Tag Archives: drew estate

by Craig Vanderslice | November 4, 2020 · 10:03 pm

News: Drew Estate Announces Cancellation of Barn Smoker Live Virtual Event

This is the last of my Wednesday news barrage, and sadly it’s bad news. I really don’t like posting bad news, and in retrospect, I should have put these in a different order, if only to make myself feel a little better. The silver lining is at the end of the press release, but we have come to expect this sort of generosity from the folks at Drew Estate. I have been to three of the Barnsmokers, and recommend them when life returns to normal.

Today Drew Estate announces the cancellation of the upcoming Barn Smoker Live virtual event, originally scheduled for November 14th, due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases throughout Florida.

The virtual Barn Smoker Live event was designed to be broadcast live from the tobacco fields in Clermont, Fla., featuring members of the Drew Estate team including Jonathan Drew, Willy Herrera, Pedro Gomez and more. However, due to the recent significant rise in COVID-19 cases in Florida, Drew Estate has, after much consideration, determined that it is unfortunately necessary to make this difficult decision to ensure the safety of both the staffs of Drew Estate and the incredible Florida Sun Grown Farm with whom Drew Estate partnered for this event.

From Sag Harbor, N.Y., Jonathan Drew, President and Founder of Drew Estate, notes, “It is with a heavy heart that we make this decision, but it’s clearly the right thing to do in this precarious moment. Many stakeholders, including DE staff, tobacco farmers, and a multitude of suppliers have contributed a great deal to creating such an amazing experience … all for the love of the leaf, love of our special relationship with each of you, and to celebrate our industry and culture. Keep your heads up, stay safe, and support your friends and loved ones during these times. We love you guys and look forward to being together soon under the big tents at the farms.”

Drew Estate had previously announced that as part of the Barn Smoker Goodwill Act, it would be donating $50,000 to Cigars for Warriors. Despite being unable to move forward with Barn Smoker Live under the current conditions, Drew Estate will still be making the full $50,000 donation to Cigars for Warriors, a charitable organization to whom Drew Estate has donated over $250,000 to date.

Financial donations to Cigars for Warriors may be made via PayPal. Cigar donations may be made at an authorized Cigars for Warriors donation center or sent to Attention: Cigars for Warriors at 8585 SW Hwy 200 Unit # 16, Ocala, FL 34481. For more information, visit cigarsforwarriors.org.

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

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by Craig Vanderslice | October 25, 2020 · 10:39 am

An E.P. Carrillo Pledge Cigar, Some Drew Estate News and The Contest Winner

My last visit to the cigar shop had me procuring some new cigars, the last of which was the E.P. Carrillo Pledge. They had both sizes, the 5″ x 50 Pequel and the 6″ x 52 Sojourn, of course I selected the Sojourn. It’s funny, there was a time when I opted for the robusto every time, and I’m not sure it wasn’t cost over preference. I think as I’ve gotten older (I’m hesitant to say “matured”), I’ve valued the experience over the cost, and I prefer the experience I get with a toro. Sure there are times when a Robusto fits my schedule better, I might smoke a couple today, but it’s because I have so damned many of them in my humidors and I usually find myself unfulfilled when I finish one. Anyway, back to the Pledge Sojourn. This cigar has a Connecticut Havana seed wrapper which may or may not be grown in Massachusetts, depending on the source of information. I’ve seen tobacco farms in Massachusetts, so it’s totally possible. It’s a dark wrapper, and it’s beautiful. The binder is from Ecuador and the filers are from Nicaragua. Of course it’s made in La Alianza, Ernesto’s factory in the DR. I forgot to check my band to see if it’s signed, Ernie signed six of each size and if someone finds one they win a humidor. Hang on, be right back. Nope, no golden ticket for me! It was a 1 in 1250 shot. I bet Kameron at the shop checked them all, the band came off awfully easy 😁. I kid. This is a delicious cigar with a beautiful burn and draw. It’s full bodied and full flavored. It has some cocoa and pepper, and I might have initially mistaken it for broadleaf, but it wasn’t as sweet. As a longtime fan of EPC’s work, I am once again impressed, this is another winner. Considering how rarely I spend $12 on a cigar, this one is worth every penny. Yum.

