Tag Archives: El Primer Mundo

by Craig Vanderslice | November 17, 2019 · 10:56 am

Gran Habano, El Primer Mundo and Joya de Nicaragua Cigars

I’ve been all over the place this week with cigars, follow my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to seem my dailies. I had some cigars I really like trying to buoy my spirits, an EPC Inch Ringmaster, a Diesel Whiskey Row Cherry Cask and a CAO Flathead V19, all really great cigars! But I wanted to talk about three other cigars for some reason. First of which was the Gran Habano Gran Reserva 2012 in the Gran Robusto size. I reached for this cigar for a few reasons. First it’s really a Toro, 6”x 54, and I like that size, I’m surprised it’s lasted this long in the humidor. Second, I feel like Gran Habano is a bit underrated, I generally dig their cigars, and I don’t see them in my local stores. Third, they have been a great supporter of my site, and I just received a little care package from them with some corona gorda sized 2012s and seeing those made me want to smoke one. So this cigar has Nicaraguan wrapper and binder with Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers, and they use the top 10% of the leaf that they use in the Corojo No.5 blend and then age it for 7-8 years. The cigar is pretty darned good, with some earthiness and cedar and a bit of spice. The aged tobaccos smooth this cigar out nicely and it burned perfectly. This was a delightful cigar.

A while ago I picked up a 10 pack of what I thought to be old El Primer Mundo La Hermandad Costa Fuerte Embajador Toros and put them in the humidor. I hadn’t seen these for a long time and was a fan of a great many of the El Primer Mundo offerings. For those who don’t know, El Primer Mundo was the company founded by Sean Williams, who is now the Cohiba brand ambassador. I’ve known Sean a long time, he’s a cool dude. Anyway, these were made at the PDR factory in the DR, where Sean spent a stint as the director of sales. They have a Brazilian wrapper from Bahia, Dominican Olor binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I believe these to be older cigars, based on how they smoke, however, they seem to be still available in the wild (OK, one site in particular, easy to find, and very fairly priced). This confuses me a little because it’s really a very good cigar. It’s got a nice coffee flavor with some sweetness and spice that I like. This is one you can’t smoke with the band on!

Finally, this is a cigar I’ve had in the humidor for a while, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to dig in. Between the weather, and having a cold, and general malaise, I haven’t felt like the time was right. The cigar in question, of course, is the Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas Fundador. This is a new size this year, a box pressed 6″ x 54 Toro in addition to the 7″ x 50 El General and the also 6″ x 54 Diadema. I get out of typing up the wrapper, binder filler on these because they don’t disclose the ingredients. One would suspect it’s a Nicaraguan puro, considering it commemorates the company’s 50th anniversary, at least that would be the hope. I have found it curious that they didn’t promote that outright. Interestingly enough, this cigar is rather unlike their powerhouse blends like the Antaños, and is far more refined, it’s definitely a super-premium, luxury offering. When these came out last year I made the comparison the the Joya Silver, and confirmed that they share some lineage. The Fundador is a treat, it’s rich, it’s creamy, it has subtle espresso and spices which intensify toward the end. Another masterpiece from one of my favorite factories. Friggin yum.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cinco Decadas, Costa Fuerte, El Primer Mundo, Gran Habano, Gran Reserva 2012, joya de nicaragua

by CigarCraig | January 24, 2016 · 9:25 am

Epic Cigars at Twin Smoke Shoppe, News and Interesting Items

Friday I had the opportunity to take the day off from work and venture into Philadelphia to visit Twin Smoke Shoppe, the oldest cigar shop in South Philly, and one of the oldest in Philly. This is a great neighborhood shop, complete with a city cop sitting there enjoying a smoke, and a collection of “goombahs” sitting around busting one another’s testicular appendages. I went because I saw that Dean Parsons of Epic Cigars was going to be there, and I am a fan of Epic Cigars so it made a great excuse. Also, it turned out Sean Williams (El Primer Mundo) was in town and hanging out there too. I like hanging out with both of these dudes. I bought some Epic cigars and lit up a Maduro Lancero. The Maduro Reserva line has a dark and oily Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Cameroon binder (I love the maduro over Cameroon combo) and Mostly Dominican fillers with a Nicaruguan viso for good measure. I am a fan of the Maduro Reserva line in general, and the lancero is at the top of the list. This cigar burned perfectly, had a great, rich cocoa/espresso flavor with a tinge of spice. It was a winner, and I’m glad I have a few more in my humidor.

