Tag Archives: drew estate

by | March 31, 2021 · 9:03 pm

News: Drew Estate Will Air Freestyle Live: Special Edition Thursday, May 6th

Here’s the first of a couple Wednesday news items. This is another big Drew Estate Freestyle Live Facebook Event. This one looks to be an interesting one! I may have to tune in. Will Pedro be drinking Presidente or his favorite “Jingling” beer? (a bit of an inside joke between Pedro and I).

 

Drew Estate will air Freestyle Live: Special Edition on Thursday, May 6th, on its Facebook Live page (facebook.com/drewestatecigar) at its usual broadcast time of 7-9 p.m. EST, but this episode will be a shocker to both consumers and trade alike, so get ready!

 

Here’s the scoop … Leading up to the Freestyle Live broadcast, Drew Estate will ship participating retailers across the United States a limited amount of Freestyle Live Event Packs that will include three of a new ultra-premium cigar [WITHOUT BANDS], a travel humidor, a cutter, a lighter and a raffle ticket. The identity of the newly released cigars will remain an air-tight secret right up to the moment that Drew Estate’s Ambassadors reveal their identity during the show.

 

From the Wynwood Safehouse in Miami, JD reveals, “This episode is gonna be a straight gangsta party. In addition to bookending the final night of our new brand media blitz, we’re gonna go absolutely bananas with massive consumer prizes and theatrics galore. But check me here … consumers who were diligent enough to snag a pack from their local bricks-and-mortar will burn the new sticks with the Drew Estate Ambassadors, Sales Team, Executive Team and Nicaragua Front Line Division at the exact same time so we can all enjoy the experience together. At that exact moment, we gonna drop the 411 on this worldwide, globa

lized sexy beast! I’m gonna be drinkin’ Angels Envy Cask Strength for this one. Joey and Frankie prolly be slurpin’ the Mezcal in those red adobe “cupitos,” while Pedro drinks a few Presidentes, and Willy’s double fisted with two cigars burning at the same time. Hahaha … let’s ride.”

 

 

 

The raffle ticket included in the Freestyle Live Event Pack automatically enters consumers for a chance to win* one of three prizes … a Drew Estate Standing Tower humidor for third prize; a Drew Estate branded bar designed by Dog at Subculture Studios for second prize; and the grand prize of a Suzuki Supermoto DR-7400SM dirt bike. Retailers who participate in the Freestyle Live Event Pack promotion will be automatically entered for a chance to win* one of three prizes … a Drew Estate Standing Tower humidor for third prize; a Drew Estate branded bar designed by Dog at Subculture Studios for second prize; and the grand prize package of a Mega Standing ashtray, three Dream Seat recliners and a $5,000 credit for store improvements. Prize winners will be announced during the show.

 

 

Drew Estate’s Freestyle Live Special Edition Event Packs have an MSRP of $40 … with only 2,300 available for purchase beginning on April 12.

 

Drew Estate Freestyle Live Special Edition will kick off on Thursday, May 6, at 7 p.m. on facebook.com/drewestatecigar.

 

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY FOR CONSUMER OR RETAILER PROMOTIONS. Legal residents of the 50 United States (incl. D.C.; excl. MA, MI and VA), 21 years or older. Enter Sweepstakes by: 4/29/21. To enter and for Official Rules, including prize descriptions, visit https://drewestate.com/freestylelivetradepromotion. Odds depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: SWI-DE, LLC, 12415 SW 136th Avenue, Suite 7, Miami, FL 33186.

 

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the wo

rld. 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 | March 14, 2021 · 10:05 am

A Celtic Ash Cigar from Humidity Cigars and a Deadwoods Crazy Alice

After the folks at Humidity Cigars were kind enough to send me a sample of their monthly subscription pack to try, I placed an order with them to see what would really happen! I chose the “Flight and Light” pack which, at the time, was on sale for $30. I was hoping for some new and interesting cigars to try, and I did get that. I recently had a conversation with Ernesto Padilla about why I hadn’t posted many of his cigar recently, my answer was that they were not available in the shops I visited, so I now have a Padilla (which I have to find out about). One think I would like to see included with the Humidity Cigars shipments is details on the cigars, maybe that’s just because I’m a cigar geek, or I need the details. Fortunately, Gian, the owner of the company, has been responsive to my questions. Yesterday I dug into the pack and smoked the cigar that looked the most interesting to me, the Celtic Ash.

