Tag Archives: El Rey Del Mundo

by Craig Vanderslice | August 27, 2023 · 9:51 am

New El Rey Del Mundo and Diesel Cigars and a DBL Cigars Event

Thursday evening I went to the new Cigar Mojo location in Malvern, PA. which is about a mile closer to my house than the next nearest cigar store, which is two miles away. Yes, I could walk there if I so chose. Wade and Trae have built a really nice shop and lounge in a small center with restaurants, an Ax throwing venue, several other businesses, located adjacent to a huge corporate park in suburban Philly. The humidor is massive, and will soon be impressively stocked, and the lounge is well appointed and comfortable. I’ve been told that they are currently fully staffed ;-). Anyway, they had an inaugural event there with Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars and I couldn’t manage to find an excuse not to make the one mile trek over there. Francisco has a background with the Fuente and LFD factories, and went out on his own probably ten years ago or more. I think it’s been at least that long since I first met him. Super-nice dude, and very talented cigar roller. I smoked the DBL Extra Viejo Maduro while there. It was pretty good, some coffee and espresso notes that I like, there’s something in DBL cigars across the board that I don’t get. Friday evening I smoked the DBL Nicaraguan, which was initially called the La Union, but the Garcia’s had that trademark tied up with their upcoming anniversary project with Pete Johnson and asked for the name to be changed. I hoped that the Nicaraguan expression would suit my palate better, alas, it still had something that didn’t jive with me. I’ve said this before, as recently as a few weeks ago with Aganorsa, there are some lines that just don’t hit the palate, and that’s why there are so many different cigars. DBL makes good, quality cigars, and if you like a lot of different cigars than I tent to like, you’ll probably enjoy them! They are very well priced, and certainly deserve a try, and if you find yourself at Cigar Mojo at The Grove, give me a holler, if I’m free, I’m like three minutes away.

I’ve been fortunate to have come into a batch of new cigar samples, so I’ve been trying out some of the new releases lately. One I smoked this week was the El Rey del Mundo Shade Grown. El Rey del Mundo is a brand that’s been in my humidor on and off in some way for over the last 25 years, I can remember smoking many Rectangulares, Flor de Llanezas, and Robusto Largas over the years, and it was always a delicious, satisfying cigar. In this case, they’ve put a Honduran grown Connecticut shade wrapper on it, over a Honduran Jamastran binder, with Copan and Jamastran fillers, making a Honduran puro. If every line has to have a shade cigar (does it?), this cigar isn’t a bad fit with the brand. It’s got the creaminess, and is on the milder end of medium, but still has plenty of flavor. I rather enjoyed it, as I’ve been enjoying shade cigars lately, as long as they aren’t too mild and flavorless! Not too bad!

Last night after a heavy Italian meal out with friends, we retired to the sala fumatori at la mia casa for a digestif. Earlier in the day I had finished watching “James May: Our Man in Italy” on Amazon Prime so I was all Italianed up. I suppose a Toscano would have been more appropriate, but I had been eying up the new Diesel Vintage, and wanted to talk about it in today’s post. I’m also smoking one as I type this morning, on a fresh palate, because smoking one with company and conversation and alone without distraction can be two different experiences. Turns out they were pretty close. This is a cigar that is to my liking. It has a San Andrés Negro Madoro wrapper, Esteli binder, and Jalapa fillers ranging from five to eight years old. Like all Diesel cigars, it’s made by A.J. Fernandez for Forged Cigar Co. I’m smoking the 5″ x 56 Robusto Gordo, and it’s available in 4 other sizes, which I will eventually sample as I find them in the wild. I can personally attest that this cigar is as good after a heavy meal as it is with a morning cup of coffee, although I did end up smoking too late and slept like crap last night…a function of my advancing years, I’m afraid, I’m in the final days of my 50’s. I see an afternoon nap, and I’m talking right after noon…anyway, I really like this Diesel Vintage. It’s got a load of sweet spice, earth, coffee, cocoa, all the flavors I really like. I want to smoke the Toro, it could become a go-to. Great smoke.

That’s all for today. I celebrate a couple milestones this week, one being the 14th anniversary of CigarCraig.com, the other being the 10th anniversary of my 50th birthday, so I’ll be smoking some special cigars here and there to mark the occasions. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | May 17, 2022 · 6:06 pm

News: El Rey del Mundo by AJ Fernandez Announced

Last one today, I promise. This one is from the folks at Forged Cigars. Certainly everything AJ touches is pretty good for companies like General and Altadis, and the El Reys were pretty darned good already. This will probably be good.

