Tag Archives: dirty rat

by | January 3, 2011 · 11:09 pm

Cigar Recap: Fuente, 777, Chateau Real – Monday January 3, 2011

First post of 2011!  I hope everyone had a safe and festive holiday and that 2011 is better than 2010.  Last year was a great year for CigarCraig.com and the coming year should be even better.  While I’m thinking about it, if you’re looking for a top ten list or a “best of” you can forget about it!  What I think about any of the new cigars this year is of little consequence to anyone, there were very few “new” cigars that I sampled and the few that I did I wasn’t really “wow’d” by.  I will say that the Liga Privada Dirty Rat is my favorite new cigar, but I received my first sample of that cigar in 2009, so it hardly counts!

Anyway, last week we had some fairly unseasonably temperate weather, so I grabbed an Arturo Fuente Double Chateau that was a gift from a friend.  It’s been years since I smoked one of these, and I was in the mood for a milder cigar for an afternoon walk.  Certainly a perfectly constructed and well balanced cigar, I honestly don’t know why I don’t grab Fuente products more often.  I have a handful of what I consider “special” Fuentes, various smaller Hemingways, Opus X, the odd Don Carlos, but I save them for some reason…probably because I figure I’ll never have them again if I smoke them!  Ridiculous, I know.  I promise to smoke some of these when the weather gets warmer or I have an good inside opportunity.

Next up was a re-visit of a cigar I smoked and liked a few months back, the J. Fuego 777 maduro corona.  I enjoyed this cigar again, but it didn’t hit me the same as the first one.  I blame the colder weather, I seem to prefer stronger flavored cigars in the winter, and I think this fits that, but obviously my palate misses some of the complexities when the mercury drops.  The size of this cigar is just about perfect for me at 5½” x 46 and the burn and draw were perfect.  I picked up a few more of these last week and I think they are a fairly good cigar for $4.50 each. I look forward to smoking more of these.

Tonight I got lazy, and, considering that the weather has taken a colder turn, I went with a familiar friend, the Chateau Real Small Club Corona Maduro.  There’s a couple things I really like about these cigars.  The size, 4″ x 44,  is great for my walk to the local convenience store and the strength of flavor is perfect for the colder weather.  These are wrapped with a dark Mexican leaf that gives the cigar a rich and earthy taste. I think this box purchase was my best of the year at right around $50 for a box of 32.

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

CigarCraig

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by | August 25, 2010 · 7:55 pm

The Week’s Cigars So Far: CAO, Dirty Rat, Chateau Real…and a Contest! – Wednesday August 25, 2010

Got the week of to a good start with a really nice CAO VR Moby, a 6″ x 50 maduro toro.  I have enjoyed the three examples I’ve had which my wife bought for me for Valentines Day.  They were part of several 5 pack samplers she got from Cigars International.  I believe these are made for CI.  I think these are a nice, medium maduro that is very well made.  I’m not one for identifying specific flavors, but peppery is definitely a flavor descriptor that I’d use with this cigar.    I don’t know that I would drop a c-note on a box of 20, but I suppose they are worth $5 each compared with a lot of cigars out there.

I decided to wrap up the weekend with a treat and grabbed a Liga Privada Dirty Rat from the humidor.  This was one that Steve Saka had given me a few months back.  I have to say that this is just about cigar perfection.  The corona size is very appealing to me, and it’s just a really pretty cigar.  The dark and oily wrapper, the funny pigtail, it’s just so appealing.  Then you light it, and it burns razor straight with a nice flat coal and draws perfectly.  Steve says they cost more to make than the double coronas, and considering this little corona had five different filler tobaccos packed into it’s stalk cut Connecticut wrapper, it’s no surprise at the cost.  The leaves have to be scissor cut to fit them in.  Lot’s of labor involved but what a fantastic smoking experience.  I’ve enjoyed all of the Liga Privadas I’ve had, and I don’t often spend upwards of $10 on a cigar.  Exceptional cigar that will be worth the occasional splurge when they hit the shelves sometime this September.