I followed the Lancero with Twin Smoke Shoppe’s owner, Anthony Renzulli’s house brand, Renzulli Goomad, a 7″ x 48 Churchill made by Erik Espinosa at La Zona. The Renzulli has a Habano Rosado wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler. They have four sizes available, Cing U Bezz: 4 x 46 (SRP $5.00), Cuz: 6 x 54 (SRP $7.99), Minchia: 6 x 60 (SRP $8.99) and Goomad: 7 x 48 (SRP $7.99), all named with terms from the local South Philly Italian slang, apparently a Goomad is a mistress, or girl on the side. It’s hard to go wrong with anything from La Zona, and the Renzulli was a nice smoke, medium bodied, fairly rich and well balanced and generally pleasurable to smoke. So, if youse find yourself in south Philly, stop in Twin Smoke Shoppe and smoke a Renzulli in their beautiful lounge. Great store with a lot of history, hospitable staff and a great selection. It was great to get to spend some time hanging out with Dean and Sean for an afternoon, in a great shop.

Then it snowed (officially 28+ inches with lots of drifting). Yesterday, in between reasonably futile attempts to shovel the driveway, I sat down in my cozy back porch with my propane heater (enclosed, protected from wind and snow), and smoked another Epic Maduro Reserva, this time on the opposite end of the size spectrum from the lancero, the Gordo. This is a 6″ x 60, same general make up of the lancero (although I assume the lancero skips the ligero, perhaps Dean can chime in on that). This cigar was more cocoa than espresso, the larger ring seems to give it a creamier sensation than the lancero. I enjoyed the heck out of it, every bit as much as the lancero but for different reasons. The Gordo had the same beautiful dark, oily wrapper and loads of rich smoke. I never had a hint of a burn problem, and it smoked for just about two hours while I recovered from snow shoveling. If you haven’t tried the Epic line, give them a shot. Dean tells me they are doing very well in Germany and gaining some ground in Canada too, with good reason. They are all excellent cigars that suit my palate perfectly.

Stuff

OK, here’s some random cigar stuff that I’d like to bring to your attention. First, Mike Capuzzi was the winner of the Tortuga present in the 2015 12SDoCG and I met up with him to deliver his prize, then we went to Suburban Tavern last week. There seems to be an Italian thing going on, Tortugas are from South Philly native Victor Vitale, Capuzzi, Renzulli…someone get me a cannoli…but I digress. A week or so ago Mike’s daughter came up with a product to customize the glass on the front of Mike’s wineador, and they were kind enough to give mine an upgrade as well. They launched Wineadorart.com offering this product to the cigar smoking public. They offer beautifully printed, high quality adhesive decals that look great on the glass of any humidor, not just wineadors. Check out their site at http://wineadorart.com/ see what they have to offer.

A year or so ago I featured a guy making cool lamps out of cigar boxes, and have come across another one. This time it’s Brady from Helio Designs making some steampunkish lamps, not only with cigar boxes, but some other cool designs too. These are pretty cool, mancave-worthy designs. I always try to think of something creative to do with cigar boxes, and it seems whenever I come up with an idea someone’s already done it. I made a birdhouse once, but it didn’t hold up to the weather. Anyway, just one more cool thing I came across that I thought you all would enjoy seeing.

Finally, Please welcome the latest addition to the CigarCraig.com family of sponsors, Altadis USA. They recently released a new extension to the Henry Clay line, which I’m looking forward to sampling after enjoying the Henry Clay Tattoo so much, the Henry Clay Stalk Cut. here’s the press release:

Henry Clay Stalk Cut by Grupo De Maestros

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Henry Clay, the legendary premium cigar with a devoted and growing niche following, announces its newest line, Henry Clay Stalk Cut by Grupo De Maestros.

“Stalk cut” is a tobacco-harvesting method in which the entire stalk is cut and hung to dry in the tobacco barns. This method allows the tobacco to retain its natural nutrients to yield richer, more flavorful leaves.