 

 

The Celtic Ash seems to be an exclusive to Humidity Cigars. I should have measured it, but I think it was around 6½” x 52 or 54 maybe. I suppose I expected to find some information about it somewhere, being the optimist that I am (sometimes). I did confirm that it has a Corojo wrapper with Dominican binder and fillers. The wrapper is a dark shade, which is one of the things that drew me to it, as well as the size, which was appropriate for the time I had available. I assume this was included in a March pack to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day, kudos to them for not falling into the candella trap. The cigar is very good, despite some slight burn irregularities, nothing a little torch work can’t fix. It had some really nice sweet and spice flavors, good, well fermented tobacco. Whoever made this for Humidity Cigars knew what they were doing. I admit, at first look with my admittedly jaded eye, I was concerned with the selection I received, now I’m looking forward to trying the MyLuck and Padilla at least (I think I’ve smoked La Perla a long time ago, but I’ll give it another shot). I’ve been impressed with the service so far, the cigars are well packaged and presented. 

 

I have a pet peeve or two, and one big one is when folks insist that Drew Estate‘s Larutan (nee Natural) and the Deadwoods are infused or flavored. I’ve actually seen people argue with Vaughn Boyd, who owned Deadwood Cigars in South Dakota, for whom the Deadwood line was made, about this point. You’d think she would know the answer. I’m going to give you the answer right now, they are not infused or flavored, except that they have a sweet cap in some cases. The exotic tobaccos that are used, the Periques, Syrians and Latakias, that are more traditionally used in pipe tobaccos, are not cased in sweet stuff, they are processed like cigar tobaccos. I know this from discussions with people at Drew Estate and having been to the factory on two occasions. People will still argue that they are infused cigars because they don’t taste like traditional cigars, but that’s because the tobaccos they use taste different! After having this argument yet again yesterday, and correcting someone who should have known better, an “influencer” if you will, I decided to smoke a Crazy Alice. This is a cool shape and a really interesting little smoke. I recently picked up a box of these just because I enjoy them for a change of pace once in a while. They are an explosion of flavor, unique spices and sweetness, I just find them very enjoyable. It filled an hour in between dinner and the Flyers game very nicely. Just because something is different, doesn’t mean it’s wrong!

 

That’s all for today, if this post is an hour late, you forgot to change your clock. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | March 7, 2021 · 10:24 am

Room 101 Cigar Dojo Noodles Cigar and a Papas Fritas

Yesterday my wife and I took a little drive to Connecticut. My wife bought a really cool antique rooster cigar cutter in an auction, and it would have been a big hassle to have it shipped, so we decided to drive up and pick the thing up. A bit frivolous, I realize, but these days just getting out of the house to do something is something! We did manage to have our first Popeyes  chicken sandwich on the way, and picked up a White Castle Crave Case to nibble on on the way home! That’s kind of a Russian roulette move, isn’t it? Eat White Castle sliders on the road and see if you can make it home in time! I paced myself, one every two exits (credit to Jenn for the idea, btw. I may not have had the willpower).  By  I guess I have a strong constitution, it wasn’t a problem. While the cutter isn’t sharp enough to be functional, I think it’s really cool, and Drew Newman, of J.C. Newman, commented on Instagram that they have one in their museum, so that’s kinda neat. When I got home, I was ready for a cigar, I was going to have one on the drive, but I was too busy navigating the traffic to take the time to cut and light, I figured it would be less stressful to just wait until I got home. 

 

I selected a cigar that was new to me, and was shared with me in a Secret Santa pack last Christmas. Many thanks for that! The cigar is a Room 101/Cigar Dojo collaboration that was made in the William Ventura factory in the Dominican Republic and didn’t really seem to have a name, but was called “noodles”. I thought I saw a comment from Matt with a more specific name, but I can’t find it, and who knows with him anyway, he’s a little loony! It’s a good sort of loony, mind you, but loony, nonetheless.  This has a natural colored San Andrès wrapper, Sumatra binder and Criollo ’98, Corojo ’99,  and Havana Vuelta Abajo fillers. Oddly, as much as I like a Maduro fermented San Andrés wrapper, Natural San Andrés rarely does anything for me. Such was the case with this cigar. One would think the Sumatra binder would be a saving grace, sadly no. While technically the Belicoso shape was a perfect delivery system, the flavor didn’t excite me, it was sour to my palate, and, except for a short stretch where I got an interesting flavor of something I couldn’t put a finger on, but liked.  For the right palate, this would be a great cigar. 