Here’s some news from the folks at Drew Estate that I was too lazy to post separately a few days ago:

Drew Estate announces today that it will donate $50,000 to Operation: Cigars for Warriors (CFW) during its virtual Barn Smoker Live event, which will broadcast directly from the Florida Sun Grown farm in Clermont, Fla., on Drew Estate’s Facebook page (facebook.com/drewestatecigar) on Nov. 14, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Due to COVID-19, Drew Estate cancelled the five Barn Smoker events that had been planned for 2020 in Connecticut, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Florida. Instead, Drew Estate decided to Bring the Barn to the People, announcing its Barn Smoker Good Will Act, through which Drew Estate fully refunded all Barn Smoker ticketholders, sent each of these ticketholders all the incredible swag they would have otherwise received at the in-person events, and decided to showcase a virtual Barn Smoker open to all adults free of charge.In 2014, Drew Estate hosted its first Barn Smoker at Hopkinsville, Ky. The event brought premium cigar consumers onto a real American tobacco farm and educated them on how the dark fire-cured tobacco used in the company’s Kentucky Fire-Cured cigars is grown, processed and finished. The event, which included local cuisine and spirits samplings proved so popular that the company has expanded its Barn Smoker program to a total of five annual events.

Jonathan Drew, founder and president of Drew Estate, notes, “I kinda view life as a great big mosaic of stories. As a tobacco man, I love the deep, raw, emotional and authentic stories of real American tobacco farmers and families. One of our goals at Barn Smoker is to immerse our DE family into farm life and premium leaf culture. This year, we have a virtual spin on things, but the team is hard at work loading in super duper surprises and cool shit. I have to say that most of all, I’m just lookin’ forward to chillin’ with you guys. Much love!”

A hallmark of each Barn Smoker has been assisting CFW, a 501(c)(3) charity that has shipped approximately 1.2 million cigars to deployed troops and has also provided them with boutique coffee, cigar accessories and other items. Drew Estate’s association with CFW dates to before the charity’s establishment in 2012 when Drew met CFW’s CEO, Storm Boen, and provided legal advice on how to set up a charity.

“Drew Estate has been our biggest supporter and J.D. [Jonathan Drew] has always been a big proponent of ours,” Boen says. “His legal background provided the foundation for Operation: Cigars for Warriors. Since then, he’s ensured that we are at all of Drew Estate’s Barn Smokers, which has helped us a lot, especially after 2016 when the FDA declared that manufacturers couldn’t donate cigars to troops anymore.”

Prior to 2016, Drew Estate had donated more than 150,000 cigars and has also donated approximately $250,000 to the charity to date. While the FDA now prohibits cigar companies from donating cigars to charitable causes, it still allows cigar companies to donate money to charities. A portion of each Barn Smoker ticket sold supports CFW, and Drew Estate also donates raffle items to raise additional money for the CFW at every Barn Smoker event. Despite not holding in-person Barn Smokers in 2020, Drew Estate will add another $50,000 to its charitable contributions to CFW on November 14th.

“While Covid-19 has seriously impacted all of us, it has had a tremendous effect on charitable contributions worldwide, but the missions these charities serve have not diminished,” says Drew Estate CEO, Glenn Wolfson. “In the face of tremendous challenges brought on by the pandemic, Cigars for Warriors continues to successfully fulfill its mission of sending deployed soldiers and sailors cigars and other much needed items they request. With gratitude to these brave men and women serving overseas, Drew Estate is proud to support Cigars for Warriors and we encourage everyone to consider donating their cigars, time or money to this worthwhile charity.”

Financial donations to Cigars for Warriors may be made via PayPal. Cigar donations may be made at an authorized Cigars for Warriors donation center or sent to Attention: Cigars for Warriors at 8585 SW Hwy 200 Unit # 16, Ocala, FL 34481. For more information, visit cigarsforwarriors.org.

Barn Smoker Live Promo Video

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.

Contest

It’s time to announce the winner of the cool AshStay ashtray, Western Digital Hygrometer and DAHOT Sampler from my humidor! Thanks to Chaim at Cigar Oasis for the Ashtray and Hygrometer! Cigar Oasis has been a great supporter of CigarCraig.com for decades! OK, you’ve told me a million times not to exaggerate, it’s been a long time, and I use Cigar Oasis products in my humidors, as well as an Ashstay on a daily basis! So, I put the entries into a spreadsheet, randomized the list, then used a random number generator, and came up with Patrick Hart as the winner! KingOHarts, please send your address, and you really don’t need to prove your age, because I remember you from the Usenet days, so you MUST be of legal age! Let me scrounge around and see what I can come up with for a future giveaway, the holidays will soon be upon us! It’s getting harder and harder!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Oasis, cigars, Contest, DAHOT, Danli Honduras Tabacos, drew estate, E.P. Carrillo, EPC, Pledge