The Henry Clay Stalk Cut blend was developed through the knowledge, experience, skill and care of the Grupo de Maestros, an elite brotherhood of master blenders and cigar makers. Combined, the Maestros bring with them over 250 years of experience and have united to create a rare experience for adult cigar enthusiasts.

This Dominican cigar features a dark Connecticut Broadleaf Vintage 2012 wrapper, Dominican Piloto Vintage 2010 binder and Dominican Olor Vintage 2012, Dominican Piloto Vintage 2012 and Nicaraguan Criollo Vintage 2013 fillers. This blend of exceptional tobaccos generates a full-bodied smoke, bold and robust with earthy notes.

Available in three sizes:

Gran Corona (Pig Tail) 46 x 6”

Robusto 50 x 5”

Toro 54 x 6”

Priced between $8.00 and $8.50, the Henry Clay Stalk Cut cigars will be packaged in sleek, 20-count boxes accented with silver and black edging. Shipping early January of 2016, the Henry Clay Stalk Cut by the Grupo de Maestros will have adult cigar enthusiasts eager to light up.

Sounds like a pretty good smoke. Anyway, that’s it for today. I’ll be killing myself clearing snow today, lots of white stuff in the driveway, and I’ll need to be able to get the car out tomorrow to go to work. I’m sure I’ll find something to smoke when it’s all done! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as cigar, cigar store, cigars, El Primer Mundo, Epic, Helios, Henry Clay, Twin, WineadorArt

by CigarCraig | October 3, 2012 · 6:41 pm

Maduro Cigar Week! A La Hermandad, a Recluse and a Chateau Real Maduro

After enjoying the heck out of the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapped J.C.Newman Brickhouse, I decided to continue the Arapiraca theme with a La Hermandad Robusto from Sean Williams of El Primer Mundo. These are made by Abe Flores of PDR Cigars at his factory in the Dominican Republic. This was a nice, dark 5” x 50 cigar with a pre-production band that Sean gave me at the trade show. The cigar burned perfectly (a trend I’m happy to report I’ve noticed lately, cigars burning well. Nothing is more annoying than a cigar that burns poorly). and drew well, and was a powerhouse of strong, dark flavors. Sean Williams is a very cool guy and I had a chance to catch up with him at the trade show, here is a short video from his booth.

http://youtu.be/QxLHu_2nw0Q

Monday evening I continued the Arapiraca trend with a Recluse corona from Iconic Leaf Cigar Company. I’ve see a couple reviews of the Toro recently, and I also received samples this week, but they are going to rest for a while. I spoke to them at the show (see my post with video here) and had some pre-release samples in addition to the samples they gave me at the show, so I opted to smoke the corona. I also have a double corona, but it was just too large for the time I had allotted for my evening smoke, and the Kanu #1 is almost too pretty and interesting to smoke! This is another perfectly constructed cigar, a lovely box press that had a rich and dark wrapper. The flavor was equally dark and rich. I enjoyed this cigar to a finger burning nub. The mystery behind these cigars continues, their website states “Iconic Leaf Cigar was founded by two very well known and well respected legends in the cigar industry. They have chosen to keep their identities private in a pursuit to make the very best premium boutique cigars that can be found anywhere in the world without the influence of their names.” I’ll be very interested to find out who these legends are, and J.R. Dominguez certainly wasn’t spilling anything when I talked to him at the show! It’s a terrific cigar, give it a try if you can.

Tuesday evening I switched it up and went with a San Andreas Maduro wrapper. I selected a favorite from my dwindling supply, a Drew Estate Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto in Maduro. Sadly, these are discontinued, but there are still some around here and there. I bought this box about two years ago and they just keep getting better. These are a really smooth and delicious Maduro with coffee and cocoa flavors that are good to the last drop. I liked these so much that I had them in mind when I created my own blend at Cigar Safari a year and a half ago. My blend turned out to be just what I wanted, loads of smooth and chocolaty flavor without a lot of power. The Chateau Real Maduro is refined and classy and I wish it hadn’t been discontinued, although I probably couldn’t have gotten such great deals on the boxes I bought if they hadn’t been I suppose. This is a perfect cigar for my tastes and I’ll miss them dearly when they are gone, there’s nothing I don’t love about this cigar.