 

Since the Room 101 was only a 5½” x 52 Belicoso, and seemed to smoke pretty fast, I was left wanting. Since I had been chowing down on White Castle burgers non-stop all

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afternoon, I figured what goes better

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with burgers than fries, right? So a Drew Estate Papas Fritas was the obvious choice, and since I had one out for the ride, I fired one up. These little 4½’ x 44 mixed fill cigars, while a little pricey for what they are, they are exceptional. They aren’t too far off in flavor from a Liga Privada, they use the same Broadleaf wrapper and Brazilian binder and filled with trimmings from the benches where Ligas are rolled. The original version was presented in four count tins, somewhere I have a Havana Romeo y Julieta tin of the same design from the 60’s or 70s. They used to offer these tins on transAtlantic flights! Those were the days! Anyway, great little cigars! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 3, 2021 · 10:59 am

New Year’s Cigars, A Don Lino Africa and a La Aurora 107 Nicaragua

Happy New Year and welcome to the 12th year of CigarCraig.com. Hopefully everything keeps going on the same as it has been for the past 11! I hope everyone had safe and healthy celebrations on New Years Eve, I fell asleep on the couch after smoking a really good cigar. I dug to the bottom of one of the rarely ventured into humidors and found a Havana Romeo y Julieta Tubed Churchill that has been there for well over a decade that was simply sublime. I figured with everything happening in the world it was as good a time as any to smoke this cigar. It was floral and woody (cedar sleeve in the tube, ya know), burned perfectly and was absolutely wonderful. I find that I’m more often than not disappointed by Havanas lately, but this older cigar was exceptional. I have a

few very old Havanas in the humidor yet, I hope they provide a similar experience. 

 

For my first cigar of the new year I selected a Liga Privada Serie Unico Year of the Rat. This is a Corona Gorda, 5 1/2 x 46, with a Broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian binder and Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. One may think that this cigar is in the same family as the Dirty Rat and Ratzilla, but those two have the Stalk Cut Habano wrapper and this has a blend closer to the No.9. It’s a really good, bold cigar, lots of dark espresso flavor and very meaty. I would love to have tried the original 2016 version that was made for the lounge at the Florida Panther’s Sunrise Center Arena, but I never made it to a game, and I don’t know if they ever managed to sell any there anyway! I’m sure they are pretty much the same as they were then. I had one of these art the TPE show and it was quite good too. A nice way to start the year. I could do without the foil wrap, only because it’s a pain to remove, but it looks spiffy. 

 

Yesterday I stopped into Top Shelf Cigars in Skippack, PA for a visit with Jim Cronin, the owner. This shop, in a kitschy little village with crafty shops and restaurants, has been there for 18 years, and has a very nice classic selection of cigars. I say classic, in that there is not a lot of boutique selections, in a location like this, I imagine that recognizable brands sell better than more cigar geek type of stuff. I still was able to find some cigars I hadn’t smoked yet (although nothing on my top ten list), the Miami Cigar & Co. Don Lino Africa, which I smoked in the Duma Robusto size. This is a new version of this cigar, if you looked way back at one of my very early blog posts, you’d find that I bought a five pack of Africas at Holts, but those are long gone. These are now made by AJ Fernandez, with a Habana 2000 wrapper, Cameroon binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. The old version was far more “Cameroony” than the new, although there is still a hint of the Cameroon sweetness from the binder. It was a good performing cigar with a nice flavor. I enjoyed the Robust and brought home a toro to try another time.

