the shade Jackdaw has some pop to it and is quite tasty. It’s hard to go wrong with the Blackbird line, Jonas is doing some great things at his factory in the DR.

A few weeks ago I received a few new cigars from the folks at Villiger Cigars. I’ve had a very long history with Villiger. If you dig through my site (or YouTube channel), you’ll find interviews going back to 2012 I think. They have gone through some transitions, probably made some mis-steps, but they’ve always made good cigars. A few years ago they brought on René Casteñeda to head North American sales. René was previously with Miami Cigar and Co. and La Aurora, and is a super-nice guy. The Villiger Miami started out as a cigar for him to have to share with his friends and visitors to his office. It’s made in their ABAM factory in the DR, where they make Flor de Ynclan and a ton of cigar for the European market. Last year they put this out in a Lancero, this year it was released in a toro format. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, undisclosed binder and fillers, except that they say there is some Peruvian leaf in the filler blend. This is a really nice, complex blend, with some delicate flavors. It’s one of those cigars that you want to think about while you smoke it. I got a little citrus tang, with some nuts, light coffee, and a hint of cocoa.

Finally, I smoked the Villiger 1888 Nicaragua in both the Toro and Robusto. The 1888 was the first premium cigar that Villiger made back in 2009, and it was reissued around 2017 with updated blend and branding, made in the Dominican Republic. The 1888 Nicaraguan is made in the Villiger de Nicaragua factory, which in my imagination is somehow a part of the Joya de Nicaragua factory. I could ask around and verify this I suppose, but that seems like work. The cigar has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian fillers. I’m generally partial to cigars with PA tobacco, considering it’s grown within an hour from my home, and I tend to like Sumatra. This was a Medium bodied cigar in both vitolas, and had some sweet coffee/cocoa flavors. I don’t recall favoring one size over the other, but almost always like a toro over a robusto. I have a corona yet to try, but I expect that to have slightly sharper flavors.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 1888, Blackbird, Blackbird Cigar Co., cigar, cigars, Crow, Cuco, Finch, Jackdaw, miami, Unkind, Villiger

by Craig Vanderslice | May 1, 2022 · 9:46 am

A Selection of Cigars: Hits and Misses

This is going to be a bit of a weird post. I, of course, smokes a bunch of cigars this week, and had some mixed results. I probably should follow the rule of not saying anything at all if you don’t have anything nice to say, but it’s not all negative. SOme of it is personal preference, some of it is something else. There are also some standout cigars that I’ve probably mentioned here before but merit repeating. Let’s start with the CAO Arcana Firewalker. This cigar is a nice, big 6½” x 56 cigar, with a massive band. It employs a strange method of fermentation for one of the Nicaraguan filler leaves where they bury the pilon in volcanic soil for two months. Sounds like a fun story, and I don’t doubt it, but this wasn’t where I had a problem. The cigar tasted fine, I rather enjoyed the flavors. It was kind of bready, with a little cocoa and some spice, very nice. When I received these samples they were bone dry, as measured with my Humidimeter. Bone. Dry. The first one I smoked just kind of flaked apart. I let them rest in the humidor for a couple months, I guess, to get some moisture into them. When one had achieved what I felt was an acceptable level of internal moisture content, I gave it another go. For whatever reason, the Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper on this one just wouldn’t burn. It was like the original H2000 wrappers 20 years ago. I would feel safe making childrens pajamas out of this wrapper, it was so flame retardant. I gave up on it with about 2 inches to go, after just about emptying my lighter relighting it. I guess I’ll leave the remaining samples in the humidor, and if I see some in a shop maybe I’ll try one to see if my batch was an anomaly. I hope it was because it was a good tasting smoke and I like the first Arcana a lot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is a miss.

One cigar I had which isn’t new, but one I really enjoy and bears repeating is the Crow Corona from Blackbird Cigars. I’m generally a toro guy, but I think I like this in the 6″ x 44 corona the best. The narrow ring adds a little more of an edge to the San Andrés wrapper that I like. I always like a good Mexican maduro, and this one really made me happy. I’m to understand that Blackbird has opened a new, larger factory in ght Dominican Republic. I’ve been a fan of their cigars, I can’t recall having a bad one, with the Crow being my favorite. They do a really nice job with Sumatra wrappers too. I will be putting some more Crow Coronas in my humidor, for sure. In case you were wondering, this is a hit!