PRESENTING EL REY DEL MUNDO BY AJ

El Rey del Mundo, the legendary Honduran brand, welcomes its first limited edition cigar with El Rey del Mundo by AJ.

The new expression is available in one box-pressed vitola and features a blend from AJ Fernandez.

El Rey del Mundo by AJ began shipping to all channels of retail this month.

Steve Abbot, director of marketing for STG said, “’El Rey del Mundo by AJ’ takes the foundation we’ve established with El Rey del Mundo and El Rey del Mundo Naturals and brings it to another level. Powered by a Nicaraguan-forward blend, AJ’s take on ‘El Rey’ delivers a fuller-bodied smoking experience. We believe this blend will capture the attention of smokers who might not have tried the brand before.”

Handcrafted by artisans at Tabacelera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua, El Rey Del Mundo by AJ is made with a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper and filler, with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder. The cigar delivers both body and balance and imparts hints of dark chocolate, cedar and white pepper on the palate.

El Rey Del Mundo by AJ is presented in 10-count boxes and available until the limited supply of 3,800 boxes is depleted.

El Rey del Mundo by AJ Toro (6 x 52); SRP per cigar $11.99 (box pressed)

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by Craig Vanderslice | April 24, 2022 · 9:22 am

Punch Knuckle Buster, El Rey Del Mundo and Pichardo Cigars

I’ve smoked a few of the new Punch Knuckle Buster Cigars recently and I have to say that I really like them. I had recently smoked my last Knuckle Buster natural, which had been recommended to me a while ago by a tobacconist. This had been a good recommendation, as I had found this to be a tasty smoke and had revisited it frequently. So I was excited to try the maduro version. I’m tempted to say that this is a really good cigar for the price, and these are very reasonably priced at under $6 for the Toro, and I’m amazed that they can make a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar so inexpensively. These have an Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers and are made in Honduras. This is a really good tasting cigar, with a different flavor than many Broadleaf cigars. I want to say it’s a savory, meaty kind of flavor, whatever it is, it appeals to me and I like it. This will be a cigar I will pick up from time to time for sure, and wish they had in the rothschild size as it would be a great short smoke.

I smoked the El Rey Del Mundo Natural this week, and, once again, was taken back to the 90’s when I smoked these often. My go to in this line was the Rectangulare, a box pressed corona gorda basically, which seems to be included in the current lineup. I smoked the Robusto en Vidrio, a 5½” x 50 robusto. General Cigars (this actually falls under their Forged division) likes the longer robusto vitola, it shows up in a lot of lines. I don’t have a good argument against the extra half an inch in most cases. Again, this is a sub-seven dollar cigar, and a very good smoke. It’s creamy, medium bodied with some woody notes. I’m not at all displeased smoking this cigar.

I picked up a Pichardo Reserva Familiar San Andrés yesterday on the recommendation of Vince at Son’s and smoked it last night. I regret only grabbing one, and I almost always get two, but I’ve been trying to be frugal. We’ve had a seemingly endless parade of household expenses this month, plumber, appliances, veterinarian, IRS, I don’t need more cigars. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to try more cigars from the Pichardo factory, so I gave this one a try. This was a toro, with San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder, and Fillers from Ometepe, Esteli, and Jalapa. From what I could tell, this was a delicious cigar, heavy on the espresso. I say that because this was plagued with apparent voids in the fill. It was weird. It started with a tunnel for the first third of the cigar, it took two or three puffs to get any smoke. Then for an inch it would be OK. Then there was another void. It was irritating, because the cigar tasted really good. I’ll try another, you know, for science.

That’s all for today, don’t forget to check out the Red Meat Lover’s Club Presents Battleship, Beef and Bourbon for the Ship event (I posted about it here). I hope to see some of you there! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | March 4, 2022 · 9:23 pm

News: El Rey del Mundo Naturals Announced

I meant to write a post last night, but I ended up doubled over in pain and in the ER with what ended up being a kidney stone. I skipped my nightly cigar last night after the cocktail of morphine and Percocet knocked me out. I’ve never been in so much pain, and I’m not looking forward to this 5mm bastard’s impending exit! To put it into context, 5mm is about 12½ ring gauge, a cigarette is 20 ring gauge. I’m sure some of you can relate. So here is some news from Forged/Scandinavian Tobacco. To my memory, this is a throwback to the ’90s/early ’00s. I remember smoking tons of natural Recangulars and Flor de Llanezas. There was a Trumpet size called the Flor de LaVonda, named after Lew Rothman’s wife. These were great cigars and were always priced well.