by Craig Vanderslice | October 14, 2020 · 8:56 pm

A Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero and Odds and Ends

I’m kind of running low on new cigars to write about, and this isn’t a plea for new cigars or anything, just a bit of explanation of why things seem to have slowed down here a little. I haven’t been getting out to get new things to smoke enough. Some of it’s laziness, some of it’s just enjoying some of the cigars I have on hand. For instance, I smoked a CAO Flathead Sparkplug 450 that had been in the humidor for a few years that was really good, and smoked the new Perdomo 10th Anniversary Sungrown Toro again and decided that I really do enjoy it more than the Maduro, which is strange for me. This concludes the “odds and ends” portion of tonight’s post.

Tonight I smoked this year’s Herrera Esteli Habano Edicion Limitada Lancero. This cigar was announced last March, and was part of Drew Estate’s Summer Takeover. In the Herrera Esteli lineup, I tend to prefer the Maduro varieties, the Norteño and the Brazilian Maduro, and I tolerate the regular Habano line. In the case of this Lancero, it’s a different story. This is a special cigar. I need to dig around, because I think I still have one of last years in the humidor, but this years is really good. It’s a 7″ x 38 with a cap, no pigtail, which is just fine, I generally cut them anyway, no manhandling the pigtails for me. There’s a candy sweetness about halfway through that really was delightful, and the whole cigar was a pleasure to smoke, assuming one smokes it slowly, so as not to overheat it. As with all thin cigars, if they are smoked too fast they burn hot and taste bitter. This can be confused with being stronger, or the tired wrapper to filler ratio argument. Smoke a lancero slow, and it’s a nice, cool smoke.

If you et a minute, check out MyCigarShirts.com, they have some neat cigar t-shirts and sweatshirts! That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | October 9, 2020 · 5:56 pm

News: Drew Estate Ships Undercrown Dojo Dogma Sun Grown to Drew Diplomat Retailers

I didn’t get around to posting any original content on Wednesday, I had a Tuesday news item with a short editorial comment and then I got distracted and didn’t get around to writing a Wednesday post. So here’s a Drew Estate news item. I’ve smoked the “Sun Dog”, and it’s good. I may break open the other sampler I have and smoke another one. My only complaint is that it’s too short. but the size seems to suit the blend, so I guess it’ll have to do. Smoking the current Maduro Dogma is still on my to-do list. I wonder if I should open up that other Media sampler? I thought about having a contest and giving it away, but I really want to smoke this Dogma Sungrown…I guess I’ll be able to buy the Dogmas soon, so I’ll just wait. Watch for that contest soon.

Drew Estate announces today that it is now shipping Undercrown Dojo Dogma Sun Grown to Drew Diplomat Retailers nationwide. The Dojo Dogma Sun Grown was announced during the #DESummerTakeover campaign and it was highlighted on Freestyle Live: Special Edition.

Undercrown Dojo Dogma Sun Grown is a 5 x 54 box-pressed robusto chosen by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera and Cigar Dojo Master Sensei Eric Guttormson for its bolder profile. The Sun Grown Dojo Dogma features an Ecuadorian Sumatra Sun Grown capa, with Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut/Cured Sun Grown Habano binder, and a complementing, powerhouse blend of Nicaraguan premium filler tobaccos. One leaf of extensively aged Ligero from the Nueva Segovia region, along the border of Honduras, has been carefully selected to enhance the intense character of the blend. It is packaged in a 24-count wooden box, featuring the dual emblems of Undercrown and the Cigar Dojo community.

From Sag Harbor, N.Y., Jonathan Drew, founder and president of Drew Estate, states, “The SunDog, as we affectionately call it around here, has been shipped to participating shops nationwide. While the SunDoggyDog is certainly related to its cousin with the maduro capa, the SunDog has a flavor profile that’s distinctly spicy. Both of my good homies, Philly Phil and Nevergood, out here in East Hampton, New York, say ‘SunDog smokes like a Cuban cigar on very spicy overload.’ So … let’s get our Dojo gear on, t-shirt and cap, and post it up in the Drew Estate Facebook Group, Drew Diplomat and Cigar Dojo.”

The Undercrown Dojo Dogma Sun Grown is packaged in 24-count wooden boxes with an MSRP of $244.80. It is now shipping to Drew Diplomat Retailers nationwide.