 

Since the topic of La Aurora’s distribution with Miami Cigar and Company (who owns the Don Lino Africa brand) came up, and whether Miami Cigar Co. was going to continue to distribute La Aurora after letting their sales staff go recently, I figured I’d smoke the new La Aurora 107 Nicaragua. I thought I’d read that La Aurora was sticking with Miami Cigar, but there seems to some confusion in the market about that. Without a sales force, does either brand really have that much of a market presence to keep up? Has 2020 given companies the notion that Zoom meetings can replace face to face interaction, both in the way of sales calls and in store events? It’ll be interesting to see, and I feel really bad for all the great sales reps who find themselves out of work. Anyway, I had picked up a couple of the La Aurora 107 Nicaraguas in the Gran Toro, 6” x 58 size. This is a Nicaraguan puro. I probably should have gotten a smaller size, because this one took half the cigar to really get going. The first half of the cigar was mild to the point of almost being

without flavor. When it finally got there, it was very tasty, nice, earthy flavors, although not awfully distinctive or overly interesting. I’ll try a few more in different sizes, but this might fall into the 50% or so of La Aurora cigars that I don’t really like.

 

Well, that’s all for today. There is one more thing. I tried to do a Reader’s Poll, which I need to either find a better way, or abandon completely. The winner, by the way, was the Southern Draw Rose of Sharon. It was unanimous, as there was only one response. Considering it’s a delicious cigar, definitely in my top five Connecticut cigars, I’ll let it stand. With that, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | December 27, 2020 · 10:06 am

Holiday Weekend Cigars and the Big Contest Winner!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday, it was another quiet one around here. We prepared a nice feast and delivered some food to Mom and our daughter’s family, remaining socially distant. I tend to smoke some good stuff around the holidays, and more times than not, my version of “good stuff” is classics. In t

his case I smoked an Ashton VSG Belicoso #1 on Christmas Eve. I’ve been nursing a box of these for a few years and they are extremely delicious. Every time I smoke one I am reminded of how much I like them and could smoke them all the time. I guess it’s why it’s a treat. Earlier in the day I had a Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve Robusto which was a generous gift from a  Secret Santa that I took part in this year. That’s another great cigar made by Drew Estate. I almost liken it to a highly refined Kentucky Fire Cured, as it does share some commonalities.

 

Christmas Day brought a little Davidoff  702 Series 2000 Corona between doing some cooking and waiting to leave on the aforementioned rounds. Another tasty cigar that had been in the humidor for some time. This is a 5 1/16” x 42 medium bodied cigar that was smooth and creamy. Oddly, Davidoff’s website lists smoking times for each vitola, and they list this one at 25 minutes. Perhaps th

ey are going by Zino Davidoff’s habit of only smoking half the cigar, because I smoked this for about an hour, and all of the smoking time they list are easily 30 minutes or so short. Later in the day I went with about Fuente favorite, the Arturo Fuente Añejo No. 50. This is another box I am rather miserly with. Originally the Añejo was born when a fire destroyed (or a hurricane?) the curing barns where the Opus X wrappers were curing, ruining the crop, and they put Broadleaf wrappers on Opus bunches. I gotta tell ya, I’ll take an Añejo over an Opus any day of the week. It’s a delicious cigar, especially for desert. It’s sweet chocolate cake. Like the VSG, it’s tough to keep my hands out of the box. Last night I wrapped things up with a new classic, and a cigar that easily keeps up with the other great cigars I smoked this weekend, a Sobremesa Short Churchill. While it doesn’t have the Pedigree of the Fuentes or Davidoff, it certainly has the construction and flavor to compete. It was absolutely delicious and too short. It was a great cigar weekend, but aren’t they all!

 

Contest!

OK, Since you’ve probably already scrolled here, I’ll get to the point! Last week I had a giveaway for a whole bunch of great swag and cigars! Stuff from Montecristo, Drew Estate, Villiger and Foundation Cigar Co, and the Humidors of CigarCraig! I’ve consulted the Random Number Generator (Google has

one now, I don’t have to go to Random.org anymore), and between my randomization of the entries, and using the random number generator, it’s the digital equivalent of mixing slips of paper in a fishbowl. The selection process came up with Joseph as the winner! Please email me with your contact info and proof that you’re old enough. I hate to chase people and I tried to make it easy to email! I’ll see if I can come up with something else in the coming weeks! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig 

 

 

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