Another repeat is the Yagua. I smoked one from a 2021 box this week that was amazing. J.C. Newman just announced that they are shipping the 2022 release, with a second wave due in November. These have aged well, the one I smoked was practically round, which was strange. They say that this is wrapped in an “underfermented” Broadleaf wrapper. whatever that means, I ‘d say it works. I had some distinct sensations of black licorice several times while smoking this cigar, and I really liked that. I enjoyed it so much I was tempted to smoke one the following day, alas, I should have followed my instincts! Again, a hit.

The Drew Estate Freestyle Live event is coming up on Thursday, May 12, and receiving a lot of buzz, so I figured I’d give the Mystery Cigar in the pack a try and see what the deal was. I tried the 6″ x 60 gordo first. This digital event is happening on the eve of the Florida Barn Smoker, and the cigars in the pack happen to be the same sizes that the 20 Acre Farm Mystery cigars were presented, leading some to believe there may be a connection. It’s possible, although many cigars are offered in robusto, toro and gordo, so that’s a bit of a stretch. I personally didn’t really like the cigar I smoked, it was heavily woody to me, and that’s not my preference. I don’t like FSG tobacco, so there could be something there, and I’m also not a big fan of the original Herrera Esteli, so it could be a variation on that. I don’t think it’s a riff on the MUWAT, as I grabbed a fiver of Baitfish yesterday and forgot how good those little guys are! I’ll suffer through the rubusto I guess and see what I think of that size, maybe it’s different. I’ll be very disappointed if those guessing it’s in the Nica Rustica line are right. Big miss.

Let’s finish strong. OK, I lied. I picked up an Aganorsa Leaf Rare Leaf Toro yesterday because I’ve been wanting to try it. It’ a 6″ x 54 with a “Nicaraguan Café” wrapper, and Aganorsa Leaf binder and fillers. I’ve been having trouble finding cigars in the Aganorsa range that suit my palate, quite honestly. Sadly, this was another one that did not. I’m sure it’s a great cigar, it certainly performed well, but the flavor left me wanting. This was another that I’ll call wood heavy in the flavor department. I also found it slightly drying. It was a bit sneaky strong. Everyone has different tastes, that’s what makes cigars so much fun, this one wasn’t for me. I’ll keep working thought the range, and I know there are a lot of cigars made by Aganorsa that I like! Unfortunately a miss.

That’s it for today, I’ll be smoking a few favorites today! My part-time retail experiment has come to an end. ore on that, maybe, another time, but it was fun while it lasted. My Friday evenings are now free, who wants to herf? Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aganorsa Leaf, Arcana, Blackbird, CAO, cigar, cigars, Crow, drew estate, Firewalker, Freestyle LIve, J.C.Newman, Rare Leaf, Yagua

by Craig Vanderslice | May 2, 2021 · 10:15 am

Some Blackbird Cigars and a Cigar Auction

I had some other cigars I was going to talk about besides the two or three Blackbird cigars, but I think I’ll save them for another day, as it looks like it’s going to be nice weather and I don’t want to be typing all day! So let’s get right to it! Wednesday evening I went to Cigar Mojo in nearby King Of Prussia, PA to an event featuring Jonas Santana of Blackbird Cigars. I had met Jonas last year at the TPE show and felt like we hit it off, so I wanted to hang out with him again and show my support. I’ve been impressed with the Blackbird line overall, and picked up a few of my favorites, this time in the Gran Toro size. I smoked The Crow in the toro size, as a matter of fact, I bought the last three they had. The Crow is their San Andrés offering, with a habano binder, and Nicaraguan, Pennsylvanian, Corojo and Criollo 98 fillers (before you ask, I’m not clear on where the Corojo and Criollo 98 come from, or what varietals the Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian are. It’s odd that they mix it up that way in the description but it happens in multilingual scenarios). This is a bold and relatively strong cigar, I like it. The one I smoked had a wrapper split, which was noticed by Wade, one of CigarMojo’s owners, who, despite my protestations, had Mark Weissenberger, who’s the broker for Blackbird Cigars, stick a corona in my pocket to compensate. The wrapper problem turned out to not be an issue at all, it burned right through. I’ll admit that if I were a “normal” consumer I can see where a cracked cigar would be a replaceable event for a retailer, I give more leeway personally. Now, I’m not going to be taken advantage of, if I see a sales clerk drop a cigar I’m going to ask for another one, but I can live with life’s little inconveniences. As I was preparing to leave the event, I went to the table where Jonas and Mark were sitting and they happened to have been live with John Remer of Johnny Smokes Uncut of the Facebook group of the same name. We hadn’t met before, but had been on a Zoom event together recently. He didn’t recognize me, had me on real quick, I left a comment on the live stream which he read eventually, then it dawned on him who I was, and hilarity ensued. It was one of a handful of events I’ve been to over the last year-plus, and it was nice to hang out and meet some people.