For some reason Autumn makes me lean toward the Maduros, always been that way. I have to go see what else I can scrounge up to keep the trend going. Maybe I’ll find a nice Broadleaf or another San Andreas wrapped cigar to smoke tonight.

That’s it for this installment. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under IPCPR, Review, Video

Tagged as Arapiraca, chateau real, cigar, cigars, El Primer Mundo, Iconic Leaf, La Hermandad, maduro, Recluse, San Andreas

by CigarCraig | December 28, 2011 · 10:31 am

CigarCraig’s Top Cigars Of 2011

Once again I’d like to thank everyone for making the 12 Days of Spectacular Giveaways a huge success. I certainly couldn’t have done it without stuff to give away and people to give it to and the great support I had at home. It was tons of fun but it was a loads of work and quite tiring. I’ll plan on doing it again next year but will do a few things a little differently on the back end. Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to everyone for making it a great year on CigarCraig.com!

Everyone’s publishing their “Top Whatever” lists, and I’ve avoided doing anything like that over the years since I don’t really have a quantitative method of reviewing cigars, if you even want to call it reviewing. I know what I like, I know how a cigar works and I also feel that nobody sets out to make a crappy cigar, so there must be someone, somewhere who likes a given cigar, no matter how offensive it is to me. Also keep in mind that I’m not the kind of guy who runs all over creation looking for the hip boutique cigars, I’m just as happy with a Partagas Black as I am with some limited edition cigar that only comes out on arbor day and had 7 bands on it (happier, no doubt) So with all that in mind, let’s take a romp through what tripped my trigger over the last year!

You’d be hard pressed to find a list without the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla on it, and I have to concur, this is one of the cigars this year that really made me happy. Broadleaf. That’s all it is, Broadleaf. I love Broadleaf. I only smoked the corona size, but to me it compared favorably with the Liga Privada Serie Unico Dirty Rat in flavor and balance. Tasty, tasty cigar! I purchased these at a local shop and they weren’t too much more than $5 or $6 each.

A group of cigars that have received favorable reviews everywhere and are on everyone’s lists are the Emilio and Grimalkin cigars from Gary Griffith. The Emilio AF1 is a nice, dark, heavy, seriously yummy cigar, it’s sibling, the AF2 is different, perhaps a brighter flavor, but equally well made and delicious. The Grimalkin is a different beast, subtle, complex, an orgiastic feast of the senses. I have not had the occasion to purchase these, all of the samples I smoked were provided to me by Gary, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t buy them in a heartbeat. Gary and his partners are producing exceptional cigars, and I’m quite happy to know him.

I have also been enamored with the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especial and the CAO OSA Sol this year, both new cigars from General Cigar Co., and I’m not just saying that because I had the great fortune of visiting their Dominican factory. One of the many eyeopeners on that trip, besides revisiting some of their classic cigars and finding them to be outstanding, was the time and passion that goes into making every cigar. It almost has to be harder to make a million great cigars that are great year after year thank to make a batch of a couple hundred thousand that are gone when they are gone, right? The La Gloria Retro has been excellent and tasty in all the sizes I’ve tried, cigar after cigar, and the CAO OSA Sol seems to shine in the Lot 50, or robusto size, but is a nice enough cigar across the board. Both are in the medium range with lots of flavor.

One of my favorite finds of the year has to have been Oja Cigars. I met the brand owner, Luis Garcia, on my trip to Nicaragua, and we hit it off pretty good. His cigars are made by Tabacalera Esteli, which is owned by Kiki Berger. There haven’t been a lot of cigars from Cuban Crafters that have floated my boat, but the Oja line is really nice. I think my favorite cigar of the year was a Connecticut Toro I enjoyed in the pool on a hot summer day, but that had as much to do with the circumstance as with the cigar. The line is solid, full bodied (even the Connecticut) and tasty. The Anniversary, with a Brazilian maduro wrapper outshines them all. It’s a little more refined and complex. I love the whole line and look forward to seeing them in stores in my area.