Monday I went for a Chateau Real Gran Templar in claro.  Another cigar I really like and is consistently good.  I decided on this particular cigar since I had just come off the excellent experience of the Dirty Rat, and wanted something quite different, but without any surprises.  This cigar shared the excellent construction with its cousin the Rat, and had a clean and smooth flavor.  The Connecticut shade wrapper was without flaw and quite pretty.  Another cigar that’s more expensive than I generally prefer, but worth it. I really think Drew Estate is making good cigars, but I have to say that while their website is nice and flashy, it’s kind of a pain if one wants to link directly to a specific cigar and sometimes takes a little while to load up.  It does have a lot of good information though, which is better than some sites.

On to the contest!

Since I smoked a couple Drew Estate cigars this week, let’s go ahead and give away a DE hat and a Liga Privada cutter.  As a special bonus I will sweeten the deal with a brand new Liga Privada T52 in the Belicoso size.  While I was visiting the IPCPR show and saying goodbye to Saka, he threw several of these at me, so I feel the need to pay it forward!  I have yet to send out a cutter prize without including something to use the cutter on anyway, but this time it’s something that may not be in the stores yet.  So there ya go, that’s the prize.  Since I’ve been having trouble with my feline assistants lately, I’ll work on figuring out a clever selection process.  So leave me a comment which will be your entry.  I always enjoy comments anyway, but for some reason it seems that I get more when I give stuff away…not sure why that is…so bring on the comments and win some awesome stuff courtesy of Drew Estate!

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

CigarCraig

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by | February 21, 2010 · 7:21 pm

Sunday Cigar – Liga Privada “Dirty Rat” – Feb 21, 2010

It’s been a while since the weather was decent here, it was sunny and in the 40s today.  I was gifted a Liga Privada “Dirty Rat” by Steve Saka in Reno back in November and was hanging on to it until circumstances were appropriate for the proper enjoyment of this limited edition cigar.  My wife and  I received a package which included some more of these so I figured today was the day to fire one up.  The story on these, as I remember Steve telling it, is that they were playing with the Liga Privada blend in a corona size.  Because of the blend, the only way to get anywhere close was to include partial leaves, hand cut, of certain tobaccos.  This made the possibility of this particular cigar going into production relatively remote due to the considerable labor involved in making these.  It’s a shame, because the “Dirty Rat” is an awesome cigar.  The wrapper is a beautiful and oily, Connecticut broadleaf with a filler blend of five tobaccos packed into the 5″ x 44 pigtailed corona.  Here’s were I come up short in cigar reviewing, describing the flavor.  Whatever the flavors are I like them. They are heavy and satisfying, with some spice that progresses to just a delicious and savory tobacco flavor.  I love the Liga Privada No.9 and the T52, but this little flavor bomb is a special treat.  Thanks to Steve for giving me the rare opportunity to sample this cigar from your private stash.

In my inbox this week I received the following from Cigar Rights of America:

Cigar Rights Club, Pennsylvania Challenge Club Membership Goal: 500!

Cigar Rights of America is growing, and working to become the voice of cigar enthusiasts across this country in the local, state and federal battles that threaten one of life’s great pleasures, and a moment so fundamental to the “pursuit of happiness” – a cigar among friends.

There is a great adage in politics – there is power in numbers. Now, more than ever, we need cigar voters to stand up and be counted. We have issues to confront, votes to monitor, minds to change, and people to thank…all at once. That’s why we need your friends that also have the passion for a great cigar to join the cause.

Pennsylvania is pivotal to the growth of CRA. So we are issuing a special challenge. We want Pennsylvania to have 500 members of CRA going into the next election season. After we reach that benchmark, we’ll issue another…and another, until we know that we have the voting block of cigar enthusiasts necessary to protect your ability to enjoy great cigars, with as little government regulation and taxation as possible. It’s all about that, “pursuit of happiness.”

I’m surprised that there aren’t 500 members in PA, but if you aren’t a member please consider joining, even if you aren’t in Pennsylvania.  It’s a worthwhile organization and it’s only $35 per year.  They do a lot to preserve our right to enjoy fine cigars.

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

CigarCraig

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