Tag Archives: Cubao

by Craig Vanderslice | January 15, 2023 · 10:31 am

Cubao, Wunderlust and Protocol Cigars and Gigantar!

I was poking around one of the humidors and realized I’d smoked a few Cubao Cameroon Churchills from Ortega Cigars and never mentioned them here. Eddie is still making some great cigars, he’s using the TACASA S.A. factory. This cigar has a Cameroon wrapper, like the name suggests, Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It smoked well and had a pleasing flavor. There was the nutty Cammerooniness that is inherent in the wrapper. Well worth $20 for a five pack, as all of the cigar I’ve smoked from Ortega seem to be. Shop Ortega Cigars and sign up for his email list, great bargains and cigars! I am especially fond of the Serie D Maduros!

I smoked another cigar from my Secret Santa this year, a Wunder|lust Fiorella, from RomaCraft. This is a brand that’s only sold in Germany, from what I can tell. The cigar is a corona gorda, 5 5/8″ x 46, has a Mata Fina wrapper from Brazil, Indonesian binder and, one would suspect, although it’s not disclosed, Nicaraguan fillers. The Europeans seem to like Brazilian tobacco, brands like Villiger actually make cigars there for the European market. For those who don’t know, this size is named for Skip Martin’s youngest daughter. I love the size, always been one of my favorites after the toro. Clearly, this cigar has Manbacco and Tastoterone, like it’s sibling blends, with a bold punch to start out. It continues to be a full bodied cigar for me, surprised the Europeans like this so much. I love the coffee notes and heavy tobacco. This is probably hard to get, but definitely worthwhile!

Yesterday I had a chance to talk to someone I featured in my “Celebrity Cigar Chats” back in 2010, Jim Babjak, guitar player and founding member of The Smithereens. We went to the unveiling of the Illinois Rock And Roll Museum‘s newest piece, which will be on their Rt 66 building. It’s a 24’ guitar sculpture, Gigantar, which was made by Shannon, world famous for her airbrush paintings. This is an impressive sculpture which will be making its way to it’s new home from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, which is where the unveiling took place. Jim and Dennis Diken, the drummer for the Smithereens, were there for the unveiling, and Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick (another cigar guy), will be in Joliet, IL for the dedication. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Jim an Dennis, and while it was too cold and windy outside for us to smoke, I gifted Jim a couple cigars. I’ve been a fan of the Smithereens since the ’80s and it was really cool to talk to Jim about cigars!

Last night I grabbed another Churchill, the Protocol Cyber Crimes Unit, from a Protocol Churchill sampler I bought from Discount Cigar Warehouse, and I think some of these may be exclusive to that store. Anyway, I’ve been rather looking forward to smoking this cigar, it’s a Nicaraguan puro with a Rosado Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, which smoked much darker than that, if that makes sense. I absolutely loved this cigar. It has a creaminess, but with heavy cocoa flavors. Bittersweet chocolate came to mind. I thought it was great and have to get some more. Good stuff!

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

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cubao, Cyber Crimes Unit, Fiorella, Gigantar, Illinois Rock And Roll Museum, Ortega, Protocol, RoMaCraft, smithereens, Wunderlust

by Craig Vanderslice | June 6, 2021 · 8:13 am

More Ortega Cigars: The Jalapa, M3 and Cubao

I worked on finishing off the Ortega sampler that I ordered, so far I have my favorites, and I still have the Serie D Connecticut yet to smoke (I’ll probably smoke it today). I found a Cult cigar from a few years ago in my humidor which is made at the same factory which I may smoke later as well. The Cult cigars were made for Quality Importers, where, ironically, Eddie Orega spent a short time working, which may explain his association with the TACASA factory. I started out with the Jalapa Habano, which has a plain band which is reminiscent of another brand, and I hope that doesn’t cause any problems down the line. This was a tasty cigar, fairly heavy on the spice, which I wasn’t expecting. The wrapper is a Jalapa Habano, the binder is San Andrés and the fillers are Nicaraguan. I enjoyed this cigar, and I’m really interested in smoking the Maduro version, and I’ll order some once they show available on the website. I notice a lot of things are out of stock on the site right now, I’ll ask Eddie when he’s expecting a shipment. He does seem to have the samplers available though! Anyway, the Jalapa Habano was a good smoke.