I smoked that Blackbird The Crow Corona yesterday. I generally avoid coronas unless I have some specific time constraints, it’s situational. What I like about this “corona” is that it’s more a Lonsdale or Cervantes than corona, at 6″ x 44. This is a great size, in my opinion, two more ring gauge and it would be perfect. Of course, because it burns a little hotter, it seems a little sharper in flavor than the 6″ x 54 Gran Toro, and it occurs to me that I forgot to mention the size of the Gran Toro above, so here it is. I needn’t repeat the wrapper/binder/filler, because it’s the same as above. I had some interruptions and smoke this cigar basically in two sittings and it was as good on the relight after two hours as it was initially, which is something, I guess. I think I almost liked this one better in the Corona, I will have to do more research.

I smoked The Rook later last night in the 6″ x 54 Gran Toro (I wanted to get the size in early before I forgot again, even though it’s the same as the Gran Toro in all the lines). I picked up some Rooks because I’m a Sumatra fan and I had smoked and enjoyed this in the Robusto size before. Like I said, this has a Sumatra Wrapper with a Habano binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. This is a milder cigar than the Crow, which is probably the strongest cigar in their portfolio, but it’s definitely medium bodied. It has a nice sweetness with some creaminess, with a little earthiness too. It’s really very nice. I only bought these in the Gran Toro, and now I’m wondering about the Corona, I’m feeling a little regret. Not too much regret as the Toro is very nice. If you are a Sumatra fan, this is a good one.

Editorial

I’m not generally one to get into cigar auctions, but I recently sold an item (not cigar related) at auction and I thought I’d have a look at Scotty’s Cigars Auctions. Full disclosure: Scotty’s is an advertiser, but this is unsolicited, and I took part in this auction 100% as a consumer without their prior knowledge. I actually did it out of curiosity to see if people were looking at this feature, and, sadly, I don’t think people are! So I’m here (now that I won and got a great deal 😁) to tell you to go there and keep an eye out for their auctions! There were a couple great deal that have been missed out on already, I would have loved to have grabbed a box of H.Upmann AF Fernandez for $99. I got a fiver of Sin Compromiso for $51 with a few dollars shipping, which I’m happy with, heck, I almost feel like a criminal. Like I said, I know they advertise with me, but they didn’t ask me to do this, it was totally a secret shopper kind of thing. I wanted there to be some action on the auction! By the way, I’m told that the website’s inventory is accurate, so if you see it’s in stock, it should be in stock!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Blackbird, Blackbird Cigar Co., cigar, Cigar Mojo, cigars, Crow, Rook, Scotty's

by Craig Vanderslice | February 16, 2020 · 10:18 am

A Visit to Best Cigar Pub, Blackbird Cigar Co. Cigars and Video and Contest Winner

Yesterday I found myself wandering much further north in PA than I usually find myself. There was a seminar on Bees and Chickens that my wife and I attended, and I snuck off during the second half to do some of my own research. Twenty minutes away from the venue where the seminar was held happened to be the brand new Best Cigar Pub, and Best Cigar Prices headquarters. I figured this would be a good place to visit. Fortunately, the purchasing manager, Chris O’Neill, managed to arrange a tour for me. Katie (Katy? I forgot to clarify), the Finance/HR director, gave me a tour of the entire facility. Why do small companies always saddle the Finance director with HR responsibilities? Like they don’t have enough to worry about? I digress. I had already given myself a tour of the retail humidor, which has a very nice selection and courteous service. Katie showed me the bar, pointed out many of the little things like custom tables with actual tobacco leaves under acrylic, art on the wall done by a local artist, all of the ashtrays made by a local craftsman. She pointed out the excellent menu as well. She then waled me through the Best Cigar Prices operations, all of the offices, warehouse, shipping and all of the stuff I enjoy seeing as a guy who’s spent his professional career in operations. They run a very clean and efficient pick, pack, and ship operation from what I can see. All of the marketing, customer service, web design is all done there in Pennsylvania. I was quite impressed with the operation. I’ll get back to the Pub, which was even more impressive. Upstairs is a lounge with TVs and comfy chairs, wait-staff is attentive and the air handlers replace all the air in the place every three minutes, so it’s not smokey at all. They even have a coat closet in the entry that has an ozone generator so that your coat doesn’t smell smokey. They’ve really thought of everything to make this not just a place to come have a cigar, but a place that smokers and non-smokers alike can enjoy a meal or a beverage together. I enjoyed a 601 Pennsylvania Edition, which is an Espinosa exclusive for BCP. Chris happened to join me and interrupted me while I was taking in the museum portion of the upstairs lounge, which is an educational feature they’ve added. It has the origin story of cigars with a timeline and facts about cigars, infographics about the tobacco plant, how cigars are made, every conceivable detail. Chris tells me they plan to have monitors with video loops of various processes playing included in the wall as well. Best Cigar Pub is a beautiful place, it’s easy enough to find, although not exactly in the middle of anything. I can see it being amazing in the summer with the outdoor patios and putting green and nobody around to really complain! Certainly worth a visit if you are anywhere near north-east PA.