El Rey del Mundo, the legendary Honduran brand that became available in all retail channels in February 2021, is adding a new full time expression to its lineup. Called “El Rey del Mundo Naturals,” the collection ships to retail in March and features a completely different blend from the Sumatra version of El Rey del Mundo that launched last year.

Handcrafted by artisans at the HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras, El Rey Del Mundo Naturals is a mellow-to-medium-bodied smoke featuring an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, a Honduran binder and a Honduran and Nicaraguan filler. The cigar delivers a smoking experience that is richly layered, with a subtle note of white pepper, surrounded by deeper notes of cedar and graham cracker.

Olga Koke, assistant brand manager for El Rey del Mundo said, “With ‘Naturals,’ we are introducing a great all-purpose cigar. It is easy to smoke, loaded with nuances and extremely versatile when it comes to pairing. Factor in its accessible price and we believe El Rey del Mundo Naturals has all the makings of a runaway success.”

El Rey Del Mundo Naturals will launch with four vitolas, each presented in 20-count boxes:

Rectangulars (5.625” x 46); SRP per cigar $5.19 (box pressed)

Robusto en Vidrio (5.5” x 50); SRP per cigar $6.49 (crystal tube)

Flor de Llaneza (6.125” x 54); SRP per cigar $6.79 (pyramid)

Reserva Salado (6” x 54); SRP per cigar $6.79 (toro)

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by Craig Vanderslice | April 25, 2021 · 8:54 am

Two Tissue Wrapped Cigars: an El Rey del Mundo and a Room 101 Uncle Lee

Yesterday I had another one of my theme days. I have those every now and then, I’m weird that way. I find an odd common thread between two cigars, usually off the wall. In this case it was the presentation, tissue paper. I have very few cigars in my humidors with tissue paper wrapping. I can think of maybe two more besides the two I smoked yesterday, a CLE and a very old Cuban Fonseca KDT Cadet, and I only just thought of those now as I’m typing this. what started it was yesterday afternoon when I picked out an El Rey Del Mundo Robusto Oscuro to smoke. This is a brand that’s been around for a long time, and was recently re-assigned to the new Forged Tobacco sales division of Scandinavian Tobacco Group. These are distinctive because they have the tissue wrapping over a dark, oily Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. I smoked a bunch of these in the ’90s, but I was particularly enamoured with the Rectangulares, a box pressed corona gorda, which still seems to be available. Minor rant: General Cigar has boogered up the Cigarworld website to the point where I can’t find simple product information anymore. It used to be a good resource, now it seems to be a “community” site with reviews of every cigar under the sun except for the cigars I’m looking for. I know they have dedicated sites for the major brands, Macanudo, CAO, etc., but the smaller brands, no. And I can’t find a site for Forged either, you’d think they’d have one of those, right? I realize there’s only a few dozen people that want the information I’m looking for, so maybe it’s not a big priority, but it used to be there, for years, it must have been important at one point, right? SO I had to go to a retailer’s website for information. The El Rey Del Mundo Robusto Oscuro is 5″ x 54 with the aforementioned Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and Honduran binder and fillers made in Honduras. This cigar has a savory, meaty taste, not really the sweet maduro that one expects. It’s different, in a good way, and for a cigar that can be had for under $6, it’s a winner, and has stood the test of time.

I had no idea I was going to do the tissue paper theme until I went looking for another cigar to smoke last night, and came across a box buried deep in the humidor. Back around 2014, Matt Booth released the Room 101 Uncle Lee, a tribute to the uncle who got him into cigars. I bought a box a couple years later when they were clearanced, it was a “too good to pass up” deal. Sadly, they only came in boxes of ten. The cigar is presented in the “Ranfla” shape, a 6 ½ x 50 perfecto made in Danli, Honduras. The wrapper is Ecuadorian Habano, binder is Nicaraguan Corojo and fillers are Dominican Piloto Ligero & Honduran Corojo. While this cigar is not in my usual flavor spectrum, I really enjoy it! It’s got an unexpected floral component, which I find unique and endearing. Five years of age hasn’t done anything but good for these, they burn right, they draw right, and the flavor is spectacular. I have a few left in the box, and I buried it back where it was so I forget about it for a while again! I just remembered one more tissued cigar I have, a Room 101 Johnny Tobacconaut Ranflactic. I might have to find that one pretty soon! It’s funny how five year old cigars are suddenly “vintage”!