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

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by Craig Vanderslice | October 4, 2020 · 10:52 am

A Few A.J. Fernandez Cigars, a Pancetta and STFU!!! Thoughts

I smoked a few more of the A.J. Fernandez cigars that I had picked up last week at CigarCigars in Downingtown. I’ve managed to smoke a great many more cigars that are made by AJF for other people than under his own name, but I imagine that’s just a function of scale. The San Lotano was a cigar that I really enjoyed several years ago. The first one was the New World Puro Especiale Robusto. This is a 5½ x 52 “robusto”, not a bad size, right in between a robusto and a toro really. I thought it was a pretty decent cigar, on the leathery side, which generally doesn’t excite me a whole lot. It has Nicaraguan Habano wrapper and binder, with Nicaraguan fillers. One wonders if they go to the trouble of identifying the wrapper and binder varietals, why skimp on naming the fillers? Anyway, it was a very good cigar if that’s your flavor preference, mine tends toward something sweeter.

Next up was the Enclave Broadleaf, a cigar that I had been hoping to pick up, but was disappointed that they didn’t have for sale. How is it that I came to acquire this cigar, you ask? Well. Tom, the new manager at CigarCigars in Downingtown, PA, happened to mention that he was smoking one that the rep, John, had given him to try, and he was going to recommend bringing them in, which I replied that I had hoped to find them there. He then gifted me one, which was mighty nice of him, I think he’s going to do alright there! 😀 Like I said, I had been looking forward to trying this cigar, so I lit up the 5” x 52 Robusto and took a walk. This is a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigar with Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and it’s on the strong side. I actually found it to have a biting sensation, to the flavor. It had the bitter espresso thing going on to a pretty high level, in my opinion. There was nothing subtle or smooth about this cigar. When I come across these in the shop I’ll pick a few up and leave them rest for a while (six months to a year) and see if the rough edges smooth out. For me, this is a cigar to follow a heavy meal, it’s a full frontal assault on the palate.

I posted the news release last week about Drew Estate’s re-release of the Liga Privada Lounge exclusive Liga Privada Serie Unico Pancetta. This is a shop exclusive that is exclusive to only two shops, the Wooden Indian, which is near me, and one of my favorites, and Barristers In New Jersey. Last year Dave, the proprietor of the Wooden Indian, gave me one out of his private stock, long after I had missed out on getting one. Now that they are available again, or maybe they sold out of the latest batch, I’m not sure, I figured I’d smoke it. It’s a smaller cigar, at least for my tastes, a 4 ¾” x 50 belicoso. I got a late start last night, and the size worked well for me. This cigar has the T52 wrapper, around a variation on the Feral Flying Pig blend. The combination resulted in an excellent cigar, although I was hard pressed to make any connection to either the T52 or the FFP. To be fair, the last FFP seemed different from the previous FFP I smoked, so who knows, right? Anyway, it was an outstanding cigar that I savored until I couldn’t savor any more, it certainly is a cigar that Dave at the WI is proud to have representing his wonderful lounge, which I look forward to visiting once it reopens! I’ve actually only been there once since the remodeled, and it was at Christmas. Between lack of employment and pandemic, I haven’t had a chance to get there. Call them and see if they still have some available!

Saka had his big reveal show for his STFU!!! Brûlée Sampler, hosted by Kevin at CigarProp and the I’d Tap That Cigar show. I don’t normally watch live streams, but this one was a must see. Kevin did a great job moderating this one with Steve and Dave Lafferty, although someone should tell Steve that his signature black shirt against the dark background made him look like a disembodied head on my screen, which was a little disturbing. I lit up a Mi Querida Firecracker because it was supposed to be an hour, I should have gone with a Sobremesa Short Churchill, because it went an hour and 20 minutes. It’s Saka, I should know better. Anyway, The announcement was that the S and !!! were regular Brûlée, T was double sweet and F and U were sweetened. My assessment was close, although I struggled with F and U, missing U altogether I think. The way Steve explained the sweetening process, they make all the cigars the same, then wipe the sugar solution on after the fact, and the sugar solution is concentrated differently to achieve the sweetness level. The F and U samples I received must have had the cloth with the sweetener on it waved over them, because they either were ever so slightly sweetened, or I don’t taste sweet very well. I have quite. A sweet tooth, so I don’t think that’s the case. Anyway, I rather enjoyed the T actually, it was an interesting change of pace, and I do enjoy a sweetened cigar once in a while, although the saccharine is a little much, but Steve explained why that is used instead of sugar in a lot of cases to. Go to the CigarProp YouTube channelCigarProp YouTube channel if you missed the show, there’s a lot of good information there.