The M3 Habano was next, and it has the same wrapper as the Jalapa, with difference being the binder which is is from Nicaragua in this case and the fillers from Nicaragua. This was a bit less spicy, but also had a little kick. Something I notice with the entire range of cigars is that either they all seem to burn a little faster than I’m used to, or maybe time is just passing faster this week. It’s not as if they are loosely rolled or anything, they all have burned perfectly, I don’t know the answer. Perhaps it’s just the style in which they are made. It could just be that they are good and they are gone and leaving me wanting more. Let’s go with that. Again, I’d be interested in trying the Maduro version.

Finally, and perhaps my favorite of the bunch next to the Serie D Maduro, is the Cubao Habano. This is one of the original brands from EO Brands that was originally made by Pepin Garcia. It’s now being offered in four wrappers, Habano, Maduro, Sumatra and Cameroon. I’ll take a sampler of Cubao please! If I had any complaint it would be that my device spellchecked “Cubao” to Cuban” and I didn’t catch it and had to edit my social media posts. The Cubao Habano hit my palate just right. It had the perfect balance of sweetness, spice and earthiness. I dug it. I smoked it later than usual, and it wasn’t so strong as to cause me any more trouble sleeping than usual. This was a terrific smoke and I greatly enjoyed it. I’m tempted to shop for some five packs as the Cubao seem to be in stock. Good stuff from a great guy. I’m looking forward to smoking that Serie D Connecticut later!

I still have to put together a contest, I’ve been slacking! I’ll work on that. There’s a chance I’ll be talking to Kaplowitz on his Instagram Live or Facebook Live this afternoon, so keep an eye out for that (he’s very entertaining). Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cubao, Habano, Jalapa, M3, Ortega

by CigarCraig | August 18, 2013 · 12:29 pm

IPCPR 2013 – Ortega Cigars: a Cubao, a Serie D and Minis

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Eddie Ortega and his cigars, going back as far as the REO. While I haven’t gotten around to sampling any of his Wild Bunch series, I have enjoyed the heck out of the Serie D line. At the show Ortega Cigars re-released the Cubao line, and I smoked No. 5 Friday evening, at least I think that’s what it was. I should have measured it because there’s still some confusing information on the internet about this line. Many retailers still list this as an EO Brands line. It’s still made by Pepin Garcia in Nicaragua in the same blend as before. Sumatra wrappers aren’t always my first choice, but this is a darned tasty and perfectly constructed cigar. I certainly look forward to smoking more in this line.

Eddie was a tough guy to get to talk to at the IPCPR show, but I finally got a few minutes in between customers near the end and talked to him about his new cigars. Here’s a short video:

Saturday afternoon I smoked the Ortega Serie D no. 8 natural. This is a brilliant cigar, although not as brilliant as the maduro in my opinion. I always appreciate a well made cigar, and these always burn perfectly. Its got a pleasing flavor that’s satisfying and always makes me a little sad when it’s finished! Perhaps I need to get larger sizes! The maduro Serie D is awesome! Side note, when you see a picture like this one it means I was either too lazy, too negligent, or in too big a hurry to smoke the cigar to take a proper picture. Fortunately I compulsively put almost every cigar I smoke on Instagram. Sorry. 🙂

New at the show this year are the Ortega Minis. These are 4″x 38 little guys sold in 4 packs in Connecticut, Habano and Maduro wrappers. Many have speculated about the packaging for these, as they come in a cardboard box reminiscent of a Marlboro cigarette pack. Certainly the argument can be made that the premium cigar industry wants to distance itself from anything to do with cigarettes, and I have to agree. However, Eddie likes the packaging and it is what it is. The cigars are pretty amazing. Last night I started with the Ecuador Connecticut wrapped version, then smoked the Habano. They were both tasty smokes, with my personal preference leaning toward the Habano. The Connecticut was good, don’t get me wrong, and it wasn’t a mild and flavorless cigar at all. If anything it had a little acidic bite that will mellow with age. The Habano was full flavored and both cigars burned perfectly. I actually used the 5 Star Perforator on both with good results. I smoked the Maduro after the trade show closed in Vegas, sitting outside by a fountain at one of the entrances to the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Regular readers will not be surprised that this was my favorite of the bunch. It was rich and full of my favorite cigar flavors of espresso and cocoa. I will be picking up some of these, regardless of what I think of the packaging. These are all cool little smokes, they are like smoking half a lancero. Pretty darned yummy.

That’s it for now. We are having a little graduation/birthday party for our oldest son, Corey today, so I have to get ready for gusts to arrive and fire up the grill. I think today may be a lancero day for me, I’ve got a few in mind, unfortunately, an Ortega Serie D Maduro isn’t one of them (but is on my wanted list!).