I should mention Adrian’s CroMagnon by Michael Rosales and Skip Martin, which is another cigar that’s been on everyone’s list. I’ve only smoked a couple samples that Skip gave me, but they are definitely up my alley. Also, for much different reasons, I really like the Berger and Argenti Mooch line, especially the Schnorr. The name cracks me up, but the cigar is a solid, flavorful medium bodied cigar. Also the Undercrown and My Uzi Weighs a Ton were on everyone’s list for good reason, and I enjoyed the samples I had. Alec Bradley is making fine cigars, Toraño is making fine cigars, La Palina, El Primer Mundo, Oliva, everyone seems to be making fine cigars! It’s a good time, there are so many choices!

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. Honestly, there were a LOT of great cigars this year.

Until the next time, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CigarCraig

17 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as af1, af2, Alec Bradley, broadleaf, cain, CAO, cigar, cigars, connecticut, drew estate, El Primer Mundo, Emilio, general cigars, Grimalkin, La Casita Criolla, La Gloria Cubana, La Palina, Oja, oliva, tatuaje, Toraño

by CigarCraig | September 18, 2011 · 11:18 am

The Delaware Cigar Festival and Another Contest!

Saturday, September 17 marked the long awaited fifth annual Delaware Cigar Festival, organized and hosted by Gary Griffith, the Premium Cigar Manager of Delaware Cigars and the creator of Emilio and Grimalkin Cigars. The event took place at Delaware Park, which is already one of our favorite places in the area to go and waste some money on the ponies, or drop some pennies in the slots. The event was unique, as it is a big herf disguised as a charity event, although Gary won’t use the charity aspect to promote it. The format is that the manufacturers and reps sell their samples for $3 each, with all of the proceeds going to charity, which this time benefited the family of a slain police officer (news report here), this was just in the last few days and quite tragic.

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Greenbacker

For your entrance price you got a bag with about 20 or 25 cigars (nice stuff too, I looked!) and assorted swag, a nice picnic buffet with burgers, dogs, chicken, ribs and beans, and the opportunity to talk with the assorted cigar makers and reps who were there. Brands represented were: Inked Magazine, Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente/JC Newman, Emilio Cigars with brand creator Gary Griffith, Drew Estate, Altadis USA, Oliva, Perdomo, La Sirena with Brand Ambassador Arielle Ditkowich, La Flor Dominicana, Cigar Rights of America, EO Brands with Eddie Ortega, Miami Cigar, General Cigar, 262 Cigars, Kristoff Cigars, El Primer Mundo with Sean Williams, Veritas Cigar Co., and The Cigar Agency. Keith Park from Prometheous was also there. All of these companies donated TONS of stuff, either cigars that were sold for $3 each, or stuff to be raffled off (we bought 10 tickets didn’t win a darned thing!). The attendance was capped at 300 people, including staff, press and exhibitors, so it was a nice sized crowd. It was rarely a problem to have a chat with the vendors.

In addition to getting to schmooze with some of my friends on the manufacturers side, I was able to hang out a bit with some fellow blogger types such as Barry from ACigarSmoker.com, Walt from StogieReview.com and Michael from CigarEvents.com. I also had the great pleasure of meeting one of my readers, Charlie, who won big in the raffle give-aways! These events are always about the people, and you just don’t meet nicer folks that those associated with cigars for some reason!

What a wonderful event that I would recommend highly next year if you are within a 3 or 4 hour drive. Gary is a fine gentleman and I appreciate him welcoming myself and my wife for the afternoon. It’s refreshing to see a retailer put on a “not for profit” event, and to have so many people there enjoying cigars and camaraderie. I’d love to see more manufacturers participate in the future as the event is for good causes and shows the cigar business in a positive light. The only downside was that the weather could have been a little nicer, it was overcast and under 70 until we drove off the premises, then the sun came out and it was nice! Hardly anyone’s fault. I managed to win about $4 on the ponies over the course of the day too!

In honor of the event, I’m going to have another quick give-away! I know, I JUST had one that ended this week, but we got a couple Rosie Napravnik Bobbleheads at the park for Racing Fan Appreciation Day and I thought I’d combine it with a beautiful Veritas Connecticut Salamone that I purchased from the Delaware based Veritas Cigar Co. at the event. So leave a comment to enter, and I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, September 25th.