I had heard of Blackbird Cigar Company, but hadn’t seen the cigars any where. When I walked past the booth and they weren’t busy, it seemed like a great time to stop in and see what it they were all about. Imagine my surprise when the owner and founder of the company, Jonas Santana, looked at me and said “I know who you are”. It seems he used to work for another company, and struck out on his own to start Blackbird. I think it was on CigarProp’s youtube channel that I remember hearing about the brand. Anyway, I asked Jonas to share the story of the brand with me on camera. have a look:

Over the course of the past several days I smoked a few of the Blackbird cigars offerings. I would have lined to have smoked them all, but I just couldn’t get to them. They have six cigars in the portfolio, and I can’t run down my smoking experience for six cigars in one post. They very cleverly make the bands on the cigars easy to remove, which is good because they are large bands and doo need to be removed to fully enjoy the cigar! They have two Sumatra wrapped offerings, and, as I’ve been on a Sumatra kick lately, and I smoked the Sumatra Rook with them at the TPE and really enjoyed it, I smoked the Finch this week. This was another excellent Sumatra wrapped cigar. It had the nice, sweet Sumatra wrapper flavor and a well-balanced core of tobacco goodness withinThis has an Indonesian binder, and Dominican and USA fillers. It was solidly medium bodied and a very nice cigar. Next I went with what you’d expect from me, the San Andrés wrapped Crow. It was Valentines Day, and I figured the red band would be appropriate. This cigar had a closed foot, and a dark, oily wrapper. The flavors were earthy and bakers chocolate, perhaps espresso, without sweetness. The internals on this one include a Habano binder and Nicaraguan, Pennsylvanian, and Corojo and Criollo 98 fillers. Very enjoyable. Finally, last night after a long day trip, I unwound with the Unkind, a Brazilian Cubra wrapped cigar. This was also a maduro cigar, and, like the rest, a 5″ x 50 robusto. The binder on this one is from the DR, with Criollo 09, HBA (not sure what this means), Corojo and Pennsylvania. One thing I can say about all of the Blackbird cigars I smoked was that that all were well made and burned right, an important consideration. It’s possible that the PA tobacco was a common flavor component that I picked up though the few cigar I smoked this week. You’ll see if you watch the video that some thought went into the brand, and the same attention went into the quality of materials and manufacture as well. The Unkind had a unique flavor, also an earthy maduro, not really sweet. It was very good though, I enjoyed it completely. I still have the Connecticut Jackdaw and Criollo Cuco yet to smoke, I kind of like those two wrapper varieties more in warmer weather for some reason. I’ll get to them and let you know.

Contest!

OK, so after a lot of money and aggravation, my site is clean. It’s time to pick a winner of the sampler of some of my favorite cigars, Don Juan Calavera, Flor Maya and Marchetti cigars from Danli Hondura Tabaco, and I had to collect entries from two different places. After collecting all of the names, and putting them into a bowl (OK, I put them into a spreadsheet and randomized the list to mix them up and assign them numbers), the random number generator picked Anthony C as the winner. Please email me your coordinates and proof that you are 21 or older so I can get these goodies to you. I have a KMA Talk Radio hat and shirt and a Stage V Clinger cigar holder to add as well (it’s a big shirt, do with it what you will, I take no responsibility. If it fits, great!).